Monday, September 3, 2012

Cubify Invent - Tutorial #6: Angled Planes

Being able to precisely work from different angles when creating sketches and objects from sketches is very powerful.  If we could only precisely work from front/back, left/right and top/bottom views, we'd be severely limited in what we could create.

Fortunately, Cubify Invent provides us with a lot of flexibility to work from just about any angle of our choosing by providing us with the means of creating new planes at an angle to existing planes or surfaces of our objects.

We can create a normal plane simply by selecting one existing reference plane or planar surface of an existing object.  But, to create an angled plane we need to make two selections that are complementary.  These combinations are:
  • Plane / Axis
  • Plane / Edge
  • Planar Surface / Axis
  • Planar Surface / Edge
  • Axis / Plane
  • Axis / Planar Surface
  • Edge / Plan
  • Edge / Planar Surface
No matter which order or combination is used, the process is the same.  Select the first item and then Choose PLANE in the reference section of the toolbar.  Then, holding the shift key, select the second item.  The new plane will be created parallel to the selected Plane or Planar Surface and pivot on the selected Edge or Axis.

While the video tutorial neglected to include it, you are able to create multiple angled planes just as you can with normal planes.

Here is a short video that, hopefully, clearly explains the process...



It doesn't take long, once we grasp the process, to see that angled planes are something we are going to use very often.

Remember that when I first mentioned Cubify Invent, I said that I didn't want to immediately write a review because I was so familiar with Moment of Inspiration (MOI) that it would not be fair to Cubify Invent unless I had an opportunity to work with it a while.  Well, I can tell you that the more I work with Cubify Invent, the more I have come to believe that it is a powerful design tool with a far easier interface than I could have imagined.  I'm loving what I'm seeing and I've only scratched the surface!

I can't wait to learn more!

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5 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 3, 2012 at 10:40 AM

    Can't wait till you get to "functions". I,too,am starting to love Invent and its parametric modeling capability. Your tutorials got me back to the program. I was letting it languish while I used Autodesk's 123D--another nice program. Now I'm beginning to see that Invent has just about everything except the use of background drawings (or photos)as reference and any way to import meshes.
    Keep up the good work. Your tutorials are great.
    Damon Swanson

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tom MeeksSeptember 3, 2012 at 7:23 PM

    I, too, miss the ability to upload a background picture to aid in creating the design. I will email the design team and add that as a request.

    Thank you for your encouragement on the tutorials. It's hard to know if they are helpful without feedback from readers. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael The ModellerMarch 19, 2017 at 8:15 PM

      Any work on getting a photo reference in Cubify Invent? I really want that as well.

      Delete
    2. Michael The ModellerMarch 19, 2017 at 8:16 PM

      Any movement with getting photo references into Cubify Invent? I would really like that as well since I miss having it like other programs do. I like your blog, keep it up. Very helpful.

      Delete
  3. UnknownSeptember 6, 2012 at 9:56 PM

    Thanks for these. Very helpful!

    ReplyDelete