Learn how to model geometry based on a sculpted body. Now that you've seen how to use model based on sketches, we'll take it one step further and go through how to take advantage of sketches and model geometry based on an existing sculpted body. 

Learning Objectives

1. Using sketches and planes to split bodies
2. Using bodies to join and cut other bodies

Dataset

In Samples section of your Data Panel, browse to:

Basic Training > 04 - Modeling > 04_Model_from_sculpted_body

Open the design and follow the steps below to complete the lesson.

Step-by-step guides

Step 1: Turn on Sketch visibility

1. Go to the browser and locate the Sketch folder.
2. Click the light bulb to turn on sketch visibility.

You should now see a number of sketch lines and profiles appear on your model.

     

1. Go to the Modify drop-down menu and select Split Body.

Step 3: Make the split

1. Select the body as the Body to Split.
2. Click on Splitting Tool to activate the selection. Select the long grip line sketch as the Splitting Tool. Click OK to finish the split.

Step 4: Repeat the previous steps

Let's repeat the previous steps and make another split; this time, it'll be for the grip at the top of the knife model.

1. Go back to the Sketch folder in the browser and turn on Layout Sketch visibility.

Step 5: Split the model into three bodies

1. Go to the Modify drop-down menu and select Split Body.

Step 6: Make the split

1. Select the body as the Body to Split.
2. Click on Splitting Tool to activate the selection.
3. Select the short grip line sketch as the Splitting Tool.
4. Click OK to finish the split.

Step 7: Rename bodies

In the Bodies folder, you'll notice that there are now three bodies. Let's rename them.

1. Double click on the body and rename:

   

1. Select Grip 1 and Grip 2, right-click and select Copy.

Step 9: Paste bodies

1. Click somewhere on the canvas, right-click to activate the marking menu, then select Paste.
2. You should now see two more bodies appear in your Bodies folder called Grip 1 (1) and Grip 2 (1). Click OK to finish the paste action.

Step 10: Offset bodies with Press-Pull

1. Turn off visibility of Grip 1 and Grip 2. We're going to work on the two new grip bodies.
2. Right-click somewhere on the canvas and select Press-Pull. Select all the faces of Grip 1 (1) and Grip 2 (1). Make sure to rotate around and get all the faces. Hold Shift to add onto the selection. You should have a total of eight faces selected.

Step 11: Offset bodies with Press-Pull

1. Enter an Offset Distance of -1 mm.

Click OK to finish. You should see that the faces have been successfully offset.

 

 

Step 12: Join bodies with the Combine tool

1. Let's now join these offset bodies to the knife body so that they are part of a whole body. Go to the Modify drop-down menu and select Combine.
2. In the command dialog, set:
   • Knife Body as the Target Body
   • Grip 2 (1) as the Tool Body
   • Join as the Operation
   • Uncheck Keep Tools.
3. Click OK to finish the operation.

Step 13: Repeat Combine Join

1. Repeat the previous step, but this time, join Grip 1 (1) to Knife Body. Click OK to finish the operation.

You should now only see Grip 1, Grip 2, and Knife Body in your Bodies Folder in the browser.

Step 14: Cut Bodies with the Combine tool

Now let's use the new knife body to cut the original grips so that they fit exactly right.

1. Turn on visibility of Grip 1 and Grip 2.

We're going to focus on Grip 1 first.

Step 15: Cut Grip 1 with the Combine tool

1. Go to the Modify drop-down menu and select Combine.
2. In the command dialog, set:
   • Grip 1 as the Target Body
   • Knife Body as the Tool Body
   • Cut as the Operation
   • Check Keep Tools.
3. Click OK to finish the operation.

Step 16: Repeat Combine Cut for Grip 2

1. Repeat the previous step, but this time, cut Grip 2 using Knife Body. Click OK to finish the operation.

Step 17: Shell the knife body

Now that we have our grips modeled, let's shell the inside of the knife body.

1. Go to the Modify drop-down menu and select Shell.
2. Select Knife Body from the browser. Make sure that the shell thickness is 1 mm.

Click OK to finish.

Note: In the Shell command, selecting bodies from the browser will only shell the inside of those bodies. Selecting the face of a body shell removes that face and shells the inside.

Step 18: Split Knife Body into two pieces

Now that we have our knife body shelled, let's split it into two pieces.

1. Go to the Modify drop-down menu and select Split Body.
2. Select Knife body as the Body to Split.

Step 19: Split Knife Body into two pieces

1. Click on Splitting Tool to activate the selection.
2. Select the plane that cuts down the middle of the Knife body. If you have trouble selecting the plane, zoom out until you can select it, or hold down the left mouse button to bring up the menu and select WorkPlane.
3. Click OK to finish the operation.

Step 20: Convert Bodies to Components

You should now see two knife bodies as well as the two grips in your Bodies folder. As the last step, let's convert these into components.

1. Select all four bodies, right-click and select Create Components from Bodies.

Step 21: Lesson complete!

You have completed the lesson!

You can now drag the components apart and see all the work we did around the grips and the knife body.