How to select a body and have it's silhouette (outline) projected onto a face or plane as a sketch? This discussion was previously in a non-API forum, but I'd like to take a crack at the API code. Here is the original discussion <https://forum.solidworks.com/message/424740#424740>. The best idea the discussion had was to use parting surfaces, but you have to select all the parting line loops manually.
My idea is this:
1. Create sketch on plane
2. Select all edges
3. Use convert entities to convert all the edges to sketch lines
4. Extrude, selecting all the closed loops in the sketch
5. Create a second sketch on plane
6. Use convert entities to convert the largest face of the new extrusion to sketch lines -> This is the silhouette!
My first coding attempt is pretty broken (attached):
1. Not all the edges can be converted using "swSketchMgr.SketchUseEdge False", since some of the edges are normal to the plane
2. I tried to use "swSketch.GetSketchContours" to select all the contours in the sketch, but this does not work.
3. I tried to set the body from the extrusion (which was not merged) "swBody = swFeat.GetBody", but this also does not work.
I will update as I progress, but in advance, thanks to those of you who help.
-Brandon
PS. if you'd like SolidWorks to do this in new versions, please vote on: SPR 627869: Ability to select a body and have it's shadow (silhouette) projected onto a face or plane (reference, outline, split line, new sketch)
Turns out SolidWorks help actually has a really good example. With a little editing, the attached code now draws an outline of the body(s) on either the X,Y, or Z plane. The sketch plane is dependent on the normal of the face you've selected. But I doubt this will capture curved surfaces if drawn at an off-axis plane. The next step is to figure out how to sketch the outline on a user created plane.