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Is there a simpler way to extrude a spline and have it print?

mitch1138
mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
in Community Support
I can draw a spline and extrude it as a surface, but the resulting part will not print (no extruded line is visible).  I can create a rectangle at the endpoint of the spline and sweep it to create the same appearance and it will print.  Is this later the prefered method, is there a more straightforward way to do it.  Many thanks.

Best Answers

Answers

  • John_P_Desilets
    John_P_Desilets Onshape Employees, csevp Posts: 280 image
    @mitch1138 A surface has no mass or thickness. You can however, thicken a surface to give it volume and create a solid part. I think that should solve your problem. 

    https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/thicken.htm?cshid=thicken



  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    Thank you.  It does create the feature, but when the drawing is exported as an .stl, the splicer for the printer doesn't see it.
  • John_P_Desilets
    John_P_Desilets Onshape Employees, csevp Posts: 280 image
    The drawing or the part? The part should be exported as an STL. 
  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    Sorry, the part is exported as an STL.  If I only draw a spline line, extrude it as a surface, then thicken it, it looks fine.  When I export the part and put it in the splicer (Cura), it doesn't recognize it as a solid object.
  • John_P_Desilets
    John_P_Desilets Onshape Employees, csevp Posts: 280 image
    edited November 2020
    If the slicer program is not seeing the stl model it might be because the model is not the right unit. MM or IN. In Onshape, If you right click on the part  in the parts list and export as an stl, you have the option to choose the unit. I would try different units or adjust the units from Cura. 

    Are you exporting the part or the surface from the part studio? 

  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    Thanks.  It is in millimeter.  If I add a "normal" feature (i.e. extruded square) in the same plane, it will print.
  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    I think you figured out what I was doing!  I was exporting from the "Part Studio 1"  tab.  If I export from the Parts menu on the left it does work. I will need to try it in a more complex drawing.

    Many thanks for all your help.

  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    I was not able to figure out how to do this if the drawing has multiple parts.  It looks like it can export only 1 part at a time, the the entire drawing?
  • alnis
    alnis Member, Developers Posts: 453 EDU
    There's an option to export parts to separate files which might work in your case:

    I usually right-click each part and export it separately, then drag each one into Cura. Here's a quick tutorial that I made mostly for fun that shows the drag and drop action: https://youtu.be/ymduE9utPo4
    Get in touch: contact@alnis.dev | My personal site: https://alnis.dev
    @alnis is my personal account. @alnis_ptc is my official PTC account.
  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    Thats looks like it would work, but I would then need to combine them to print the entire object.
  • alnis
    alnis Member, Developers Posts: 453 EDU
    Could you send a screenshot of your model, or ideally, a link to it with sharing set to public? You might want to use the boolean tool to combine all of the parts for printing.
    Get in touch: contact@alnis.dev | My personal site: https://alnis.dev
    @alnis is my personal account. @alnis_ptc is my official PTC account.
  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    Here is a link to the publlic document (maybe): https://cad.onshape.com/documents/3f56173a9072471571d335cd/w/87f9eeba0a3d00ff90cbec59/e/80987d3772610c05abc74de2
    The lines on the sketch are extruded (surfaced) then thickened.  It is not complete but should be illustrative.  Printing is the issue.  Here is a screen shot:

  • mitch1138
    mitch1138 Member Posts: 9 EDU
    That was a great video.  Not only fixed my issue, but I learned a few other cool tidbits.  Thank you for spending so much time on this.
  • alnis
    alnis Member, Developers Posts: 453 EDU
    No problem! Happy to help :)
    Get in touch: contact@alnis.dev | My personal site: https://alnis.dev
    @alnis is my personal account. @alnis_ptc is my official PTC account.

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