How to 3D Model a Tennis Racket in SelfCAD
In this guide, you'll learn how to use SelfCAD to create a Tennis Racket. You will also get to know about extrusion-based modeling and advanced topology selection. The entire tennis racket design is done using just a basic cylinder and a plane as primitives, as well as a single text letter. The shaping is done using basic direct modeling tools. Hence, this is a great guide for teaching and learning direct 3D modeling.
Steps of Designing the Tennis Racket in SelfCAD
Launch SelfCAD and open the workspace:
We are using the cylinder as the basic shape. From the 3D Shapes category, select a Cylinder:
Set the parameters of the cylinder as follows; Top Radius to 12.5, Bottom Radius to 12.5, and Height to 3. Then tick the check mark to finalize the cylinder:
On the right panel, set the rendering mode to Solid + Wireframe:
The next step is to make the cylinder take the oval shape. To do those, select the Scale tool on the toolbar. Set the Z to 32:
Click on the “X” to close the panel. Activate the Polygon Selection on the right panel, and use it to select the top and bottom polygons of the mesh:
Click delete to do away with the selected polygons. You are left with the mesh as shown below:
The next step is to add thickness. From the Modify category, select Add Thickness:
Set the Thickness to -3 and tick the check mark to finalize the thickness:
On the right side panel on the Selection options, activate the Face Selection and use it to select the faces highlighted below:
From the Modify category, select the Inset:
Set the Inset Amount to 0.2 and tick the check mark to finalize the inset:
On the toolbar, select the Move Tool and set the Z axis to 25. Then click the “X” to close the panel:
You realize that the above-highlighted faces are not flat. Therefore, we need to make them flat. To do this, go to the Deform category and select the Flatten option. Set the Z value to 0:
Click on the “X” to close the operation. De-select the regions, then select only the right side face as highlighted below. On the toolbar, select the Move tool and set the X to 2:
Move Tool still on, select the other face, and set the X to -2:
Select the Scale tool on the toolbar and set the Z to 1:
Select the other face, then go to the Scale tool on the toolbar. Set the Z to 1 and click on the “X” to close the panel:
On the right side panel, activate the Edge Selection and use it to select the edges highlighted below. Then select the Move Tool and set the Z to 27:
Click on the “X” to close the panel. Activate the Face Selection, and select the faces highlighted below:
Then on the toolbar, from the Tools category, select the Bridge tool:
There you go, you have bridged the two faces as shown below:
Tick the check mark to finalize the bridging. Select the highlighted region below and then select the Extrusion from the Modify category:
Set the Extrusion Amount to 0.2:
The next step is to set the macro steps. Go to Advanced Settings, and set the operation to Extrusion:
Set the Extrusion Amount to 1, and the Number of Copies to 20:
Tick the check mark to finalize the operation as shown below:
There you go:
Click on the grid to de-select the selected faces. On the right-hand side, activate the Face Selection. Then on the selection settings, click on the gear icon to open the face selection settings. Set the Loop Selection to true. Then select the region shown below:
Set the Custom Pattern to true:
Click to select the following faces to select the loop from the object:
On the bottom side of the object also, select the faces as shown below:
This ensures the rest of the faces are also selected in the pattern as shown below:
Do the same on the other opposite side:
Once you have the faces selected in the pattern below, click on the “X” to close the panel:
Select the entire object now, and from the Modify category, select Extrusion:
Set the Extrusion Amount to -0.5:
Tick the check mark to finalize the extrusion: On the right side panel, click on the Color icon, and then select the Maroon color. Click ok to confirm the color:
From the Modify category, select Round Objects:
Tick the check mark to finalize the Round Object:
Select the highlighted region, and from the Deform category, select Flatten tool:
Set Z to 0:
Click on the “X” to close the panel. Select Extrusion from the Modify category on the toolbar:
Set the Amount to 0.5 and set the Side Extrusion to true then click apply:
Tick the check mark to finalize the extrusion. From the 3D Shapes select Plane:
Set the parameters of the plane as shown below:
Tick the check mark to finalize the plane:
From the Modify category, select Chamfer:
Set the Chamfer Intensity to 0.2 and on the Fill Settings set the Fill Polygon to False:
Tick the check mark to finalize the Chamfer. Select Extrusion from the Modify category and set the Amount to 2. Tick the check mark to finalize the extrusion:
De-select the selected regions. From the 3D Shapes select Cylinder:
Set the parameters of the cylinder as shown below and tick the check mark to finalize it:
Select the Scale tool from the toolbar, and set the Z to 29:
Click “X” to close the transformation panel. The next step is to move the cube and cylinder mesh a bit on top. Select the Cube and cylinder mesh, and select Move Tool on the toolbar. Set Y to 1:
Click “X” to close the transformation panel:
On the toolbar, select Stitch and Scoop tool, and choose Intersection:
Tick the check mark to finalize the intersection:
Click on the Color icon and choose the Brown color. Click ok to confirm the color of the intersection:
From the Generators select the Text generator:
Set the following specifications below:
Tick the check mark to finalize the text:
On the Color picker on the right-side panel, select the Maroon color and click ok to confirm the color:
Select all the meshes on the workspace. Select the Stitch and Scoop tool and choose the Union:
Tick the check mark to finalize the union:
Set the rendering mode to Solid on the right-side panel:
There you go, the Tennis Racket is ready:
3D designing a tennis racket using basic mesh editing tools can be a fun and creative process. Following the steps outlined in this guide, you can learn how to manipulate shapes and refine details to create a racket that suits your playing style. If you would like to 3D print it, you can use the in-built online slicer of SelfCAD to do so. Get to know how the slicer of SelfCAD works in the video below.
Enjoy powerful modeling, rendering, and 3D printing tools without the steep learning curve.
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