Looking for Tip: Modeling Diamond Tread

[MadMango]

Those wonderful folks in Sales & Marketing...*sigh* would like to see a diamond tread part modeled with the actual diamond tread pattern. We don't have PhotoWorks, so are there any good methods out there to accomplish this? It's a big sheet metal part (32"x51&quot with formed edges on all sides.

Wanna Tip? faq731-376
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

 

[TheTick]

Just some ideas.....

My first impule would be to pattern it somehow. Perhaps a pattern of palette features?

Try to think of diamond plate as two separate criss-crossing patterns.

It may work better to make the beads as small components in an assembly and then trim, so you don't have issues with "spillover" of extra beads.

If you manage to convince marketing of their own inanity (or is it inaneness?), try to convince our sales guys of theirs, too.

There's no double-lock defense; there's no chain on my door.
And I'm available for consultation,
but remember your way in is also my way out

 

[DetroitPickles]

I agree with TheTick (again, since he types faster). I have done something sort of similar, but I made a seperate part. So, I would make a seperate part with the diamond pattern on it (base-extrude is 0.0001" thick, with appropriate height treads) that is a used as a dummy part. After populating the part with the treads, I inserted a cut that would be a bit smaller than the inside you have, so the overlaps would be more tidy. Unless of course the marketing Drones want the treads to go up the corners too.

Or my other option is, send the part to someone with PhotoWorks 2 and ask them to render is with a diamond pattern, if all you need is the one image, one time...

Mr. Pickles

 

[TheTick]

Sorry, Detroit.... I guess maybe I'm a hard core addict of the SW forum. I hope people aren't getting too tired of hearing from me. I've learned a lot, here.

 

[DetroitPickles]

TheTick,

No harm here. Just my wicked, no not wicked, that isn't the word, weird, that's it. Weird sense o' humor. I think everyone learns from this, whether they admit it or not.

More than one way to skin a cat, and SW is no different. For this here topic, you could put it all in one sketch, do a sketch pattern, do one tread piece and pattern, make one patterned piece and stick it on there, or my personal favorite, send it to someone to render for you. Heck, buy 'em lunch everytime. Price of PW includes many Big Macs and Fries. Hey, it's a geek treat.

And don't make fun of my town's lack of Sports ability.


Mr. Pickles

 

[TheTick]

re: Detroit sports

As someone who grew up in the shadow of Lambeau field, I know what it's like to wait a lifetime before the big one comes along.

Aw, man! You'd think there'd be at least one footbal emoticon in here!

 

[SBaugh]

I guess maybe I'm a hard core addict of the SW forum. I hope people aren't getting too tired of hearing from me. I've learned a lot, here.

Nah we aren't tired of hearing from you. I have been wondering something though....Do you just sit here at the site all day and push the f5 key?....or do you actual do some work at your company?...

Well keep up the good work and maybe you'll get my job some day...if you want it LOL "SW Tech Support" for a VAR of course.

,


Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376
When in doubt, always check the help

 

[MadMango]

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas. I basically told everyone they were , and that I would model diamond tread as soon as they stopped selling items in R&D as standard products.

When I get a chance, I'll try some of the above suggestions.

Wanna Tip? faq731-376
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

 

[TheTick]

You'd have to really know me to understand. I am getting more than my fair share of work done at my job. I work in a flurry of intense bursts and then need to let my brain cool for a few minutes. I find the forum is a great way to distract myself and still do something that is productive, educational, and helpful to others.

There's no double-lock defense; there's no chain on my door.
And I'm available for consultation,
but remember your way in is also my way out

 

[SBaugh]

I hear that!! That's the way I like to work! Work diligently for awhile, then have a cool down session.

Keep up the good work TheTick!

Best Regards,


Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376
When in doubt, always check the help

 

[Theophilus]

MadMango,

I've been planning to model an accurate diamond plate part for quite a while. I have PW2 and the diamond plate isn't quite right as a non-3D pattern. The shineys (marketing folk) really like the added zip of "real" stuff--lots of details for them to help sell all sorts of things that are nothing but "Hollywood" solids (a la R&D standard products).

Let me know if you get around to making a diamond plate part--I'd love to see it/use it/render it. (By the way, I could render it for you if that's all you need.)




Jeff Mowry
DesignHaus Industrial Design

http://www.designhaus-i-d.com

 

[TheTick]

One more idea for applying the diamond plate...

Instead of wasting hours trying to get it to fit just right on your parts, make one big huge giant diamondplate rectangle model. Then, mate it onto your parts' faces in an assembly and butcher it into submission with assembly cuts. The beauty is you can use the same diamondplate model for all the faces of your models.

 

[DetroitPickles]

Hey, isn't that sort of what I said in the 3rd post?

I didn't use the "butcher" word though...

Mr. Pickles

 

[TheTick]

Why so it is. Well, I'll make sure you get the royalties, Detroit.

 

[DetroitPickles]

Royalties? You get them? Dag-gum-it. I no get royalties. I must be doing something wrong...


Mr. Pickles

 

[APPENG]

Okay... heres something different...

if you dont have photoworks you can find a bitmap of a diamond tread and create a sketch on the top side of the plate and insert that picture into the sketch by using TOOLS/SKETCHTOOLS/INSERT PICTURE... its not PhotoWorks but its close enough...

just a thought



Regards,
Jon
jgbena@yahoo.com

 

[MadMango]

I had a chance to play with things, here are my findings.

Creating linear patterns of features in a part is a painfulling slow process and yields a long rebuild time. Not a solution for someone with deadlines, but might be good if you had a quantum computer.

Creating a base part of a 48"x72" sheet of raw material with a diamond pattern, then hacking that to form the various sides of your finished part was very clumsy. The main disadvantage is that you cannot add sheet metal bends at the end of the day, and trying to model bend radii doesn't work.

Creating a multi-body model of only 2 diamonds, then inserting that into an assembly with your sheet metal part works good. Then you can use Component Pattern to cover your part faces, inserting the diamond and patterning as required for various faces. The only draw back is you don't get the diamonds on your bend radii, and if you have cut-outs in your part, you have to trim those diamonds with Assembly Cuts. Rebuild wasn't that bad.

I still think PW is the solution for most applications.

My part was 32x48, with 1650 diamonds.

Wanna Tip? faq731-376
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

 

[TheTick]

Thanks for the follow-up.