How to draw trim around objects

[Ride]

Hi. I'm trying to draw a small trim around some cabinets, and a bench seat. The trim is a simple 1" square profile, and I would like it to follow the red line shown on the attached screen shot. I feel like I've done this before, but I can't seem to get it to work now. What layer/working plane do I need to allow me to draw the path of the trim, and then extrude along path? I've tried setting the working plane to the face of the doors, but as soon as I try to draw the path back to the recess of the bench seat, things fall apart.

 

Do I need to draw each section individually, and them combine, convert to Nubrs?

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Ride

[LarryO]

My approach would be to draw the path along the floor in plan and then the vertical line in front view. Convert to nurbs, then compose to get the 3D nurbs path. You may have to add the vertical line after creating the extrude along path object by editing the path. Most of the time the nurbs path can be decomposed and the recomposed with the new nurbs line added. Aligning the end point is the critical aspect to the reformation of the path.

[Tom W.]

Can you not just use the NURBS Curve Tool + draw the path as a single object in 3D?

[Ride]

2 hours ago, Tom W. said:

Can you not just use the NURBS Curve Tool + draw the path as a single object in 3D?

When I use the NURBS curve, all the vertices are curved. It won't let me put a value less than 3 in for the radius. What am I doing wrong? There must be a way to draw this in one go, in 3D.

[Tom W.]

Set curve degree to 1

 

[Ride]

23 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

Set curve degree to 1

 

Ah ok. I tried to put in 0, and then it wouldn't let me. Thanks - this seems to be working. I knew there had to be a way to do this without multiple extrudes.

 

Appreciate the help!

[AlanW]

@RideHi, I draw a 3d Polygon then extrude along path. Make sure you move the object not the line as it extrudes down centre of object, by positioning the object edge to the line it will be easier.

Not sure why the left piece sits out different.

HTH

 

Trim.vwx

[LarryO]

7 hours ago, Tom W. said:

Can you not just use the NURBS Curve Tool + draw the path as a single object in 3D?

Because I primarily use this for railings it is simply easier for me to produce the parts using predictable 2-d tools and then rotate the elements into their place and join them. Otherwise I am trying to figure out changing degrees where elbows are inserted among other things. its just easier to snap the ends together and see if the software can do the calculations for me.

[Ride]

1 hour ago, AlanW said:

@RideHi, I draw a 3d Polygon then extrude along path. Make sure you move the object not the line as it extrudes down centre of object, by positioning the object edge to the line it will be easier.

Not sure why the left piece sits out different.

HTH

 

Trim.vwx 124.66 kB · 0 downloads

Yes, that works well too. Thanks. Though I do have trouble selecting either the NURBS curve, or the 3D poly after I draw it. Not sure why. My problem originally is I was trying to use 2D tools for this, which work fine as long as you're working on the actual working plane. As soon as you veer off things don't work, obviously. I need to spend more time getting to know the 3D toolset.

[AlanW]

@RideHi i work in 3D a lot with the automatic working plane set which highlights in colour the surface plane you will work on and allows you to work directly on the plane in 3D. this key toggles it off and on " \  ".

Also to select things i hold the B key down and you can select the line easier when in open GL. (Shaded)

 

HTH

Edited September 2, 2022 by AlanW

[Tom W.]

Also hold down J key when selecting to activate 'Select Coincident Objects' which allows you to choose which specific object you want to select