Is there a tool for plating?

[bigjimslade]

I have created a 3d “blueprint” from a 3d blueprint for an assembly in the attached file. This is the starting point:

My version is shown in the second image (red). It attaches to a larger assembly (cutout shown in gray, larger version on Layer two).

I would like to show this with plate thickness (1/4") for illustration purposes. Is there some tool, script, etc. that can add thickness to the red “plates”? Even though this is relatively simple polysurface, offsetsrf completely pukes on it.

Here is photo of the real thing:

Problem Plating.3dm (2.3 MB)

[jinn]

@bigjimslade

Is there some tool, script, etc. that can add thickness to the red “plates”?

You know the answer to your question → OffsetSrf

You also know that the only way that will work is to use Rhino’s surface modelling tools.

Explode the polysrf then offset the surfaces (one operation) then extend and trim and join as needed.

[Michael_Pryor (ekim)]

1. Join + Cap the entire Geometry
   

   

2. Run the Shell command, set thickness to .25", select the faces you don’t want there to be remove.
   

   

3. Any parts that happen not to close from the shelling (in this case it is because you have small gaps in your seams) just loft those edges together. If your model is water tight then usually you won’t need this step.
   

   

[bigjimslade]

So no one has written a python script to do this automatically?