Hi folks,
I have a physical item that I'm trying to reverse engineer and draw in AutoCAD (eventually transferring to Inventor). The issue I'm having is how to measure a radius of an item. I don't have any gauges......and I've tried to come up with the radius mathematically, but it seems like there's multiple curves to the item.
So.....my question is, is there any way to trace it, scan it and have it translate to AutoCAD? Or are there any other method that you could suggest? If all else fails, I might hit up somebody that I know that would have access to some radius gauges that I could use.
Solved! Go to Solution.
Solved by JDMather. Go to Solution.
@vautr1090 wrote:
.... (eventually transferring to Inventor). .
Why are you using AutoCAD in this process?
Simply place some pictures in Inventor, use a known reference to scale and then trace overtop the image(s).
The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel
I think there is an example in the Inventor Tutorials.
Here is another http://home.pct.edu/~jmather/content/DSG322/Inventor%20Tutorials/Inventor%202011%20Tutorial%2014.pdf
The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel
How big is the item? If it fits in a copy machine, you can scan to pdf file and import it into a blank drawing. Then, trace it yourself using elliptical curves and arcs. I've done this with pump impellers.
The lid doesn't have to close all the way. Just don't look directly at the scanning process. 😉
The part is small enough to fit on a regular piece of paper, so I'll just trace it out and scan it in. And as you suggested trace it out with curves and arcs. Thanks for the help guys!