Constrain a sweep array in a family.

[pimpeters]

I'm trying to make a "sandwich panel"

I have made a family that holds the panel and i have made a family with profile that has to be cut out of it. I nested the profile in to the panel family and made an array as discribed in this topic. (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=75672)

I succeeded in everything except of keeping the array constraint to the spacing dimension that determines the space from the top and bottom of the panel.

I added the family so you can take a look for yourself.

[Andre Carvalho]

I'm trying to make a "sandwich panel"

I have made a family that holds the panel and i have made a family with profile that has to be cut out of it. I nested the profile in to the panel family and made an array as discribed in this topic. (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=75672)

I succeeded in everything except of keeping the array constraint to the spacing dimension that determines the space from the top and bottom of the panel.

I added the family so you can take a look for yourself.

I just locked the profile to the reference plane before the void was cutting the model. Now it works.

See attached.

Andre Carvalho

[pimpeters]

Thanks Andre but that still doesn't fix the problem the array now moves with the top offset but it should stay between the two offset Refplanes, just as in the coat hook family from the topic i linked to.

edit: I also looked in the "Arraying Nested Subcomponents" tutorial from autodesk but there you fill in a number for the array end then all the dimensions are calculated. And i would like it the other way arround...

[Andre Carvalho]

Thanks Andre but that still doesn't fix the problem the array now moves with the top offset but it should stay between the two offset Refplanes, just as in the coat hook family from the topic i linked to.

edit: I also looked in the "Arraying Nested Subcomponents" tutorial from autodesk but there you fill in a number for the array end then all the dimensions are calculated. And i would like it the other way arround...

Ok. Let me see if I understood you. See the attached corrected family.

Andre Carvalho

[pimpeters]

Andre thanks for helping mee again but it still isn't what i like to have.
Today i also tried allot and read some things but i still cant get it working.

I now have stripped the problem to only flexing the sweep array.
I have found out the following:

As you can see in the file "element.rfa" when I nest a beam or something like that and than constroin it to the offset ref planes. And than finaly make an array and constrain that again, it flexes fine. Just like I want it to.

Now in the second file "sweep.rfa" I did the same steps as in "element.rfa" but I took a void sweep insted of a beam. And know it gives a constrains error....

And the problem isn't that a void sweep can't be moved after it was created because it works fine before I make the array (with only one void sweep constrained to one offset reference)

So the problem is how do I get the void sweep array in "sweep.rfa" behave the same as the element array in the "element.rfa" file.

I hope you can help me.

edit: forgot the attachments

[Andre Carvalho]

OK. Now I think I know what you want:
You want to be able to control the offset from the edge and also the number of profiles in between, isn't it?

If that's what you want, see attached for corrected model.

The way i made it works was, again, locking the profiles before they become voids.

Let me know if this is what you want or if you still need me to take another look at it. However, as I can see, it is now behaving exactly as the example you uploaded on your last post. You can even add the height parameter if you want and it will work as well.

Andre Carvalho

[pimpeters]

Andre thanks allot again, the only thing I want different is that the bottom of the last sweep is alligned with the offset reference. But i'm sure I can fix that my self if I know how you made it work. If I understand you right you do it like this:

1. Make a solid sweep with the profile
2. Constrain the profile
3. Array the profile with the "last" option.
4. Constrain the last solid sweep of the array.
(I did this and it flexes just as I want to)
5. Make the solid into a void.....?
I can't find how to do that....

If you can only tell me that than your great ;-)

[pimpeters]

double post sorry

[Andre Carvalho]

5. Make the solid into a void.....?
I can't find how to do that....

If you can only tell me that than your great ;-)


edit: I know how to make a solid a void and the other way arround (in the element properties window) but I can't find how to do that whith the sweep...

If you create it as a solid and then you array, you can't turn it into a void anymore. You have to array the sweep already as a void, but not cutting anything. Then you align it and lock. After everything is locked, then you edit the group generated by the array and make the void cut the solid.

As a note, when you have a void that's not cutting anything and you copy it (or array), you will notice that it automatically will cut all the solids that it is intersecting. You have to edit it and select the "Don't cut" tool to make it as a void that's not cutting anything and therefore be able to align and lock.

Regards,

Andre Carvalho

[pimpeters]

Andre your great, thanks allot for the explanation :-D