Nomad newbie here. Is it possible to create a nomad model that can be recognized by Fusion 360 to create CNC gcode toolpaths for milling, not 3D printing.? I’d like to modify a fusion 3D model built for cnc milling in Fusion in Nomad by using some of its tools - move, flatten, alpha brushes… and the like …but i ran in to a problem when I brought the model back in to Fusion. No problem importing the Fusion obj, voxel remeshing it, modifying it with nomad tools etc , then decimating it to simplify it to for import back in to Fusion. But the polygon structure of the Nomad obj imported back in to Fusion is such that I can no longer plan the proper cnc milling tool paths any longer on the reimported model. It looks like the nomad modified model is valid and suitable for 3D printing, but it no longer has the same kind of polygon structure required for Fusion’s toolpath tools to work. Has anyone tried and been successful going down this application path?
I have generated tool paths from Nomad Sculpt models using other software (e.g., Carbide3D), though not Fusion 360. So, it may be something idiosyncratic to either your model or Fusion 360.
Have you tried testing the same workflow with a simplified model of some sort?
Thx. Good to know it’s possible to cnc. I think I’m getting closer to a possible solution in Fusion. The native 3D model in fusion is called parametric modeling. Not like the prismatic polys you get from a decimated nomad model - or a download stl or obj file.There is a mode in Fusion to convert these polygons to smooth parametric geometry but it is not offered in the free versionI I am using. That said, after watching several YouTube’s on the subject I think there may be a way to identify the surfaces of the nomad model for Fusion to cnc in this prismatic form - Including finding the outer boundary of the model for the final boundary tool path, but that requires a bit of a workaround. Did you have an issue with finding/defining the model boundary in Carbide?
Ah, okay. Since parametric modeling is about defining forms with specific numbers and dimensional relationships, I can see where it might be difficult to automatically convert a sculpting mesh to something parametric.
Do you need to do more modeling on it after it leaves Nomad Sculpt? Or, are you just generating tool paths? Is there another tool you could use to generate tool paths? (e.g., MeshCAM – https://www.grzsoftware.com ).
I did not have any issues with having to define model boundaries. You can see some of what I did (without a lot of detail) starting at 13:51 of this video:
Good looking knot project. Well, I’ve been making progress after trying a bunch of things in my workflow from adobe illustrator- to fusion - in to nomad - then back to fusion to create the cnc toolpaths. Turns out I am able to work with the decimated nomad obj file imported in to fusion after all as long as I reduce the decimate poly count so as not to overload fusion. I also came up with a workaround/solution for the problem of how to identify and cut one continuous model contour outline in order to enable fusion to plan a toolpath for the final contour cut. I did this by slicing off a sliver off the bottom of the nomad obj in fusion, then replacing the discarded sliver with a clean solid extruded replacement. That got rid of all the decimated polys on the bottom of the model that were tripping me up when making the outline contour toolpath. That worked - at least according to the fusion simulator.
Thanks!
Good work on the progress! Thank you for reporting back. I’ll be anxious to hear how production works out.