6 ms·

Unfolder for Mac – a 3D modelcreating papercraft

233 points by codazoda 4y ago

nunodonato 4y ago
too bad its mac-only
lastdong 4y ago
Beautiful website and interesting app (blender plugin live view is great). dxf2papercraft [1] Papercraft [2] and Blender paper model addon [3] are free alternatives. 1 - https://dxf2papercraft.sourceforge.net/ https://dxf2papercraft.sourceforge.net/ 2 - https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft 3 - https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/addons/import_export/paper_model.html https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/addons/import_expo...
- cl3misch 4y ago
  They seem to be much less interactive, right?
- alanbernstein 4y ago
  Thanks to you and OP for sharing these. I have been wondering if such a thing existed recently. One thing I hope to use it for is to design a polygonal DIY piñata. What I'd really like, though, is for something like unfolder, that supports tab-and-slot designs, ideally with a custom tab shape.
- micheljansen 4y ago
  The Blender live view is really impressive indeed: https://www.unfolder.app/img/unfolder_sync.mp4 https://www.unfolder.app/img/unfolder_sync.mp4
micheljansen 4y ago
Nice, I am still looking for something that does this but in reverse. Closest I've seen so far is Adobe Fantastic Fold (https://labs.adobe.com/projects/fantastic-fold/ https://labs.adobe.com/projects/fantastic-fold/) but it's been in beta forever and it's not clear how/if it will become a product.
- MengerSponge 4y ago
  It's kludgy, but you can approximate this with Fusion360's sheet metal tools. If your flat-pack is well structured, you can just throw it at Origami Simulator and export an OBJ or STL: https://origamisimulator.org/ https://origamisimulator.org/ Unsurprisingly, Amanda Ghassei is behind both Fantastic Fold and Origami Simulator: https://amandaghassaei.com/ https://amandaghassaei.com/
mcjiggerlog 4y ago
Looks like an incredibly polished implementation of something that's pretty niche. Kudos to the developers.
yCloser 4y ago
oh, it's for mac only
andybak 4y ago
Does anyone know what the name of the algorithm would be for unfolding arbitrary polyhedra? I've wanted to implement this for my own library ( https://github.com/IxxyXR/polyhydra-core https://github.com/IxxyXR/polyhydra-core ) and I could never find the right thing to search for. I'm assuming it reduces to a problem in graph traversal with some additional spatial constraints but I wanted to find some references before I tried to do my own dumb brute force solution.
- Someone 4y ago
  > Does anyone know what the name of the algorithm would be for unfolding arbitrary polyhedra? AFAIK Shepard’s conjecture “every convex polyhedron has an unfolding without overlap” is still open, so I’m not sure that exists. Links you may or may not have seen: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_(polyhedron) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_(polyhedron) - https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Unfolding.html https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Unfolding.html - http://web.york.cuny.edu/~malk/unfolding.html http://web.york.cuny.edu/~malk/unfolding.html
  - andybak 4y ago
    Yeah. I'm under no illusions that there's always a single connected solution to be easily found. I suppose I'm wondering if there's a good strategy other than just breadth-first trial and error. Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.
- viscousviolin 4y ago
  I found a book on folding algorithms a while back. It's called "Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, Origami, Polyhedra" by Demaine and O'Rourke. I haven't gone through it myself yet, but I feel like they should have an answer for you. (They also have a really nice course on MIT's Open Courseware that covers their book: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-849-geometric-folding-algorithms-linkages-origami-polyhedra-fall-2012/ https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-849-geometric-folding-algorith....)
- virtualritz 4y ago
  You may want to look at [1] as a start. [1] https://michaelwalczyk.com/project-unfolding.html https://michaelwalczyk.com/project-unfolding.html
Hamcha 4y ago
Man I was looking for something like this but Mac only means I have no realistic* way to run it, is it finally time for a "Wine but for Mac apps"? * at least afaik my hardware is not hackintosh compatible
- popey 4y ago
  quickemu on Linux can spin up a macOS VM. https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickemu https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickemu $ quickget macos monterey Then: $ quickemu --vm ./macos-monterey.conf You have to go through the usual install process for macOS, and can then install your applications. Whether this is legal or ethical is a subject for your own research.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
virtualritz 4y ago
There is the commercial Pepakura Designer[1] for Windows since the 90's (I think). The mother/father of all desktop papercraft unfolding apps. Then there is a new free one, Papercraft[2], written in Rust, that will probably build on all major paltforms. Do not confuse with the STL-based papercraft (lower case p) someone else mentioned[3]. [1] https://tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/ https://tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/ [2] https://github.com/rodrigorc/papercraft https://github.com/rodrigorc/papercraft [3] https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft
