How to extrude a bezier curve?

StillMaker

I'm trying to create something that matches a curve inside my car. I basically need a 1mm thick curved "J" piece that matches something I traced.

I know I can't extrude a line, I need an enclosed shape. But I'm stuck on how to turn this line into a 1mm thick shape that be extruded. I've been googling and looking through YouTube but haven't been able to find an answer. I will be printing & adjusting, so I need something that is tied to this spline I drew, so I can adjust it and try again.

Thanks for any help.

Here is my document:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/e2b6c2dcac1a93eb691d95a5/w/018c1b92ff84aea35fd33cfc/e/3cb724d773e2cd8ebafea574?renderMode=0&uiState=65f7136077cb5379e007e32f



BTW where I wrote "measured" there I meant "traced". Then I did take a measurement across the curve so that I can scale it properly. I know it won't be exact but I will print & test & adjust.

eric_pesty

You can just use the extrude thin option

StillMaker

@eric_pesty that worked perfect, thank you!

StillMaker

Ran into another snag I could use some guidance on. I finished the line, using a 2nd tracing. The edge juts out at one point, and when I extrude-thin, there ends up being a gap here. Part of it shows up as a different color, which is probably indicating something I don't want. I tried extruding in-between the fill in the gap, and I think this will work but it's kinda ugly. Is there a better way to do this?

new document: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/772fc3973642b4e299bb0f7c/w/701f7a4ca5d3b994f94c0adf/e/c9ec3f2f6059b84d9fb49b89?renderMode=0&uiState=65f7325c62d260495b1b5ee5

Thanks.

eric_pesty

StillMaker said:

Ran into another snag I could use some guidance on. I finished the line, using a 2nd tracing. The edge juts out at one point, and when I extrude-thin, there ends up being a gap here. Part of it shows up as a different color, which is probably indicating something I don't want. I tried extruding in-between the fill in the gap, and I think this will work but it's kinda ugly. Is there a better way to do this?

new document: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/772fc3973642b4e299bb0f7c/w/701f7a4ca5d3b994f94c0adf/e/c9ec3f2f6059b84d9fb49b89?renderMode=0&uiState=65f7325c62d260495b1b5ee5

Thanks.

You need to make sure the two sketches line up perfectly, i.e. use a "coincident" relation to the first sketch. Note that you can pick edges from both sketches in  one single "thin" feature. You could also put both in one sketch...

The different color indicates that it's a separate part, select "add" in the extrude window to merge it with the previous one. I would recommend going through the self paced courses in the learning center as it will help you get the most out of the software...

StillMaker

Thank you. They are in the same sketch, and they are coincident as far as I can tell. It works, I'm not too worried about it. Just interested in learning how to do it better. 

I have been doing a lot of tutorials on YouTube, I usually lookup what I need to do and then watch tutorials on it. 

fabian_reis

I recommend going into the sketch and selecting the line. Then go to the tool bar and in the dropdown menu from 'offset' click 'slot'. After that just change the thickness of the slot to 1mm.

It should come out like this:

you can then extrude from there

hope this helps!