7. swept profiles - tcaps...

ArtCAM Pro 5.5 7. Swept Profiles

Issue ArtCAM-P 5.5 73

7. Swept Profiles

Overview Swept Profiles are another way of generating 3D Reliefs.

Swept Profiles use vectors to create the relief by sweeping the profiles, and can produce

more accurately defined shapes than the Shape Editor. The two methods can be used either

separately or together to produce a combination of effects.

There are five types of Swept Profiles that can be found on the Relief Toolbar or on the

assistant. These are Extrude, Spin, Turn, Two Rail Sweep and Weave Wizard.

Extrude Relief The Extrude button uses a Wizard to generate an extruded relief. This is produced by

sweeping a relief from the start profile to the end profile along the drive curve, as the

diagram shows. The Drive Curve, Start Profile and End Profile are all vectors. The

End Profile is optional. The Drive curve can be open or closed, but the Start and End

vectors must be open.

Drive Curve

Start Profile

End Profile

7. Swept Profiles ArtCAM Pro 5.5

74 Issue ArtCAM-P 5.5

Example • Click the New Model button on the File toolbar.

• Set the size of the relief to 25mm by 25mm.

• Click the Create Polyline button.

• Draw a straight line across the model with two clicks of the Left mouse button:

Vectors can be edited to suit. When the mouse is over a vectors

there are three menus available - A Span Editing menu when the

cursor is over a span, A Node Editing menu when the cursor is

over a Node, and a General Vector Editing menu when the

cursor is over the edge of the bounding box.

• Select the line and click the Right mouse button over the centre of the line (the span).

The Span Editing menu appears.

• Select the option Convert Span to arc.

The line changes to an arc.

The Green Square indicates the Start Node of the Vector.

The White Square is a Control Node and allows you to change

the Radius of the arc by dragging it with the Left mouse button.

This vector will be the Drive Curve.



• Use the Create Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle on the left of the page as shown.

This vector will be edited by removing the base span, to open it out

as a 'n' shape. The height of the produced relief, is calculated as if

the start profile has a flat base. If the sides of the vector are unequal

in length, the height is calculated from the angled line that would

join the ends of the profile.

• Right click the bottom span of the rectangle and select the option Remove Span.

• With the rectangle selected use the Right click menu to Copy the shape.

• Then use the Right click menu again to Paste the copy of the shape.

• Use the right arrow key on the keyboard to move one of the rectangles towards the other end of the arc.

The start and end vectors have been generated. The

shape of the end vector is altered by changing the

top span into an arc.

• Put the cursor over the top span of the right-hand rectangle and press the letter A on the keyboard.

This is the shortcut for Convert Span to Arc, and the vectors look

like this. The vectors are ready to generate an extruded relief.



• Click the Extrude button on the Relief Toolbar.

The Extrude Wizard appears:

The Extrude Wizard is a series of pages

leading the user through the stages needed

to create the shape. Each page has

instructions and the Next> button takes it to

the next page. At any time the <Back button

can be used to go back to a previous page.

This first page is for selecting the Drive

Curve.

• Select the Drive Curve vector in the 2D View.

• Click the Select button on the wizard to tell ArtCAM that this is the vector you want to use. It is important to select the vector before pressing this button.

Once the vector has been selected, it turns red to indicate that it

is the Drive Curve.

The Green Square indicates the Start of the Curve, which is the end that the Start Profile

will be.

The ‘tick’ in the centre of the curve indicates which side of the curve the

profiles will be extruded along.

These options can be altered to suit using the options on this first page of the

wizard, which become available once a vector has been selected.

The Start point can be moved to the other end, the other side of

the curve can be used to extrude the profile along, the drive curve

can be used as a centreline, and we can force ArtCAM to mitre

any square corners.



• Leave the options as default and click the Next> button to go to the next page

This page is for selecting the Start Profile.

• Select the left-hand rectangle vector as the Start Profile and click the Select button.

The vector turns blue to show that it is a cross-section vector, and has the

same marks on it as the Drive Curve vector.

In this case the Green Square is marking the end of the profile that will be

attached to the Drive Curve, and can be changed using the wizard.

The ‘ticks’ along the curve indicate whether we are creating a positive shape or a negative

shape.

If they are on the inside of the curve as above, the profile will be positive. If however you

click the Invert curve in Z option, the profile will be negative and a ‘hole’ will be created.

• Leave the options as default and click the Next> button:



This page is for selecting the End Profile.

By default the End Profile is the Same as

the Start Profile box is ticked. If an End

Profile is required, this option must be

unticked to allow a vector to be selected.

• Uncheck the ‘End profile is same as start profile’ check box.

