I've been doing quite a bit of 3d work, and with pretty good success. The parts have been machining out beautifully. It's been a fun process to go from idea to physical part. I am using BobCAD V20.
I occasionally run into a couple of issues, and I'm not sure how to resolve them. Probably just my own ignorance, but I can't figure it out.
If I want to create a simple surface using 3 lines (arcs) in a single plane (z=0), I select "3 Edge", choose the line segments and never get what I want! The surface generated is not in the z=0 plane, and it doesn't intersect the lines I chose as boundaries. This works pretty nicely when the lines are NOT in the same plane, but fails when the lines ARE in the same plane.
My second problem is trying to create something equivalent to 1/2 a curved cone (think longhorn). Two edges that terminate at a single point, and then a series of arcs that bridge the two edges. I can't find a surface creation method that works for this kind of geometry and I can't find a way to change the geometry to make it work for something like a "skin" or "4 edge".
I have included a file that illustrates these geometries (rename .txt to .cad). The "bottom" is the simple case with 3 arcs in the same plane. The "top" is the cone-like example with two edges and a series of arcs. The other surfaces are no problem. See the layer called "new surfaces".
Thanks for any ideas or help on this one.
Steve