Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

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sunjapo
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Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by sunjapo »

Hi,

I'm newbie to FreeCAD and I'm trying to follow a tutorial video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro7VcVMq ... Ug&index=9.

While it works fine while I'm using Ver. 0.12, I can't edit any number of the "Base" in "Revolution" ,on the "Part Design" workbench, when I use Ver. 0.13, Rev. 1828, on Windows 8 Pro.

Is this something wrong or is it a change to Ver. 13?

Any info or tips on this would be very much appreciated :-)

Thanx in advance.
Last edited by NormandC on Sat Mar 02, 2013 6:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: fixed youtube link.
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NormandC
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by NormandC »

Hello, and welcome here.

This video tutorial is 16 months old, which is a very long time in FreeCAD development. In short, in regard to the revolution feature, the video is kind of obsolete, but still valid for the sketcher.

The Revolution parameters are now accessed in the Task panel (see second screen capture in this command page), and you can no longer edit the "Base" parameter in the Data tab. The reason for the base value was that initially, the revolution axis was applied on a standard plane (XY, XZ or YZ). If your sketch plane was not coplanar with a standard plane, but rather parallel, you needed to enter the base value (or offset value) manually to place your revolution axis on the same plane as the sketch. This is no longer necessary, as the tool now automatically sets the revolution axis on the sketch plane.

Also, the Revolution feature now accepts construction lines as revolution axis. If the sketch contains one or more construction lines, they will be listed as "sketch axis x" in the drop down menu.

When you want to edit a revolution's parameters, double click on its label in the Project tree (or right-click and choose "Edit revolution") and the Task panel will be brought to the foreground. With any Part Design feature, you should not need to go into the Data tab.
sunjapo
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by sunjapo »

Hello normandc,
Thanks for reply!

So, could you tell me how to move the revolution axis in Ver. 13 as he did with Ver.12 in the video?

Is going back to the sketch mode and moving the construction line from there my only option for that?

It seems to me a lot harder than what he did with Ver. 12 in the video, that is, just changing the values of its base point.

BTW, the 'revolution parameters' dialogue gave me only three options: "Vertical sketch axis", "Horizontal axis" and "Sketch axis 0"...
jmaustpc
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by jmaustpc »

sunjapo wrote:
BTW, the 'revolution parameters' dialogue gave me only three options: "Vertical sketch axis", "Horizontal axis" and "Sketch axis 0"...
The first two are your Y and X, sketch axis, the third is a construction line in your sketch. You can add many construction lines to your sketch and then you will see more "Sketch axis" in your list. The first is 0, then 1 then 2, etc..

There is also a revolve tool in Part workbench which functions differently and produces a new solid as an output. As distinct from adding a new feature to your existing solid which is usually what happens in the PartDesign workbench. There may possibly be some occasions where the Part Revolve suits your purposes more conveniently.

Jim
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NormandC
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by NormandC »

Hello sunjapo,
sunjapo wrote:So, could you tell me how to move the revolution axis in Ver. 13 as he did with Ver.12 in the video?
I just viewed the video again, I had not seen it since last year.

I don't understand why you want to duplicate John's process, as I said the Revolution parameters were very confusing back then - John struggles from 01:36 to 04:35 to get the revolution as he wants it. Now it's much, much easier.

In John's video, the first parameter he sets is the revolution axis (Axis). This gives the axis vector by using an XYZ value: for an axis parallel to X axis the value is (1,0,0), for Y (0,1,0) and for Z (0,0,1). Non-zero values in more than one field would give a slanted vector on 2 or 3 planes. Because the axis value sets the axis at the origin, the base value was required to offset the center point of the axis so it meets the sketch plane.

But it makes no sense to explain this obsolete process further, because the new method is totally different.

I quickly made a simplified sketch compared to John's to show you how the Revolution tool works in v0.13. As with John's it was drawn on the XY plane, with the profile centered on the Y axis and the bottom coincident to the X axis. Here I activated the "axis cross" at the origin from the menu View --> Toggle axis cross.
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_01.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_01.png (16.63 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
The blue line is a construction line, to be used as revolution axis. It is contained in the sketch, this resides on the same plane as the profile to be revolved.
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_02.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_02.png (5.96 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
Notice that once you exit the sketch editing mode, the blue construction line is hidden from view.

