Combine Handle and Cup

[olabaz]

I am new to inventor and I managed to make a Cup and a Handle and now I'm trying to align the two so they are touching.  I have attached my project file.

[wimann · Accepted solution]

You've chosen a very interesting route for the task - as most new people do.

There are probably a million different ways to accomplish what you wish to do. If I am simply gonig from your part file and moving forward (in other words, if I'm not rebuilding it from scratch in what may be a more efficient manner), I would probably use the "Move Face" command on the edges shown in the image attached. I would use the push/pull grips to drag the faces into the side of the cup such that they are touching but not so far that they are protruding into the inside of the cup.

However, ultimately, I would have drawn it differently from the very beginning. But you'll learn more as you progress. Keep at it.

If you'd like, I can attach a part file of what I would consider a more effective approach. Which Inventor are you using? I'm in 2014 so if you're using anything earlier than that, I cannot send you a part file.

Thanks,

[olabaz]

Thank you for the quick reply. I am also using 2014. What would be the more simple approach?

[wimann]

Well I've been doing this for a little while now. So some of my approach is derived from my experience.

What I've done is this (feel free to open my part file and follow along):

My first sketch fully details half of the profile of the cup. I've sketched curves where I felt it was appropriate and hollowed out the inside (completely made it out of thin air so I have no idea if this cup makes dimensional sense).

I also sketched a path (in Sketch1) that represents the centerline of the handle.

You should be able to spot both of these things quite easily in Sketch1. Again, I gave everything a dimension, but it is all off of the top of my head... and I have a styrofoam cup next to me... so that helped.

Next I need a profile for the handle.

So I placed a work plane at one end of the line that represents the centerline of the handle. I did this by selecting the work plane command (or pressing "]"), then selecting the line, then selecting the end point of the line. This places the plane at the end of the line and perpendicular to the line.

I then create a new sketch on that work plane and draw an ellipse that I feel is appropriate for the handle.

Once all of that is done, I revolved the profile in sketch1 around the center line in the sketch to create the cup body.

I then did a sweep of my handle profile along my handle centerline.

Then, just for finesse, I added a fillet to the edges where the two pieces meet to make them appear to be one part.

Let me know if you have any questions. I've hopefully explained it quite thoroughly but I understand if something needs futher explaination.

Remember to explore the part file as well, it may answer some questions I have not.

Thanks,

[olabaz]

That cup looks amazing! I think I understand most of it except for the centerline. What are they, how do I make one, and when should I use it?

[GSE_Dan_A]

The centerline he is referring to is found in Sketch 1.  It is basically the rail (Path) that the profile will follow.  You will notice that when you double click the Sweep1 that his Profile is the Elipse shape and the Path is his 'C' shape (Centerline). Also take note that he re-used Sketch1 because it allowed him to position the Centerline (Path) with respect to the cup (Revolution1). If you drag the End of Part marker up, you can see step by step of how it was created to get a better understanding. 

[wimann]

That's an interesting question to answer.

Well when I refer to a centerline, I'm simply saying that I'm imagining the part in my head and predicting where the center of the part (or features of the part) will be and then drawing them with normal lines. In this case, the centerline of the cup is easy to find since I sketched half of the profile and I can easily see where the center of the cup is in my sketch. As for the handle, I knew that the shape I want to achieve would require a sweep. And I know that a sweep requires a path and a profile. So I sketched the (using normal lines) a path that I believed represented the centerline of the handle.

To answer your question more directly:

What are they?

-Lines which represent an axis in a part, sketch or feature.

How do I make one?

-It's about modeling a part with a plan. It's important to note that even though I'm using the word "centerline", my lines are really just normal lines. There is an option when creating a line to make it a "centerline" which gives it different properties in Inventor. However, a line is not required to be a "centerline" in order to perform commands such as a "Revolve" or "Sweep". I've attached a model shot of where that option is toggled. Feel free to explore this option. It's not one I use that often personally, but some do and love it.

-In short, draw a line in your sketch which you feel represents an axis in your part.

When should I use it?

-I'll assume you're referring more to the sweep with this question. Sweeps are handy for having any profile follow a curve that changes direction at any time. It can also be handy if your profile is irregular (not square or circular). Sweeps just allow you, quite simply, to create any profile you wish and have it follow any path you wish to any extent you wish. There are certain limitations but once you understand them, they shouldn't cause you any problems. For example, in my part file, I used the "centerline" of the handle as the path for the sweep. This could have caused a problem IF the profile intersects itself along the arc of the path. In other words, if the arc's radius is too sharp (sharper than the extent of the profile), the sweep will fail due to a self-intersecting result.

I know this is a long post so I'm sorry for the read. The questions you've asked are rather open-ended but I've tried to explain the best I can.

[olabaz]

Oh no, thank you for the long well explained posts they are extremely helpful.

[wimann]

I'm tryin 🙂 I've always thought of myself as being much better at doing these things than I am at teaching them.

Did my previous post answer some of your questions?

[olabaz]

Yes, it answered all of them!