3D Exercise 131
- Breno Cruz
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
In this CAD tutorial we'll use the features:
1. Pipe
Instead of sketching complex profiles, you start by drawing a simple 2D or 3D line representing the path of your first spoke or outer rim.
Function: The Pipe command instantly sweeps a solid tubular profile (circular, square, etc.) along that single path.
Multi-body Strategy: Crucially, you generate this pipe as a completely independent "New Body" floating in space, rather than trying to join it to anything right away.
2. Extrude
Next, you need the anchor point for the mechanism.
Function: You sketch a circle at the origin and extrude the central mounting hub or boss. This gives your mechanism the solid core that will eventually slide onto a shaft or house a bearing. Like the pipe, this is generated as its own distinct solid body.
3. Circular Pattern
Now you multiply the complex geometry without bogging down the software.
Function: You select the single solid Pipe body you created in step one, and array it radially around the center axis of your extruded hub.
Efficiency: Because you are patterning a body rather than a feature or a sketch, the software calculates it almost instantly, resulting in 3, 5, or 12 perfect spokes surrounding the core.
4. Combine
At this point, you have a central hub and a circular array of intersecting pipe bodies, but they are all technically separate pieces of digital geometry. The Combine command finalizes the part.
Function: You use the Boolean Join (or Add) operation. You select the central extruded hub as your target, and all the patterned pipe bodies as your tool bodies. The software mathematically welds all intersecting volumes together.
The Result: The overlapping material inside the hub is deleted, leaving you with one single, perfectly unified solid part that is ready for 3D printing, structural simulation, or final edge fillets.
All dimensions are in mm/g/s/ISO
3D Sketch
Exercise 131 - 3D practice drawing for all CAD software ( AutoCAD, SolidWorks, 3DS Max, Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360, CATIA, Creo Parametric, SolidEdge etc.)
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Tutorial In Autodesk Fusion: https://youtu.be/_bHzVVrsjRk