Recent content by steveastro

I COULD, but I was trying to avoid that, to ensure complete synchronisation with the underlying image.

I am trying to use a traced, scaled image as the basis to build multiple components for a boat model. I can create a tracing image in a new assembly. My plan had been to create a part in the assembly, then edit the part within the assembly, and trace it off the tracing image. When I try though...

Ah ! No, but that looks like make the sort of approach I was thinking of. Thanks Stefan.

Whilst the conversation is interesting and informative, its seems to me, that the simplest way to do this would be a mechanism to automatically use a master sketch as the foundation for the works on the part, and there doesn't appear to be a mechanism for it.

Revolves are my preferred way of working with parts like this. I find it easy to visualise.

I too find it a PITA when the origin of a new part is displaced like this, but it seems fundamental to the arrangement of parts in an assembly that stays properly constrained.

Yes, Top Down, there is a complex optical layout which affects the relative positions of the lens, mirrors and focal plane of the system, and which is spreadsheet driven.

I've attached what is a special lens cell for an optical project. If someone would like to look, at its heart is a sketch tied to a 2D arrangement of lenses tipped and shifted to each other. There is no single rotation of cut that would make this, so the second and third sketches are rotated...

Section view of corrector assembly

Will look at your suggestions. Thanks. Never have got to grips with "topology pattern" - now might be the time ! I tried a large sketch, and I tried feature pattern. I think there is probably a sweet spot somewhere, but I didnt find it. I also tried removing all the consraints in the sketches...

We had a smaller part (this is part of a family) made last week very economically with a fibre laser. The laser was running at 400 IPS. Each part which you can reckon being 9 x12 " or so, took less than 10 minutes. The final profile for the part ran at 1200 IPS. The final cost of the part was...

Hi Lew Here's a sample of the piece.Its only a small sample. The mesh has to be in-phase across all the filled pockets, so I have made a piece of hex material as a separate part which I cut out with a sketch of all the pocket outlines, then boolean unite into the model of the part.

I have a sheet metal part which, when its finished, will be perforated with 6.5mm AF hexagonal mesh - the part is fairly big, about 450mm x 450mm, and my mesh keeps breaking Alibre to the point of crashing. How can I improve the performance ?I've tried to use more sketches of meshes, and fewer...

Harold, I didn't realise unbend was as useful as you show it ! Lew, thanks, I'll play with Harold's files and see if that fixes my current issue. Steve

Are there any decent tutorials on using the Sheet metal tools ? I have a part with a long edge (say 150mm) from which I need to have two narrower flanges, say 25mm long each, one 20mm from one end of the long edge, the other 60mm from the same edge. Every time I have made a flange and then...