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Using the Intersect Feature

Question asked by Matt Lombard on Mar 20, 2018
Latest reply on Mar 21, 2018 by Matt Lombard

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Does anybody have any real world project where you've used this feature? I know what it does, but it seems like the result is always so complex that I go for a series of other slightly simpler features, like cut with surface, trim, replace face, or some boolean function, depending on what I start with. Also, do you intentionally model so you can use Intersect, or do you just find it's the best way to proceed when you're in a certain situation?

I just know that the visual interface for Mutual Trim can sometimes be mind-bendingly complicated, and with all the additional scenarios Intersect supports, it has the potential to be even more complex. ( I guess by all that I mean that the result can be tough to visualize). I'm kind of curious what sort of need drove them to develop this one.

TIA,

Matt

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Christian Chu Mar 20, 2018 6:33 PM
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I use "Add" and "Cut" many times but never used intersect in all of my projects - not seems to be a popular feature
EDIT: I might use it while using mutual trim. By the way, thank you for bringing this up. Look back some of my projects, I'd have the result quick & easy by using intersect tool instead of mutual trim
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Todd Blacksher Mar 20, 2018 5:51 PM
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I used it for this - The 10th Weekly Power-User Challenge (September 15th, 2017): Measuring Wine Carafe
It is great for "filling volumes"
todd
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- Matt Lombard @ Todd Blacksher on Mar 20, 2018 6:13 PM
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  Todd, yeah, I can see filling volumes is the place to use this. Thanks for that.
  So did you use a solid for the container and a solid for the liquid, or make the interior of the container a solid, and use a surface for the fill level? (That's a huge thread with a ton of stuff in it!)
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  - Todd Blacksher @ Matt Lombard on Mar 21, 2018 8:03 AM
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    In a nutshell, the pitcher was an imported solid, I created planes for the fill levels, I used the planes for the intersect, which created the solids representing the liquid, which I used for calculating the volumes.
    Definitely a tl;dr thread . . .
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Rob Edwards Mar 20, 2018 6:35 PM
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Hi Matt
I don't use it often, but the odd time I have I'm glad it's there.
I recall it was useful in this model by one of our interns. We had a lot of angles going on without a right angle in sight. Intersect was a great way to simplify all the compound angles
It was quite a nice project and Im a bit sad it never got made. The tables and the benches were just different configurations of the same model. It was possible to drastically change all of the geometry, and the intersect command worked really well
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Jeff Holliday Mar 21, 2018 8:15 AM
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I attended a session led by SW personnel at the SWW when "intersect" first became available several years ago. Towards the beginning of the session the presenter made a comment that this was a new command and SW was not really sure of how it might be put to use. I appreciate that type of "challenge". I have used it, largely for volumes like Todd Blacksher, a number of times. I still think it's one of those commands unknown to a lot of users who have done similar thngs in other ways.
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Dan Pihlaja Mar 21, 2018 8:49 AM
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For a bit, I was using the intersect feature to create rectangular plates (rectangular prisms) using 6 planes.
Similar to the video and part that I show in this thread: Challenge!
The reason that I was doing this was because of the robustness of using planes for attaching mates to rather than the actual geometry. This way, the planes are already there and I don't have to create extra ones for the mates.

I haven't used it in a bit, though because modifying said feature (plane) from the assembly is a bit of a pain.
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Jason Martin Mar 21, 2018 9:18 AM
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I do recall, when I was still learning Solidworks, an example of how to make a fan blade. A large thin circle would be created, then an extruded profile would be used to capture the intersect between the two to form one of the blades. I have a very bad and quick example I made with pictures to show you the basics of my process. I did a brief search on google for an example of this process but I had no luck.
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- Christian Chu @ Jason Martin on Mar 21, 2018 10:36 AM
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  it's more like combine (common) than intersect
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  - Jason Martin @ Christian Chu on Mar 21, 2018 10:42 AM
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    I was showing my process on how to get the intersect since it was a bit difficult to describe it in words.
    The first picture is what the shapes look like before they use the intersect feature. The second picture is the actual part made from the intersect.
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    - Christian Chu @ Jason Martin on Mar 21, 2018 10:52 AM
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      Jason,
      What you did is correct. What I mean is the result from your model would easy be done by using combine (common)
      while dealing with complicated shape (surfacing) which requires using mutual trim then intersect feature come in handy
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Matt Lombard Mar 21, 2018 10:41 AM
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How about mold design? Is anyone using this for molds? I imagine with the planes and the part geometry, a multi-plate mold would be fast.
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- Jason Martin @ Matt Lombard on Mar 21, 2018 11:10 AM
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  I've actually used the cavity method when I used to make mold cavities. I don't recall using the intersect method. Thinking about it now, using the intersect would still work the same.
  I guess I could say the other designers were used to seeing a cavity feature in their design tree that made it easier for them to locate the feature when they needed to if something needed to be re-designed.
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Dwight Livingston Mar 21, 2018 10:54 AM
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Matt

For me, the Intersection feature almost replaces both the Combine and Split features with a better tool. Combine is pretty limited, and Intersection will do a split without leaving the sketch sitting in your feature tree. It would be nice if Intersection could use a sketch curve the way that Split can do.
- Intersection will add and subtract bodies without having to commit to one method or the other. You can change strategy without havng to make a new feature.
- Intersection will both add and subtract in one feature.
- Intersection adds surfaces and planes to your Combine feature options.
- Intersection adds the ability to make bodies from the negative spaces, which Combine cannot do.
- Intersection will consume surfaces (yay!).
Dwight
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- Matt Lombard @ Dwight Livingston on Mar 21, 2018 10:59 AM
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  Dwight,
  Excellent points. I like that list.
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  - Dwight Livingston @ Matt Lombard on Mar 21, 2018 11:09 AM
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    The complexity gets easier to handle by getting used to the options. "Invert Selection" can be handy. And the "Show" options are very useful ("show excluded only" and "show included only").
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- Matt Lombard @ Dwight Livingston on Mar 21, 2018 3:03 PM
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  Dwight, if you don't mind, I'm going to quote you in the book... That's the kind of stuff I like to add.
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Mike Lee Mar 21, 2018 12:13 PM
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I use the intersection feature now and then. As well as the examples above I have also used it to defeature a multibody part. If a client wants to send out a 3D model to a customer they want the data defeatured enough to hide internal details. I take the multibody part, intersect with a large overlapping body (the filling), then combine all. One filled solid body made ready for export.
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Using the Intersect Feature

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