Fathom Step-By-Step Tutorial—How to Convert a Mesh or Scan Data Into a Workable T-Spline
In this tutorial, Fathom Research Associate, Sebastian Morales, walks you through the process step by step—preparation, gap fixes, mesh export, Quads selection, T-spline body selection and conversion for the purpose of 3D printing a prototype.
Software needed / / Fusion 360, ReMake (formerly Memento)—both available from Autodesk.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/1_940.jpg)
Preparation
Open ReMake and import your mesh. This example features a mesh of more than two million triangles, a scan by Bernard Brits on GrabCad. We chose something with complex geometries to really test this workflow and this scan has a high degree of intricacy.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/2_940.jpg)
Once the mesh finishes converting, get it ready for Fusion 360. The 10-step workflow is as follows.
10-Step Workflow
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/3_940.jpg)
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Fix all the gaps. Click on “Analyze” (the microscope icon) and select the “Detect and Fix Model Issues” (the band aid icon). Detect the issues and fix them all.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/4_940.jpg)
2. Export the mesh.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/5_940.jpg)
3. Select “Quads.” Fusion 360 will need the quads in order to make the T-Splines. Select the number of quads depending on your needs, keeping in mind that Fusion will struggle with a higher number. For this project, we selected 100,000.
4. Re-import the mesh into ReMake. This time, use the quad-based mesh you just saved. Repeat the issue detection step (#1) and you will likely fund a number of problems with the new mesh. Fix each of the issues you find.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/6_940-1.jpg)
5. Export again. Make sure the mesh is exported as quads.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/7_940.jpg)
6. Perform one last analysis on the mesh and fix any issues.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/8_940.jpg)
7. Upload your file to the cloud through Fusion 360.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/9_940.jpg)
8. Open the drawing and click on Convert from the Utilities on the Sculpting menu.
![Mesh](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/10_940.jpg)
9. Select the Mesh to convert it from a Quad Mesh to a T-Spline body. This may slow Fusion 360 temporarily but eventually will create the T-Spline body. Once it has converted completely, you should have two bodies inside your Bodies folder. One of them a mesh and the other the T-spline body.
![T-Spline](https://fathommfg.com/wp-content/uploads/images/11_940.jpg)
10. Select the T-Spline body and click convert. This conversion will yield a B-rep! After Fusion 360 loads, the entire process is complete.