splitting surfaces on projected curves

[wildcat99]

Is it possible to split a surface along a projected curve?

 

I've got a row of surfaces, some are flat and "square" (not a problem) others are lofted,radiused, etc. I've projected a curve onto these surfaces using a horizontal line in the side view. I've put points at the intersections.

 

I've tried MainMenu,Modify,Trim,Surface,Split, turned the snapping on and selected a point. But the only choices for splitting appear to be normal or perpendicular to the surface at that point. How do you get it to split on a curve?

 

This has to be so dirt simple...what am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance for your help.

(Using Mill 8.1.1.)

[Fig sign]

Hi, wildcat99.

It is aaways a good idea to make a backup copy of your surfaces on the other level .

Then try to do Create-> Curve ->project with trim active (Y) .

You can do Create-> Curve ->Slice with trim active (Y) .

And you can always do Create->Surface-> Trim

to curves .

[Anbu Lingappan - Moldplus SA]

Hi

 

Have you looked at Moldplus trimming functionalities?

 

We have very powerful trimming and un-trimming features. If you only wish to have the trimming and un-trimming module, you can purchase that only (Suprtrim).

 

Contact your Mastercam dealer and have him arrange a trial version for you.

 

Regards.

[wildcat99]

plasttav: Create,Curve,Slice looks like it should work, but it wants to "trim". It asks for a surface to trim and an area to keep. I need to keep both areas, i.e. "split" the surface. I could trim a surface, keep one side and the original, trim the original and keep the other side. This seems to be the hard, messy way.

 

ALIE: Thanks for the software advice. We have SolidWorks which will split surfaces easily. If I would have known it was this difficult to split a surface in MasterCAM, I would have done it in SolidWorks before importing into MCam.

[RandyN]

Create, Surface, Trim/extend, To curves should do what you are asking about.

 

Edit : Sorry, didn't read your reply where you mentioned you didnt want to trim twice. If you are going to do a lot of surfacing in Mastercam, you should look into Mold Plus. It has lots of great tools like splitting surfaces that you can do in Mastercam, but takes a few more clicks.

 

[ 05-30-2002, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: RandyN ]

[Anbu Lingappan - Moldplus SA]

Hello

 

Mastercam's surface splitting functionalites are

far more powerful than what you have in Solidworks(to work with surfaces that is). Moldplus tools make the surface splitting in Mastercam simply more powerful and faster.

 

You dont need to project a curve onto the surfaces in order to split them. The split will follow the profile of the curve from your plane of selection. The curve could be a simply 2D geometry created in the preferred splitting plane.

 

Regards.

[cadcam]

I do once in a while trim to a curve and you have the option to keep both.

that is what I use this way I don't have to do double the work.

[gravydog]

Wildcat,

I ted to agree with Anbu, if you are splitting surfaces, Moldplus is the way to go. If you have Mastercam Solids, you could read your Solidworks file directly into Mastercam and trim the solid, keeping both sides, very easily, which, I believe, is what cadcam was referring to above.

HTH

[wildcat99]

cadcam: I can trim to a curve, but where is the option to keep both? Are you doing this with just MasterCam or are you using MoldPlus also?

[cadcam]

Actully it is the option to keep the original and not the thought of splitting and keeping both trimed surfaces.

 

so you get to keep the original and the new.

I wish it was like the solid thought were you can split a solid and keep both sides.

 

And I am doing this in standerd MC not MC with moldplus.

even know I do have it.

 

Hope this helps.

[Zero]

Modify/Trim/Surface/To curves/(select your surfaces/select your curves......now on the last menu (the same one with do it) is Options. This is where you can configure your trim. Like jay said, if you set it to keep, it will keep the original surface. Then with a couple more clicks, and changing the options back to delete, you can trim the original surface to the other side and have your "split" surface.

 

[ 05-30-2002, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Zero ]

[wildcat99]

OK, the reason I was splitting surfaces was to break them up into sections for machining. I'm beginning to wonder now, do I need to "physically" break the surfaces or can I use a projected curve as a boundary for machining only part of a whole surface even though it is not split?

[Zero]

Yes....you can use the projected curve for a boundry. Just make sure that all of what you want to machine is inside the boundry.