Another Odd request

[Vinnie4]

I have found it useful to model engravings (routed signage) in Sw for customers who lack vision. Currently this can be a long process Creating paths and Profiles then using cut sweep. It seems to me there must be some way to creat a macro or feature that I could use similar to the welment tools where I draw my paths and then select my profile then click lines then SW will create planes and locate the profile then do the sweep. I am thinking there may be something I could change that would tell weldments to cut-extrude rather then extrude?!?!? Maybe? anyone??

I could see this being useful in many machining applications from milling to even etching with lasers

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

You mean like engraved/etched/embossed logos or text?

 

[Vinnie4]

Yes More so engraving
.I draw the center line of the router path and then the profile of the bit and this could be for text or design but rarely is it just using a fonted text style

 

[Theophilus]

Well, if nothing else, you could probably draw your various path elements and then connect them together with the Fit Spline feature within a sketch. At least that would form a single entity to use as a sweep path. Beyond that, I don't have any great time-saving ideas.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Are you creating sweeps just to create the engraving in SW or for the CAM/engraving machine?

The reason I ask is that there may be simpler ways to produce the engraved form. Hard to say without seeing some typical examples of the shapes and depths though. Some CAM machines will plot the required paths to produce the engraving.

 

[Vinnie4]

I am creating the sweeps.

Typically I have a Dxf of just paths/Tool Center Lines depending on which tool I plan to use I have different progile sketches. I create 1 Plae per path start and then paste a copy of the profile sketech on the new plane then I do a Cut sweep. If I need to show the visual difference between router bits I create a second file and change the profile sketches.

What would be nice is if I could find a way that works similar to weldment then I would have a library of profiles I could click the path SW would create the plane and run the groove and if I needed to change tool I could change it one a drop down and poof done.

A little backgound....

See during the day my full time job I create a lot of weldments and when the material sizes change I can just click and rebuild. I was trying to illustrate one of my side pieces for a customer with no vision so I drew it up in SW and Voila now everyone wants to see renderings before hand. I an lousy at drawing with a mouse except in SW thanks to constraints and now I am at the point where I dont really need to spend hours definie planes and creating sweeps and frankly I have a limited amount of freetime during the day to do this.

 

[EEnd]

Hmm, could you use the weldment tools to create the material removed by the cutter and then subtract that from the other part to get the desired result?

Eric