QS Tutorials: Mesh Section – How to do Reverse Engineer… — Transcript

Learn how to create 2D sketches from mesh sections in QuickSurface for reverse engineering and defining primitives and extrusions.

Key Takeaways

QuickSurface allows flexible section plane placement and adjustment for precise sketch creation.
Sketch points are projected from mesh cross-sections onto user-defined planes for accurate modeling.
Interactive and perpendicular plane definitions enhance usability for complex geometries like cylinders.
Selective mesh triangle extraction helps isolate profiles for cleaner sketches.
Stack section and evolved surface options support advanced reverse engineering scenarios.

Summary

Introduction to creating 2D sketches by extracting cross-sections from 3D mesh objects in QuickSurface.
Explanation of placing and moving section planes on standard planes (bottom, left, front) and adjusting offsets.
Details on projecting extracted points from the mesh onto the sketch plane for accurate sketch creation.
Options to define section planes interactively or perpendicular to cylindrical surfaces.
Differences between creating sketches on initial reference planes versus user-defined planes.
Using mesh outlining to extract contours from visible triangles for sketching.
Creating sections for extruded and revolved surfaces, including rotation around user-defined axes.
Using selection tools to extract points only from marked mesh triangles for precise profile extraction.
Introduction to the stack section option for handling complex objects and aligned meshes.
Tips on mesh selection and profile extraction to improve sketch accuracy in reverse engineering workflows.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Welcome to our next tutorial of Quick Surface. This tutorial will discuss 2D sketch creation and how we can use this later for defining primitives and extrusions. The first idea is that you can create a cross-section from the object so that you can get a slice of it, and then this will be your sketch where you can define your primitives.

Speaker A

of it and then this will be your sketch where you can define your primitives if you start the create sketch command for the first time you can see a couple of options here and the first one is that you can

Speaker A

If you start the Create Sketch command for the first time, you can see a couple of options here. The first one is that you can create the section plane either for extruded or for evolved surface. We'll go into details about this in a minute. The first thing is that you can just place your section plane to different locations, in this case to the standard planes like the bottom, left, front.

Speaker A

the bottom left front but also once you define this you can actually start moving your section plane by holding the left mouse button down on this plane and dragging in different direction so let's try with the bottom and for example here we want

Speaker A

But also, once you define this, you can actually start moving your section plane by holding the left mouse button down on this plane and dragging in different directions. So let's try with the bottom, and for example here we want to extract the profile. Here I will just take the plane and move it up and down, and as you can see here the offset is updated, which shows the user how far the plane is from our reference plane.

Speaker A

screen in green is where the actual section happens through the object but after this point have been extracted from the reference mesh they are projected where the actual sketch will be in this way this is quite useful for the

Speaker A

What you see on the screen in green is where the actual section happens through the object, but after this point has been extracted from the reference mesh, they are projected where the actual sketch will be. In this way, this is quite useful for people to get the sections on a different level and then start the actual sketch on the plane where the sketch will be.

Speaker A

as if we have here you can pick a face from the already created cut model another option which you can find is that you can in some cases you can just use the interactive definition you select the define interactive mode you click

Speaker A

Another option here is that you can define the plane to be perpendicular to a cylinder, for example, as if we have here. You can pick a face from the already created cut model. Another option which you can find is that in some cases you can just use the interactive definition. You select the define interactive mode, you click, and then on the screen you define your plane.

Speaker A

the actual sketch will be let's go back to the standard section and when you just create your slice here there is an option for the user instead of creating the sketch on the initial reference you can check this

Speaker A

As you can see it now, the plane for the sketch is defined by the user, and the user can just drag the sectioning, and as you can see the section points are projected where the actual sketch will be. Let's go back to the standard section, and when you just create your slice here, there is an option for the user. Instead of creating the sketch on the initial reference, you can check this option.

Speaker A

to show you the difference i will create exactly the same section in here but this time with the option of when i create this and press ok you see that the slides happened from the mesh in the middle but the actual sketch

Speaker A

And as you can see now, all the points are where my physical cut down the object. This means that when I create the sketch, then I press OK for now, you see that the sketch is here. To show you the difference, I will create exactly the same section in here, but this time with the option on. When I create this and press OK, you see that the slice happened from the mesh in the middle, but the actual sketch is located at the bottom plane.

Speaker A

options of the software if you define your plane you can outline the mesh which is useful in some cases that it takes the view from the um perpendicular orientation from this plane and extracts the the mesh from the contours of

Speaker A

So this is how you create your sketches for extruded surfaces, and then later you can see the other tutorials on how you can extract the primitives there. Let's explore a bit more about the other options of the software. If you define your plane, you can outline the mesh, which is useful in some cases. It takes the view from the perpendicular orientation from this plane and extracts the mesh from the contours of all the visible triangles.

