Volume Drive : Options and Results

Access: Open this function from the following location:

Select Mesh > General Tools > Volume Drive from the menu bar.

Drive a volume along a spine. This function creates the volume formed by a 3D object (for example, an NC cutter) which is driven along a 3D path (3-axes).

The selected object may be either mesh or solid. The created object is a mesh object.

Required Step 1

Pick a closed object.

Required Step 2

Pick the spine (wire, edge, curve) to define the trajectory curve and set the accuracy parameters. The following parameters are displayed:

Parameters:

Wire Tol.

Set the wire tolerance.
Default: 0.01 mm (0.0005 inch).
Min.: 0.001, Max.: 1

Surface Tol.

The surface tolerance is the distance between the facet and the part of the surface it is representing.
This parameter specifies how accurately the facets represent the surface. Set this parameter when facets obtained with the normal tolerance setting do not accurately represent the surface.
Example:Example:

Note that the more accurate the tolerance, the larger the mesh file and the longer the conversion time.

This parameter is only displayed if a B-rep object is selected to be driven along the spine. If a Mesh object is selected, the parameter is not displayed.
Default: 0.05 mm (0.002 inch).
Min.: 0.001, Max.: 1

The system uses a reference point on the object to drive the object along the trajectory curve. As the default reference point, the system uses the closest point on the object (with respect to the trajectory curve).

The system then drives the object from the closest endpoint of the trajectory curve (with respect to the object).

Object and curve:	Result:

In this example, when superimposing the selected trajectory curve over the result, the system has, in this case, taken the closest point from the bottom face of the object and used this as the reference point when driving the object along the trajectory curve. To define a specific reference point on the object, use the Optional Step 1.

Optional Step 1

Pick a point on the object to define a specific reference point with respect to the trajectory curve. This enables you to control the reference point on the object when driving the object along the trajectory curve.

In the example below, a point on the top face of the object is selected, and the system uses this as the reference point when driving the object along the trajectory curve.

Object and curve:	Result:

Picking another point will change the reference point to the new picked point. Clear Selection resets the option (the picked point is cleared).

Press OK or Apply in the Feature Guide.

When completed, the Volume Drive feature will appear in the Feature Tree as follows:

Some functionality may be dependent on the product package. Contact your Reseller if you require a license.