Wrapping up a Little Fun - Modeling the Six Sided Die

"It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence."
"V" From V for Vendetta

Afrer modeling nearly all of the gaming dice, (20 sided, 12 sided, 10 sided, 8 sided, and 4 sided), I decided to complete the set with the 6 sided.

Originally, I was going to post this particular die as a bit of a joke.  Draw a square, extrude it into a cube, break the edges and slap some numbers on it.  How hard could it be?

Examples of 6 sided die (courtesy Wikipedia)

Could you believe I found a way to complicate it?  And find a use for a new trick in the process?

I'll share the trick at the end of the blog.  First, I'll start out with the steps I used.  Which let's face it, aren't that difficult.  But there might still be a trick or two to use.

1) First, I created the cube.  Since I used Autodesk Inventor 2013, I used the "Box" primitive that was added in this release.

Using the "Box" primitive to create the cube for the die.

2) Next, I added fillets to break the sharp edges.  I used the "All Rounds" option to get every edge.

Adding fillets to break the edges

3) Finally, I added the numbers to each side of the die.

Finally, adding the numbers!

And that's it.  The die is finished.

But there's an epilogue to this exercise.  Looking at the die, I didn't like the way it looked. The edges were too crisp and clean.  It didn't look like a real die would.  I decided I wanted the vertices of the die to look more rounded than the rest of the die.

Looking carefully the rounded corners can be seen (image courtesy Wikpedia)

Thg "too crisp" corner shown.  I'm using the "shaded with edges" setting to show the corner more clearly.

So how did I go about changing that?  I edited the fillet, created in step 2, and on the "setbacks" tab, I chose each corner of the die, and changed the setback until I liked the result (I used .1875 in my case). 

I found it gave a much more eye pleasing result than the tight corners I initially had.

Changing the setback

The completed die with setback

Ironically, I can't think of another time I've really used the setback setting.  It's possible that I might have used it somehwhere, but I can't recall one. 

I guess it just goes to show that one should never say "I'll never use that tool!"

And naturally, I have to add a rendering from Autodesk Showcase, just because!

And one for the show!

And if you want do download the model here you go!

Click here to download from Autodesk 360 (no login required)

Click here to download from GrabCAD (login required)

I hope you find this model an interesting diversion! 

Creating Arcs without Exiting the Line Tool in Autodesk Inventor

“Force never moves in a straight line, but always in a curve vast as the universe, and therefore eventually returns whence it issued forth, but upon a higher arc, for the universe has progressed since it started.”
Proverb

Autodesk University 2012 is over!  And frankly, it was fantastic!  I had a great time, met some wonderful people, and learned a ton of new things!

But a consequence of getting all that information is.... I'm beat!  So as I play catchup on sleep, and life, this blog post remains quite brief.

Has anyone out in the verse, while sketching, tried to create an arc from a line in Autodesk Inventor?  It can be done by using the "arc" tool, but it's going to likely remain returning to the sketch, and adding sketch constraints.

This tip comes from the "bucket of little things" that are simple, but make sketching easier.  This is how to create a tangent, or perpendicular arc without exiting the line tool.

1) Start drawing the lines required for the sketch

Start with the line tool.

2) Stay in the line tool when ready to create the arc.

Don't exit, stay in the line tool!

3) Click on the start of the arc, and while holding the left mouse button down (this is important!), imaging drawing the arc with a pencil.  Make sure to hold the left mouse button down until ready to create the arc.

Getting ready to create the arc

4) Draw the arc (either perpendicular or tangent) while holding the left mouse button down.  When ready, lift the left mouse button.  Now you have created an arc!

When ready to create the arc, lift the left mouse button.

Granted, there is a trick to it, and it takes practice.  The single biggest tip I can offer is to draw a little more slowly, and definitely more deliberately!  Rushing the task usually means making mistakes and redoing things.

But with a little practice, I think this is a great tool.  I encourage giving it a try!

For a little added info, here's a video to go with it.

Do you have a few thoughts or suggestions?  Add a comment below!

Just Cool Tech - A Quick Post from Autodesk University 2012

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke

Autodesk University 2012 has been just great.  I've learned a ton of new things, and met a ton of great people.  It's been a pleasure to meet so many people that I've only known online until this week! 

A sea of AU attendees.  Dedicated, interested, at energetic AU attendees!

It's also meant running around fueled on adrenaline and coffee, so it's been hard to have a few minutes to write up a blog post. 

But I can at least leave everyone with a couple of images and  videos, and show what I great event it's been!

The Rally Fighter.  Just a way cool car developed by a small company in only months!

Technology at its finest.  The Embrace Nest helping save a premature baby's life

A description of the Embrace Nest

And also video on the ShopBot CNC Router, which has models that cost less than 10,000 USD!  Sure, it's not cheap, but for technology that was tens of thousands of dollars before, this is pretty amazing!

