Sections that update?

[BPgoa]

This may be very easy to someone who uses this product all the time but I'm 5 day's into the learning curve (steep) and need some help.

 

I'm drawing a fuz for a model jet airplane and would like to create sections every 52.5 mm so that templates can be produced... then used to cut out foam with a hot wire cutter.

 

I have created the section planes - tedious but do-able ... and I have also created a block from one of the section planes. Once I did this, I then dropped a 3d box into the section plane and found that the section block does not update.

 

Have i done something wrong ??? Is the block a static shot of the section as created??? Is there a way to have the blocks update from their relevant section planes?

 

There are 27 section planes so i don't want to manually re create them.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Adrian

[BPgoa]

ok... in case anyone else wonders... the blocks created from sections can not be made to update automatically ...

 

 

Seems like i should have learned another package for this job...

[JD Mather]

ok... in case anyone else wonders... the blocks created from sections can not be made to update automatically ...

 

 

Seems like i should have learned another package for this job...

 

Autodesk Inventor

[Tiger]

Autodesk Inventor

 

or Solidworks or ProE or Catia or Tekla....there are plenty out there

[BPgoa]

or Solidworks or ProE or Catia or Tekla....there are plenty out there

 

From What i've seen... part of me wants to learn to use Rhino...

[Tiger]

From What i've seen... part of me wants to learn to use Rhino...

 

There are lots of programs out there, what is the best one for you is hard to know without full knowledge of what you do.

 

What I can tell you is how we did it when we decided we needed a new 3D-cad platform. We basically searched out all the resellers in our area for all kinds of CAD-programs, explained what we did, provided examples when asked and invited them for demos. After that we had a better idea on what each program does and don't. Even though the salesmen didn't wanna talk about the don'ts :wink:

[SEANT]

Rhino would certainly be the most affordable of all those applications listed. I don’t think, though, that Rhino would auto-update sections upon geometry change. Fortunately re-running the CONTOUR command is relatively painless.

 

Edit: Actually, the free Rhino plug-in, ArchCut, is even more user friendly with regard to section updates.

 

Do I understand the actual problem? It sounds like it, but I’m not getting the full picture with this:

 

 

I have created the section planes - tedious but do-able ... and I have also created a block from one of the section planes. Once I did this, I then dropped a 3d box into the section plane and found that the section block does not update.

 

Have i done something wrong ??? Is the block a static shot of the section as created??? Is there a way to have the blocks update from their relevant section planes?

[BPgoa]

Rhino would certainly be the most affordable of all those applications listed. I don’t think, though, that Rhino would auto-update sections upon geometry change. Fortunately re-running the CONTOUR command is relatively painless.

 

Edit: Actually, the free Rhino plug-in, ArchCut, is even more user friendly with regard to section updates.

 

Do I understand the actual problem? It sounds like it, but I’m not getting the full picture with this:

 

 

from your answer, it seems that you understand completely.

 

i've never used any cad before but needed to draw in 3d a model jet for building. autocad had a 30 day trial so i thought i'd have a go in that (well known and i thought fully tooled up ). the sections are through the body ... so that i can build formers. i wanted to define the sections once then as i changed the 3d model ( because i'm refining how the thing looks) i was hoping that the sections were live... like a viewport. so that i didn't have to re create them.

 

because this is a hobby.. with no financial return.. most of the packages are out of the question... i guess that auto cad is also... after the 30 days. although i'll still be able to print it from other packages

 

i wish the manufacturers would offer a home licence along the same lines as the student cost.

 

fyi .. i hit a number of other issues... trying to draw this largely organic shape..

 

 

Anyone know of any gnu tools for this sort of job?