amatheus 4y ago
My daughter wanted her birthday to be Sonic-themed, so I've made a little platform and loop from the first stage, modeling it in Sketchup and export to Unfolder, it worked pretty well (but to add textures I've used Affinity Designer after exporting from Unfolder).
sebastianconcpt 4y ago
I love non-flat apps. The art in this app assets are one of the things that I like the most in good old style mac apps.
- rollcat 4y ago
  Remember 90s Windows? You could set any colors to any UI elements you liked. Dark mode was a few clicks away. Or pink mode, if that was your thing. I wish macOS would put the user in control, it would be so refreshing to have a modern UI that's both customisable and consistent. https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&graphic=1&w=1024&h=768 https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr...
  - themodelplumber 4y ago
    Was it a proper dark mode? I seem to remember that there were some unwanted theme appearance exceptions in Windows back then.
    - rollcat 4y ago
      Very easy to hit the first case in Windows Explorer (sidebar is rendered using HTML), you will find many more as you keep looking. Still, the capability to customise the color theme completely disappeared from mainstream desktop OS's, and even today's dark mode is still full of corner cases (usually at the platform boundaries: the web, Electron, foreign toolkits, etc).
      - gandalfff 4y ago
        Explorer's HTML was also open to customization
amelius 4y ago
Does anyone know a cheap printer that can do papercuts and stamp the folding lines?
- codazoda 4y ago
  I’m not sure if it’s what you mean but the Cricut Joy in the US will cut these out. It’s $150. The larger version is $300.
  - amelius 4y ago
    Cool, but can it also stamp out (e.g. emboss) the folding lines so the paper will naturally fold at the given lines? PS: Nice machine but a sibling poster mentions that Cricut is applying vendor lock-in strategies, which is very bad.
    - codazoda 4y ago
      It can. You can put a separate head in the printer and it can score the fold lines. I think you would have to make multiple files of whatever you want to score. I find that it's more trouble than it's worth to have it score.
      - MengerSponge 4y ago
        Depending on what you're making, it can be "good enough" to simply perforate the fold lines. That way you don't have to worry about registration when you flip the piece over
      - zimpenfish 4y ago
        I think you can have different layers be cut or score and you can assign those layers to different SVG groups - which should mean you can have everything in one file and it'll do it in one (assuming you have both tools in at the same time.)
- pimlottc 4y ago
  There's two main brands of desktop cutting machines, Cricut [0] and Silhouette [1]. Prices range from around $150 to $400, which depends mostly on piece size, materials support and tool support (e.g. pens/markets, scoring tools, embossing, etc). They aren't printers, but they all support "Print & Cut" features where you print out your design on a standard printer and then the cutter automatically aligns itself using registrations marks added by their own software. Note that Cricut tried to push a cloud subscription model a while back but backed off after customers got upset [2]. 0: https://cricut.com/en-us/cutting-machines/cricut-explore/cricut-explore-3/cricut-explore-3/2008337.html https://cricut.com/en-us/cutting-machines/cricut-explore/cri... 1: https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/featured-product/cameo https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/featured-product/cameo 2: https://www.ifixit.com/News/49494/cricut-messed-with-crafters-got-cut-but-the-fight-is-not-over https://www.ifixit.com/News/49494/cricut-messed-with-crafter...
dcveloper 4y ago
Is there a platform that one can view/upload assets to import into this?
regularfry 4y ago
> Click an edge to move the flap on another side to this side. That this feature could have been called "Flip flap", but somehow isn't, will forever astound me.
st3ve445678 4y ago
I don't have a use for this myself, but what a great website.
iraldir 4y ago
Incredibly frustrating that it does not have pictures of the end results (as in folded and everything)
jareklupinski 4y ago
To make an intricate costume based off of a fictional character's suit of armor, I found a papercraft model of the character, scaled it to life-size, then printed out the model in pieces at 1:1 scale at an office supply store using their large format printer. Bringing the huge sheets back home, I cut the shapes needed out of cosplay foam using the printed out segments as a template, then assembled the armor like it was a giant papercraft model. Worked great :) but to save time next time I need to account for foam having a greater thickness than paper. And maybe paint the foam before cutting it out.
iamgopal 4y ago
Is there equivalent for metal ?

