Hi, I’m an intermediate Blender user and use it to model objects which I then export in .dxf format to other software to trace and flatten them into patterns. This works OK but Blender’s modelling, texturing and render tools are so much better and I am so used to Blender’s tools and interface that my other software is now painfully lacking, and I am no coder. I know that Blender can be used to unfold (there’s a thread, like, 8 years old about it) but the author of that script, being such a nice guy and such a fan of open sourcing, is not motivated by money - which is great, but it means I can’t get exactly what I want from him.
My unfolding software is TouchCAD from Lundstrom Designs in Sweden, and a free trial download of the program is available at www.touchcad.com. I must get the functionality that TouchCAD offers and am willing to pay a fair price for it. That functionality includes but is not limited to:
-Unfolded islands with zero UV distortion printable at any size;
-notch marks at the vertices;
-Printable textures on the panels at full size (TC offers this only in bitmap form projected only from one of the Top, Side or Front views;
-stretch tensions on unfolded panels indicated as percentages away from perfect fit or as objective measurements away from perfect fit;
-optional addition of seam allowances of any width.
I must emphasize at this point that I am wary of applicants who promise more than they can deliver - we’ll have to come to some arrangement whereby the improved functionality can be verified in some way - but I’m sure we can figure this out. Also, I AM ONLY SPECULATING AT THIS POINT and must carefully consider the price before any work is done. As I said, I would like to pay a fair price and I know this will be in the many hundreds of dollars, but must consider the price before a deal is agreed upon. Please familiarize yourself just a bit with TouchCAD so we can communicate coherently on my requirements (just a note: Prepare to be amused at TC’s primitive toolset).
That being said, I look forward eagerly to the prospect of using Blender for all my modelling/printing needs.
Blender rocks. And thanks for all the inspiration.