Weaving two different models

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Chuck Keysor
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Weaving two different models

Post by Chuck Keysor »

Hello Vectric experts and enthusiasts, and Happy New Year.....

I have two 3d components where one crosses over the other. Traditionally, I would have fiddled with modeling a shim to go under one part to lift it up over the other part which is being crossed over. But I thought certainly that there must be a better way to do this, using the "Extrude/Weave" function. So I reviewed the Extrude/Weave tutorial, and at the 48 minute mark, it shows using one 3d component (a paint brush) and stretching that over two crossing drive rails. During set-up, one copy of the model can be thinned and the other copy thickened at the cross-over point, to give a natural looking "weave" of this one part, applied in two places.

However, I have two different 3d components that I'd like to "weave"/(have one cross over, the other go under), which is not what is shown in the tutorial. These two parts are shown in the attachment, along with their two drive rails. Well, I thought I'd experiment, but all I get is a horrific mess.

Before I give up and just make shims to get one part to pass over the other, I thought I would ask the Aspire experts if there is in fact some way that I can use the extrude/weave command to manipulate these two parts to make a nice crossing-over/weave/bridge. It does seem like it would be a good thing to be able to weave/bridge two different parts using the extrude/weave command............. but wishing "don't make it so".

Thanks, Chuck
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The two objects to be woven
The two objects to be woven

Chuck Keysor
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 124
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Shopbot PRT alpha 60 x 148
Location: Elgin, Illinois

Re: Weaving two different models

Post by Chuck Keysor »

Hello everyone.... Here is what I wanted to achieve using the weave function, but I had to do it with a shim.

Using shims, I had to make several shims and experiment around to see if it looked right,,,,,, When it didn't look right, well, I'd go back and make a different shim. A pokey trial and error process, at least for me. That seems far less cool than being able to use the weave function with its adjustability.

If someone knows how the weave function could be applied to this/similar situations, I'd still like to know how. Thanks, Chuck
Attachments
What I wanted to do, but I did this with a shim 1-10-18.JPG

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highpockets
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Re: Weaving two different models

Post by highpockets »

Chuck,

How ever you had to go about creating the weave it looks great. I hope to one day be able to accomplish such models....
John
Maker of Chips

Chuck Keysor
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 124
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Shopbot PRT alpha 60 x 148
Location: Elgin, Illinois

Re: Weaving two different models

Post by Chuck Keysor »

Hello John. Here is how I made the one vine cross over the underlying branch. The first picture shows what I had to start with, the crossing vine wasn't high enough. (And tilting/fading options were simple to apply to make the vine cross over the branch, but it looked very in-natural. You want to try and just naturally lift up the vine where it would cross the branch. Sometimes things are so far off, you can't even use tilt and fades at all....)

Since the vine was made with a two rail sweep, I made the shim with the same pair of drive rails, but used cross sections that were simple open bottom rectangles, going in height from almost zero to the maximum of what I determined was needed to get the correct "lift". That final shim is shown in the next picture.

But the shim by itself doesn't work, as it interacts with the vine and the branch you want to cross over. (I almost included some pictures to show the wrong junk you get if you don't move the shim and vine to a new/separate level, but thought that may confuse things....) So I moved the shim and the vine to a new/separate level (Level 1 as shown in the next picture). There they can be adjusted without interacting with the branch I am trying to cross over. When the shim and the vine work together the way you want, "Bake" them together. Then move them back (just for logical organizational purposes) to the level where all the other related parts of the assembly reside. The final result is pictured............

This method is a bit cumbersome and slow to make readjustments, which is why I was interested using the weave tool, to make quick adjustments.....

I hope this makes sense............ Chuck
Attachments
Before "shimming" the overlaying vine
Before "shimming" the overlaying vine
What the shim looked like before baking it onto the bottom of the vine
What the shim looked like before baking it onto the bottom of the vine
Level 1 was created as a work space for adjusting the shim and the vine, so they wouldn't disruptively interact with the branch the vine was passing over
Level 1 was created as a work space for adjusting the shim and the vine, so they wouldn't disruptively interact with the branch the vine was passing over
What the vine and shim looked like after being baked together
What the vine and shim looked like after being baked together
The end result
The end result

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highpockets
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Re: Weaving two different models

Post by highpockets »

Chuck,

Thanks for sharing your technique. When I saw you post I try figuring it out. I got the wedge part although I didn't make it long enough. I didn't move the components to a separate level (that was my big mistake) I did turn off the other vine and used Create component from visible model then unchecked the original components.

I was using extrude instead of the two rail sweep. I got close, but it needed more work :D :D :D

Thanks again for sharing....
John
Maker of Chips

Chuck Keysor
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 124
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:27 am
Model of CNC Machine: Shopbot PRT alpha 60 x 148
Location: Elgin, Illinois

Re: Weaving two different models

Post by Chuck Keysor »

You are welcome John. No doubt you can see why it would be nice to have the weave tool be able to handle these types of tasks.......... Chuck

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highpockets
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Re: Weaving two different models

Post by highpockets »

I can, it would be a great add to the component settings.
John
Maker of Chips

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ohiolyons
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Re: Weaving two different models

Post by ohiolyons »

The "Lily Leaf Molding" tutorial covers this topic also.
John Lyons
CNC in Kettering, Ohio

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