Help needed - Calculating internal volume of a speaker cabinet

[KEtheredge87]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to Alibre - coming from Fusion360 and I'm trying to understand the right way to calculate the internal volume of a speaker cabinet. In Fusion, I would use their create a body feature using extruded parts, reference planes, and surfaces to generate a 3D volume of the cabinet, minus any internal volumes belonging to braces or loudspeaker motors. I am trying to do this in Alibre with a top-down design approach, but I don't think the assembly boolean tool is working how I thought it might. I keep getting error messages saying that the assembly boolean can't be completed. Can anyone offer some tips to help me get this process down?

Thanks in advance!

 

[HaroldL]

I am trying to do this in Alibre with a top-down design approach, but I don't think the assembly boolean tool is working how I thought it might. I keep getting error messages saying that the assembly boolean can't be completed. Can anyone offer some tips to help me get this process down?

Can you explain the steps you have taken to create the assembly boolean?

Others may have a different approach but I don't think you can select the walls of the cavity and measure the volume. But you may be able to create a solid block with Insert>New Part. Then create the block in the assembly context, using the existing model edges to constrain the sketch to define the shape and extrude to the correct depth. Once the new part is done you can use the Physical Properties to get the volume. It's not the easiest or cleanest way but it may get you what you need.

 

[KEtheredge87]

Can you explain the steps you have taken to create the assembly boolean?

Hi Harold. I'll give it a try.

A potentially important detail... both of the models for the loudspeaker drivers were originally made in Fusion360 and exported from there as STEP files. I imported them to Alibre, and I think they came out ok... but I have no real idea if the models are healthy at a level where a boolean function would care.

My first failed attempt at the assembly boolean followed the Fusion360 mentality just to see if it worked. I selected all the components that would enclose the volume I cared about as "blanks", then I used the two drivers as tools. Suffice to say it did not work.

My second failed attempt came in two parts. Part one was creating a model of the gross volume inside the cabinet space using a few solid extrusions and an assembly boolean of those. That bit did work, but it only represented the gross volume, not the net volume after removing the volume of the loudspeaker motors. Part two was attempting another assembly boolean from the individual solids from the gross volume boolean and the speaker driver STEP files in the hope I could create a net volume boolean object from those. I tried to use the gross volume solids as the blank, and the two drivers as the tools, but it wasn't successful. See my attempt in this youtube video. Any tips based on what I've shown you?

 

[KEtheredge87]

I just realized that Windows was only capturing the base Alibre window, not any of the additional pop-up menu windows. That's less than helpful, but I explained what I was going for in the text. please let me know if it's not clear.

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

I think it must have to do with the parts being imported because a simple test using Alibre made parts seems to do what you want following your description.
I would try importing your parts again using 'Import Advisor' and then try it again using any suggestions the Import Advisor has.

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help.alibre.com

 

[KEtheredge87]

I think it must have to do with the parts being imported because a simple test using Alibre made parts seems to do what you want following your description.
I would try importing your parts again using 'Import Advisor' and then try it again using any suggestions the Import Advisor has.

Articles

help.alibre.com

Thanks Nate, I suspect you are correct. I used the Import Advisor as you suggested, and it did show some errors in the geometry conversions. On the other hand, it's nice to know that feature exists, and it's also nice to know you tried some native Alibre geometry like that and had success. Gives me confidence I can achieve my goals on future projects. I don't really want to re-model those two loudspeaker drivers from the ground up again just for this project. The imported STEPs get the job done of looking the part inside the assembly.