Now we start the Revolution tool. Here's what the Task panel shows:
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_03.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_03.png (38.95 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
"Vertical sketch axis" is the default selection, as it is the first in the drop down list. In the 3D view, you don't see any change, and in the Report view, this error message in red: "Revolve axis intersects the sketch".

What does this error mean? The vertical axis is in reference to the sketch. Since this sketch is on the XY plane, the vertical sketch axis corresponds to the global Y axis.

My profile is crossing the Y axis, which is no longer allowed, because if you are to make a 360 degree revolution, the material will overlap on itself, and create an invalid shape. So for this parameter to succeed, the profile would need to be on either side of the vertical sketch axis, but not both.

Now I change the Axis to "Horizontal sketch axis", and to better show the result I set the angle to 90 degrees and tick the reverse check box:
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_04.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_04.png (6.8 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
We're now seeing a 3D solid, because the horizontal sketch axis is aligned to the global X axis. Notice the small visual imperfection on the conic surfaces. I believe FreeCAD does not like the fact that the bottom point of the profile is on the global origin point (0,0,0), which means it intersects the axis and creates a solid that ends at the center on a point. In CAD software, this kind of situation can often fail; although if I choose to rotate 360 degrees, the imperfection disappears.

But this is not the shape we want, we're after a bike rim so it should have an inside diameter value of some kind - this revolution has none. So I select the last choice in the axis drop down list, "Sketch axis 0" which represents the blue construction line.
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_05.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_05.png (24.08 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
Now this is what we're looking for. To set the revolution distance between the axis and the profile, you only need to edit the sketch and move the line. Here I have not put any dimension to constrain the profile and the construction line, but I should have. So this is much easier than playing with the Base value like in v0.12.

If you want the revolution axis to be at an angle instead of parallel to the X axis, no problem - edit the sketch, delete the horizontal constraint on the construction line and rotate it:
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_06.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_06.png (23.3 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
Or put it parallel to the Y axis:
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_07.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_07.png (19.04 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
In all these options, the revolution is centered on the XY plane because that's where the sketch resides. If you want to change this, move the sketch's position by changing its coordinates.
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_08.png
FC_PartDesign_Revolution_08.png (30.77 KiB) Viewed 11928 times
I'm attaching my file so you can have a look at it. Edit the Revolution parameters by double-clicking on its label in the Project tree, then play with the options. I also recommend you edit the sketch, and delete the horizontal constraint on the blue construction line. Then set your view to isometric, click on one of the blue line's points, and drag with your mouse; when you release the line, see the Revolution update automatically - very cool uh? :mrgreen:
Attachments
PartDesign_Revolution.fcstd
(16.07 KiB) Downloaded 259 times
Last edited by NormandC on Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Reuploaded images due to Ubuntu One online service shutting down.
ickby
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by ickby »

normandc, it's off topic, but as regular forum reader familiar with your exellent answers I just have to say that this one is outstanding. You should put it into the wiki as it is, I belive it's more complete than the current entry (the wiki states only horizontal and vertikal sketch axis are aloud, no mention of construction lines for revolution)
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NormandC
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by NormandC »

Thanks. :oops:

But I personally don't like much when command pages are too long with many pictures... Maybe this could be put in the tutorials section, with a link to it here, what do you think?
ickby
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by ickby »

Well, that would work too. However, the revolution wiki entry has to be changed nontheless. The main text can be extended with a small notice for the construction line option, but the biggest problem is the example section: The examples show the outdated method and are useless now. What if you replace the content of "Example" with your answer from this post, as it basicly is a well explained example? And it's not much longer than the current huge pictures, especially if you reduce the picture size a little further. But proceed as you wish, it would just be a shame if it gets lost in the deep dark forum corners.
thang
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by thang »

Man this is a huge nuisance.

All the pictures are gone, and now the instruction is incomplete and doesn't seem to apply anymore.

" Here I activated the "axis cross" at the origin from the menu View --> Toggle axis cross."

"Toggle axis cross" is grayed out. I am just trying to get the "construction line" to show up.
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NormandC
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Re: Can't edit any # of "Base" in "Revolution"

Post by NormandC »

thang wrote:All the pictures are gone
I know. :(

Back when I wrote this reply, due to a bug the forum didn't accept image attachment. I was uploading my images and files on Ubuntu One, a Dropbox-like online storage service which was just shut down earlier this month.

I will try to locate these images on my local drive and upload them again.
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