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Attaching a weldment to a flexed surface

Question asked by Marc Weersink on Jan 9, 2016
Latest reply on Jan 11, 2016 by Marc Weersink

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Hey,

First time poster on here. I am trying to get some good drawings of a part that I have physically made. I am using the flex feature to create a 90 degree helix between two trimming planes - all is good here. However, I am having a nightmare trying to figure out how to attach the middle weldment onto the flexed surface (either before or after). In reality I am able to grind the small 'branch' attachment down on an angle, add more weld than necessary, and then grind that down smooth.

I'm not too worried about the lower and upper branches because I can attach those on after the flex has taken place. Also, the interior curve of the weldment on the top and bottom are slightly chamfered after the flex. Any and all help is very much appreciated!

Thanks,

Marc

Kevin Chandler Jan 10, 2016 11:54 AM

Correct Answer

Hello,

A question or two:

1) The lower and middle branches are distorted, but not the upper. Your post states the lower & upper are after the flex.

Is the lower branch supposed to be distorted? Are any of them?

I suspect the top of the lower is within the Flex region while the upper is complete above it. I think this is why the middle is bent more than the lower.

2) I don't use Flex much, but for your trunk, why not use a Swept Extrude instead (especially if none of the branches are to get flexed)?

Use your tube profile with a 90° helix for the path (regular extrudes above & below the twisting). Much simpler to implement and maintain (IMHO).

I'm at home right now so I'm running only eDrawings, so I don't have your branch build history to review, so bear with me:

1) Create a sketch plane 45° to the trunk face.

2) For the upper & lower: Extrude your tube profile with an end condition up to surface, selecting the trunk face. Dim to locate and, if necessary use cuts to trim to length.

3) For the middle branch, it's the same as the others, but the sketch is also 45° to the trunk axis,

If you want to stick with Flex, flex the trunk only, create a sketch for each branch (one line only per sketch, running the length of any of the branch's edges) and use these to create a SW weldment part with the branches as structural members, trimming/extending the branches to meet the twisted trunk face,

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Kevin

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twist.zip949.1 KB

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Kevin Chandler Jan 10, 2016 11:54 AM

Hello,

A question or two:

1) The lower and middle branches are distorted, but not the upper. Your post states the lower & upper are after the flex.

Is the lower branch supposed to be distorted? Are any of them?

I suspect the top of the lower is within the Flex region while the upper is complete above it. I think this is why the middle is bent more than the lower.

2) I don't use Flex much, but for your trunk, why not use a Swept Extrude instead (especially if none of the branches are to get flexed)?

Use your tube profile with a 90° helix for the path (regular extrudes above & below the twisting). Much simpler to implement and maintain (IMHO).

I'm at home right now so I'm running only eDrawings, so I don't have your branch build history to review, so bear with me:

1) Create a sketch plane 45° to the trunk face.

2) For the upper & lower: Extrude your tube profile with an end condition up to surface, selecting the trunk face. Dim to locate and, if necessary use cuts to trim to length.

3) For the middle branch, it's the same as the others, but the sketch is also 45° to the trunk axis,

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Kevin

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Marc Weersink @ Kevin Chandler on Jan 11, 2016 3:19 AM

Thanks Kevin. I ended going with the sweep feature and combining it with weldments above and below. I can already see the parameters being easier to edit for future uses than the flex feature.

I do have an issue with the middle branch still. I am not quite sure how to align the edges of the weldment with the edges of the swept helix. So in the new file attached, I have rotated the branch weldment to best align itself with the sweep and then extended it. Since a weldment won't extend to the sweep feature, I had to extend it to the combined part. But this sends the square profile straight up while ignoring the twist and cuts notches into the middle branch weldment.

Any ideas on how to approach this? Maybe convert entities of weldment, project onto surface of sweep, loft those two profiles, and join it back to the middle branch?

Thanks again,

Marc

Attachments

Trinity coat rack.SLDPRT.zip321.3 KB

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Glenn Schroeder @ Marc Weersink on Jan 11, 2016 8:03 AM

Marc,

How's this? I assume that you won't actually be cutting the small pieces to meet the radius of the Sweep like the top and bottom pieces, so I just extended it, then cut it at 45°. I assume that's how the coat rack will be fabricated in the real world.

Attachments

Trinity coat rack, Glenn.SLDPRT.zip333.1 KB

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Kevin Chandler @ Marc Weersink on Jan 11, 2016 8:14 AM

Hello,

I think the trunk twist is throwing the trim/extend for a loop, probably because wlements' world normally planar faces.

I suspended the weldment trim (you can delete it now). It reverts to an extended tube.

I then created an offset surface (w/zero offset) and then did an extend surface (the trunk face ends at the radius corners, so we need to widen the surface so the entire profile has a landing strip for the subsequent extrude).

I converted the entities on the end of the middle branch and did an extrude up to the extended surface. It's merged.

I hid the extend surface (don't suppress it, else SW complains) to remove it visually (the extended surface gloms the offset surface, so you don't have to also hide it).

