How to cut a hole in a p'line solid?

[GeneDavis]

I tried it and nothing I tried worked.  The brackets need holes to look like timber work.  Do holes only work for the other elements like walls, etc?  Is this a job for Mr Boolean with whom I am not acquainted?

[Chopsaw]

Just draw another p-solid in the same view over top and open it up and check the Hole in Polyline Solid box.

 

[Joe_Carrick]

Create another PSolid the shape of the hole.  Place it where you want the hole to be and use PSolid Subtraction.

Yes, it's a boolean operation which just means using 2 solids to combine or subtract.

[glennw]

Or...another way.

Select the polysolid in elevation.

On the Edit menu select Solid Feature and then draw the hole.

Reshape the hole. 

[Alaskan_Son]

10 minutes ago, glennw said:

Or...another way.

Select the polysolid in elevation.

On the Edit menu select Solid Feature and then draw the hole.

Reshape the hole. 

 

Yes.  I also think its worth noting that you must select the appropriate face before making effective use of the Solid Feature, Extrude, or Revolve tools. 

[Alaskan_Son]

6 minutes ago, solver said:

 

Doesn't that convert the polyline solid to a solid?

 

In X12 there are lots of things that will easily convert a p-solid to a solid.  Simply editing the extrusion shape to anything other than a rectangle along any axis other than than the axis it was created on do it as well.

[Alaskan_Son]

Just now, solver said:

 

And some/many/most may not know it's happening.

I agree.  This is an inherent problem that comes with the ability to "edit polyline solids in views other than the view in which they were created" and there's simply no way around it.

[Chopsaw]

2 minutes ago, solver said:

And some/many/most may not know it's happening.

 

Definitely not something you want to do unintentionally but it is called "Solid Feature" tool.

[Alaskan_Son]

5 minutes ago, solver said:

 

And some/many/most may not know it's happening.

I suppose a popup warning with the option to Don't Show This Message Again might help the unaware.  It also helps to just encourage people to use the appropriate tools and means of learning the software in the first place though.

[Chopsaw]

Maybe some future version they will just surprise us with a polyline solid that is truly 3D. 

[GeneDavis]

Thanks!  I tried them all so I know how each works. The canopy is a roof, a molding, a slab, a material region, and the p'line solids.

[Alaskan_Son]

9 hours ago, Chopsaw said:

Maybe some future version they will just surprise us with a polyline solid that is truly 3D. 

What do you mean by this?  By very definition a polyline can only be drawn/edited on a single 2D plane. 

[Chopsaw]

3 hours ago, Alaskan_Son said:

What do you mean by this?  By very definition a polyline can only be drawn/edited on a single 2D plane. 

 

I was not really concerned with what it is called or how it is defined, just a 3D object that can be edited on any face in any view rather than a single extruded face.

[Joe_Carrick]

2 minutes ago, Chopsaw said:

 

I was not really concerned with what it is called or how it is defined, just a 3D object that can be edited on any face in any view rather than a single extruded face.

I think you just need to start using the boolean operations on "SOLIDS".  That allows much greater flexibility on how 2 solids are added, combined or subtracted.  PSolids IMO are great for limited extrusions but once you want more complex 3D shapes you really need to use full 3D Solids.

[Joe_Carrick]

1 hour ago, solver said:

Why not draw as it would be built? Block the parts and they can be easily reused.

 

 

You can assign a wood grain texture too.

 

That's almost exactly what I do for such items.  The difference is that I create a Symbol of the Block.