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Matching surfaces of two different parts
patrick_spapens
Member Posts: 2 ✭
Hello,
I have been using OnShape for a while now, made several parts and successfully 3d printed them.
I am now working on aerodynamic parts for my track bike.
I got a 3d model of a set of winglets with included fixed wings, they are designed for a different bike than mine.
I also have a 3d model of my own bike. The idea is to alter the connection points of the winglets+fixed wing model to match the surface of my bike fairings. So far i have only designed parts from scratch, so this is where my question begins. I know how to scale the winglets+wings to the bike model, no issue there. Now i just want to know how i can either add or subtract material to the winglets+wings to follow the fairing surface curves. I have tried asking ChatGPT and Copilot but they just tell me the function i need to use, but not how to properly use it.
I have added some pics of the bike and two winglet designs as an example. I know the proper orientation of the winglets+wings and the angle of attack for the downforce generation, so all i need is someone to point me in the right direction.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Answers
So, from the looks of it you have imported these components as STL format which is commonly used for 3D printing. It cannot be edited as is. You will either need to convert them to brep using mesh to brep features (I am not sure if onshape has these yet). This is quite a hassle and not the best approach since you want a smooth continuous surface not patches of triangles connected together to form the shape. I recommend you use these imported parts and recreate your part taking these as reference.
If the parts were solids from a step import, you could derive them into the bike model, position them as needed, then use union add/subtract to cut away the mating surfaces.
Or, make an assembly with the bike and the wing parts, position them as needed, then do an in-context edit to make the interfaces.
stl imports I don't believe you can really do any geometry work with them, but I may be wrong.