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View full series – Learn Shapr3D for Direct Modeling
Transcript
I’m Kevin Kennedy and welcome to this 6-part Shapr3D tutorial series, where I’ll discuss best practices and advantages of direct modeling in Shapr3D. Follow along as we build this modern credenza and sound bar.
We’ll start by creating the basic shape of each object, followed by using the visualize feature to alter and finalize the details of our design. Finally, we’ll discuss considerations to prepare each model for realistic manufacturing.
Let’s get started with the modern credenza by starting a new design file.
We’ll draw the long horizontal board first, starting with a new sketch. Under the rectangle tool, select the diagonal option and I’ll switch this to center. We’ll find it better to use a center rectangle from the center origin point, which will make it easier to mirror our parts later.
I have my units of measurement set to inches. Remember you can change units at any time in the upper right corner.
I’ll make the width of the board 54 inches. We can press the Tab key to switch between inputs. Let’s make the depth 15.75 inches.
We can now Extrude this to a thickness of .625 inches by dragging the arrow upward.
I’d like this to have mitered edges, so I’ll select all four of the top edges, followed by dragging the arrow back half an inch.
The board currently sits on the bottom origin plane, which acts as the ground plane. Let’s move this up 6 inches, which will be the height of the feet. This will allow the feet to rest on the ground plane, giving us a more realistic visualization later on.
Double-click the body to select everything. We can then select and move the center anchor point to the bottom edge. Drag the arrow up, and type out 6 inches, followed by the Return key.
We can now create an offset construction plane 2.75” away from the top of this board. This will allow us to quickly Mirror the board to create the matching top board, with a total distance of 5.5 inches in between.
Remember to hide any sketches, planes, or other geometry in the Items Manager. I also recommend renaming your assets every so often, which will make it much easier to find things later.
Looking at one of the side views, I’ll sketch a diagonal rectangle that goes from corner to corner. This will serve as one of the sideboards. Let’s Extrude this to a half-inch thickness.
I’m going to move this board over to the right edge of the design. We can then select the board again, use the copy badge, and quickly make a second one that will serve as the divider for a drawer or front panel.
I’ll move this over 13 inches, which results in 12.5 inches after you subtract the half-inch thickness of the board.
One of the great benefits of direct modeling is that you can experiment and quickly change or test your design as you go. For example, I did not factor in the backboard yet, and would like to select the back side of each of these and subtract an ⅛”.
Because our design is symmetrical, we can hold the Shift key and double-click each board to select them. I like to simply type out “Mirror” to quickly activate the Mirror command, then I’ll select the sketch as the mirror plane.
Let’s add the backboard. Remember you can hover over a planar face before pressing the spacebar to reorient the view for sketching.
With a diagonal rectangle, simply select each opposite corner. We can then select each sketch profile and Extrude this out ⅛”. Double-check the badge icon and make sure this is set to “New Body,” ensuring it does not automatically join the existing 3D bodies. This will allow us to apply a different material if desired. It also keeps it a unique body in the Items Manager.
We’re just about done with the top of the credenza, and then we’ll design the legs.
Let’s sketch the inner side of the credenza. Either side will work, as we’re going to reference the existing corner points to create the inside shelf, once again using a diagonal rectangle.
Let’s make this shelf a thickness of ⅜ of an inch. Remember to change this to “New Body” as well, allowing us to move it to the desired location. Otherwise, this body will join the existing 3D body.
Let’s simply move this up 2.5 inches. Right now our shelf is floating, and that’s okay, we’re going to discuss making this more manufacturable and realistic later on in this series.
Sketching on the front edge of the credenza, let’s draw a diagonal rectangle 23.5 inches in width and 1 inch in height. I’ll make this have a depth of ¾ of an inch.
I want the legs to sit back, so I’ll offset this one inch from the front edge using the move feature.
Note that I’m only sketching half of this as we’re going to mirror the legs and combine some bodies at the end.
Let’s make a mitered end where the leg will adjoin to. With the Chamfer tool, we can change the type to “two distance,” allowing us to define the Chamfer angle.
Define 1 inch for the vertical direction and ⅜” for the horizontal direction.
If you recall, at the beginning we moved the bottom board up 6 inches for the height of the legs. We can now use Shapr3D’s construction line to build reference geometry for the angled lines.
Sketch a vertical line running down from the bottom edge, a total length of 6 inches. Then, select the line in addition to “Make Construction.” This will turn it into a dashed construction line, for reference purposes only.
Sketch out the general shape of the leg, without worrying too much about the dimensions. You can always dimension and refine things as you go. Keep in mind that we can use existing geometry as reference points.
I’ll make the bottom of the leg half an inch, while the top will be 1 and a quarter inches.
As I go to Extrude this ¾” of an inch back, you’ll see the construction line does not interfere with the closed sketch profile.
Let’s also add an ⅛” Fillet to each outer edge of the leg. Select the two edges and pull away from the body to define the Fillet.
We can now select both bodies, activate Mirror, then select the inside face of the support bar to use as the Mirror plane.
Notice we still have a split line down the middle of the support bar, as these are two different bodies. Use the “Union” tool to join these together, resulting in a single body. I recommend doing this before we mirror these three bodies to create the back legs.
Use the Midplane construction plane, by selecting the front of the credenza and the back of the credenza. This creates a plane directly in the middle.
We can now create the remaining three bodies by Mirroring the legs to the backside. Don’t forget that you can select bodies in the Items Manager, which is sometimes easier than selecting objects throughout your model.
Last but not least, let’s create a support bar that connects the legs on each side.
Start the sketch by referencing the Midplane we just created. We can then sketch a rectangle that is ¾” of an inch by 1 inch.
Extrude the rectangle to an arbitrary distance, as we’ll use the “Replace Face” feature to quickly make the board touch the long support bars without the need to know the dimensions.
With Replace Face active, select the two faces to connect. Once complete, adjust the position of this support bar if desired.
Lastly, Mirror this over to the other side. Note that you can select the axis as the mirror plane.
The general shape of our modern credenza is now complete! In the next lesson, we’ll design the rough shape of the sound bar, followed by additional lessons on visualizing materials and discussing manufacturing details.
Don’t forget to rename your file from the Designs tab.
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