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Union two or more non-intersecting parts?
sg
Member Posts: 3 ✭
Is there a way to union two or more parts which do not intersect?
This would be a nice feature for 'advanced' boolean operations (union of some parts, then intersection of the results...)
This would be a nice feature for 'advanced' boolean operations (union of some parts, then intersection of the results...)
1
Best Answer
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Options3dcad Member, OS Professional, Mentor Posts: 2,470 PROOkay, now I see your point. I quess it wouldn't harm anyone if boolean would accept also parts that are not intersecting.
It would solve also the situation where user thinks parts are connected (two corners or so) but they are not actually touching enough..
Now when I think it more, sometimes I would like to boolean some pattern into 1 part to clean up parts list. I would rather see multiple copies of same part (derived part) in one part studio though.
I suppose the only way currently is to create some excess material to connect parts that will be removed as part of 'boolean tool'.
//rami6
Answers
If you think it in the real world, two pieces that do not connect to each other are often thought as two separate pieces rather than one.
In assembly you can use 'Group' which makes two (or more) parts move together without needing to add other mates.
For example for a drill plate you could union all holes and openings in one part ('negative features'), then remove this part from the whole plate ('positive feature').
Once the features are ordered under the parts on boolean operations, the tree would be more clearly arranged.
It would solve also the situation where user thinks parts are connected (two corners or so) but they are not actually touching enough..
Now when I think it more, sometimes I would like to boolean some pattern into 1 part to clean up parts list. I would rather see multiple copies of same part (derived part) in one part studio though.
I suppose the only way currently is to create some excess material to connect parts that will be removed as part of 'boolean tool'.
but I didn't get it clear enough in my mind to put down.
I wonder if it comes down to an (important) issue of conceptual purity: is boolean (as the software processes it) currently about adding and subtracting bodies, or is it about parts?
I presume it is the former from the current behaviour: when you add together two bodies which do not touch, you inevitably get two bodies, in other words, no change to the status quo.
If so, I can see that the functionality being asked for here would require a rethink and a rewrite of the code, so that the unit under consideration was changed from 'bodies' to 'parts'.
I would be interested to hear from someone at Onshape whether doing this, to address one problem, might result in new problems (behavioural, not just conceptual) in other areas.
Otherwise I think derived parts will do the trick IF patterning added part for above purpose just shows up as one feature and not multiplying part.
But let's first see what hole wizard and derived parts bring before making changes to boolean feature.
The problem with it is that it creates a lot of new parts, wich we don't want to. So, we wanted to union these new parts that don't touch each other.
Unfortunately, OnShape won't let me.
Coloring faces would be your solution. This is highly requested feature for long time and I'm sure Onshape is working hard to push that feature as soon as possible.
You could connect the new parts with a solid feature that is entirely inside your engraved part (so you don't see it). Now you have only 2 parts: the Engraved part, and the thickened faces of the engraving. You can color the single "engraving" part for screen caps / drawings etc.
Under the surface, the two bodies will be intersecting, but this is not a problem, because the "engraving" part is only an aid for visualization.
@3dcad
you could do the same thing (if only it was June 2015 again): pattern your 100 drill bits, and extrude a simple rectangular body that joins them all together. Voila, you have a single "tool" body with 100 drill-shaped bits sticking out. Now your Boolean Subtract (to create 100 holes) is a simple, 2-body affair.