Chapter 8 Creating and Working with Solid Model Features
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PROFESSIONAL TIP PROFESSIONAL TIP
To quickly create a straight section of pipe, draw a donut with the correct ID and OD
of the pipe. Then, use the
Properties
palette to give the donut a thickness equal to the
length of the section you are creating. Finally, use the
CONVTOSOLID
command to
turn the donut into a solid.
Slicing a Solid Slicing a Solid
A 3D solid can be sliced at any location by using existing objects such as circles,
arcs, ellipses, 2D polylines, 2D splines, or surfaces. Why slice a solid? To create complex,
angular, contoured, or organic shapes that traditionally cannot be created by just using
solids. Good modeling techniques incorporate slicing of solids. For example, think of
a computer mouse. This would be diffi cult to create with solids. But, you can create a
basic solid shape, then slice the solid using contoured surfaces as slicing tools. After
slicing the solid, you can choose to retain either or both sides of the model. The slices
can then be used for model construction or display and presentation purposes.
The
SLICE
command is used to slice solids. When the command is initiated, you
are asked to select the solids to be sliced. Select the objects and press [Enter]. Next, you
must defi ne the slicing path. The default method of defi ning a path requires you to
specify two points on a slicing plane. The plane passes through the two points and is
perpendicular to the XY plane of the current UCS. Refer to Figure 8-23 as you follow
this sequence:
1. Select the command and pick the object to be sliced.
2. Pick the start point of the slicing plane. See Figure 8-23A.
3. Pick the second point on the slicing plane.
4. You are prompted to specify a point on the desired side to keep. Select anywhere
on the back half of the object. The point does not have to be on the object. It must
simply be on the side of the cutting plane that you want to keep.
5. The object is sliced and the front half is deleted. See Figure 8-23B.
SLICE
Ribbon
Solid
Solid Editing
Slice
Type
SLICE
Pick midpoints
A
B
Figure 8-23.
Slicing a solid by
picking two points.
A—Select two points
on the cutting plane.
The plane passes
through these points
and is perpendicular
to the XY plane of
the current UCS. B—
The sliced solid.