Incidentally, you have two equations with errors (open Manage Equations and click the left button at the top for the view that displays them).

Cheers,

Kevin

Attachments

Trinity coat rack-kpc.zip368.6 KB

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Marc Weersink @ Kevin Chandler on Jan 11, 2016 6:15 PM

Kevin, this is wonderful. I really appreciate the clarity and advice in you responses. It's good to know that this community exists, and I'll contribute what I can in the future.

Glen, Thanks for your help with this one as well. In the real world the piece is cut at a 45 and then you grind it on a compound angle to best match the surface on the twist, add more weld than you need, and then grind it down to make as smooth a surface as possible.

Thanks again,

Marc

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5 Replies

Kevin Chandler Jan 10, 2016 11:54 AM
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Correct Answer
Hello,

A question or two:
1) The lower and middle branches are distorted, but not the upper. Your post states the lower & upper are after the flex.
Is the lower branch supposed to be distorted? Are any of them?
I suspect the top of the lower is within the Flex region while the upper is complete above it. I think this is why the middle is bent more than the lower.

2) I don't use Flex much, but for your trunk, why not use a Swept Extrude instead (especially if none of the branches are to get flexed)?
Use your tube profile with a 90° helix for the path (regular extrudes above & below the twisting). Much simpler to implement and maintain (IMHO).

I'm at home right now so I'm running only eDrawings, so I don't have your branch build history to review, so bear with me:
1) Create a sketch plane 45° to the trunk face.
2) For the upper & lower: Extrude your tube profile with an end condition up to surface, selecting the trunk face. Dim to locate and, if necessary use cuts to trim to length.
3) For the middle branch, it's the same as the others, but the sketch is also 45° to the trunk axis,

If you want to stick with Flex, flex the trunk only, create a sketch for each branch (one line only per sketch, running the length of any of the branch's edges) and use these to create a SW weldment part with the branches as structural members, trimming/extending the branches to meet the twisted trunk face,

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Kevin
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- Marc Weersink @ Kevin Chandler on Jan 11, 2016 3:19 AM
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  Correct Answer
  Thanks Kevin. I ended going with the sweep feature and combining it with weldments above and below. I can already see the parameters being easier to edit for future uses than the flex feature.
  
  I do have an issue with the middle branch still. I am not quite sure how to align the edges of the weldment with the edges of the swept helix. So in the new file attached, I have rotated the branch weldment to best align itself with the sweep and then extended it. Since a weldment won't extend to the sweep feature, I had to extend it to the combined part. But this sends the square profile straight up while ignoring the twist and cuts notches into the middle branch weldment.
  
  Any ideas on how to approach this? Maybe convert entities of weldment, project onto surface of sweep, loft those two profiles, and join it back to the middle branch?
  
  Thanks again,
  Marc
  Attachments
  - Trinity coat rack.SLDPRT.zip321.3 KB
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  - Glenn Schroeder @ Marc Weersink on Jan 11, 2016 8:03 AM
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    Correct Answer
    Marc,
    
    How's this? I assume that you won't actually be cutting the small pieces to meet the radius of the Sweep like the top and bottom pieces, so I just extended it, then cut it at 45°. I assume that's how the coat rack will be fabricated in the real world.
    Attachments
    Trinity coat rack, Glenn.SLDPRT.zip333.1 KB
    Like • Show 0 Likes0
    Actions
  - Kevin Chandler @ Marc Weersink on Jan 11, 2016 8:14 AM
    Mark Correct
    Correct Answer
    Hello,
    
    I think the trunk twist is throwing the trim/extend for a loop, probably because wlements' world normally planar faces.
    
    I suspended the weldment trim (you can delete it now). It reverts to an extended tube.
    I then created an offset surface (w/zero offset) and then did an extend surface (the trunk face ends at the radius corners, so we need to widen the surface so the entire profile has a landing strip for the subsequent extrude).
    I converted the entities on the end of the middle branch and did an extrude up to the extended surface. It's merged.
    I hid the extend surface (don't suppress it, else SW complains) to remove it visually (the extended surface gloms the offset surface, so you don't have to also hide it).
    
    Incidentally, you have two equations with errors (open Manage Equations and click the left button at the top for the view that displays them).
    
    Cheers,
    
    Kevin
    Attachments
    Trinity coat rack-kpc.zip368.6 KB
    Like • Show 0 Likes0
    Actions
    - Marc Weersink @ Kevin Chandler on Jan 11, 2016 6:15 PM
      Mark Correct
      Correct Answer
      Kevin, this is wonderful. I really appreciate the clarity and advice in you responses. It's good to know that this community exists, and I'll contribute what I can in the future.
      
      Glen, Thanks for your help with this one as well. In the real world the piece is cut at a 45 and then you grind it on a compound angle to best match the surface on the twist, add more weld than you need, and then grind it down to make as smooth a surface as possible.
      
      Thanks again,
      Marc
      Like • Show 0 Likes0
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