Section (New Custom Feature)

MichaelPascoe

Section 

Link:

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bdffe7bf48f3b4155e85d073/w/4aa864c3858500b61d8570f5/e/310ce09906d1409f3c49a5f2

Created by: 

Michael Pascoe,  Cache River Mill.

Description: 

This custom feature splits and removes a section of the selected parts.

Prerequisites: 

• One plane or flat face 

• One or more parts.

EvanReese

cool feature! I still have yet to mess with the manupulators in FS. what's the use case you need this for instead the standard section tool.

MichaelPascoe

Thanks! I made it for when we are working with wood trim, stair treads, or columns. It's actual purpose is more like an extrude.

Often, I need to cut trim flush with another part or wall. Sometimes the wall or other part does not fully intersect the part so I can't boolean or extrude from a face. The process usually involves a plane, sketch, and an extrude to cut the entire part to size.

EvanReese

oh nice! I see what you mean.

EvanReese

If you think it would be useful, you could make it accept mate connectors as an input too, by making your UIHint like this

"Filter" : EntityType.FACE || BodyType.MATE_CONNECTOR

You'll have to add some additional code to tell whether you pick a face or mate connector, then make a plane from it.

MichaelPascoe

Good input. I will try to remember this when I release an update.

When I have the time, I would like to implement these options:
- Section "Up To Entity"
- Section with surface
- Include hatching

Jake_Rosenfeld

@Evan_Reese @MichaelPascoe

The right way to implement plane or mate connector selection here is with:

"Filter" : QueryFilterCompound.ALLOWS_PLANE

and then (as mentioned in the QueryFilterCompound documentation: https://cad.onshape.com/FsDoc/library.html#QueryFilterCompound ) you can just use `evPlane` (no need to figure out whether it is a face or mate connector, evPlane will do it for you).

MichaelPascoe

Legit, thanks Jake!

EvanReese

Thanks, Jake!

MichaelPascoe

Update!

Requested by @Evan_Reese

• Manipulator acts more like the official section view tool (This was made possible by @Jake_Rosenfeld, Thank you!)
• Added "Up to vertex" section method
• Auto detect owner part of face for initial part selection
• Auto detect "Up to vertex"  if you already have a face and a point pre selected when you start the feature

I have named the internal portion of the feature. You will need to remove the old feature and add the new one.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bdffe7bf48f3b4155e85d073/w/4aa864c3858500b61d8570f5/e/310ce09906d1409f3c49a5f2

billy2

Thanks, I've added it to my toolbar.

EvanReese

yeeeessss! This feature was already so handy, and it's now even more so.

Jake_Rosenfeld

@MichaelPascoe
 
Looks great!!

MichaelPascoe

Update!

• "Section all" improvements.

In previous versions, "Section all" would only section entities that were sliced by the section plane. Now, all solid bodies are sectioned if "Section all" is selected.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bdffe7bf48f3b4155e85d073/w/4aa864c3858500b61d8570f5/e/c05408d7f5b69bfedfcabb5e

matthew_stacy

@MichaelPascoe, I would love to see "section properties" incorporated into a feature script like this (e.g. "I = bh^3 for a rectangular cross-section).  Last I checked, Onshape offers "mass properties" but not section properties (mm^4) for bending calculations and whatnot.

Regards,

Matt

MichaelPascoe

@matthew_stacy, this would be a good base for something like that. Probably wouldn't be too hard to make. Mostly equations.

matthew_stacy

@MichaelPascoe, not too hard for a feature-script savvy individual like yourself perhaps.  Significantly more challenging for the rest of us mortals.  Also please pardon the error in my previous message.  The area moment for a rectangular section is (bh^3)/12.  I had previously omitted the "/12".   

EvanReese

Hey Michael, I find myself still using this feature a lot for it's quick convenience. Is there a reason it doesn't support mate connectors for the plane? you can use "Filter" : QueryFilterCompound.ALLOWS_PLANE to filter for planes and mate connectors, and it will add the little button to add implicit mate connectors.

MichaelPascoe

@Evan_Reese
Done  Thanks for the tip!

You can also do: BodyType.MATE_CONNECTOR || BodyType.MATE_CONNECTOR and it will give you the option to choose a mate or create an implicit one. The pro to this instead of just using BodyType.MATE_CONNECTOR is that it doesn't force you to make a mate connector.

I think it would also be cool to be able to choose a surface or a sketch shape for sections that aren't flat. Another time though.

romeograham

@MichaelPascoe I really like this feature for actually cutting geometry - as well as a section visualization tool.

You know - if you need to split a body with a plane, and delete one of the resulting bodies - this works great. Saves features and clicks!

EvanReese

MichaelPascoe said:

@Evan_Reese
Done  Thanks for the tip!

You can also do: BodyType.MATE_CONNECTOR || BodyType.MATE_CONNECTOR and it will give you the option to choose a mate or create an implicit one. The pro to this instead of just using BodyType.MATE_CONNECTOR is that it doesn't force you to make a mate connector.

I think it would also be cool to be able to choose a surface or a sketch shape for sections that aren't flat. Another time though.

lol thanks. I literally already had forgotten than I mentioned something about it up in the thread. 

MichaelPascoe

Update!

• New section types added: Projection / surface. (Supports selection of surfaces and sketches.
• Planar mode now accepts mate connectors & implicit mate connectors @Evan_Reese.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bdffe7bf48f3b4155e85d073/w/4aa864c3858500b61d8570f5/e/310ce09906d1409f3c49a5f2

S1mon

This is definitely going to be useful.

EvanReese

projection mode is awesome! I often find myself extruding a surface, splitting, then deleting the surface and extra split parts. This is way better.

S1mon

Honestly the projection mode should be part of the regular extrude/remove tool. Coming from Creo and Solidworks, the idea that I can't extrude an open sketch and cut away material (on one side of the sketch) in one step has always seemed crazy. Even after a while of using Onshape I keep looking for the option, like, I must have missed this and it's just hidden somewhere.