Creating a solid around a complex IGES femur model...

[jdoggk40]

I have a complex IGES model of the human femur, and I'm trying to surround it with an object (i.e. a cylinder) to represent the skin. The IGES part has two layers (an inner to represent bone marrow and the outer layer of bone) and I can not figure out how to combine a solid object with the femur. The femur needs to be subtracted from the object somehow, but being new to Solidworks, I'm not sure how to go about doing this.

Thanks,
Jesse

 

[Theophilus]

Wow, where to start?

First, is your IGES file a solid or simply an inner and outer surface? If only a surface file, you can perform a knit or offset operation (zero offset) and choose Try to Form a Solid in the Feature menu--work with the outer surface. If it's already a solid, you're ready to go.

Create a new assembly. Insert your imported IGES model. Insert your "object" or skin model into the assembly, and constrain with proper mates. Set your "object" part within the assembly to Edit. Select Insert > Feature > Cavity (or similar--doing this from memory) and chose your femur model as your tool to create the cavity. You probably don't want any scaling done, so make sure you have a 1:1 ratio (100% or 1.000 size--however it's noted). You'll probably need the femur model to be a solid for this to work, but it may function OK with only a single, closed surface. The femur volume should be subtracted from your "object" part.


Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reality is no respecter of good intentions.