How did you “add 1” of plating"? My first approach would be to use OffsetSrf with manual trimming where surfaces meet at sharp angles, and manual trimming of where the shaft housing passes through.
[quote=“bigjimslade, post:3, topic:29116, full:true”]
I mean add 1" of thickness throughout
[/quote]That is what I assumed you meant. As I previously said I would use OffsetSrf and expect to do some manual trimming and possibly closing the edges.
If I try to offsetsrf I do not get a solid. I try to add 0.1 to 0.3 feet of thickness. Are there any setting changes that are more likely to form a solid?
It was suggested previously to do manual trimming. What would the steps be?
While I am at is, is there command that will smooth out the seams between two surfaces?
Hello @bigjimslade, Before sending the file goto:
File
Save Small
then compress the file (ZIP/7Z) it using the free 7ZIP which can download here: http://www.7-zip.org/
I personally find that 7z files are about half the size of ZIP files when compressing .3dm files and can often get 10% of the original .3dm file size. Michael VS
I took a step backward (another question) to advance to this point. Thank’s to the help there, can move on. I think that the surface has no gaps except at the top.
I need to add thickness to the outside. I need to add about 1" or about 0.1’ to possibly an over scale 0.3’ for printing.
The result of offsetsrf is not a solid. What would I need to change to get a solid.
As this has been asked before, the precision here is 1/16" or about 0.005’.
That depends what is keeping from being a solid. First step is to check for naked edges with ShowEdges, and fix any naked edges.
I sometimes find it best to create the offset surfaces with the Solid=No option. Extend and trim the offset surfaces so the edge surfaces will have the desired orientation which may not be normal to the original and offset surfaces. Create the edge surfaces using Loft or Sweep2. Join the surfaces and check for naked edges using ShowEdges. Fix any problems.
I think that there are no naked edges (other than the desired opening at the top). I had a problem with those to begin with but I think they are cleaned up in the file I posted.
Using Solid=NO looks like it is creating a giant mess.
What Absolute tolerance in Properties > Units are you using? If it is 0.00001 change it to a more reasonable value such as 0.01 or 0.001.
To create a solid using OffsetSrf with Solid=No on a collection of surfaces some of the surfaces will need to be extended or trimmed in separate operations.
I would be extremely surprised if OffsetSrf with Solid=Yes produces results when it does not produce results with Solid=No for the exact same surface or polysurface.
To obtain a single solid in one step using OffsetSrf with Solid=Yes you need to start with a single surface or polysurface as input. Using multiple surfaces and/or polysurfaces as input results in multiple solids, one per input surface/polysurface . The results may appear as a single solid, particularly when viewed in Shaded mode, but there will be a distinct solid for each individual surface/polysurface.
Also look at your results using Wireframe as well as Shaded. Wireframe can take a bit of practice to understand but sometimes shows aspects of the geometry which are hidden in Shaded.
A strategy to create offset surfaces and solids from complicated geometry is to break the geometry down into several simpler parts, such as the hull, each strut, etc, and create a solid from each. Then merge the solids together; sometimes this be can done with Boolean commands only but frequently some “manual” work with Intersect, Trim, Split, ExtendSrf, and Join is also needed.
You may want to set your current project with it’s complexities aside temporarily and work with a simpler shape to learn about solving geometry problems and offsetting surfaces. Then after success with the simpler shape go back to your more complex project and complete it successfully.
