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PolyPipeX for Onshape V1.00: any edge is a path (the reverse of Fillet and Chamfer)

eldon_brown
eldon_brown Member Posts: 51 ✭✭
in FeatureScript

PolyPipeX_Hero_Matrix_crop.png

The Matrix tab of the Demo doc: 40 shape and option combinations, all made with PolyPipeX.

Hi all,

Back in 2023 I shared PolyPipe, a remix of the simple 'Pipe' FeatureScript (forum.onshape.com/discussion/22664). This fall I worked on it again with Grok, and today I'm releasing PolyPipeX V1.00 (build B26.11.02.04).

PolyPipeX sweeps a profile along ANY edge you pick: sketch lines, arcs, splines, construction lines, intersection curves, helixes and 3D curves.

The big one is part edges. You can add or cut a profile right along an existing part's edge, so it works like the reverse of Fillet and Chamfer. Pick several edges and you get several pipes at once.

PolyPipeX_Part_Edge.png

One block, three PolyPipeX features, each on an edge picked right off the part (no sketch): a round bead added along a top edge, a 4 x 4 rabbet cut and a round-over cut.

(This example is in the new "PolyPipeX Demo Part Edge" tab: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bdedb1c31094967e66258764/v/7a0555a7372ca5b0a802fdbb)

Profiles: Circle, Arc, Polygon/Star, Rectangle, Slot and Round over. Any of them can be solid or hollow.

Results: New, Add, Remove, Intersect, like Extrude. You can keep the pipe as a part, and cut a bore through the target.

Path options: reverse, use part of the path, extend or shorten the ends. Twist by turns or by pitch.

Uses: washers, edge trim, O-ring grooves, wire bundles and cables, reverse fillets, countersinks, flanges, round-overs.

How to add it:

  1. Open the PolyPipeX FeatureScript doc: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/e1d7954fe30ceed624c58ca8/v/e1e5b11796a2374ccb7bcce5
  2. In a Part Studio, open the Custom features (puzzle-piece) menu, then Add custom features.
  3. Search "PolyPipeX" (or paste the doc link), pick the PolyPipeX V1.00 feature studio, and it appears in your toolbar.

Demo doc: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bdedb1c31094967e66258764/v/7a0555a7372ca5b0a802fdbb
It has these tabs: Demo, Matrix (40 shape and option combinations), Uses, Options, Operations and 3D Paths.

PolyPipeX_Uses_Tab_crop.png

The Uses tab: 9 example parts made with PolyPipeX.

PolyPipeX_Wire_Bundles_Crop.png

A 4-wire ribbon bundle and a sleeved cable with copper-tipped conductors, all swept with PolyPipeX.

PolyPipeX_ORing_Groove_crop.png

An O-ring groove cut (Remove) around a round part, along a sketch path.

PolyPipeX_Feature_Dialog_crop.png

The PolyPipeX dialog set up for that groove: Rectangle profile, Remove.

Note: V1.00 is a new feature type, so it won't replace older PolyPipe or GrokPipe features in existing models.

Please post bugs, odd cases or ideas here.

Credits: by Eldon R. Brown WA0UWH with Grok, based on the simple 'Pipe' FeatureScript. Grok was a great help while writing this Onshape FeatureScript. Many thanks go to my Grok Bots, the Grok Dev Team, and Elon Musk.

73,
--eldonb (Eldon R. Brown, WA0UWH)

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