I would like to make a tank tread shape but I can’t figure out how to copy objects along a path which is how most 3d tutorials show to do it. Is there an array feature I’m missing? If there is a way to do this in Shapr I’d really appreciate a tutorial.
when you fully select a 3d shape, there are translation & rotation arrows that pop up, and there should be a + next to them. if the + is highlighted/selected, each translation or rotation will be a copy of the item. btw, you can drag the center point of the arrows cluster so you can make rotation or translation around / along a different axis.
So I would draw & extrude the group of elements than need to be repeated first, then draw the path along which they should be repeated. You can group and name the initial elements, so it’s easy to select by tapping on the group name. Be aware that last time I tried, grouped elements were in the same STL when I tried to export them, even if I had “export each element in their own stl file” selected. (you can select multiple groups as well, so you could create one copy, de-select and then select both copies., drag with + enabled, and presto, you have 4 copies, then 8 then 16 then …)
Then either you rely on your steady hand to drag the items with duplicate enabled a fixed distance, or enter the exact distance at which you want to translate the copy by pressing on the arrow and entering the drag distance, or you create “magnetic” points by drawing the path with a point or intersections at every point you should have a copy of the original group. You can move the translation point by dragging to the face and starting point of the plane where you made the path sketch.