Also, MakerBot has a 3D printer that can be obtained for 2200 USD!  And while for the "Average Joe" that's not small change.  This technology at one time was hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It's amazing how technology like this is becoming more mainstream, and more obtainable.

I need to start saving my nickles and dimes!  

 

Arriving at Autodesk University 2012 Autodesk University 2012

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Henry Ford

Today I'm reporting in from Autodesk University 2012!   I haven't been here since 2008, and now that I'm here.  Just feeling the energy of the place has made me realize how much I've missed it!

Welcome to AU2012

It's going to be a great time of learning, networking, more learning, and seeing some very cool technology.

 An amazing wine rack in Mandalay Bay.  That's technology, right!

'I'm sure I'm going to be going like crazy as I try to assimilate all the cool things that I'm seeing, but I'm hoping to share it all here as the days tick by

Heck of a view from my room!

There's not much to report yet, but that's only because things haven't gotten started.  But soon, I'll be in the thick of it. 

I can't wait! 

All for Fun! Now, the 4 Sided Gaming Die

God may not play dice with the universe, but something strange is going on with the prime numbers.
Paul Erdos

With this description of how I built the four sided gaming die, my series is nearly coming to a close. 

The completed four sided die.  The yellow "spines" are the work axes used for the circular number to complete the numbers

 This is a recreation of a die I created for a friend who was making a website for Dice House Games in Fullerton.  Ironically, they're right next door to the KETIV office!

I had to recreate the die because I lost the model in between laptops, but I think this is a better design that the original.  So here it is for everyone!

This particular die was pretty simple.  The construction was nearly the same as creating half of the eight sided die.  Although there were some variations with the numbers and basic construction.

The first step, was to create a triangle on an origin work plane.  This becomes one base of the die.

Starting the 4 sided die

\Next came a challenge.  I needed to create a point on the midpoint bisector of the triangle.  For this, I had to reach back into the high school geometry I swore I'd never use!  In truth, I only needed two lines, but the third helped me make sure that everything was right!

Bisecting the triangle

With this construction complete, I could now place a point on the intersection of the lines, and a line through that point, and perpendicular to the plane of the triangle.

I next made sure to make the hypotenuse of the imaginary triangle made by the line the same length as the side of the first triangle I sketched (a screen capture probably makes more sense here). 

Creating the line perpendicular to the first sketch.

Now I lofted from the triangle, to the point I created.  That's it, now I have a four sided die!

Creating the loft that creates the die.

 And next I break the sharp edges with a fillet.

Breaking the sharp edges

 And now the numbers!  In this case, the numbers were actually a little easier.  Instead of creating each number one at a time, the shape and design of the four sided die allowed me to use a work axis and utilize the "circular pattern" tool to finish out each number.  This way, I only had to position each number once.  The circular pattern took care of the rest!

Using a circular pattern makes it easy to create the numbers!

And viola!  The four sided die!

And I'm done!

Of course it wouldn't be finished without a rendering in Autodesk Showcase.

An now a  little rendering!

If you'd like, you can download the file from the pages below!

Click here to download from GrabCAD (login required)

Click here to download from Autodesk 360  (No login required)

Have any questions on a particular step?  Throw out a comment! 

Also, I'll be at Autodesk University 2012 this year in Las Vegas, so you may see my bald head roaming around!   

I'm also planning on blogging from there, so look for some (hopefully) interesting stuff!

Accent Lights - An Autodesk Showcase Guest Video

“He has suffused the entire design with a light and transparency that is truly extraordinary.”
Charles Pierce

I know I've been featuring a lot of videos on Autodesk Showcase from Marion Landry's YouTube Channel, but the fact is she's keeps putting out fantastic material.

In this video Marion has created, she provides us with some great tips on using accent lighting in Autodesk Showcase.

I learned quite a few tricks by watching what she's done, and I'll definitely review this video later, as well as keep a close eye on her channel!.

Here's the video below on this tip!



And for those out there that are heading to Autodesk University next week, I'll see you there!  I'm getting all my things in order to arrive Monday.  If you're going, I'll see you there!

Creating a Breakout View in Autodesk Inventor

“A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.”
Denis Waitley

When I training Autodesk Inventor, I always take a little bit of extra time on the break out view in drawings.  It's a great way of showing details for internal parts inside an assembly, and not difficult to create in Inventor.

A break out view shown created

 But when creating a break out view, it's got one place that usually snags everyone as the first few times they use it.  I know it got me when I first started it.

 That step is, associating the sketch to the view.  If the sketch isn't associated to the view, the break out view won't work, and the breakout command will error out.

This is the error seen when the sketch isn't associated

So how is the sketch associated?  What is it that's so special?

I'll talk about all the steps, and specify that special step to create the sketch association.

1. Click on the view that the breakout view will be placed on. The border will highlight, indicating it's selection.  This is the critical step that will create the associated sketch!

