[balsaman]

Ok I am fairly good at 2d drawings in Autocad. How can I convert a 2d object into a surface so I can extrude it into a 3D solid object?

I use Autocad 2000i. I also have mech. desktop but never used it.

Thanks!

Eric

[E-Stop]

Any 2D object that has closed boundries should be able to be extruded. It doesn't have to be converted to a surface.

[cncadmin]

Or use Pedit and convert all the lines to a close polyline. Than you can extrude it. In MD, you have a little more steps to make a part, but you can draw in it like you would autocad. I have allot of exsperance with MD.

[balsaman]

Hey guys, you are correct! I just extruded some stuff! I guess I should have tried it. I just assumed it was harder than that.

Eric

[Zephrant]

It is much easier to use "boundary", then click inside the part. It will search out the edges, and draw a pline all the way around. If the part is not closed, it will fail.

Then you can just extrude the new pline.

Many of my 3d parts start with a bunch of xlines, then a single boundary command to make the outline.

Zeph

[cncadmin]

I'll have to try that, I usually use the pedit command. Or I redraw using a polyline.

[Airxsails]

Hello all,

I work in the world of 3D all day long and I thought I knew all the tricks but the boundary command is one that I have not used in my work, I design brine water plants. Thaks guys.

Eric

OBTW this is what I do as part of my hobby of model airplanes...

[Airxsails]

Oops the picture did not go????

sorry guys I could not get the picture small enough.

Eric

[cncadmin]

Originally posted by Airxsails
Oops the picture did not go????

sorry guys I could not get the picture small enough.

Eric

Try this - http://cnczone.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=210

[Zephrant]

Boundary is great if the view port is normal to the working plane. It can do some weird things when you have lines at various Z levels too. There are still times where I give up trying to determine what it is doing, and sketch in a pline using the osnaps.


Zeph

[Airxsails]

Thank you CNCadmin,

I downloaded the viewer and have resized it to a much smaller size.

Hope this works.

On the subject of solids, I have found that connect all the lines needed to make a region and then go to propertied and set all z coordinates for the potential region to 0 and then region it then extrude it. it seems long but it never fails.

Eric

[balsaman]

Nice AirX!

I made a 3d part! Thanks guys. Still lots to learn.

Eric

[Airxsails]

Hi Balsaman,

Nice gear, one of the neat things of Autocad is putting all the parts into an assembly. Mechanical desktop allows the assebly to be contrained to the axes of revolution and points of contact so the mechanical fit and function of the parts can be tested. I ran across a program called Prodesktop made by PTC and it is fully parametric solids program pretty slick only just learning it at the moment. The tie in to CNC is with my models I want to be able to build that plane. Some day eal soon... Probably a machine from Cranky if not one that I started designing after lookin at all the ones available.

Eric

[ger21]

I always use regions for extruding. It's much faster to just select all the lines and your done. You can alsio use splines in regions which gives you a few more options. Eric, if you change the FACETRES variable to something higher (I always set it to 5, it goes to 10) your curves will look smoother. Go to tools > options and the display tab, and change rendered object smoothness. Also, check show silhouettes in wireframe box to ged rid of all the triangles when using the hide command. If you have any 3D questions, feel free to ask.

Gerry

[ger21]

Here's a rendering of my gantry and z-axis for the router I'm designing, all modeled in AutoCAD 2002. I'm a long way from finishing the design, but I cut most of the parts shown at work today on our big cnc router.

Gerry

[Airxsails]

Very nice work Ger21,

I like the design of the bearing holders, how do you get the angle to mount to the plate.

Eric

[ger21]

File a flat spot on the edge of the angle, drill and bolt into a blind nut. It's 1/4" angle, so there is plenty of material there. And there is just enough clearance between the angle and tube.

Gerry

[Airxsails]

Cool Thanks, I hope to start gathering the parts together next month for a CNC router for my modeling. I can see the light....

Eric

[kong]

That design looks awesome, and the angle ali bearing idea is excellent. May i ask what type of bearings are on the z-axis?

[ger21]

Thompson linear bearings on 3/4" Stainless shafts. I got the 4 bearings and 2 shafts on Ebay for about $70.

Gerry