Originally Posted by
TOTALLYRC
Hi Ray,
use Viacad 3d and absolutely love it.
The gaps detected in profile comes from some programs not connecting the lines properly. When you try to extrude, you will see markers on the drawings showing where the problems are but they disappear in a few seconds. If you zoom in you can usually see what the problem is. I usually find the the line intesect but that there is a tail haning and you can't extrude something that has a loose end
Problem is, the path I'm trying to extrude is almost entirely obscured by other objects, so I see nothing indicating where the problem is. I then go in and trim all the segments, and it still doesn't work. I find if I select the entire path, do a "Convert Type" to polyline, I can then, usually, extrude *once*, then it goes back to complaining.
Curves not planar means that what you have selected is not a closed polygon or all of the curves are not in the same plane.
How can they not be co-planar when they're created in a 2D view? And why do I get a different error depending on which segment of the path I select?
Attempt to sweep zero length vector means that the line you have chosen as a direction and length is on the same plane as the vectors you are trying to extrude. This can be very trying as they do not explain very well how to actully pick a direction to extrude in.
I'm not entering a vector, I'm using distance mode....
When using the parallel line tool, you just drag a line off of the existing line and then in the nice offset box that is there you just type in the distance from the first line that you want it to be, couldn't be easier.
Actually, it could.... Other CAD programs all you have to do is click on the line you want to be parallel to. The distance is preset, so you can do many parallel lines by just doing click, click, click. Here it appears you MUST re-enter the dimension every single time.
As far as I can tell there is not a parallel to a curve function but I have never noticed that and you can very easily do that by using selecting the arc tool of you choice, putting in the new arc radius?? and using the smart curser pick up the center of the arc and draw another curve. Use the trim tool to get the ends exactly where you want them.
Again, this requires you to *know* the correct radius, and to manually type it in every time. Seems very cumbersome.
I don't do a ton with the 3d stuff, but I have not had any of the features stop working on me that I can remember.
I am assuming that you want to go from 3d to 2d even though you typed 2d to 2d. There is a model to sheet function that may do what you want.
Model to Sheet is exactly the function I was looking for, but it was NOT located where the tutorial said. It seems to be accessible only through the toolbar, while the tutorial said it was on a non-existant menu.... I just tried it, and it created a mostly blank sheet with a few scattered lines on it, and seems to have disappeared my 3D object.....
The logic curser has settings that can change the distance at which they select. It is under preferences I believe.
If the objects are too close together, I just use the mouse wheel to zoom in, it makes it easier to pick the right object. You should also be getting an ambiguity dialog box to ask which item you want to select if they are close together. ctrl-f will zoom all to fit the screen after you are done zooming in.
The program is associative so you should be able to edit complex objects to your hearts content. The undo and redo buttons work here so you shouldn't be locked out of reediting a complex object that you have made.
How do I "undo" a 3D subtract? After the subtract, the part that was subtracted disappears, so how can I "put it back" or change the subtract after the fact?
If you PM me a drawing that is giving you trouble, I would be glad to test it out here.
I'll try to put together a few simple files to show the problems...
I hope all of this helps.
Mike.