Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

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Robomike
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Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by Robomike »

As a relatively unexperienced FC user I wonder if there's something like a "globe" or "sphere" workbench or if someone is working on such.
I imagine as goal the replacement of each "plane" reference in all operations by a spherical (or somehow rotational) surface, as:
  • Sketching on a globe surface (or other rotational symmetric surface) instead of a 2D-Plane
  • constraints optionally expressible in a spherical coordinate system
  • 3D-operation vectors like for pad etc. relatively to a center point or the axis
  • ....
Please tell me if this thought is completely odd, or if there's something helpful in the FreeCAD universe I haven't found yet.

Thx, Michael
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by 937 »

Also interested in this.
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PrzemoF
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by PrzemoF »

I have not heard about it. Any particular use case? Maps?
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Robomike
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by Robomike »

PrzemoF wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 9:25 pm Any particular use case? Maps?
No, mechanics. When I start thinking about moving parts, my viewpoint is the center of a ball joint or the axis of a revolute joint, if one of these could be involved. My ideas in 3D are then based on angle, height and distance, or two angles and one distance, and not just cartesian.
(Maybe it's because I make a living as programmer for industrial robots for > 20 years, so I'm used to mix rotational and cartesian coordinates in my spatial sense.)
It's just that I somehow miss some tools. They mostly could be replaced or simulated by a different workflow, but with bigger effort.

For one example, right now I need a (rectangular cross section) irregular path in the surface of a sphere section, like milling in a ball. It's easy to imagine, easy to describe, not too hard to calculate, but a bit cumbersome to realize in FreeCAD. (Please no advice how to do particularly THAT in this thread, I will find out. I'm just speculating about my toolbox here.)

Michael
mario52
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by mario52 »

hi

do you have a use case with one image, photo

mario
Maybe you need a special feature, go into Macros_recipes and Code_snippets, Topological_data_scripting.
My macros on Gist.github here complete macros Wiki and forum.
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Robomike
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by Robomike »

mario52 wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:15 am do you have a use case with one image, photo
As you asked:
http://www.munzinger-kurvengetriebe.de/ ... igung.html
http://www.munzinger-kurvengetriebe.de/ ... riebe.html
(I have nothing to do with this company. I'm just linking to the nice pictures.)

But that's something extreme. I would find it useful whenever I have to mount something at the surface of a round part, too. Just try to place a couple of holes in irregular angles on a cylindrical pipe....

Michael
mario52
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by mario52 »

hi

beautiful ! i see one chain automatic for "food" ...

have you tried SketchOnSurface Image of Curves_Workbench

how to process actually, formule, plane, points (script), begin center cylinder (height, angle displacement), line and projection on cylinder as Curve workbench

mario
Maybe you need a special feature, go into Macros_recipes and Code_snippets, Topological_data_scripting.
My macros on Gist.github here complete macros Wiki and forum.
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Chris_G
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by Chris_G »

Hi,
I don't advise using Curves workbench for any pro job, but maybe Sketch_on_Surface tool could help ?

EDIT : Mario was faster :lol:
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Robomike
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by Robomike »

Yes, that's why I'm here.
Basically it's working for some cases, surprisingly well indeed. But it has some obvious limits.

Letting my imaginations running free: is it at least possible to make a sketch virtually toroidal? I.E. connect X +25mm mathematically borderless with X -25mm? Hm, no, when drawing a line the program wouldn't know how to connect the points because there are at least 2 possibilities. Maybe that's the main reason against my idea in general...

Michael
mario52
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Re: Is there something lika a "globe" or "sphere" workbench?

Post by mario52 »

hi
Robomike wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:20 pm I.E. connect X +25mm mathematically borderless with X -25mm?
helix ? or ellipse (cylinder cut by one inclined plane)

mario
Maybe you need a special feature, go into Macros_recipes and Code_snippets, Topological_data_scripting.
My macros on Gist.github here complete macros Wiki and forum.
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