I wanted to discuss my use case. And Shapr3D redesign regarding the Align tool and the pattern tools. This is a rather long post. I have been designing a Portable speaker system. As one part of this system I created a Box which is 5 separate panels. Each panel I basically wanted a speaker grill Hexagon design with a solid border around the edge 5-10mm wide. So this is how I designed the panels…
1: I took a 2D plan rectangle sketch and place a smaller rectangle sketch in side
2: I then created/drew a Hexagon shape in the smaller rectangle. At the upper left corner.
3: I then used the pattern tool to create a 10 x 10 grid of Hexagon shapes.
4: Then I extruded the outer rectangle to create a 4mm in Z direction to create the solid boarder.
5: Next, I Extruded the inner rectangle 4mm to create the grill portion. 6: Then I Unioned the panel together.
7: Next, I copied 4 additional copies of the panel.
Now, I want the combine all these panels together to create a box with no top. This is the part when Shapr3d could be tweaked to make this process much easier to use. First of all, could you add to the Pattern tool a way for me to specify let say I want a 10 x 10 grid on my 2D sketch plane. With X spacing and have the app create this for me. This is where “AI” can be useful. Right now, I have to create one row of the grid in the X direction then highlight the row and copy that as a pattern in the Y direction. A clunky way of creating a grid.
Next it comes to how I aline the panels to create my box. I use the align tool to align one panel to the next panel. This process works OK. Here come the clunky hard part. I want the panels to become, automatically by a switch, a solid box. Water tight and ready for 3D printing. The switch is so if I want the panels to remain separate panels or I want the app to combine the panels into a solid box. I tried using the Union tool to do just that above. Still the Union tool only can do so much and I think the Union tool is not really designed to be used in this way. As currently implemented.
Step 8: I then after UNIONed the “now” box design. This brings up another issue. I use Simplify3D and CURA as my Slicing software. When I print a box with a bottom the bottom is not really connected to the rest of the box. Very easy to break the bottom out of the box after printing. This should not happen. As a work around I make/place a chamfer edge around the inside of the bottom of my box and this make the box bottom, STRONG. But I should not have to do this!! The App should do this for me. Either when I Align the Panels or when I UNION the Box. I also Chamfer the inside edges where the panels come together in the corners to make my box stronger. I believe that the App should do this for me. But it does not.
Thank You