Method for newbie

[dchurch]

I've been using Atom for the past week, watching tutorials... I'm having trouble creating this basic oval container type shape (image). I need to create dozens of these in slightly different shapes and sizes on a regular basis, so I'm hoping to find the most efficient way to CAD this.

Will more experience users please lay out the steps you would use for creating this type of model?

*This is 3D print model that I have created with other software and a different set of tools.
Thanks, Dave

 

[Ken226]

My first thought would be to create a section profile and and a sweep path:



Since the sweep path is an ellipse, the case/bottle will have to be left open at the bottom (for now) to prevent the profile from self intersecting. If you are curious as to what this self intersect thing means: https://www.alibre.com/forum/index....error-wire_x_axis-wire-intersects-axis.24667/


Then do a sweep:


Next, Id try something like a loft, then a fillet to create the bottom:


and another loft/remove to hollow out the lofted bottom. Or perhaps a shell.







Or, on second thought. If I use a really small ellipse a the bottom and positioned on the inside of the profile, I can eliminate the possibility of a self intersect:




And have a much smaller hole to fill in on the bottom. Which can be done with a simple extrude boss:

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

Idk if Alibre Atom has loft ability, but in Alibre Design I would do a single oval and a single 3d point (offset as far off center as needed) and loft between them with a tangent value. Then shell. That depends on what you are going for. Ken has a good option if there is a flat instead of a point.

 

[Ken226]

I'm pretty sure Atom has loft. At least, the pic of the Atom ribbon from Alibre's website shows a loft button.

 

[Ken226]

Idk if Alibre Atom has loft ability, but in Alibre Design I would do a single oval and a single 3d point (offset as far off center as needed) and loft between them with a tangent value. Then shell. That depends on what you are going for. Ken has a good option if there is a flat instead of a point.

That worked quite well. Even easier and faster than using a sweep.

 

[pridbor]

As a Sculptor, I find the Shape of the item in the original post absolutely beautiful!

The following is not critically meant but rather an attempt to find a way to create more organic shapes like his in a faithful manner.

From the images of your suggested methods of creating his shape, I find it difficult to see that the top shape is indeed oval. It looks circular to me. It, the top, is also smaller in "diameter" than the "body" of the shape. For example, if you were cutting a piece off an egg, and e.g., making it oval by cutting it at an angle,

Poorly described, I know, but I hope that you get my meaning. I would think that the profile method would render the shape the best, but for the "intersecting issue, which I have to figure out by following your link, and also, I don't know if the sweep can sweep to something, the top, that's not a circle.

Or should I have said "revolve" instead of sweep?

Or maybe lofting if one can place oval shapes in a manner that renders a smooth shape.

I find this challenge very interesting to get a solution to for my kind of work.

Note. It might be interesting if he could tell how he did it in another tool.

Preben

 

[Ken226]

As a Sculptor, I find the Shape of the item in the original post absolutely beautiful!

The following is not critically meant but rather an attempt to find a way to create more organic shapes like his in a faithful manner.

From the images of your suggested methods of creating his shape, I find it difficult to see that the top shape is indeed oval. It looks circular to me. It, the top, is also smaller in "diameter" than the "body" of the shape. For example, if you were cutting a piece off an egg, and e.g., making it oval by cutting it at an angle,

Poorly described, I know, but I hope that you get my meaning. I would think that the profile method would render the shape the best, but for the "intersecting issue, which I have to figure out by following your link, and also, I don't know if the sweep can sweep to something, the top, that's not a circle.

Or should I have said "revolve" instead of sweep?

Or maybe lofting if one can place oval shapes in a manner that renders a smooth shape.

I find this challenge very interesting to get a solution to for my kind of work.

Note. It might be interesting if he could tell how he did it in another tool.

Preben

Yea, I see what your saying.

The top shape is hard to show, since a circle held at an angle is an ellipse. But, turned face-on, it's more clear. I made the ellipse much more pronounced, to make it harder to confuse with a circle, given the limitations of a 2d screen that lacks depth. A top down view makes it impossible to confuse with a circle:




But those examples were just quick n easy examples. If one were to spend a little more time at it, getting the shaper closer to his examples is just a matter of adjusting the tangency values in the loft:

Here I added a 2nd lofted section to more closely exemplify the portion of the body that is larger in diameter than the opening, and changed the tangency values to more closely resemble the pics.

