body art

[arnold_noel]

hello,

can I do the part on the attached photo in Inventor?

with all the curvy slots?

it will be processed on a 3D milling machine without a rotary desk, so the slot's profile should nit be radial in all section to the base part.

it will be a cast part, and i have t make the 3D model for the model from wood.

I can make the base part with Revolve function, but I have no idea if Inventor is capable to do that curvy slot.

eventually, what other program should I use?

thanks

Arnold.

[arnold_noel]

nobody has an advice?

[JDMather]

The part certainly looks doable to me.

I haven't updated this student gallery in years - but here are some examples created by students

http://home.pct.edu/~jmather/content/DSG322/Student%20Gallery.htm

[arnold_noel]

thanks, it's not really an answer to my question, but it is more than nothing.

how can I access the source files of this library?

[tsreagan]

Yes

This took less than 10 min,  so with an hour or two you should be able to replicate your pedistal perfectly.

T.S.

[arnold_noel]

wow, this is very nice.

i'm not pretty sure how did you do that. can you send the part file, please?

I hope your method will work for creating the complete milling tool path, because you know this will be processed with a 3D milling machine, from 2 halfs, and the cuts must be paralel to the Z axis.

[tsreagan]

Ahh, I though you were going to rotate it and do milling on the quadrants.

It can be created to achieve the proper draft for z direction in two halves as well.

If you want it perfect, I would adjust the milling for 4 quadrants if you can.

I will upload a set of screens to get you moving in the right direction, when I get a moment.

T.S.

[karthur1]

I drew the sketch in 2d, then used a 3d sketch and projected it to the surface. Then used a sweep to sweep the cut around the 3d path.

Kirk

[tsreagan]

I started the same way.

Once I projected the edges to the surface, I then thickened the area in reverse, without auto blending.

Then filleted the inner corner,  and thickened again(outwards), and fillet outer corner.

After that I split and revolved to get all 4 sides.

The perk and curse of Inventor:  "So many ways to do the same thing."

T.S.

[karthur1]

Thats easier.  I used chamfers rather than a fillet like you did.

[arnold_noel]

hello,

thank you very much for your help

i'm using 2011 version of inventor, so i couldn't open the files, but i could use the description..

now i can make the 3d slot, but i can not manage to achive that the slot to be in every y section perpendicular to the base plane.

i tried to make a rectangular shape, simulating the mill tool, and sweep around the 3d sketch, but it should be done with parallel sweep and inventor doesn't want to do that for me.

i attach the part file, i hope somebody can guide me to get what i want.

regards,

arnold

[arnold_noel]

I think finally i succeed.

i made a sketch on the beginning of the 3d curve with the milling tool section, and another to the end of the path.

than i used loft with centerline.

i think this is what i've been looking for.

thanks for your help, without your advices i could not succeed.

best regards,

arnold

[karthur1]

Can you post what you ended up with?

[arnold_noel]

yeah,

i got some other troubles.

at a section of the curve the slot didn't came out opened from the top. but i put some angles and i think the result is acceptable.

i wanted to do the same loft process for every section of the 3d geometry, but at the last section i  have a problem.

i need to use an earlier start point (sketch) for my last loft section, but as there is a slot already on the surface at this point, i can not project the complete path to the 3d surface. remains a gap, and inventor ca not make the centerline loft.

i don't now what to do.

is there a way to extend the projected 3d curve?

regards,

arnold

[arnold_noel]

it is getting rally anoying that I am not able to do this part 'a la carte'.

I was able to finish all the contours with centerline loft, but i had to make some modification on the profile contour.

now I can't remake all lofts.

I am wondering how are the really professional milling designers do their parts.

do they use onther software to make complicated 3d solids?

I attach the last version of my project.

please, can somebody help me finish the job?

I need something bulletproof solution for those slots, not to torture for hours to redraw the solid, if in the future we need to change a little bit the profile, 

regards,

arnold

[tsreagan]

arnold,

I have worked, in the past, on complex IP projects in inventor, so you can pretty much model anything you can imagine.

Some of the more complex shapes take time and experience, so don't be discouraged too soon. 

Once you get a comfortable handle on it, you will find it can be more powerfull as a creative tool than a production tool.

A Tip:

Do not try to loft or sweep complex combinations.  Instead create them in pieces and blend them together.  Very complex lofts (unless you have lots of xp) will often blow up, break them down into multiple smaller operations if possible.

T.S.

[Accudyne1]

Would it help if you projected all of your paths before you started cutting material away from the surface?  Maybe I am misunderstanding your problem, but from that last picture it looks like your might be able to project all your paths as your first step and then you wouldn't have a gap in the surface your are trying to project onto.

[JDMather]

---

@arnold_noel wrote:
... can somebody help me finish the job?

I need something bulletproof solution for those slots...

arnold

---

Unfortunately I don't have time to show you how to do it right - but you are doing wayyyy too much work right from the start.  There is a better way.  But it will take a bit of time for you to learn robust (and easier) modeling techinques.

If I were to spend time on this model - the first thing I would do is spend 2-3 hrs doing it over from scratch as I would not be able to work (other than as reference) with what you have created already.