portbury Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Hi folks, I'm struggling with creating a dome flange in Alibre design, just wondering if anyone else had tackled this one please? Or alternatively, whether anyone can recommend a program that does it better! I've tried a variable radius fillet and a loft boss, the first seems buggy and creates a messy looking flange, the second either won't produce the shape I want, or results in an error... Many thanks Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 What scale are you working in? For N gauge I tend to just use a regular fillet as it is not that noticeable on a print at that scale - or alternatively correct any errors on the final print. I use Alibre almost exclusively for 3D modelling (and just getting to grips with the latest version) but I'm sure that there are others here that could help further... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Why not change the base sketch to incorporate the flange as part of the dome, and then revolve it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
portbury Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Thanks for the thoughts guys. The model is a bit of an experiment at the moment, but the scale would be 16mm and or 5 inch gauge, so I'd like to get the flange as close to right as possible really. I've had a pointer on another forum to this program: http://www.moi3d.com. which will do what I want easily :-). I can't use a revolve sadly, as the curve of the tank means that the radius of the flange changes as you go round the dome. cheers Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billbedford Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 In ViaCad you can use a blend with variable radii around the intersection. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
portbury Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Cheer for the ViaCAD tip, that sounds interesting. A v helpful chap on the Alibre forums recommended the 3D package Moment of Inspiration and provided a walkthrough of the steps needed to make what I wanted in that package. I downloaded a trial of MoI, followed his instructions and have now made the flange as it should be :-). I will look at ViaCAD though, it does look like a useful complement to Alibre and has the raytracing included in the pro version by the looks of things? I'll download the free trial and have a play. cheers Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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