Make sure to select the view before creating the sketch!

2. Now, click the "Create Sketch" icon.  The sketch is created, and it's axes will center on the view.  It's this centering of the axes that tells us the sketch has associated to the view.

Creating the sketch

The centered axes tell us it's working

3.  Now sketch a closed figure around the area to break out. It can be any shape, it just has to be closed.  Here I use a spline. Finish the sketch when done.

Sketch the break out view boundary

4. Now click on the "Break Out" icon.   Select the sketch with the view.

The break out icon

5. Define the options for the break out.  One helpful tip is to point out that projected views can be used to help with the definition, not just the view that will host the breakout.  In the image below, I've used a projected view to define the break out depth.

Setting the options for break out

6. Choose okay and the breakout view is created.

The break out view created

 I could say "That's All Folks", but instead, here's a couple of other tips that I find helpful.

There will be times that not every component in the break out view is supposed to be sectioned, as step 6 shows above.  Here's how to change that.

The first is to locate the part in the feature browser, right click on it, locate "Section Participation", and changed it's setting to "None".

Setting the section options from the browser

The other is to hold down the "Shift" key with nothing selected, and right click.  Choose "Part Priority" from the menu.

Setting part priority

Now select the part on screen, right click, and the same options for "Section Participation" are available.

Setting the section participation from the right click menu

Which ever means you prefer, the sectioning for selected components can be turned off, if desired.

A completed section, with specific parts unsectioned

On a last tip, I've shown what happens when the selections are correct, but how can you tell when the view isn't associated, so a mistake can be quickly corrected before the error on view creation appears? 

There are two quick ways to tell.

1. If the sketch is created, but the axes aren't centered on the view, the sketch isn't associated.

2. If the "Project Geometry" icon is grayed out, then the sketch isn't associated.  This is because Inventor doesn't see any geometry to project.  If the sketch is associated it will.

Two ways to tell if the sketch isn't associated

 In conclusion, I hope this helps a few of you out in the "Verse" with break out view.  It's a great tool, and can be a great way to add informative detail on a drawing.

For a little extra info, here is the video!





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And Yet Again, All for Fun - The 8 Sided Die

"DIE, n. The singular of "dice." We seldom hear the word, because there is a prohibitory proverb, "Never say die.""
Ambrose Bierce

This seems to have become a Friday series.  The last few weeks I've placed a model of a gaming die on my blog, and talked about the process I went through making each one.

It stared out as a project for a website (they're the banner on the Dicehouse Games website).

Then I stated being asked if I would supply the models.  So I started making them available for download and describing the steps I used here.

So far, I've created posts for the 20 sided die, the 10 sided die, and the 12 sided die.  Now, I add the 8 sided die. 

The completed die

Here's the completed die as an embedded 3D dwf file.  Click and drag to give it a spin!





This one is a pretty simple model to create, at least when compared to the others!

• First, I sketched a square on an origin workplane.  In my case, I chose the XZ workplane. 

The first step that starts it all

Next, I bisected the square with a line, on a plane perpendicular to the sketch I first used.  It's worth noting that I later on realized that I only needed half the line, but I left the die as I started it.

Added the perpendicular line.  I later realized I didn't need the whole line

Now, it's time to create a loft from the square, to one of the line's endpoints.

Creating half of the die

With half the die completed, I used the Mirror command to create the other half of the die.

Using the Mirror command to create the other half of the die

That takes care of the heavy lifting!  Now, I just add a fillet to break the sharp edges.  Notice that I used the "All Round" option to select all the external edges at once.

Breaking the sharp edge

Finally, the long tedious task of adding the number.  This hasn't changed, its just a matter of creating a sketch with the number, and extruding it a shallow distance.  At least there are fewer now!

The process of adding the numbers

And because I can, here's the quick rendering in Autodesk Showcase.

And a rendering to make it look cool!

P.S. If you're wondering why I didn't loft from the line's endpoint, to the square, to the other endpoint, here's what happened when I tried.


Needless to say, this wouldn't have made a very good die.  So I changed my approach, and used the Mirror command instead.  But now you know why I created the line the way I did.  It's a vestige of an aborted work process!

Doh!  Not what I wanted!

And of course, here are the links to download the files.
Click here for the Autodesk 360 link

Click here for the GrabCAD link

Enjoy!  I hope to see some of you at Autodesk University 2012!

A Guest Video - Importing 3dsMax Design Animations into Showcase

Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it the most versatile and explicit means of communication yet devised for quick mass appreciation.
Walt Disney

Marion Landry of Autodesk has some great videos on things that can be done to get the most out of Autodesk Showcase. 

In this "guest video" from her YouTube channel, she describes how an animation from Autodesk 3dsMax Design can be imported into Autodesk Showcase.

It's a slick trick that combines the best of both worlds. 

Take a look and this video, and some of the other videos on her channel!  I think you'll find a lot of cool tricks you can use!