Hello,
I had recently used the spinal bend to bend a solid or surface along a spine
(curve). It seems to be a useful tool, and this feature could be used to
model an elastomeric part in a flexed state.
I have a part I also need to bend in SolidWorks along a spine. I noticed the
SW flex feature did not provide the control I needed, and the deform feature
offers a curve to curve deform option (initial & target curves). I suspect
deform may be the closet feature in SolidWorks to approximate Pro-E's spinal
bend.
So my question, for those of you who use both CAD systems, is do you
consider both features to be somewhat interchangeable when modeling a part?
If not, what are the limitations in using either spinal bend (Pro-E) or
deform (SW) when bending a solid / surface along a spine? Is the deform
feature (curve to curve) as robust as spinal bend for solid or surface
modeling? Have you been able to model a part using a spinal bend feature
(Pro-E) that could not be modeled using the deform feature (SW)?
Chris
To Create a Spinal Bend (Pro-E)
The Spinal Bend option bends a solid or quilt about a curved spine by
continuously repositioning cross-sections along a curve. Planar
cross-sections perpendicular to an axis are repositioned perpendicular to
the trajectory with no distortion. All compression or distortion is done
longitudinally along the trajectory.
1. Click Feature > Create > Solid > Tweak > Spinal Bend, or Insert >
Advanced > Spinal Bend.
Deform - Curve to Curve (SW)
Curve to curve deform is a more precise method for altering complex shapes.
You deform objects by mapping geometry from initial curves, which can be
sets of curves, edges, section curves, sketch curves, and so on, to a set of
target curves.
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