Nobody has any suggestions for me?

ViaCAD is an excellent way to model the Zenith. You can model every part of the aircraft very accurately using a variety or combination of methods. Sometimes you may have to try different approaches to see which works best for the component that you are modeling.

For the sake of accuracy, if I were modeling something I truly wanted to build, I would do every thing as a solid. I would only use surfaces for when I'm doing concept modeling, such as just trying to see how something would look or to create illustrations. Surfaces do not have volume or depth. If modeling a wing skin, for example, the thickness of it will be important to your dimensional data. Also, having it modeled as a solid (even though a very thin solid) will give you the volume information so that you can calculate the weight or density of that part.

When I'm modeling something with different parts or components, I usually create a folder for the project. Then, I model all parts individually as separate files and then import them into one file for assembly. Many times, I actually model all parts in one file and the copy them to separate files later. That's one thing that I love about ViaCAD is that I can model multiple parts in the same workspace.

You will find that ViaCAD is great for modeling just about anything. However, when modeling something as complex as an airplane or car body (http://forum.punchcad.com/showthread.php?t=3261), the design work requires a certain amount of strategy to figure out how to get from Point A (the idea in your head) to Point B (the 3D model). There are so many great tools featured in ViaCAD, you will find there may be multiple ways to create the same thing. The biggest issue will be to find the method that is easiest, fastest, most accurate, etc...

I guess what I'm saying is that until you are fully proficient with ViaCAD, don't be surprised if you try modeling something one way and then end up trying again another way. That's normal. After you've had a lot of practice with ViaCAD, you will learn quickly the best way to model things.

Thanks to all three of you for some exceptionally useful advice. My apologies for the time it's taken me to respond - busy few days!

Thanks also for the specific tips on modelling the Zenith parts. I've tried a few of the techniques and had varying degrees of success from good to bad - each has been a learning experience!

For example, one thing I've noticed when trying the Bend Feature using the plans I have (which mark out the bend line) is that the bend feature uses the specified bend axis to correspond to the point where the bend first STARTS, rather than either (1) the outer point of the bend - i.e where it ENDS, or (2) the centerline of the bend. I can't see any options to tweak this?

What this means in practice for me is if I'm modelling a bend, say in 0.016" (0.4 mm) sheet with a 3 mm bend radius (for example), and I wish to bend the part to produce a 10 mm flange at 90 degrees, on a a 120 mm flat blank, I need to put bend axes at the following locations:

0 (start point) + 3mm (radius) + 0.4 mm (sheet) + 10 mm (flange) = 13.4 mm

and

120mm - 3mm (radius) - 0.4 mm (sheet) - 10 mm (radius) = 106.6 mm.

It's a bit of a hassle to do these calculations (in my head) each time! I'm not sure what the best way is, or whether I'm missing something simple, but the other option proposed earlier - creating a solid of the required external dimensions (including radiused edges) and then shelling out the interior to the desired thickness - sounds like it might end up being a superior approach ...


In terms of bends, I'm not sure how other products handle this, but it seems that it might be easier if we could specify whether the bend axis corresponds to the the inside tangent point (as current), the outside tangent point, or for the bend centerline. I think that might make it more powerful, and would be a simple enhancement, yes?


Obviously there's another whole discussion about being able to design in sheet metal (e.g. sheet aluminium in my case) and then "un-folding" the part to a flat equivalent - but I suspect that's a complex topic!


Thanks again to you all for your help ~ I've really been able to get started as a result (but still MUCH to learn). I have another question on how to simply align multiple parts but I will post it (and a model) in another thread. Cheers!

-- Dave

cheers - that looks VERY useful! I've read of K-factor but haven't seen a worked example like that. Would be nice to get K-factor support in ViaCAD eh :)