I’m modeling a bike saddle but struggling to get a smooth transition at the junction shown in the picture, between the main solid body and the closed end surface.
I’d like to ask what workflow in Shapr3D can create smooth connections for this kind of freeform capped end. Similar geometry can also be seen on the tip of game controllers.
My current approach: I loft the end section and the middle solid separately, then combine them with a boolean union. However, this method fails to produce smooth curvature transition.
I’ve attached my model file. I’ve spent quite some time trying to solve this, any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated!
You might want to try a different approach instead of lofting the end separately and then using Union.
I recently used a similar technique in the Extrude 4/5 Challenge. The sloped transition on the base looked quite complicated, but the solution turned out to be surprisingly simple: I created two larger solids and used Intersect, so the required transition was created by the intersection of the two shapes.
Perhaps the same principle could work for your saddle. Instead of trying to blend two finished shapes together, you could extend the main body, create a second smooth solid that defines the rounded end, and use Intersect to create the transition.
It’s not exactly the same geometry, of course, but the Challenge made me realise that sometimes it is easier to let the intersection create the transition than to model the transition itself. Perhaps it help you. I am also curious what others will say!
Thanks for sharing your idea! However, extending the solid end face directly gives very low control freedom over the surface, which makes it hard to implement for my case. I’ve tried this workflow as well but still couldn’t get it working.
Really appreciate your suggestion! I’ve imported reference images inside the attached Shapr3D file. If you’re interested, feel free to treat this model as a modeling challenge, haha.
Thanks for your reply! This is a simple and straightforward solution. Following your workflow, I got an almost perfect surface, though there remains a slight imperfection right at the tip. I tried using Delete Face to extend the surface automatically and cap the end, but it didn’t work.
If I make the final cross-section tiny enough, the flaw can be practically overlooked. I’m a bit of a perfectionist though, and I still want to find a way to create a perfectly closed end cap.
Anyway, many thanks for sharing your method and ideas.
Thanks for your reply! However, I haven’t fully grasped the workflow you shared. If possible, could you record a short video to demonstrate it? Many thanks.
Your are all fantastic. I tried it also, learned a lot about loft. But did not find the solution. Thanks for sharing. I hope next challenge will be about loft.
If you want the nose tip perfect you might want to try a different CAD software that has surface modeling like Solidworks. I think Shapr3d is kinda lacking in that area.
It’s easier than it looks if surfacing tools were available in Shapr3d.
You’re right – fillets do help soften harsh transitions. What I’m after, though, is a perfectly finished end surface. It seems Shapr3D can’t handle this at the moment. I hope future updates will bring more capable surfacing tools, similar to SolidWorks or Fusion, where smoothly connecting surfaces is straightforward to achieve.
Thanks for your reply. You’re right that Shapr3D’s surfacing capabilities still need improvement, and I hope this gap can be addressed soon. I raised this question just to see if anyone has found workarounds to create this type of surface entirely within Shapr3D. That would be a huge help to me.
Sorry, I try to give clues and hints to help. I often ask for clues when I need help. That helps me invent my own process and so I learn more and faster. Shapr often has many approaches to doing the same thing.
I’ve run into a similar issue recently. When trying to copy‑and‑stitch surfaces, this software doesn’t offer adequate support. Tiny steps persist and cannot be aligned properly.
Developers should consider creating a customizable, deformable, and subdivided sphere that can be stretched and deformed on its surface according to different shapes. This would make it much easier to handle irregular shapes, just like in Rhino software where a sphere can be stretched and squeezed to connect with other spheres. If this could be developed, it would solve various problems with figurines and irregular shapes. After developing for so long, we’re almost at the breakthrough point.
