Need help using Loft of Sweep tool

[paul.hammond708466]

Hi all, Neebie here, and not that experienced with Inventor.
Learning on the job with assistance of on-line resources and a lot of trial and error.

Please see the attached – the part I am building is a bumper which ultimately will be moulded in foam. In the interim, when this part is finished, I want to make a split mould for it and 3D print it to then reinforce it with GRP.

The problem I have is to achieve the end section shown in the photo.
You will see I have used a 3D Intersection, but even that doesn’t extend far enough to line up with the outside edge.
My most troubling problem is do I use the Sweep or Loft command to get the end shape ? I think they should offer the correct end result if I can just work out how to use it in this applicaiton.
The Loft Command seems near, but I get an error message – ‘The input sections resulted in the creation of a non-manifold. Use Sketch or Edit Feature to change the feature definition’.
Any ideas would be gratefully received.

[Pierre Marcotte]

My 2 cents: I would use surfaces to start this part, then make a solid out of them.
Sometimes users want to get to an exact certain shape by adding features, when it might be more convenient to "overshoot" the part shape and trim down using other tools.
Am I making sense?

[punisher]

Hey Paul,
Pierre is right here. Surfaces are the way to go. A solid followed by trimming surfaces would be ok if the part were a single body; if multiple bodies, then a surface build-up will probably suit you better.

Think of how you might manufacture the piece: you'd take an extruded section, and cut off the ends up to a projected shape (profile).
You can create a solid (or surface) that is revolved about an axis, or swept along a reference centerline.
Then create a surface along the cut profile on the end(s) and then use those two with trim solid (or surface). Think of the trimming surface like a bandsaw blade cut.

If your shape gets funky, then surfaces will come into play.