• Select the right-hand vector as the End Profile and click the Select vector.

This vector also goes blue since it is a cross-section vector, and has the same options as the

Start Profile.

• Leave the options as default and click the Next> button to go to the next page.

This page allows a Z modulation Profile

to be selected when the option Use a Z

modulation vector is ticked.

This is a vector that varies the Z Height of

the Swept Profile along its length.

The vectors created for the Start and End

Profiles control the height of the Swept

Profile. ArtCAM will automatically create

a gradual change in shape from one to the

other.

Z modulation is a way of controlling the height by varying it between the height of the cross-

section vector and zero, and works using proportion.

• Click the Next> button to go to the next page.



This page allows you to select the

combination method to be used to

combine the Swept Profile with the

existing relief.

• With Add selected, click the Extrude button. Close the Wizard.

• Press the F3 key to select the 3D View.

The start profile has been merged into the end

profile along the drive curve.

When creating Swept Profiles, the 2D View no

longer matches the 3D View. It is useful to be

able to see where the relief has been created in the

2D View for further operations such as texturing.

• Click the Greyscale from Relief button.

Yellow represents the Zero Plane. White is the highest point,

Black is the lowest point, and varying shades of grey represent the

heights in between.

When you load a relief that has no associated artwork, ArtCAM automatically generates a

grayscale image.



Spin Relief The Spin Wizard takes a Start Profile and spins it about its start point to produce the

relief. An End Profile and a Z Modulation Profile can also be defined.

• Open a new model and set the relief size to be 25mm square.

• Create a polyline from left to right in the left hand half of the screen.

This vector will be converted to an arc shape.

• Select the vector and select Convert span to arc.

This vector looks like this:

• Select the Spin button on the Relief toolbar.



The Spin Wizard appears:

The Spin Wizard now guides you through

the process of using your vector as a profile

for generating a 3D shape.

• Select the vector and click the Select button on the wizard.

The vector is coloured blue as before to indicate that it has been selected as a cross-section

vector.

As before, a ‘tick’ on the line points away from the green Start Node and indicates whether

the profile will be positive or negative. The Start Node marked by the Green Square is used

as the Anchor Point around which the shape is spun.

• Make sure that the Start Node is in the centre of the page by selecting the option Move anchor point to other end if necessary.

• Click the Next> button to proceed to the next page.

The next page is for selecting an End Profile

and is exactly the same as the Extrude

Wizard page.

Direction tick



• In this case, we are not using a different End Profile, so click the Next> button to go to the next page.

This page allows you to define the angle that the

profile will be spun through. By default, the

option Sweep through 360 degrees is ticked.

If the angle required is less than 360 degrees,

the option can be switched off, and values filled

in for the Start Angle and End Angle.

These values are absolute values, with 0 at the top of the 2D View and 90

degrees to the right-hand side as shown in the diagram on the Wizard.

• This example has an angle of 360 degrees, so leave the box ticked and click the Next> button to go onto the next page.

The next page is the Z modulation page and is

the same as the Extrude Wizard page.

• A Z modulation vector is not required, so click the Next> button to go onto the last page.

The combine relief page is shown, with Add

selected by default.



• Click the Spin button to generate the shape. Close the Wizard.

Again the 2D view does not relate to its

corresponding relief, since this 3D shape has

been created from a vector.

• Select the Grayscale from Relief button.

The 2D view should now look something like this:

Turn Relief The Turn command, takes a vector and turns it over itself to generate a relief. The axis

it turns over is defined as a line between the start and end points of the vector.

Vector

Turn direction

• Delete the current relief using the Reset Relief button on the Relief

toolbar.

• Select the Turn button on the Relief Toolbar.



This Wizard only has two pages. The first

page allows you to select the vector, and enter

a scale factor for the Z Height. The second

page allows you to select the combination

method.

• Select the arc vector used previously. Click the Select button on the wizard.

• Select the Next> button.

The combine relief page appears, with Add

selected.

• Click on the Turn button to finish. Close the Wizard.

• Set the primary colour as white in the 2D view and select clear.

• Use the Grayscale From Relief button on the Model toolbar to see an indication of the relief in the 2D view.



Two Rail Sweep Relief This swept profile allows freeform shapes to be created by sweeping vector cross sections

between two vector drive rails. Different start and end cross sections can be selected and the

height of the resulting shape can also be controlled using a Z Modulation vector. This Swept

Profile is created using a page in the Assistant at the left-hand side.

• Open a New Model and set the size of the relief to 25mm by 25mm.

• Create two polyline vectors and an ellipse as shown.

This ellipse will be the cross-section vector so it needs to be open.

