KeyCreator Lesson KC2303 Using Sweep to Make a Fancy Wood Panel
Most users associated the Sweep command with smooth flowing plastic parts or castings.
While this is a modeling area where the Sweep Function is invaluable, there are many
other equally important applications that are often overlooked.
The fancy wood panel illustrated to the
right has a basic rectangular prism for
the center section and a complex shaped
edge treatment with miters at the four
corners. This can be quickly created if
you understand one of the secrets of the
Sweep Function.
We’ll start with a new file. Instead of using the default
View 1. (The Top View.), we’re going to switch to View 2
(The Front View.) to start our work.
Click on the CREATE RECTANGLE BY WIDTH HEIGHT
Icon.
We’ll use the BotLeft Anchor Option.
Type 5 for the Width and 0.5 for the Height.
Using the Cursor Option, click anywhere on the screen to
place the rectangle. Now, click on the BACKUP Button, type
0.5 for the Width and 0.5 for the Height.
Before placing the new geometry, select a new construction
color. (I’m going to use Red.)
Now, using the EndEnt Option, click on the bottom, right
corner of the first rectangle to position the new geometry.
Your screen should now look
like this:
1
Next, click on the CREATE LINE PARALLEL AT A
DISTANCE Icon. Type 0.125 for the distance.
Click on the bottom edge of the small square and then above it.
Next, click on the left edge of the small square and to the right
of it.
Next, click on the CREATE CIRCLE BY DIAMETER
Icon. Type 0.5 for the diameter.
Using the Intrsct Option, click on the two lines that you just
created.
Your construction should now look
like this:
Now, click on the TRIM DOUBLE Icon.
Click on the circle at the 2 O’Clock position and then on the
vertical and horizontal lines that meet at the center of the
circle.
2
Your construction should now look
like this:
Next, click on the TRIM BOTH Icon.
Now, proceed to trim out the red lines
so that your final molding shape looks
like the illustration to the right.
You can make the molding profile a little fancier by clicking
on the FILLET WITH TRIM Icon.
Type 0.125 for the radius and create a fillet at the
bottom, inside corner.
3
Now, switch to the Isometric View. (View 7.)
Click on the EXTRUDE Icon.
A Dialog Box appears.
Type 5 for the Length and hit the ENTER Key.
Select the first rectangle that you made (Since it is a different
color than the second profile you can click on ALL DSP and
then BY TYPE. When the Masking Dialog Box appears,
select the color that you used for the first rectangle and hit
the ENTER Key.
Then, click on the vector that faces
rearward.
Your screen should look like this: (Note:
We can obviously do this with a much
larger panel. I used a small panel so the
molding profile would still be clearly
visible in the illustrations.)
Next, let’s quickly create the entire perimeter treatment
with a simple sweep operation!
Click on the SWEEP Icon.
A Dialog Box appears. Just hit the ENTER Key.
Next, select the fancy profile by clicking on the ALL DSP
Option and then on the BY TYPE Option.
Use the masking to get the red entities.
4
You are then prompted to select
a sweep path.
Select the four top edges of the
large panel and hit the ENTER
Key.
Notice that a perfect perimeter
sweep is created with miters at
all four corners!
At this point you can use the Boolean Union Tool to join the two solids together to create
a single panel that might be machined out of high density board or cabinet grade
plywood.
Or, you can create diagonal
lines on the top surface of
the panel from corner to
corner that extend past the
corners. In View 1 you can
use the Break First Function
to trim the edge into four
perfect mitered moldings!
