Alibre There Eventually – Sort of

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I showed how to do the internal cavity in my second video yesterday by cutting it out of the single solid block, here it is again

David has said you don't have the rectangle from ctr in Atom that I do in Pro but has said how it can be overcome. I've said a number of times that I have Alibre Pro but try to use just Atom features where possible when showing you things but as I don't have Atom to directly compare with may include the odd option you do not have.

If you did it like I showed as a single part you would not be needing to worry about assemblies as much at this stage.

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

Nigel,

Your can mirror 3D Features within a part, there is also a tool to scale or mirror the complete part.

Feature Mirror and Part Mirror behave differently – it's important to choose the correct one.

Feature Mirror can add mirrored geometry into the part, whereas Part Mirror will create an 'opposite handed' version of the part (and the original handed part vanishes).

You can edit an existing sketch most reliably by right clicking its name in the Design Explorer (on left of screen), then choose Edit from the context menu. As you've found there are other ways to access an existing sketch.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Creating internal cavities is no different to external features; draw a 2D profile on a plane or face inside the part but extrude/revolve/etc it so it cuts the material away. There doesn't need to be 'access' from the outside. If you want the new feature to be centred inside the part, create a plane mid-way between the relevant faces. You don't measure or decide where in space it is, the computer can do that far better than you. That plane could even be used to divide the part into halves when the design is complete.

Once again, it is dodgy thinking that is causing all your problems and a mentor physically looking over your shoulder would nudge you onto the right track,

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Jason –

I had no great problem making the cavity in the slice like in your picture; maybe not in the most efficient way but it did work.

What I was unable to do, was stick the two slices together.

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Just looked, Dave –

Yes I see the sketch and model mirror types' difference.

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I think I see what you mean, Nick.

I'd envisaged that making the cavity on the complete block would have to done rather like sinking a blind screw-hole, from an outline circle on the face to be "drilled". I can do that as it is a nice simple cylinder, but this shape would not have worked like that. Or might but horrendously awkwardly.

I did not know you can Extrude Cut the middle of a solid. I had only known it as digging in from an external surface, like the drilled screw-hole.

Though also I don't know how to place an auxiliary plane within a figure, then using it. I tried that first step, experimenting with an existing model, but without success.

"dodgy thinking" ? Aye, it's called ignorance, inexperience and confusion. Plus being very slow to learn anything (that's always been so).

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

That is why I show sketching and then extruding equally each side of the plane, that way you don't have to place a new plane or join two parts together

The later part of yesterdays first video "half Crosshead" shows how to stick two halves together with basic constraints.

I have also shown that if you mirror the features of one of your "half parts" you will get a solid that you can cut the cavity from that just so happens to have a plane down the middle which is ideally placed to sketch the cavity shape onto..

Suggest you watch the last couple of days videos again, slow them down and watch what is being done then try it the way shown.

Edited By JasonB on 10/08/2023 07:14:54

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

Nigel,

Yes I see the sketch and model mirror types' difference.

There is also Sketch Mirror. I was particularly pointing out the different between

FEATURE mirror and PART mirror, both of which work on 3D geometry, rather than sketches.

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