233 points by codazoda 4y ago

too bad its mac-only

Beautiful website and interesting app (blender plugin live view is great). dxf2papercraft [1] Papercraft [2] and Blender paper model addon [3] are free alternatives. 1 - https://dxf2papercraft.sourceforge.net/ https://dxf2papercraft.sourceforge.net/ 2 - https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft 3 - https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/addons/import_export/paper_model.html https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/addons/import_expo...

cl3misch 4y ago
They seem to be much less interactive, right?
alanbernstein 4y ago
Thanks to you and OP for sharing these. I have been wondering if such a thing existed recently. One thing I hope to use it for is to design a polygonal DIY piñata. What I'd really like, though, is for something like unfolder, that supports tab-and-slot designs, ideally with a custom tab shape.
micheljansen 4y ago
The Blender live view is really impressive indeed: https://www.unfolder.app/img/unfolder_sync.mp4 https://www.unfolder.app/img/unfolder_sync.mp4

micheljansen 4y ago

Nice, I am still looking for something that does this but in reverse. Closest I've seen so far is Adobe Fantastic Fold (https://labs.adobe.com/projects/fantastic-fold/ https://labs.adobe.com/projects/fantastic-fold/) but it's been in beta forever and it's not clear how/if it will become a product.

MengerSponge 4y ago
It's kludgy, but you can approximate this with Fusion360's sheet metal tools. If your flat-pack is well structured, you can just throw it at Origami Simulator and export an OBJ or STL: https://origamisimulator.org/ https://origamisimulator.org/ Unsurprisingly, Amanda Ghassei is behind both Fantastic Fold and Origami Simulator: https://amandaghassaei.com/ https://amandaghassaei.com/

mcjiggerlog 4y ago

Looks like an incredibly polished implementation of something that's pretty niche. Kudos to the developers.

yCloser 4y ago

oh, it's for mac only

andybak 4y ago

Does anyone know what the name of the algorithm would be for unfolding arbitrary polyhedra? I've wanted to implement this for my own library ( https://github.com/IxxyXR/polyhydra-core https://github.com/IxxyXR/polyhydra-core ) and I could never find the right thing to search for. I'm assuming it reduces to a problem in graph traversal with some additional spatial constraints but I wanted to find some references before I tried to do my own dumb brute force solution.

Someone 4y ago
> Does anyone know what the name of the algorithm would be for unfolding arbitrary polyhedra? AFAIK Shepard’s conjecture “every convex polyhedron has an unfolding without overlap” is still open, so I’m not sure that exists. Links you may or may not have seen: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_(polyhedron) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_(polyhedron) - https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Unfolding.html https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Unfolding.html - http://web.york.cuny.edu/~malk/unfolding.html http://web.york.cuny.edu/~malk/unfolding.html
- andybak 4y ago
  Yeah. I'm under no illusions that there's always a single connected solution to be easily found. I suppose I'm wondering if there's a good strategy other than just breadth-first trial and error. Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.
viscousviolin 4y ago
I found a book on folding algorithms a while back. It's called "Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, Origami, Polyhedra" by Demaine and O'Rourke. I haven't gone through it myself yet, but I feel like they should have an answer for you. (They also have a really nice course on MIT's Open Courseware that covers their book: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-849-geometric-folding-algorithms-linkages-origami-polyhedra-fall-2012/ https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-849-geometric-folding-algorith....)
virtualritz 4y ago
You may want to look at [1] as a start. [1] https://michaelwalczyk.com/project-unfolding.html https://michaelwalczyk.com/project-unfolding.html

Hamcha 4y ago

Man I was looking for something like this but Mac only means I have no realistic* way to run it, is it finally time for a "Wine but for Mac apps"? * at least afaik my hardware is not hackintosh compatible

popey 4y ago
quickemu on Linux can spin up a macOS VM. https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickemu https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickemu $ quickget macos monterey Then: $ quickemu --vm ./macos-monterey.conf You have to go through the usual install process for macOS, and can then install your applications. Whether this is legal or ethical is a subject for your own research.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

virtualritz 4y ago

There is the commercial Pepakura Designer[1] for Windows since the 90's (I think). The mother/father of all desktop papercraft unfolding apps. Then there is a new free one, Papercraft[2], written in Rust, that will probably build on all major paltforms. Do not confuse with the STL-based papercraft (lower case p) someone else mentioned[3]. [1] https://tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/ https://tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/ [2] https://github.com/rodrigorc/papercraft https://github.com/rodrigorc/papercraft [3] https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft https://github.com/osresearch/papercraft

amatheus 4y ago

My daughter wanted her birthday to be Sonic-themed, so I've made a little platform and loop from the first stage, modeling it in Sketchup and export to Unfolder, it worked pretty well (but to add textures I've used Affinity Designer after exporting from Unfolder).

