[TZ250]

After calling, and calling, and still waiting on a promised return call, a tech told me that this simple shape can not be drawn with V22.


All I need is two .25" Radii, 6.217" from center to center. The first center is at X0 Y0, the second is at X6.217 Y0. Then, I need a 16" radius tangent to both plus the same radius on the bottom. It will look like an elongated ellipse.

It is not an ellipse because it has a constant radius. The third tech finally told me that it could not be drawn unless I knew the exact coordinates. I told him that his way defeated the purpose of CAD software.

I do know the coordinates. It takes about five seconds to draw in Dolphin CAD/CAM. It's a shame that I need another program to make this one work...

I ask if I could change the snap coordinates. I was told that I can not do that in V22. Apparently, 'Arc Snap' is always a center snap, not a tangent snap or intersection snap.

Can this shape be drawn with the above information?

[ErnieD]

Hi Rob,

I drew the shape in v20 and it worked. I just used Geometry and the way I would draw it if I was still at the old drawing board.

Put a point on the X axis where you want the two .250 Arcs and draw the arcs. Then go to the Arc menu and select a 15.75 arc. Snap a 15.75 radius from each of these two points and put a point where these two arcs intersect at + Y and - Y. Then change your radius to 16 and snap a radius from each of the last two points. These last two radii will be tangent to the .250 radii. All you have to do then is trim off what you do not want.

Hope this helps,

ErnieD

[tobyaxis]

After calling, and calling, and still waiting on a promised return call, a tech told me that this simple shape can not be drawn with V22.


All I need is two .25" Radii, 6.217" from center to center. The first center is at X0 Y0, the second is at X6.217 Y0. Then, I need a 16" radius tangent to both plus the same radius on the bottom. It will look like an elongated ellipse.

It is not an ellipse because it has a constant radius. The third tech finally told me that it could not be drawn unless I knew the exact coordinates. I told him that his way defeated the purpose of CAD software.

I do know the coordinates. It takes about five seconds to draw in Dolphin CAD/CAM. It's a shame that I need another program to make this one work...

I ask if I could change the snap coordinates. I was told that I can not do that in V22. Apparently, 'Arc Snap' is always a center snap, not a tangent snap or intersection snap.

Can this shape be drawn with the above information?

If I can visualize it mentally, I can Draw almost any thing in any version of BCC that has solids capabilities.

On occasion I need the part to be copied and use a CNC to create points and positions, Granite Block with Indicator, and a Caliper. Takes a lot of time but if the price is right worth every second.

The only way to draw anything in BCC is Will and Time. Keep trying and always reference the Solids Help Menu. It will allow you to try different appoaches. Sometimes things can't be done straight forward but twisted and mangled in your mind. Use your imagination. Forget the defeatist attitude because you will never get anywhere.

You have a CAD Program, and there aren't any limits unless they are set by the user. This is why I spend so much time just playing around with BCC in between projects and jobs exploring.

How may people that have BCC know that V19-21 can do 5 Axis finish Tool Paths??? Keep digging and you will unlock "Pandora's Box".

Cheers!!!!

[mrwhittle]

ErnieD

Thanks, that is sooooo simple, and will save me a lot of time!! BTW, I did it in
V20 and 2007, works great.

Thanks again,
Roger

[TZ250]

Ernie, thanks for the reply.

The problem with that method is that the radius is not tangent on the upper and lower portions, just at 0 deg. and 180 deg.

I'll try to post a picture from Dolphin soon.

BTW, the tech did say that earlier versions of BCC will draw this shape.

[moldmker]

Is this what you're looking for?

I created the 2 .25" Radii on location and used Fillet to join with 16" radius. This automatically maintains tangency.

Experiment with which quadrants you pick on as they influence where the fillet radius is created.
I needed to use Modify Entity and Trim then Mirror to complete.

Good luck

[ErnieD]

Rob,

Check this out. The points of tangency are exactly where they are supposed to be.

ErnieD

[stevespo]

ErnieD, I tried what moldmker suggested (using fillet to connect the 2 arcs) and got the same results you posted in the .dwg. The tangent point in the upper left quadrant is X=-.0493 and Y=.2451. This is BCC V20. Just curious, did this technique work for you in V22?

Steve

[mrwhittle]

stevespo

Both ways work for me in 2007, but I can't make the fillet work in V20. I must
be missing something there.

Roger

[moldmker]

To clarify... I used Fillet in v22 to get my results.
Works in v21 as well.
Regards,
Bob

[ErnieD]

Steve,

I have not tried it in v22. I had my RAM upgraded to 1 Gig and since then I have not been able to run v22. I am going to uninstall it and reload it to see if the problem will clear up.

ErnieD

[ErnieD]

Steve,
I could draw the shape in v22 as I described using Geometry but I did not have any success using fillet. The lines went everywhere except where I wanted. BTW I did the reinstall of v22 and it seems to work fine now.

ErnieD