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Inventor - Engraving on a sphere

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Message 1 of 48
220610
4691 Views, 47 Replies

Inventor - Engraving on a sphere

Hi,
I've been looking around and couldn't find a solution. I have a sphere which I'm able to project on a sketch of smaller circles which I'd like to engrave over it's surface, yet I want each of them to be perpendicular to the surface of the sphere in each point. Emboss doesn't do the trick, it just makes the engraving perpendicular to the plane.
Can someone please help?
Thanks!

47 REPLIES 47
Message 2 of 48
JDMather
in reply to: 220610

Can you attach the file here?

You might want to Split and Thicken or some other technique.


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Message 3 of 48
220610
in reply to: JDMather

I currently have no access to the file, but the sketch below is a basic concept of how the other side of the shell should look like. It's basically a dome with lots of pipes penetrating perpendicular to the surface at each point of entry. 

I'm not sure I follow your trail of thought regarding use of the Split command. 

Thing is, if there was a way to apply the Extrude on a 3D sketch that would've solved it all, as the circles in the 3D sketch are projected on the phere and thus perpendicular to its surface, but all I get is "No visible adapative sketches".

Any thoughts?

 

Message 4 of 48
JDMather
in reply to: 220610


@220610 wrote:

I currently have no access to the file, ..., as the circles in the 3D sketch are projected on the phere and thus perpendicular to its surface,

Any thoughts?

 


I will wait for the file.  Circles are 2D (planar) by definition.
Sounds to me like you need to convert them to 2D sketches and Extrude.


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Message 5 of 48
220610
in reply to: JDMather

First, thanks for your help!

 

Here's the file, the inner shell sketch (3D) should be holes, and the outer shell sketch should be pipes, both should be perpendicular to the surface of the cap. It's driving me nuts as I'm sure there's a way to do it.

 

Thanks again!

Message 6 of 48
JDMather
in reply to: 220610

Projecting a 3D sketch onto sphere as you have does not result in circles.

 

Imagine you were drilling those holes on a drill press.

How would the centerline axis for drilling be set up?

 

You have two rows of holes in Projection 9. 
Will those holes be drilled with parallel axis or will axis point to common center?


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Message 7 of 48
220610
in reply to: JDMather

You're right, I haven't noticed that but around the edges they do stretch.

The centerline (if I understood you correctly) would run from the edges to a common center, (two centerlines, one for each row). I thought  about creating a plane perpendicular to the point on which I want to create the circle, but this means a lot of planes...

Hope I understood you correctly

Message 8 of 48
JDMather
in reply to: 220610

Most likely can be created with a Circular Feature Pattern depending on your true design intent.


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Message 9 of 48
220610
in reply to: JDMather

I've used the circular pattern to make the holes that are on both sides, and then I've deleted some so maybe I'll put them back, not sure yet. Still, I can't define them as holes, and I can't create the big circle (inside of the cap) as an engraving.

Nor does it solve the two rows outside where the pipes pentrate the cap as well. How can I define the holes for the pipe as perpendicular to the surface? 

 

Thanks!

Message 10 of 48
220610
in reply to: JDMather

I'm sorry but I'm still not sure how using a circular pattern helps...

Disregarding several holes which can be cancelled due to their distortion in projection, the question of how to create a hole on a surface of the sphere remains (without creating a work plane of course). Also true regarding the embossing of the big inner circle.

I'll appreciate any help.

Message 11 of 48
EScales
in reply to: 220610

Here's a sample of using a revolve to create part of a sphere and two methods of creating holes or embosses.  The hole is using a sketch the passes through the origin point at the center of the sphere and extrudes through the side of the sphere.  Then I applied a circular pattern of that hole.  The emboss was created using a surface that pierced the outside of the sphere and then a split face to isolate that circular face.  Then, I used a Thicken/Offset to make the embossed face with the edges perpendicular to the spherical face.

Message 12 of 48
220610
in reply to: EScales

Again, thanks a lot!

Can you please save it in a version compatible with 2012 (which is what I'm using), says the database is a newer version and won't open the file.

 

Hopes this solves it!

Message 13 of 48
LT.Rusty
in reply to: 220610

Just like there's no wrap-to-sphere, there's also no save-to-earlier-version.

 

Unfortunately.

 

 

I had something a lot like this a year or so back.  I needed to engrave text into a sphere.  I wound up setting a plane for each letter tangent to the sphere and then extruding each letter separately to a second sphere that was inside the first one at the correct depth for the engraving.  Because each letter was done separately, there was minimal distortion, but it was extremely time consuming.

Rusty

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Message 14 of 48
JDMather
in reply to: LT.Rusty

I think the OP's problem description is far easier than wrapping a text to a sphere, but since the OP is using an earlier release it would take a lot of work to document an example.


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Message 15 of 48
LT.Rusty
in reply to: JDMather


@Anonymous wrote:

I think the OP's problem description is far easier than wrapping a text to a sphere, but since the OP is using an earlier release it would take a lot of work to document an example.


 

 

Yeah, no kidding.  I don't have an earlier version available.  If OP had 2013, this would be about a 5 minute solution to demonstrate., if I've understood his problem correctly.

Rusty

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Message 16 of 48
LT.Rusty
in reply to: LT.Rusty

OP -

 

Is this more or less what you're trying to accomplish?  If it is, I'll try and write up an illustrated how-to in the morning when I get back to work.  It'll be beer-thirty in ... 9 minutes now.  (But who's counting, right?)

Rusty

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Message 17 of 48
LT.Rusty
in reply to: LT.Rusty

Oops - just checked back in this morning, realized I hadn't attached a picture!  I guess I was a little too eager to get out of the office last night!

 

 

 

 

 

spherical pattern.JPG

Rusty

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Message 18 of 48
220610
in reply to: LT.Rusty

I have an academic license so I downloaded 2013, and I believe this solves all my problems, thanks a lot!

I can only hope I'll be able to help someone else like you helped me.

 

Again, since words can hardly express it, thanks.

Message 19 of 48
LT.Rusty
in reply to: 220610

Okay, since you've got 2013 now I'll just attach my file so you can see what I did.

 

The stuff before the thicken operation is a little clumsy - I could have done that cleaner.  Sketch 2 and the stuff after it should give you the info you need.

Rusty

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Message 20 of 48
220610
in reply to: LT.Rusty

I'm aware this is a bit long after, but something isn't working.

I've also tried with the last file, "hole pattern on sphere.ipt".

Each time I try to create the rectangle pattern (I've also tried it after deleting the original pattern and then to re-do it according to the same options) it doesn't work. At best I get the holes but they're un-parallel to the surface, they're fixated to the same plane same as the original hole, which results in partial holes.

Can anyone please help?

 

Thanks!

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