sebastianconcpt 4y ago

I love non-flat apps. The art in this app assets are one of the things that I like the most in good old style mac apps.

rollcat 4y ago
Remember 90s Windows? You could set any colors to any UI elements you liked. Dark mode was a few clicks away. Or pink mode, if that was your thing. I wish macOS would put the user in control, it would be so refreshing to have a modern UI that's both customisable and consistent. https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&graphic=1&w=1024&h=768 https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr...
- themodelplumber 4y ago
  Was it a proper dark mode? I seem to remember that there were some unwanted theme appearance exceptions in Windows back then.
  - rollcat 4y ago
    Very easy to hit the first case in Windows Explorer (sidebar is rendered using HTML), you will find many more as you keep looking. Still, the capability to customise the color theme completely disappeared from mainstream desktop OS's, and even today's dark mode is still full of corner cases (usually at the platform boundaries: the web, Electron, foreign toolkits, etc).
    - gandalfff 4y ago
      Explorer's HTML was also open to customization

amelius 4y ago

Does anyone know a cheap printer that can do papercuts and stamp the folding lines?

codazoda 4y ago
I’m not sure if it’s what you mean but the Cricut Joy in the US will cut these out. It’s $150. The larger version is $300.
- amelius 4y ago
  Cool, but can it also stamp out (e.g. emboss) the folding lines so the paper will naturally fold at the given lines? PS: Nice machine but a sibling poster mentions that Cricut is applying vendor lock-in strategies, which is very bad.
  - codazoda 4y ago
    It can. You can put a separate head in the printer and it can score the fold lines. I think you would have to make multiple files of whatever you want to score. I find that it's more trouble than it's worth to have it score.
    - MengerSponge 4y ago
      Depending on what you're making, it can be "good enough" to simply perforate the fold lines. That way you don't have to worry about registration when you flip the piece over
    - zimpenfish 4y ago
      I think you can have different layers be cut or score and you can assign those layers to different SVG groups - which should mean you can have everything in one file and it'll do it in one (assuming you have both tools in at the same time.)
pimlottc 4y ago
There's two main brands of desktop cutting machines, Cricut [0] and Silhouette [1]. Prices range from around $150 to $400, which depends mostly on piece size, materials support and tool support (e.g. pens/markets, scoring tools, embossing, etc). They aren't printers, but they all support "Print & Cut" features where you print out your design on a standard printer and then the cutter automatically aligns itself using registrations marks added by their own software. Note that Cricut tried to push a cloud subscription model a while back but backed off after customers got upset [2]. 0: https://cricut.com/en-us/cutting-machines/cricut-explore/cricut-explore-3/cricut-explore-3/2008337.html https://cricut.com/en-us/cutting-machines/cricut-explore/cri... 1: https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/featured-product/cameo https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/featured-product/cameo 2: https://www.ifixit.com/News/49494/cricut-messed-with-crafters-got-cut-but-the-fight-is-not-over https://www.ifixit.com/News/49494/cricut-messed-with-crafter...

dcveloper 4y ago

Is there a platform that one can view/upload assets to import into this?

regularfry 4y ago

> Click an edge to move the flap on another side to this side. That this feature could have been called "Flip flap", but somehow isn't, will forever astound me.

st3ve445678 4y ago

I don't have a use for this myself, but what a great website.

iraldir 4y ago

Incredibly frustrating that it does not have pictures of the end results (as in folded and everything)

jareklupinski 4y ago

To make an intricate costume based off of a fictional character's suit of armor, I found a papercraft model of the character, scaled it to life-size, then printed out the model in pieces at 1:1 scale at an office supply store using their large format printer. Bringing the huge sheets back home, I cut the shapes needed out of cosplay foam using the printed out segments as a template, then assembled the armor like it was a giant papercraft model. Worked great :) but to save time next time I need to account for foam having a greater thickness than paper. And maybe paint the foam before cutting it out.

iamgopal 4y ago

Is there equivalent for metal ?