Sheet metal and thicken

[PaulnKY]

I have a large table driven assembly. I am making the parts using 2 extruded surfaces, a surface loft between them, knit, thicken and insert bends.

The problem I am having is that the direction of the thicken keeps flipping on pieces. I can't find any pattern to it. pieces will change the direction of thicken on one update and not on another.

Any ideas?

 

[TheTick]

I don't know how SW decides "which way is up" when determining a surface normal. Apparently, something causes SW to change its mind.

Does the surface shift position w.r.t. origin in different configs?

 

[dezignstuff]

First, I'd report this as a bug. Stuff doesn't get fixed unless you send it in.

It sounds like you're leaving an end of a box open, where the box was created by surfaces. What if you just close the box, knit to a solid, and then shell?

matt

 

[PaulnKY]

Tick, with respect to the origin I would say yes. The top plane is the top surface of the assenbly and no material should be above this plane. When the thicken flips, there is one metal thickness above the plane.

 

[PaulnKY]

Well the problem is fixed. Guess what the problem was?

It was either video card, RAM or both.

I put in two more GIGs of RAM for 3 GIGs total and swapped out the video card for one that is more application specific and the thickness flipping went away.

We have a real video card coming, the local shop had to order it.