• Select the vector, place the cursor over the span, and press the letter R on the keyboard.

The 2D View looks like this

• Select the Two Rail Sweep button on the Relief toolbar.

The Two Rail Sweep page appears in the Assistant.

The Toggle Help button can be clicked in order to show

the help for the page, but in this example we will keep it

switched off.

The Two Rail Sweep Swept Profile can use up to five

vectors. First they must be selected in the correct order

using the Shift key so that ArtCAM knows which is

which.



The correct order is as follows:

� Two Drive Rail vectors.

� The Start Profile – which must be open

� The End profile – which must be open

� The Z Modulation vector.

In this example we are not using an End Profile or Z Modulation vector, so the minimum

three vectors can be selected.

• Press Shift and select the two zigzag lines.

• Shift-select the curve to add it to the selection.

The profile is the last thing selected, so that ArtCAM

knows which vector of the three is the profile.

Once selected, the Drive Rails are coloured red, and the

cross-section is coloured blue.

ArtCAM will create the shape by attaching the cross-

section vector to the Start Nodes (marked by green squares)

of the two Drive Rails and sweeping along in the direction

of the arrows.

This means that the Drive Rails should be going in the same direction unless you want the

result to be a twisted shape.

• Set the arrows on the two Drive Rails the same way, by reversing their directions using the options on the Assistant page if necessary.

The Scale cross section height with width option is

ticked, so the height of the shape will vary according to the

distance between the two rails.

There are also options on the dialog to Scale the Final

Height to a particular value or to use the Z Drive Curve to

set the heights.

The Combine option sets how the swept profile is joined

with the current relief.



• With Add selected, click the Calculate button.

• Use the Grayscale From Relief button on the Model toolbar to see an indication of the relief in the 2D view.

Weave Relief This is a tool for creating complex weave designs that consist of overlapping swept

profiles quickly and easily.

Simply select any overlapping vectors as drive curves, which will represent the centreline(s)

for the design, and then select a vector cross section. The Weave Wizard will extrude the

cross section along the drive curves scaling its height up and down at each crossover point to

give a perfect inter-linked, over-under weave effect.

• Open a New Model and set the size of the relief to 25mm by 25mm.

• Create three vectors for the drive curves, and a small vector for the cross-section.

The overlapping vectors will be used as the

centrelines for the drive curve.

The smaller vector will be the cross-section of

the weave pattern, and must be an Open vector.



• Shift select the drive curve vectors and the cross-section vector last

The vectors turn pink as they are selected and a box appears

around the extents of the vectors to show that they are selected.

• Select the Weave Wizard button

ArtCAM creates the weave pattern at the

places where the vectors crossover each other.

The direction of the vectors determines which

vector goes under or over the others.

Length of Crossover determines the length

of the weave that will be lowered or raised at

the crossover point. This is usually Relative

to cross-section.

% Depth of Underpass and % Height of

Overpass allow you to determine the

percentage that the height of the weave cross-

section is lowered or raised at the crossovers.

Te Corner Shape can be Round or Square,

and the relief is combined in the same

manner.

• Leave the options as they are, and click OK.

ArtCAM generates the weave pattern:



Fruit Plate Exercise • Open the model fruits-on-plate.art.

These vectors will be turned into a plate relief, using swept profiles.

• Select the pineapple dome vector and generate an Added Dome Relief with an angle of +45, start height of 0.4 with No Limit.

• Use the diamond vectors and generate an Added Pyramid Relief with an angle of +25, start height of 0 with No Limit.

• Select the round pineapple vector and flood fill with yellow. With yellow as primary colour select zero relief NOT under colour button.



• Use the left middle leaf vector and generate an Added Dome Relief with an angle of +45, start height of 0 with No Limit.

• Use the right middle leaf vector and generate a Merge High Dome Relief with an angle of +45, start height of 0.2 with No Limit.

• Use the outer leaf vectors and generate a Merge High Dome Relief with an angle of +45, start height of 0.4 with Limit to Height at 1mm.

• Select the three vectors for the banana and generate an added two rail sweep relief.

• Generate a merged high relief using the line as a drive curve, the arch as the first section and the angle as the end section.



• Select the pear shape vector and generate an Added Turn Relief.

• Select the stalk vector and generate a Merged High Turn Relief.

• Use the leaf vector to generate a Merged High Two Rail Sweep Relief.

• From the polyline vector Add a Spin Relief.

• Select the grouped design vectors and then the small vector.



• Add a weave relief with the following values and select OK.

• Select the text fruit and generated an Added Pyramid relief with No limit at a start height of 0 and an angle of +60 degrees.

7. swept profiles - tcaps...

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