Creating a Solid Model

Scale Copy

Scale Copy allows you to make a copy of an object and scale it in one operation. This is much more convenient than manually copying the object, where the copied object will be superimposed on top of the original. Scale Copy is also a powerful tool for creating arrays of concentric or tapered objects. This is because Scale Copy makes a copy of the selected object(s), then scales the original relative to the origin by the specified scale factor. Once you have the scale factor defined and the object(s) selected, you can repeatedly press the Copy button to make a concentric set of objects (if the object is centered on the origin) or a tapered set of objects (if the original is not centered on the origin).

Note: If you apply surface and material properties before you do the Scale Copy, the properties will be copied as well, saving you some effort later on.

Orientation

Select Edit|Object|Orientation to display the position and Euler angle rotations of a selected object. The data is referenced from the object's Transformation Matrix. The Center Position column displays the center of the object in the current model units, while the Euler column displays the Euler rotations of the object. Rotations are performed in TracePro first about X, and then about Y and finally about Z. The Object’s Orientation can be modified by entering a new position and/or Euler angles and pressing the Apply button.

Sweeping and Revolving Surfaces

Using the Edit|Surface menu selection, you can sweep and revolve surfaces in TracePro. Sweeping and revolving are ways of extending surfaces to create new shapes of objects. For example, if you create a solid cylinder, you can lengthen it by selecting one of the planar end surfaces, and using Edit|Surface|Sweep to sweep it along the axis of the cylinder. You can make a corner on the end of the cylinder by sweeping the end face in a different direction. You can make a conical extension on the end of the cylinder by sweeping with a draft angle. Finally, you can make a bend on the end of the cylinder by revolving the end face.

Sweep

To sweep a surface:

1.Select the surface you wish to sweep by clicking on it with your mouse or selecting it in the system tree.

2.Select Edit|Surface|Sweep to open the Sweep Surface Selection dialog box.

3.Type in the Distance and Draft angle.

4.Now you must choose to sweep along the surface normal or manually enter a sweep direction using X, Y, and Z vectors.

5.Finally, press Apply to sweep the surface.

An example of the Sweep command is located in “Sweep Surface Example” on page 9.33.

Revolve

You can revolve a surface using the Revolve Surface Selection dialog box by selecting Edit|Surface|Revolve. Revolve is restricted to planar surfaces.

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Sweeping and Revolving Surfaces

Axis of rotation

Angle

Original Surface Position

Plane of Surface

Radius

FIGURE 2.28 - Surface Revolve parameters.

To revolve a surface:

1.Select a planar surface

2.Select Edit|Surface|Revolve to open the Revolve Surface Selection dialog box.

3.Enter the Angle, Draft angle, Radius, and Steps.

4.Enter the axis direction data.

5.Press Apply to revolve the surface. TracePro calculates the point about which the face will be revolved and displays it as the Position in a “grayed-out” display. The values in the dialog box have the following meanings.

Angle	Angle through which the surface will be revolved.
Draft Angle	Angle by which the revolved surface will be tapered.
Radius	Radius from the center of the surface to the axis of
	rotation.
Steps	=0: creates a continuous bend
	>0: creates a stepwise bend (a sequence of N+1
	sweeps)

An example of the Sweep command is located in “Revolve Surface Example” on page 9.36.

Notes Editor

The Notes Editor provides a text window to store information with a TracePro Model like a notebook where the comments are stored in the OML file. The editor includes common text formatting functions to highlight points, make lists and

TracePro 5.0 User’s Manual

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