Why can I not put a mate connector in the center of this face?

F14Z

I'm trying to create the Siren's Soul that is from the book Ready Player Two, the sequel to Ready Player One. I created 7 "Shards" using 2 sketches, a loft, and a mirror of that loft, based on the picture of a shard on the cover of the book. I put these Shards into an assembly, but I can't place a mate connector in the center of this type of face on any of the shards.

 

How do I put a mate connect in the center of this face, and what spherical shape can I make with these 7 Shards to make a Siren's Soul?


 
I'm pretty sure the end result, if there is one, would be hollow, but I can't piece it together in my brain. Help with these 2 problems would be most appreciated!

S1mon

Most likely, the face is not flat. If you created it with a loft, or a ruled surface, Onshape won't treat it as a flat plane, even if it could be mathematically. If you can select the face as a sketch plane, you should be able to place a mate connector in the center. You could work around this by creating a sketch plane through 3 of the 4 corner points and then constructing a center reference to use for the mate connector.

EvanReese

I don't think Ernest Cline planned on you trying to model this, and I'd further venture to guess the cover artist didn't consult the author Maybe take some creative license by starting with a sphere and cutting it into any 7 shapes you like. They're shards of a shattered soul after all (or something like that).

EvanReese

F14Z said:

question: how to you make shapes like icosahedrons and dodecahedrons?

You can model them manually, and there are a ton of different methods. There's also a custom feature that makes them, which is what I've taken to using instead.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/2c40f522f1b5a02f6ce9ce01/v/ee60791c01dc2c1c3f035a49/e/ff4f6157c94f693e713e91d3?jumpToIndex=740

S1mon

Most likely, the face is not flat. If you created it with a loft, or a ruled surface, Onshape won't treat it as a flat plane, even if it could be mathematically. If you can select the face as a sketch plane, you should be able to place a mate connector in the center. You could work around this by creating a sketch plane through 3 of the 4 corner points and then constructing a center reference to use for the mate connector.

EvanReese

Simon is right. It's not considering it to be a plane. To test, right click the face. If you see "new sketch" then it's planar; if not, it's not. You could also use the multi-mate connector custom feature, which has some additional creation options like centroids and things like that.

EvanReese

got to thinking about this and there's a much simpler way to get these modeled. Check out this example. It's only 2 features, and instead of making copies of the part studio to change the color, I just used a configuration. The faces should also all be planar, which will make mating them up easier if thats what you're goin' for. 
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d1dd5899a87b6e8d6bfa18c6/w/713231a741e44791cb393d75/e/0ada17a2d951cb11eb6663bd

F14Z

ohh, that makes sense. thanks! I'll change that in the document. With those connectors it should be easier to put them together. Can you or someone see if it is possible to make the shape that im trying to make with these Shards? here is a link to the doc: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/ec4a8984420e59fd44a3243c/w/bb163db536cf089bbf023fdd/e/d07453a27aad064aeffd9154

EvanReese

Like this you mean?

F14Z

but how do I keep the shape of my current shards with an extrude? can I just share my doc with you @Evan_Reese so we can commune over comments and stuff?

F14Z

is that example doc one that you made?

mahir

I'm not sure what these shards are actually supposed to look like, but I took some artistic liberty in trying to make the arrangement "spherical".
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/a527281ced95c17d95452888/w/e35cf0482163129457c5312a/e/31d596afdc1bac3b0c949ee3

F14Z

oh my gosh. all i had to do was make the edges of the inner shard shape parallel to the outer shard shape. wow. ok, so i can place mates in the center of those edges now, but i still don't have clue on how to take these Seven Shards and form a somewhat spherical object with it.

F14Z

well, I designed my Shards after the picture on the cover of the book Ready Player Two
and the book says that the Seventh Shard is identical to the 6 other Shards, meaning they are all identical in shape but not color,  and that when they were pressed together, they "snapped together like pieces of a puzzle" into a spherical-like shape. @Evan_Reese I only have my Shards like that in order to keep them together so they won't move around, thats not my final thing, thats just to keep them in the same spot until i fix the center mate thing. also, do you want me to individual share it to you? if so, can you tell me how to do that?

mahir

Now that I have some background, I have a feeling that the cover art is likely referencing the design for rupees in the Zelda games. However, I can't think of any way that 7 crystals shaped like that would snap together into a spherical shape. But if they were shaped more like the slices of a faceted orange, they'd fit together nicely. So instead of making the shards relatively flat, you could probably make them more wedge shaped, with a 51.4deg wedge angle (360/7).

F14Z

reading back over the book, and it says that the First Shard is a "teardrop" shape, meaning they are all that shape maybe.

EvanReese

I don't think Ernest Cline planned on you trying to model this, and I'd further venture to guess the cover artist didn't consult the author Maybe take some creative license by starting with a sphere and cutting it into any 7 shapes you like. They're shards of a shattered soul after all (or something like that).

SethF

You gotta kinda stretch your definition of what a  teardrop shape is, but here's my quick snapping together of 7 shapes that have only flat faces (Pretty sure you'd have a tricky time cutting them though, haha). 6 and 7 could be the same shape, without the rest being the same shape. But I have no context outside of this thread because I haven't read it yet... haha.

F14Z

oh my gosh. all i had to do was make the edges of the inner shard shape parallel to the outer shard shape. wow. ok, so i can place mates in the center of those edges now, but i still don't have clue on how to take these Seven Shards and form a somewhat spherical object with it.

F14Z

well, I designed my Shards after the picture on the cover of the book Ready Player Two
and the book says that the Seventh Shard is identical to the 6 other Shards, meaning they are all identical in shape but not color,  and that when they were pressed together, they "snapped together like pieces of a puzzle" into a spherical-like shape. @Evan_Reese I only have my Shards like that in order to keep them together so they won't move around, thats not my final thing, thats just to keep them in the same spot until i fix the center mate thing. also, do you want me to individual share it to you? if so, can you tell me how to do that?

F14Z

 ignore the repeat posts. i didnt do that on purpose. also, that looks really good @SethF! im pretty sure its hollow tho. but that looks like it could be it!

mahir

Eh?

mahir

F14Z

question: how to you make shapes like icosahedrons and dodecahedrons?

EvanReese

F14Z said:

question: how to you make shapes like icosahedrons and dodecahedrons?

You can model them manually, and there are a ton of different methods. There's also a custom feature that makes them, which is what I've taken to using instead.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/2c40f522f1b5a02f6ce9ce01/v/ee60791c01dc2c1c3f035a49/e/ff4f6157c94f693e713e91d3?jumpToIndex=740

F14Z

oh wow. thanks! that doc has the shape i was wanting to make to be the sirens soul to! noice!