We’re almost finished creating the plastic parts for the air hockey paddle… twenty-five postings later! Our final task, before moving to the rubber grip, is to array the box-shaped rib and then union the ribs and the bottom cylinder.
First I'll change to the Conceptual visual style and then orbit so that I’m viewing the model from above.
Next, I’ll use the Move command to move the paddle straight up the Z-axis. With polar tracking turned on, you can move objects along the Z-axis in exactly the same way you move them along the X and Y axis for 2D design. For example, I’ll pick a base point somewhere in space and drag straight up to pick the second point.
Now we’re ready to array the rib. AutoCAD has a 3D array tool (on the Modify panel of the Home tab), which you can use to array an object in three dimensions. I’ve found, however, that the plain old 2D array is sufficient for most of my 3D modeling needs. The rib for the air hockey paddle, for example, is on the XY plane and will be arrayed around a Z-axis (just like in 2D). In the Array dialog box, I chose the Polar option, selected the rib as the object to be arrayed, and specified the center of the cylinder to be the center point for array. I chose to enter the number of items (4) and the angle between the items (45).
Finally, I’ll use the Union tool to union the ribs to the cylinder.
Key Concept:
- Using the 2D array command to array 3D objects on the XY plane.
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