@JKayten u should hv a look at SetPt command, that is very helpful to control all / some of your curve control points to stay “planar” if u wanted them to be planar on any predefined axis at specific point.
also, most common mistakes are accidental snap when u are drawing a shape on one orthogonal view. to prevent this, uncheck "snap to locked object(right click on Osnap button). select all objects (except the one u need to snap to) and use Lock command.
that will make sure u will just snap to the desire object.
I create a planar curve to define the outer boundry of a shape. I then create profiles to define the verticles. Then another two lines are created at the the midpoints of the horizontal boundries. Those are then projected to a cplane so they are flat and tangent. I create a fillet and move the profile back to the midpoint. Afterwards, moving a copy of that curve with the gumball + option key along the curves that intersect, I get a failuer as shown with the intersection tool.
There’s a regular problem with snapping behaviour that’s creating tiny faults in the structure that can only be noted on extremely close inspection. An effort that’s not welcome or in my opinion productive. The snapping indicates I’ve connected to the desired point!WTF?.3dm (50.4 KB)
I’d add that everything is created with the ortho setting on. So why lines are failing to actually connect is troublesome to say the least. Yeah, I know, it’s tiresome to hear it, but man I’m at my wits end with this issue.
As far as I can see, there’s an unreliable aspect to the snapping and ortho function on my machine.
James, the opposite straight lines of the large closed curve with two rounded corners which should be parallel are not quite parallel. That appears to be the source, or at least one of the sources, of the problems. How are you creating that curve? Until you can reliably and repeatedly create that curve with exactly parallel sides you should not proceed further.
[quote=“JKayten, post:22, topic:30048”]
Afterwards, moving a copy of that curve with the gumball + option key along the curves that intersect, I get a failuer as shown with the intersection tool.[/quote]Since the opposite straight sides the copy of the curve when moved along one side will not intersect the opposite side. That is basic geometry.
[quote=“JKayten, post:22, topic:30048”]
I’d add that everything is created with the ortho setting on. So why lines are failing to actually connect is troublesome to say the least. Yeah, I know, it’s tiresome to hear it, but man I’m at my wits end with this issue.
As far as I can see, there’s an unreliable aspect to the snapping and ortho function on my machine.[/quote]
Much more likely is that the cause is something you are doing. Possibilities include something which is over riding Ortho, snapping to the wrong location, or possibly most likely, inadvertently moving something.
Please let us know in detail the exact sequence of stems you use to create the large closed curve.
David,
Thanks for the help. Can you tell me how you can determine the discrepancy? Is there some analytical tool that will check the soundness of a closed curve or open curve? The thing is, those lines that are not parallel were drawn using the ortho setting so I expect the lines to be parallel. After drawing the lines I presume to be parallel, I then draw verticals and to make certain they’re planar, I project them all to a cplane, delete the input and proceed from there to make fillets.
Hi James - keeping Grid Snap on is, in my opinion, good way to get things balled up. Use that if and when you need it, (in my experience almost never), then turn it back off.
A useful tool for discovering how well a set of curves links together is SelChain, set to use tangency.
James - I agree with Pascal that Grid Snap can cause problems for precision modeling, and is best left off except when needed.
Two checks I used to find the discrepancy with the intended straight lines:
Use the Angle command to measure the angle between opposite straight sections of the curves. If the lines are parallel the angle should be exactly 0.000 or 180.000. On your model the angle between the long straight sections is 0.128 degrees and between the short straight sections is 0.301 degrees.
Use Distance between two points on a straight section. The exact location of the points is not important, just pick points at or near the ends of the straight sections. Look at the results for dx, dy and dz. If the line segment is exactly parallel to the x-axis then dy and dz will be exactly 0.000. Similarly if exactly parallel to the y-axis then dx and dz will exactly 0.000 and if exactly parallel to the z-axis then dx and dzy will exactly 0.000.
Do not assume that because Ortho mode is on that all lines created will be orthogonal. Ortho mode can be over ridden without direct warning. If there is an active Osnap close enough to the cursor in the active view the cursor will jump from to the Osnap rather than being orthogonal to the last point. I don’t know how Gumball behaves but it may be similar.
Why do you need to project the curves to the CPlane? If you need them on the Cplane then draw them on the CPlane. Somehow you are making a simple job complicated.
Since most of your lines are parallel to the axis, I’d check the gumball situation to check if the line is parallel against the axis.
For example, (I exploded your lines) when selecting the line, you can see two boxed green and red. If the line was parallel against two of the axis, the red box should not be shown. As the red box means you can scale it ->some depth to it.
I need to create a volume to boolean subtract from a larger volume. Simply shelling won’t get me the desired result. I begin with a cross central section, duplicated the edge curve and then scale it to the dimensions needed.
After that I move a closed curve up from the cplane it was projected to (so it’s flat right?) Yet when this is snapped at its midpoint to the end of the verticle profile and interesect is run it shows a misalignment.
