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Add/Subtract Solids


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i'm struggling!

Add/Subtract have always been a trifle difficult regarding custom built solids, but with a workaround or another i've managed.

Now i need to modify a Symbol. To expand a space(the subtraction) constructed of two solids that are then Filleted prior Subtracting .

i couldn't simply Edit it as it was 1st created back in VW11, so had become frozen as an uneditable block(despite passing through the Upgrade relay) so i tried to recreate from scratch again with v2011.

Now, i can Add/Subtract some of the components, but a "Multiple Extrude" solid that has always been possible to Edit prior to v2011, just WILL Not Add!

i've tried Nudging, Splitting, Converting but i'm lost for ideas. Can anyone offer a solution, Please?

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Andrew

I just tried it with 2011.

I was able to add some multiple extrudes. But some just won't. I noticed that Mult Extrudes that don't add also won't convert to a Generic Solid.

I even tried to make a mold and "pour" a new identical sold. I subtracted the problem Mult Extrude from an extrude and subtracted that from another extrude.

The result is a solid subtraction with identical geometry that won't add and won't convert to a generic solid.

I'm guessing that there is some property of the geometry of the specific mult extrude that it doesn't like.

Sorry. Not much help

mk

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Hallo, I made the same experiences with Multiple extrudes.

I stopped using Multiple Extrudes a long time ago, because the Command oftenly produces "Zombi Objects" that can't be processed with other tools.

Unfortualtely some PIO's (Kitchen Cabinet and so on) use multiple extrudes to generate the PIO-Objects, so they can't be used as a Basis for further Construction

after ungrouping.

Horst M.

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Thanx Michael for your extensive research into my hair pulling problem.

So it must be time for a Bug report seeing as this was possible in past v's of VW.

Previously it was enough to add a small circular extrusion to one of the two i wished to unite and the Multi Extrusion would Add as well, eventually. i also used the "Pour" technique to arrive at the desired result, but this is the 1st stage of the procedure.

Thing is, your examples are reasonably complex shapes. Mine are simple 2D objects and using only two not three.

i'll have to try with the Push/Pull Tool and Loft to see if i can get any results.

Thanx for the input Horst.

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Thanks Michael, i'll give it a go. i've been in an internet "Dead Zone" for the past few days with only v2009 to hand . . . . . .

Cheers Kaare. i'll try that too(but i think i may already have done so along with the many other attempts).

Much obliged everyone,

Andrew

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  • 2 weeks later...

Michael i just thought i'd let you know that i have now managed to build a semblance of the object i had managed easily prior to v2011.

It still isn't perfect but it's a hell of a lot better than the "Nothing" i was getting with Multiple Extrude. Unfortunately now the Fillet Tool will allow nothing more than 1mm and obviously i need 2.5mm radius. Before when i DID need 1.5mm or 2mm the smallest it would give me was 2.5mm or 3mm depending on which way the sun was shining, but hey, "Fickle" is VW's first, last and middle names. :)

It's just by chance that we know it as Vectorworks.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Andi

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AndiACD, have you noticed, that the loft tool can be set to work pretty much the same as the multible extrude?

Change the profiles to nurbs curves, distribute them in space and check the box, that creates solids from the profiles + the box, that makes the tool draw straight lines between the curves. Often it is a good idea to rebuild some of the curves or some segments of curves - and when working with symmetric objects it is often better to loft half or quater of the full object and add solid dublicates later.

Lofts have no history, so keep a copy of the curves for changes.

The fillet tool is often a pain. I think it may have been you, that stated, that you try to make the fillets as early in the history tree as possible. I do the reverse and I believe this makes filleting more tolerant.

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Hey Kaare, That is exactly what i did. i used the Loft with 3D Nurbs made from copies of the original 2D shapes. Thanx for your suggestion anyway. i also decomposed them before, so that VW had absolutely NO EXCUSE about doing the bare minimum! :)

As for Fillets, i try and get as much done in the 2D stage as i possibly can just to avoid the built in disappointment with the 3D Fillet Tool. :(

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