 

[Ken226]

Since the CAD screenshots don't do the organic shape justice, here is Keyshot's take on it. In Paramount3d's Iron Red.

 

[HaroldL]

@Ken226, I think you've got the right steps for @dchurch to follow in making his part. IF Atom has Shell then I would suggest using single entity sketches to make them simpler and easier to control when changing sizes. Then use Shell to define the wall thickness.

I'd upload the model but I have Expert and don't think Atom could open the file. But here's a screen shot.



And here's the Loft:

 

[dchurch]

Thank you all for your insight. Yes, the model comprises an oval in each axel cross section (x,y,z).

 

[pridbor]

Great!

I will play around with this idea to learn to use Alibre a bit more than I do.

BTW does anybody know when Alibre was offered the first time? I stumbled on a design I had done back in 2007.

Thanks, gents

Preben

 

[HaroldL]

Here's the model in my posted screen shots of if anyone wants to see how it was modeled.

BTW does anybody know when Alibre was offered the first time? I stumbled on a design I had done back in 2007.

I have a v5.0 installation CD that has a copyright date of 2002 on it.

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

1999

 

[pridbor]

Here's the model in my posted screen shots of if anyone wants to see how it was modeled.

Great, thanks!

While trying to make this shape, I tried a Loft I thought should work but didn't.

Three planes, like in your examples, with a point in each end plane and an oval in the middle.

It came up with an "invalid body result" message. I wanted to play with the Tangency at both ends of the shape.

Any idea why? Replacing the point with a tiny circle made a shape, but won't let me do the tangent thing.

Just playing around, so there is no urgency

Thanks for the help with the shape, it's a really beautiful design to my eyes.

Preben

 

[Ken226]

Great, thanks!

While trying to make this shape, I tried a Loft I thought should work but didn't.

Three planes, like in your examples, with a point in each end plane and an oval in the middle.

It came up with an "invalid body result" message. I wanted to play with the Tangency at both ends of the shape.

Any idea why? Replacing the point with a tiny circle made a shape, but won't let me do the tangent thing.

Just playing around, so there is no urgency

Thanks for the help with the shape, it's a really beautiful design to my eyes.

Preben

Upload the file.

My first thought would be the additional points, perhaps. You should only need a point at the bottom. Or, perhaps you was trying something different than the examples above?

It sounds like maybe you were trying something like this:

 

[HaroldL]

Great, thanks!

While trying to make this shape, I tried a Loft I thought should work but didn't.

Three planes, like in your examples, with a point in each end plane and an oval in the middle.

It came up with an "invalid body result" message. I wanted to play with the Tangency at both ends of the shape.

Any idea why? Replacing the point with a tiny circle made a shape, but won't let me do the tangent thing.

Just playing around, so there is no urgency

Thanks for the help with the shape, it's a really beautiful design to my eyes.

Preben

I tried just editing the end sketch to replace the oval with a Point but that failed. I then deleted the Loft and recreated it by selecting the top Point, middle Sketch, and bottom Point in the work area and got a preview. I then applied the Tangency parameters and got this result.

 

[pridbor]

Yes, I was trying a slightly different approach where I had hoped to generate a complete Elliptical body in both dimensions, as you both have done, but I failed.
I would thereafter have cut a portion away from the top and then shell.

I just found out that I used points within the sketch and not the one next to Plane and Axis.

Thanks both, for the insights, and I shall continue playing around.

Preben

 

[HaroldL]

Have you seen this sample part in the Knowledge Base?

Articles

help.alibre.com

 

[Ken226]

Have you seen this sample part in the Knowledge Base?

Articles

help.alibre.com

I've never seen that before, but that is very cool.

And very easy!

 

[pridbor]

Nope! Great link! Have been playing around with, and have started to get an appreciation for, the point insertion

That brings me to the related question, which is why I logged in now, namely, is there a way to download the help document?

Thanks!!!

Preben