Sketchy Physics Machine
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Hi all,
I am a long time browser, first time poster. First, a little background. I am almost 16, and have been using Sketchup since version 1. Yes, I was very young when I first started using it. I wasn't that great at it, but I was familiar with the tools at least.A few years ago, a good friend of mine (a designer that uses SU) told me about SP. He was the one that got me hooked on SU in the first place. I must say, I am not very good at modelling, but I can get a job done (I never said beautifully).
So, my father being busy with running his own business (and him knowing that I am much more learned in the ways of SU), asked me to design a machine for him. I thought I would use SP to make a "working" model. It was mainly an excuse to learn SP inside and out.
In this topic I will attempt to post pictures of the work in progress. And also, please feel free to give me tips on how to make it better. Besides showing what I have done, I will also most likely be asking questions to the more skilled SP users.
I'll be posting the specs and what the machine is for to make it easier to understand.
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So, the machine is used to make a brush. My family is in the brush making industry. The type of brush is called a metal free brush. The name pretty much describes it. It has no metal in it. Instead of stapling the bristles into the brush block (like most brushes are made), the bristle is pre-attached to a plastic strip. Then, using a plastic rod made from the same material as the strip of plastic, the strip and the rod are melted together. Essentially, the strip is wrapped around the rod so you get a spiral effect.
The company already makes them but the process is to slow and we are getting bigger and bigger orders. We need automation. Currently, the rod comes in 8 foot lengths and is cut down during the process, but we are trying to get the pre-cut and molded to the correct length.
My first question is, how would I get the shape below (it's supposed to be a hopper by the way) to act like a hopper? My rod just falls through it.
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Complex shapes need to be built with basic ones or use staticmesh, but that as the name reveals always stays static.
When you get stuck on something it's best to upload the model so we can see how things are put together.
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