Extrude or Sweep?

[Oxygen454]

Here is some hand rail we are building. This is a simple example compared to the rail at work. This is what I want to turn into 3D and some I-beams when I get better at this. Im not sure what the difficulty is in changing that to 3D as of yet.

 

In the drawing, there is 5 1x1 sq. tubes. I draw them in the x,y axis. So it looks like the rail is actually standing up when I maybe should have drawn with the z axis to make it look like it is laying down? Then somehow turn into 3D?

3D tubing.dwgFetching info...

[Oxygen454]

On the way to making my tubing haha. I drew the first tube, then mirrored it. Then went into left view, drew the face of another tube, then went into front view, joined both tubes with one poly line, then extruded it.

3D tubing2.dwgFetching info...

[shift1313]

its looking good, one thing to note in your second file there. Remember i said that if you want to the tubing to be an accurate representation you need your extrusion path to be perpendicular to your 2d polyline. also another thing to note if you are just going to extrude in the + or - Z direction you do not need to draw a path. The path is only when you want to extrude in a different direction or line multiple segments including lines and arcs(must be coplanar) and use that for a path.

 

make sure you can see your ucs on screen then go to Tools, New Ucs, X, then enter -135 in for the angle. This will align your xy plane with the angled tube you drew. now if you draw your profile(1x1) and extrude this you will get a very different part. Then you can slice or subtract another solid to get your 45degree angle at the top.

[Oxygen454]

I think I understand what you are saying. I extruded my I-Beam in this drawing not using path. I went to my left view, drew the I beam and extended it out. I looks nice and level and square to the drawing plane.

 

My boss wants me to draw a steel structure for him. It has 3 I Beams side by side, and has 3 pipes going though the middle beam ie. I-I-I I drew a circle where the first pipe goes through in the drawing but I was unable to cut the hole out in this beam. This is now my work in progress!

Sk3D.dwgFetching info...

[Oxygen454]

This is so freakin cool lol

 

I have a pipe sticking out of my ibeam but you cant see right through because I am unable to cut a hole in the ibeam right now.

 

I tried to subtract the inside of the pipe with the over all Ibeam, and I lost my ibeam haha damn...

Sk3D_2.dwgFetching info...

[shift1313]

just a note if you try to subtract an object(like your pipe) from all 3 beams at once, your beams will become joined.

 

anytime you use a command be sure to look at your command line and see what its asking for. When using the subtract command it asks for the object to subtract from(your beam), select that and hit enter. Then it will prompt you for object to subtract, click your pipe and hit enter.

[Oxygen454]

I am modeling one beam but the 3 beam selection not being a good idea is good to know.

 

My problem is still there. If I select and subtract the beam, then select and subtract the inside of the pipe, the pipe now disappears?

[Cad64]

You need to create a cylinder with a diameter that matches the inside diameter of your pipe. Move the cylinder into position so that it intersects the beam and is centered on the pipe. Then Subtract the cylinder from the beam.

[Oxygen454]

Tried that and it didnt work. Also I want to draw a pipe on the other side of the beam to make it look like the pipe is going straight through the I-beam. I can draw down the I beam from the one on the other side but, if I draw another pipe on the back side of the ibeam opposite to the pipe on the front side, the pipe extends or adds on to the pipe on the front side. help! lol

 

EDIT: Figured it out! The I-beam is drawn with two sides or two lines to form the I-beam, therefore, I hate to make a cylinder on one side and cut then on the other side, I had to make another cylinder and cut from the other side. Its like blasting through two walls.

 

 

(cut a hole through a wall at home, there is two layers of drywall, one on one side and one on the other)

 

Thanks for the tip on that one Cad64!

[Oxygen454]

Okay I forgot something here. I cut my hole in my middle beam, then made two more beams for the outside beams. Problem is, the outside beams are copied so they have holes in them too and they are not supposed to be haha. Is there a way to patch that or get ride of the hole? haha Call a welder! Oh wait that's me

Sk3D_4.dwgFetching info...

[nocturne00]

LOL;

 

just extrude a cylinder on the hole and use UNION, or just UNI , then select your beam and the extruded cylinder. dont forget to onsnap the top and bottom face of the cylinder to the hole.

[ReMark]

If you have a hole where one is no longer needed you can use the Move Faces command and move the hole off the beam. Once you do, it disappears. Or, as stated above, just fill the hole with a cylinder to match.

[shift1313]

is your beam not a solid? Subtracting a pipe from in should put a hole all the way through if your pipe went all the way through.

 

Also when you use subtract. whatever part you are using for the subtraction will completely disapear as autocad subtracts it entirely and any part which it intersects with your "subtract from" part.

[Oxygen454]

  ReMark said:

If you have a hole where one is no longer needed you can use the Move Faces command and move the hole off the beam. Once you do, it disappears. Or, as stated above, just fill the hole with a cylinder to match.

 

It appears that when I type move faces, the command in CAD2004 is unrecognized?

 

**I extruded a cylinder and then typed union. The hole is now gone, thanks!**

[ReMark]

Look under Modify > Solid editing. Is it there?

[Oxygen454]

Yep its there, I must have been doing something wrong. Thanks, will try it after work. :wink:

[ReMark]

Try looking on the Solid Editing toolbar too. You should have it on your desktop when using 3D. Comes in handy.

[Oxygen454]

Now Im trying to slice out a piece on the end of the I-Beam but it wont slice. If I look at the polyline that I made for a slicing path... it is in mid air beside the I-Beam? How do you slice something like a I-beam from the side? Im lost on this lol

[nocturne00]

Did you establish at least a point for ONSNAP on where to slice the object?

like the end of a polyline placed on the I BEAM just as a guide, or a point.

[Oxygen454]

ya I put a poly line on the bottom edge of the beam and tried cutting with Object, z,x and 3 point and non worked. The poly line I made was along the bottom of the ibeam and then back on a 35 deg or so angle.