Creating Curves on Surface Edges

[Rotary Ninja]

I often have to put a wire frame on my part models to do 3D contours and such. And sometimes we don't get a DXF with our models so the surfaces or solids are all we have to work with. What is the best way to do this? I usually use CREATE>>CURVE>>CURVES ON ALL EDGES. But this creates multiple curves, needless splines, etc. Is there a better way to do this? If I have the engineer put a wire frame on my models using Pro-E I get MUCH better results. Less Splines, and no duplicate entities. Can Mastercam do the same?

[Thad]

You'll get cleaner wireframe from a solid. Surfaces, as you've noticed, have mating edges which turns out to be an overlapping mess. You can delete duplicate entities and try the find overlap chook to clean it up a bit, but you'll probably still end up with a PITA file. Whenever possible, have the engineer give you a solid file to begin with (.x_t, .stp, etc) and you shouldn't have any problems.

 

I have my import settings set to create the edge curves for me on import. It does the same things as Create-curve all edges, but it's done automatically that way. I put them on their own layer and use what I need to.

[Rotary Ninja]

On models our engineers make they already put the wireframe on for us. It's our customers models that are always a pain.

[Thad]

Maybe you can ask them for a solid.

 

What are they sending you now, iges?

[Smrk]

Or use silhouetteboundary c-hook on selected surfaces.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

Or you can try to make a solid out of the surfaces. Usually works for me but sometimes takes some messing around first.

[Reko]

I often have to put a wire frame on my part models to do 3D contours and such... What is the best way to do this?

 

Moldplus is a great add-on for Mastercam and it has some very powerful tools for creating edges, both 2D and 3D, cut and slice to create cross-sections and a lot of other very powerful tools to work with models' surfaces and solids and even 5-axis tools.

[Mark V.]

Try Toggleing the open edges button. That helps in some instances.

[Rotary Ninja]

Will try these these ideas. Most of our models are IGS. Some are STP. It's not just one customer. It's all of them. I usually know what to expect based on who the part is for

[gcode]

I usually bring my models in clean, then use

Create/Curve/One Edge to create wireframe only where I need it

[Rotary Ninja]

That works for me too. But sometimes I have hundreds of surfaces I need a curve on to use to drive the part because we don't get a drawing with it. That's when I have engineering put a wireframe on the part with Pro-E. I was just hoping Mastercam could do as good. No biggie really. Just seeing if I was doing something wrong.

[Jayson Kramer]

Or use silhouetteboundary c-hook on selected surfaces.

This does not creat the 3d wire agasint the edges but a flat plane profile. so this would not do the same for what he wants.

[Tyler Robertson]

Try Toggleing the open edges button. That helps in some instances.

 

+1 to open edges. the tolerance plays a big factor in how well this works. you get a feel for it based on what your customer uses to draw with

[Scott Lundin Shopware Inc.]

If you use create curves on all edges of a cube drawn as a solid you will get 12 lines (as it should be). If you use create curves on all edges of all surface of a cube drawn as surfaces you will get 24 lines. Use a combination of all edges for the top and bottom of the cube and then curve on one edge of a surface for the remaining 4 vertical lines.

[Smrk]

i missed that he wants to do 3D contour. Silhouette is good for create machining boundaries. Or project curves onto surfaces

[Jayson Kramer]

i missed that he wants to do 3D contour. Silhouette is good for create machining boundaries. Or project curves onto surfaces

All good. keep helping that what it is all about. thanks for your input.

[Rotary Ninja]

If you use create curves on all edges of a cube drawn as a solid you will get 12 lines (as it should be). If you use create curves on all edges of all surface of a cube drawn as surfaces you will get 24 lines. Use a combination of all edges for the top and bottom of the cube and then curve on one edge of a surface for the remaining 4 vertical lines.

 

Yeah, I understand that. It's just sometimes I need to put a curve on hundreds of edges. And I rarely get solids to work with from the customers sending these "problem" part models. So I have to work with surfaces.

 

Funny, one customer that we always get crappy surfaced models from actually just sent us a solid. So I tried to put curves on it by using CURVES>>>CURVES ON ALL EDGES. Then it tells me to "Select surfaces, solids, and / or solid faces". But it will not let me select the solid. Any ideas?

[Oscar R.]

Funny, one customer that we always get crappy surfaced models from actually sent us a solid. So I tried to but curves on it by using CURVES>>>CURVES ON ALL EDGES. Then it tells me to "Select surfaces, solids, and / or solid faces". But it will not let me select the solid. Any ideas?

 

Toggle your "Active Solids Selection" icon and select "Sold Body", then it will let you choose your solid.

[Cannon]

Yeah, I understand that. It's just sometimes I need to put a curve on hundreds of edges.

To what are you using these curves? 3d surface machining boundary or just chains to drive 2d toolpaths? Id like to see an example, there might be other ways to do it.

[Oscar R.]

Or you can try to make a solid out of the surfaces. Usually works for me but sometimes takes some messing around first.

 

This works for me too. When you're creating solids from surfaces you can select to make solids from all visible surface(so you don't have to go and select them one by one).

After you're done with the settings dialog box press the green check and a message asking if you want to create curves on open edges will appear and it even lets you pick the color that you would like to assign to the curves.

[Rotary Ninja]

To what are you using these curves? 3d surface machining boundary or just chains to drive 2d toolpaths? Id like to see an example, there might be other ways to do it.

 

Well, sometimes we get a model but no drawing or dxf to use for creating my chains for toolpaths. Some parts are really complex requiring 60 to 70 toolpaths just in one operation. So I need a wire frame to work from and I create it with the curves commands. I use this wire frame for containment boundaries, 2d and 3d contours, etc.