Speaker A

the difference is that if i drag the the plane it actually rotates around the axis that is defined by the user in this case i would just hide these sketches so you don't get confused in this case i can

Speaker A

And you can see at the bottom now, these are my extracted points. There is another option here which is called for revolved surface. When you create a section plane for a whole surface, I'll just turn the outline off. The difference is that if I drag the plane, it actually rotates around the axis that is defined by the user.

Speaker A

here which is called through selection only and i will show you what it means we can use selection which you know from the other tutorials like this one and now when i go and create my sketch section if you notice here it only

Speaker A

In this case, I would just hide these sketches so you don't get confused. In this case, I can just move my plane around, and you see with the green it extracted from the mesh, but then the result is projected on my starting plane. You can always turn this option on and off, and you can continue.

Speaker A

more option which is called stack section and i will load another phone to see that this is quite useful and what this can be used for i put this object on in quick surface and it's really well aligned

Speaker A

There is an option here which is called through selection only, and I will show you what it means. We can use selection, which you know from the other tutorials like this one. And now when I go and create my sketch section, if you notice here, it only extracts the points from the triangles that are marked and nothing else.

Speaker A

the problem happens now that it actually there is no way for me to get this profile projected in the correct way so i can extract a nice and well defined profile for this reason what i will do i will just use my mesh selection

Speaker A

This is quite useful in some cases. You have an option to turn this on and off also. So this was about the extraction, and there is one more option which is called stack section, and I will load another form to see that this is quite useful and what this can be used for.

Speaker A

user interaction or you may use other tools to select depending on the complexity of the object let's finish our selection for now i'm not too careful but you can experiment and do this in a much better way so here

Speaker A

I put this object on in Quick Surface, and it's really well aligned. The center of rotation is here, but what I want to do is just to extract this profile, and I will probably try to do this with the section for evolved, which is around the Z-axis, will rotate and try to extract.

Speaker A

unselect the areas let's use this mod take this and use the alt key to unselect what i don't need so now i will go and will create my sketch in this case i will just use the option which is called

Speaker A

The problem happens now that it actually there is no way for me to get this profile projected in the correct way so I can extract a nice and well-defined profile. For this reason, what I will do, I will just use my mesh selection commands. Let's pick some area here and we'll brush some area of interest here because this is what I want to get as information.

Speaker A

that are applied on the mesh they are projected to my reference mesh in this case i want to use only the selection area here and if you see it just takes multiple slices and projects them onto the reference plane and when i'm happy with

Speaker A

I can use the reform selection to get the selection here. This may take some time and it needs user interaction, or you may use other tools to select depending on the complexity of the object. Let's finish our selection for now. I'm not too careful, but you can experiment and do this in a much better way.

Speaker A

i now revolve my surface you see that this is what i achieved here and it can be used for the further modeling and the last thing i want to show you is that in many cases when you start building your

Speaker A

So here I can probably use my line selection to define the line on top of my profile, and now I have everything I need to get my information. Actually, here I need to unselect this because it went through. I can use the Alt key here to unselect the areas. Let's use this mode, take this, and use the Alt key to unselect what I don't need.

Speaker A

plane here and when i create to this sketch the software automatically uses this plane as a reference for my sketch i can just drag slowly up to get the profile which i need and we'll press create now i have my profile well created here

Speaker A

So now I will go and will create my sketch. In this case, I will just use the option which is called stack section. What does it mean? I will turn off the through selection only for now. It just takes the 360 degrees and divides it into 20 in this case, and it creates so many sections.

Speaker A

intersection tools to close my profile here and i can press ok now i have my profile which i can extrude in a solid body and i can create my next shape and in this way i can continue building my surface

Speaker A

Let's apply again these 20, and you see all the sections that are applied on the mesh. They are projected to my reference mesh. In this case, I want to use only the selection area here, and if you see, it just takes multiple slices and projects them onto the reference plane.

Speaker A

useful and thank you for watching

Topics:QuickSurfacereverse engineeringmesh section2D sketch creationsection planeextruded surfacerevolved surfacemesh selectionprofile extractionCAD modeling

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a 2D sketch from a mesh section in QuickSurface?

You create a cross-section by placing a section plane on the mesh, then extract and project the points onto a sketch plane to define your 2D sketch.

Can I move the section plane after placing it?

Yes, you can drag the section plane by holding the left mouse button and moving it, which updates the offset and the section position.

What options are available for defining the section plane?

You can place the plane on standard planes, define it interactively on the screen, or set it perpendicular to features like cylinders for more precise sketching.

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