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View Full Version : twist in slice (face) through solid



bopeep
2010-08-30, 02:54 AM
Is there any way to make a non-planar slice through a solid? I need it to rotate through a 5 degree twist as it slices. I am trying to cut a shape much like a watch gear, toothed on one side. There are 36 teeth on one end of a cylindrical sleeve that is closed on the other end. The top of each tooth would be separated by 10 degrees, with the bottom of the cut 5 degrees from each.

Failing to produce a solid that I can subtract from the tube by other means, I am hoping that the attached example will illustrate my problem. Some attempts are on layers that are turned off. For instance, I tried taking a 10 degree portion of the sleeve in the GearCut layer and then using two of the surfaces from the 2D layer to slice it. Any ideas?

Craig_L
2010-08-30, 03:07 AM
Try developing an extrusion that does the job of making the shape you wish to cut, so with your twisted tooth shape, you should be able to draw up a solid extrusion similar to that.

Then you just do a void by extrusion in your main object and insert your extrusion in place...should work but I'm making it sound easier than it will actually be

bopeep
2010-08-30, 06:45 AM
I tried extruding, but I run into the same variable profile issue. From the radius to the diameter, the profile changes from a line to a triangle. I could go from inside to outside diameters like the wedge/sleeve union in the GearCut layer, but even though both profiles are 2-dimensional, they vary with distance from origin.

If I were to approximate a 5 degree tooth segment with a wedge and repeat it (alternating the wedge direction) 36 times, is there a smoothing function for the inside and outside diameter? This is only a drawing and not a CNC machine control, so close is good as long as it doesn't look like discrete edges.