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Methodology for building a part which interfaces to a point cloud?
kenn_sebesta167
Member Posts: 56 ✭✭
I have the below model (screenshotted for easy viewing):
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/17bad9776038074b4e64b4ec/w/3c1369cd650af91275920fca/e/90da2c51d44320ccc80a41d8?renderMode=0&uiState=6732024b2c9a427329cc8895
This is a part off a small airplane, where a wing strut attaches to the wing. See circled area below:
I want to make a small cover to make that intersection have less drag. I'm realizing that I have no idea how to go about this. I've made a bunch of parts over the years, so I'm reasonably familiar with OnShape, but I don't have a methodology for working with all these non-planar interfaces nor thinking about how the parts represented by the point cloud— which will ultimately be on the inside of the fairings— might need to be handled.
This seems really easy conceptually, all that needs to happen is the end of the slipstreamed tube needs to be interfaced to the flat underside of the wing, covering up all the draggy nuts, bolts, and fittings. And since there's no structural nature of the parts and there's almost no way to make drag worse then everything is a win. I these were parts inside OnShape, I could just loft and boolean everything and be clicking "print" within the hour, but as an STL point cloud I'm unsure where to start.
Does anyone have any advice?
Comments
My, perhaps unprofessional, approach would be to spend a lot of time taking measurements, making templates, etc. then recreate that area in a model and then model off of that. Would it be feasible to print a shape/part to fit around the strut and have slots in the circular face of that part to fit rods that can be extended to meet the wing to provide most of the measurements? - Scotty
Been doing this sort of thing for awhile now. but looks like you may have figured it out. the basics for anyone searching down the road are create planes and curves based on the mesh vertexes and go to town.
@kenn_sebesta167 - This link should show methodology, but all dimensions would obviously not be to scale.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/b36efd8f37181f96d0022fdf/w/8dd6f792bd00ae2f159f573c/e/3426ea160157f3d12b1741e8
Also this is just a surface, and not a sheet-metal part (could be thickened into a solid). I do agree with Scotty on the taking careful measurements and just modeling this part.