TIP: Manifold Path Visualisation Using Body Subtraction

Hi Folks,

I was working with fluid manifold paths this week and was having a real bear of a time visualizing the pathways within the manifold since all the really important surfaces are hidden in the block, by design.

I used transparent, sections and so on with mixed results. I then had a neat idea about using body subrtaction to show the manifold pathways. This lille gem was just too good not to share.

I posted a simple example model and a quick How-To showing how I used the body subtraction and got some really nice results:

Later Folks,

SMA

Interesting technique. Most of my projects have some manifold plumbing, up to maybe a hundred holes and 8 or more lines. So this is worth thinking about.

Here's what I settled on:

Make the block transparent. Work out the paths in a 3DSketch. There's too much revision going on to monkey with cut-extrudes or HW holes while figuring out the paths. After the paths are figured out (or even partially so), I use library features to insert HW holes, with their position and depth tied to points in the layout sketch. They go in fast, and I have them color coded. Before 2005 unified the palette/library features, I had a macro to create these, called "whack-a-hole".

If I need to edit the layout, things can get confusing, because you lose all the color coding. Good ol' Dynabits RedLight to the rescue. With rebuilds blocked, you can edit the layout sketch and still see the holes. You just can't select them, since you can only select geometry higher in the tree than the layout.

I soon hope to have hole callouts in the library feature files that are inserted with the hole. This is because the hole callout tool in drawings is completely useless for intersecting holes. This in combination with annotation views in 06 could really accelerate documenting manifolds.

When I design castings (of manifolds) I will typically start with the fluid pathways and then shell them out. I get my core at no extra charge when I do this.

These methods are > Hi Folks,

I do this also to verify mold cavitys and inserts to make sure that what I've done matches up to the actual part.

As an alternative, apply colors to the hole features or their surfaces, then change the manifold body to semi-transparent. This way you get to see the manifold body outline and the hole paths.

Kman