Cross section part 2

 Here's the second part to the cross section pseudo lesson I started yesterday.


 I then saved this new component and re-opened the original trough model. I then imported the sliver model we just made and oriented it in the direction I needed it, as in the picture below.

So now I have 2 models in our project. I selected the sliver piece and clicked the "create vector" boundary tool. This gives me an outline vector of the sliver. I then lined up the newly created vector shape with our end cap vector in the 2d window.

Then I used the scissor tool to trim out all the unwanted lines, making the final shape.

Now we just need to add texture to the end cap! I brought in the original wood image again and deselected the trough component so I wouldn't do any damage to it. I then converted the image to a component, selected the end cap, then cleared the area outside the selected vector. This gets rid of all the texture except for on the end cap. I also used the "create shape from vector" and added 1/2 to the base of the end cap to give it the thickness I need. There you go, I now have a profile on the end cap that will line up with the end of the trough board with less work than trying to shape it after it's all glued up in the real world.

 JO

A cross section of sorts ( warning, may cause Aspire acuteness)

I thought I would post today about a process in Aspire that I use quite a bit. We have some upcoming projects that we might be using it for, and I thought I would get a jump on the computer end of it. Sometimes we need a cross section of one component to mate with the profile of another piece. 

In this example I used the two rail sweep and a cross section(the concave c-shaped vector is the cross-section and the top and bottom lines are the 2 rails) This gave me the above trough model. If you haven't done much in this software, just study the pic and it should make sense :) Now that I have the "base shape" I can add our woodgrain texture to it. I imported a custom woodgrain image I made and applied it to the trough.

I then shrunk down the "spikey" texture and smoothed it a little. These simple steps are nothing more than a couple of mouse clicks, very easy stuff. The below picture shows the results of these two steps.

I need two parts to this model in real life. The front "trough" board I created, and an end cap on the right side.
Being that we will just be butt joining them together, I want the software and router to do all the work in making them match. This will save considerable hand finishing after the parts are glued together. I then drew the "end cap" square, which is the second part to this model. To get an accurate cross section, I drew a rectangle box around the whole component, but left a 1/16" space on the right side.

This is the part where you save the model!!! After saving I cleared the area inside the vector box I drew. This left a tiny sliver of the end of the board.

I will finish posting the rest of this tomorrow, It's off to a good start!



JO