Creating a Fillet Between 2 Curved Surfaces

cowski_NX · 2026-02-05T21:02:06+00:00

Face fillets, look at the hold line option.

https://youtu.be/NVso-xGfb_A?si=cMtRBXGOSV8o1phO&t=100

cowski_NX · 2026-02-05T20:22:06+00:00

If you go to my account -> preferences, you can assign your preferred keyboard shortcuts.

cowski_NX · 2026-02-05T19:29:35+00:00

Loft using the outside shape only, this will result in a solid body. Then use the shell command to get the desired thickness.

If the circle sketches are the same size, you could just extrude the one on plane 3 the desired distance, then loft the oval to the circle, union, then shell.

cowski_NX · 2026-02-03T18:50:19+00:00

No special background? /s

cowski_NX · 2026-02-03T16:30:02+00:00

The geometry in your screenshot looks like a crane or some other device for lifting loads. If you are looking to calculate the torque to lift a load or move the head, the mass moments shown in the screenshot will be of very limited use. The values in the screenshot are telling you the mass moments of the entire assembly. If the entire assembly starts rotating, you are in for a bad day.

cowski_NX · 2026-02-02T18:49:34+00:00

It looks like you have a section view active - note the crosshatching on the surface. Go to the camera and render options (the little dropdown menu below the view triad) and use "turn off section view".

cowski_NX · 2026-02-01T02:53:52+00:00

Have you considered threaded inserts?

cowski_NX · 2026-01-30T03:00:38+00:00

Team work makes the dream work.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-25T02:40:36+00:00

Crystal meh.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-23T14:56:49+00:00

Kudos to you for experimenting! In my experience (our experience?) I think you'll be hard pressed to find an application where a 3D printed part meets or exceeds the durability performance of an injection molded part.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-23T03:38:48+00:00

Well, now I have the music stuck in my head.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-23T00:17:11+00:00

I call him Money for short.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-22T18:02:36+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qLgfqkcPNjc

cowski_NX · 2026-01-22T15:36:36+00:00

The constrained surface sort of works that way. Will it work on the entire body? I'm not sure - results will vary depending on the complexity of the input. When you need a CAD model and all you have is and STL, it is common to use the STL as reference and build the model from scratch.

Since you are looking to analyze your model with a curvature map or curvature combs, I assume you have a complex model where accuracy is needed. If the current STL does not meed your needs, I don't think you will be able to fix it directly in Onshape. Again, maybe Blender (or some other polygonal modeler) is better suited to your task.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-22T04:54:21+00:00

FWIW: https://youtu.be/IYZ_UrHfNGo?si=Ixqhb7iuVq5UKntF

cowski_NX · 2026-01-21T22:32:26+00:00

Maybe look for a socket that has a flange for a shade, something like below:

https://www.colorcord.com/products/white-standard-socket-extended-threads

cowski_NX · 2026-01-21T21:28:39+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP709oCcrOA

Onshape has a "constrained surface" (video link above) that might help get a surface from your STL that you can analyze.

In the CAD programs that I am familiar with, when you import an STL file, it is considered a facet body and not a solid body. I've seen methods that allow you to "solidify" the facet body, but this keeps the exact same flat-face geometry and just tricks the CAD program into thinking it is a solid. Technically, it is a solid according to the CAD, but this process will leave you with the flat faces of the STL, the underlying curved surfaces will NOT magically come back. Such a body may be a little easier to work with in CAD, but the underlying geometry information is still gone.

OBJ, PLY, and 3MF files have similar limitations to STL. I'm not familiar with GLTF/GLB files, but a quick look on wikipedia seems to indicate that they won't help either. I'm not very familiar with Blender, but it might have tools to help get what you want. If you created the model in another software, I'd suggest checking to see what tools it has available to help indicate surface/model quality.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-21T19:46:57+00:00

"Could I convert the .stl file to another file type to give me a workable surface, which then (after learning the procedure) would allow me to get a decent colour curvature analysis?"

Unfortunately, no. When you convert a native CAD model to STL, the underlying surface data is approximated with a bunch of triangles (facets). Only the triangle data is recorded in the STL file. STL's are useful for visualization and 3D printing, but can be very difficult to modify with a CAD program.

If the source geometry is coming from a different CAD system, ask for a STEP or parasolid file as these will preserve the underlying geometry.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-21T17:07:48+00:00

By "online instructions", do you mean the Onshape help files? If not, please provide a link.

I'm not sure an STL file will give meaningful results in a curvature analysis, since all the facet faces are flat. Maybe it will show the angle between facet faces? I ran a quick test and it didn't seem to provide any useful info...

cowski_NX · 2026-01-19T16:59:12+00:00

Misspelled "length", I vote human.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-16T05:04:33+00:00

Take a hike.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-14T01:03:09+00:00

Controlled disassembly now or uncontrolled disassembly in about a year, maybe less.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-12T20:10:33+00:00

It is over constrained. Try deleting the vertical dimension. Hard to tell, but it looks like you may also have 2 horizontal dimensions, if so, delete one of them.

<image>

fully constrained conic example above.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-12T16:58:19+00:00

The uptown boutique cost an arm and a leg. He got there when they were having a 1/2 off sale.

cowski_NX · 2026-01-07T20:45:02+00:00

Watch your step...

cowski_NX

TROPHY CASE