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Transcript
I’m Kevin Kennedy and welcome to episode number 2 of this 6-part Shapr3D tutorial series. Today we’ll design a sound bar that sits on top of the Modern Credenza from episode 1.
To get started, open the Modern Credenza file.
With the items manager open, let’s begin by placing the existing items into a folder. Select the top item, hold the shift key, then select the bottom.
You can either right-click and select ‘Group Items’ or select the folder icon in the lower left corner.
Right-click again and rename your folder.
This folder will let us turn the credenza off and on as needed. Adding your items to a folder is particularly helpful when designing more than one object in the same file.
We can also collapse the folder to allow for more room for the new sound bar items.
Hover your mouse over the top board and press the space bar. The Space Bar will let us look directly at the surface to create a new sketch. We’ll start by sketching out the base of the soundbar.
Using the line tool, we’ll sketch out a trapezoid without worrying about the size or positioning. We’ll add constraints and dimensions after we roughly sketch out the shape.
Let’s also sketch a centerline, making sure it connects to the center of each horizontal line.
I’ll press Escape, select the line, and select the construction option. Construction lines allow us to reference the line in our sketches without it being used with the modeling features.
We can now add a vertical constraint to the construction line, followed by a horizontal constraint to the top and bottom lines.
Lastly, I’ll select the left and right lines, allowing us to define the symmetry constraint with our center construction line. This will ensure they always remain symmetrical.
We can now dimension the bottom line with 9 inches and the top line with 7 inches. Feel free to experiment with the design and try out your own dimensions.
Lastly, I’ll dimension the center construction line with 7 inches.
Before we Extrude, determine where you’d like to place the base on the credenza. It could be centered in the middle or off to one side. If needed, consider any construction lines to reference for the positioning of the sketch.
I’ll Extrude this to half an inch.
A great benefit to Direct Modeling with Shapr3D is just how quickly we can style something with some Chamfers and Fillets.
I’ll select the four vertical edges and pull the arrow away from the body to define a 1-and-a-quarter-inch fillet.
We can then select the top surface, change the feature to Chamfer, and notice that lets us quickly select the entire top edge instead of selecting individual line segments. I’ll make this a Chamfer of ⅜” of an inch.
Lastly, I’ll add an 1/8” fillet to each of these edges, making sure there are no sharp edges. This is also something that will make it more manufacturable, which we’ll talk about in future episodes.
One thing you may have noticed is our base is currently unioned with the top board. I did not set the Extrude to “New Body.” That’s okay. Sometimes you’ll forget to change the setting and we can easily fix this. Simply activate the Split Body feature. Select the Top board, and then the base.
Notice we now have two separate 3D bodies. We can drag the base body out of the credenza folder and I’ll go ahead and rename the body.
I’m going to hide the Credenza for now so we can focus on the rest of the soundbar.
I’ll sketch a two-and-a-half-inch circle on the top of the base. Again, use construction lines as reference geometry to make it easier to position and constrain your geometry. Don’t forget to lock the center point of the circle.
I’d like the ‘stem’ of the sound bar to be a unique shape, so I’m going to loft it from a circle to a more square shape.
Start by creating an offset construction plane that is 2.5” from the previous sketch.
We can then sketch a center rectangle that is 2.25” in length and 1.5” in width.
I’ll use the Arc command to add a rounded edge to each side. Starting by connecting the two endpoints, I’ll define this as 45-degrees.
After the second side is complete, I’ll change the width from 2.25 inches to only 1.5 inches.
We can also select the two sides of the rectangle and make them construction lines so they do not affect our outer profile shape.
The Loft feature will help us bridge from one sketch profile to the other. Simply select the middle of the shape, making sure not to select the construction plane or any unwanted geometry.
The edges are still a little sharp, so let’s select the four vertical edges and add a 1/4” fillet to them.
To create the top portion, I’ll start another center rectangle on the top of the stem.
I’ll make this 3 inches in width and 36 inches in length. We can then Extrude this to a height of 3.5 inches. Double-check that you’re including the inner profile where the stem is. You may find it easier to select faces by first hiding the adjacent object.
Sometimes I like to quickly ideate and mock things up with basic shapes. Looking at this, I’d like to add a half inch to the front and the back. We can simply select the faces and offset it another half inch.
Let’s also sketch on the side and create a line from the top right corner that attaches to the left edge. We’ll dimension this by shift-clicking the two endpoints, followed by a dimension of ¾ of an inch.
I’ll cut this away by Extruding it into the existing 3D body.
We can now add a ¾” of an inch fillet to the four edges. Once that is complete, let’s select both the front and back faces and add a ¼” fillet to the sharp edges.
Let’s also group the sound bar items in the Items Manager. Remember to rename your items as well. This will be very helpful later on, especially when applying different visual materials.
Last but not least, let’s turn the Credenza folder back on so we can take a look at these two items together. I’ll also turn off any sketches or construction planes that are still on.
The general shape of our sound bar is now complete! In the next lesson, we’ll visualize the products with realistic colors and materials.
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Be sure to subscribe for more free Shapr3D lessons and check out
ProductDesignOnline.com for more resources. Then, click on this YouTube
playlist to view the rest of the six days.
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