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ZUnwrapPlus

Flattens meshes or surfaces of double curvature onto the XY plane, with the least possible distortion. It has four methods: Project, Unwrap, Squish and SquishByCurve.

Toolbar button: ZUnwrapPlus button

This command modifies your original objects

Before flattening, meshes go through an automatic cleanup (welding vertices, removing degenerate faces and closing small holes). This changes the original mesh. Make a copy of your objects first if you want to keep them exactly as they are.

When to use

You have a curved mesh or surface and need the flat version to draw, texture or cut. At the end you get:

  • Mesh as input: a flat 2D mesh (Z = 0) on the layer Unwrapped_Objects.
  • Surface as input: a flat 2D surface (Z = 0) on the layer Unwrapped_Objects.

Choosing a method

Method What it does
Project Vertical projection onto the XY plane. It does not unroll the object, it just flattens the geometry. This is the default method (press Enter).
Unwrap Flattens the object by unrolling it. Faster, but less precise.
Squish Flattens the object by unrolling it. Slower, but preserves the dimensions better.
SquishByCurve Flattens guided by an alignment curve, which aligns the object in one direction. It accepts several meshes, which stay proportional to each other.

Results depend on the mesh: it may work with Unwrap, Squish, both or neither. If one fails, try the other. If both fail, improve the quality of the mesh, or of the surface or polysurface it was made from.

Before you start

  • Project, Unwrap and Squish accept meshes and single-face surfaces. They can be trimmed.
  • SquishByCurve accepts only meshes, plus an alignment curve (open or closed). With several meshes, the same alignment curve is used for all.
  • Unwrap and Squish, optional: if the object is closed in one direction (like a tube) and you need it flattened open, first open a seam with ZSeam.

Steps

  1. Run ZUnwrapPlus.
  2. At the Flattening method prompt (Project Unwrap Squish SquishByCurve), choose the method by clicking it or typing its name.

Project, Unwrap or Squish

  1. When prompted Select the mesh(es) or surface(s) to flatten:, select one or more objects and press Enter. You can also select the objects before running the command.

SquishByCurve

  1. When prompted Select the mesh(es) to flatten and align, select one or more meshes and press Enter.
  2. When prompted Select the alignment curve, select the curve.
  3. Only if the curve is closed: when prompted Select the seam position, choose the position of the seam.

Result

Mesh as input

  • A flat 2D mesh is created at Z = 0 on the layer Unwrapped_Objects.
  • The original 3D mesh is kept, but modified: it is replaced by the cleaned version, with texture coordinates matching the flat mesh.

Surface as input

  • A flat surface is created at Z = 0 on the layer Unwrapped_Objects. The trims are kept.
  • The original surface stays in place. If it was trimmed, it is replaced by a cleaned-up version.

Tips

  • Try both Unwrap and Squish on the same mesh and keep the one that works best.
  • Use the flat mesh with ZTexture to apply texture.