I am working on a project that requires me to machine a generalized, stylized silhouette or profile of the Star Trek Enterprise. I am making progress on the general shape that will be refined at the end of the design process. However, I am struggling with how to create the "Deck" of the ship that is essentially a half disc that is viewed from the side.
I have tried different two rail sweeps and Tilt - Fade but cannot get the shape to do what I need it to do, which is be lower on both ends of the "Deck" and higher in the center in a smooth arc shape.
Any suggestions, examples, demos, would be much appreciated.
"Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it."
SuperDave wrote:I am working on a project that requires me to machine a generalized, stylized silhouette or profile of the Star Trek Enterprise. I am making progress on the general shape that will be refined at the end of the design process. However, I am struggling with how to create the "Deck" of the ship that is essentially a half disc that is viewed from the side.
I have tried different two rail sweeps and Tilt - Fade but cannot get the shape to do what I need it to do, which is be lower on both ends of the "Deck" and higher in the center in a smooth arc shape.
Any suggestions, examples, demos, would be much appreciated.
STE 1.jpg
STE 2.jpg
"Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it."
So, here's how I would approach this.
I would draw 1/2 the profile I want and use the "Turn and Spin" tool to create a component.
I would then export that component as a STL file.
Next, import that same STL file and adjust its position as needed.
I would then "cut" the component in two pieces and mirror the top component and align it to the bottom of the deck.
An option that I like is to then make a copy of the visible model and adjust the shape height of that new component.
I hope this makes sense.
Michael
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Michael Mezalick
https://www.youtube.com/user/mezalick
mm@mezalick.com
I am assuming that the Turn and Spin is a 9.0 feature, which I do not currently have.
However, your STL technique did provide the solution for me in 8.5. . .
I created a circle the diameter of the Deck/Upper Bridge, and split it in half to make two rails.
I then created the half profile of the entire upper deck to run a two rail sweep of the Deck/Bridge diameter, yielding a complete top view of the Deck/Upper Bridge.
I then added a base dimension that was equal to the thickness of the Deck, which gave me the full diameter model of the Deck/Upper Bridge.
I then created a vector of half of diameter of the Deck/Upper Bridge and deleted the Component part outside the vector. This yielded half of the Deck/Bridge Bridge.
I exported the half Deck/Upper Bridge component to an STL and then imported the STL back into the work space.
I made the adjustments to the STL to allow me to position it and tilt only the X Axis of the model, yielding the exact part orientation I needed.
I then merged the STL Part into the Enterprise model and adjusted the component height to keep the overall depth under 1/2" (the part is going onto a custom vehicle as an ornament) and the results are below.
The STL was pretty rough around the edge of the Deck and I did a quick and dirty smoothing, but it still needs work. I will eventually do a few more iterations until I get the best model I can, and call it good.
Thanks for the heads up on the STL method. . . it was the perfect solution for 8.5 owners.
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"Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it."
