Lofting Curves

You can create a series of profile curves, then use the Loft command to create a surface or polygon mesh with the corresponding cross-sections. This procedure is sometimes called skinning.

If the input curves are closed, the resulting surface will be closed.
If they are open, you have the option to close the result.
After you have created a surface by lofting, you can add and remove input curves.

To loft curves

Select one or more curves in the series in order. You can select curve objects as well as U or V isolines, U or V knot curves, boundaries, surface curves, and trim curves.
Choose one of the following commands from the Model toolbar:
- Create Surf. Mesh Loft
- Create Poly. Mesh Loft
Pick the remaining profile curves in order.

If you make a mistake, you can unpick curves in order using Ctrl+click. You can also cancel the loft operation by pressing Esc.

TipWith the Free Form selection tool, you can pick curve objects in a single sweep.

NoteLoft does not work if there are overlapping curves. If you created curves by duplicating them, make sure that two or more don't overlap.
Right-click to indicate that you have finished picking profile curves. The Loft property editor opens.

Set the parameters as desired:

Specify the number of Subdivisions in U and V.
Use the Start and End Surface parameters only when the first and last curves are on surfaces (boundaries, knot curves, or isolines). They determine how the continuity of the loft surface matches that of the input surfaces.

For more information, see Loft Property Editor [Properties Reference].

TipYou can quickly create a low-resolution version of surfaces by lofting selected isolines.


Lofting curve objects

Lofting using mixed curve types: boundary (A),curve object (B), and isoline (C)

To add a curve

Select the input curve after which you want to add a new curve.

To add a curve before the first one, use Surface Modify Extend to Curve instead of this procedure. For more info, see Extending Surfaces [Surface and Curve Modeling].
Choose Edit Operator Add Input Edit. A picking session starts.
Pick a curve. The curve is added to the Loft operator and the generated object is rebuilt according to the current settings.

Note that if the curve is an input for more than one loft operation, the new curve will be added to the last one.

To remove a curve

Select a curve to remove. If you select multiple curves, only the first one will be removed.
Choose Edit Operator Remove Input. The curve is removed from the Loft operator and the generated object is rebuilt according to the current settings.

If the curve is an input for multiple loft operations, it is removed from the last one.