3D Designing a Flat Comb in a 3D Design Program
In this article, we are going to 3D design a Flat Comb. The 3D modeling software that we are using is SelfCAD. With SelfCAD, you can easily create 3D models without spending a lot of time learning and you can create both simple and complex designs without taking a lot of time. The tools of SelfCAD that we are going to use are the 3D Shapes, Copy Offset, Stitch and Scoop, Edge Selection, etc. We will begin by 3D designing a cube and modifying it. Then we will 3D design the teeth with a cube shape and create copies with the help of the Copy Offset tool. It’s a cinch!
In addition to learning how to 3D design the Flat comb, you will also get to know how to use the various tools of SelfCAD. You can also check out the Interactive Tutorials to get ideas for 3D design.
So, let’s get going!
Step 1: 3D design the Base of the Comb.
We will begin with 3d designing the base of the comb. In the 3D Shape section, choose the Cube shape (P+C). With the help of the 3D Shapes category, we can use many other shapes to create various designs. Here we can see the tool panel with various parameters, including Width, Height, Depth, etc. The following shows the Cube shape of 100 by 100.
Now we will set the dimension of the cube as we want. Set the Parameters: Width to 500, Height to 5, Depth same as 100. Click on Finalize the cube.
Step 2: Modify the Base of the Comb.
Next, we will modify the 3D design. From the Toolbar, click on Deform Category and choose the Taper or use (D+T). The taper tool is useful in deforming the selected objects by their sides. It’s easy to achieve a smoother and detailed taper as per the requirement. In the Parameter, in the advanced setting, set the plane Back/Front.
Now Taper the selected 3D design, set y to -100, and close the Transformation Panel.
You can see the difference in the cube shape. We just slightly tapered the cube shape to make it look like a comb.
Step 3: Create the Tooth of Comb.
In the 3D Shape Category from the toolbar, select the Cube shape (P+C). Set the Parameters: Width to 5, Depth to 80, Position X to 230, Position Z to 15.
This is the first tooth of the comb that we’ve 3D designed. Now we will copy this comb in numerous numbers to make it into a comb.
Step 4: Copying the Tooth.
The mesh_8 object is already selected. In the Toolbar, click on Tools Category, choose the Copy Offset, or (T+O). In the parameter set X to -10, and amount of copies to 23. Click on the Copy button in the panel to create the copies of the selected object. Close the Copy Offset Panel.
It was easy to create copies of teeth with specific space using the Copy Offset tool. Next, In the Edit menu, you can choose Group or use (Ctrl+G).
So we converted all the number of tooth objects in a Group.
Step 5: 3D Designing the Other Side of the Tooth.
In the 3D Shape Category from the toolbar, select the Cube shape (P+C). Set the Parameters: Width to 2, Depth to 80, Position X to -230, Position Z to 15. Finalize the 3D model.
We followed the previous steps of 3D designing the comb tooth and created one tooth from another side. This is because we want thinner teeth spaced and closed just like a standard comb.
Step 6: Copying the Teeth.
In the Toolbar, click on Tools Category, choose the Copy Offset (T+O). In the parameter set X to 4, and amount of copies to 56. Click on the Copy button in the panel to create the copies of the selected object. Close the Copy Offset Panel.
Again convert the 3d designed teeth into a Group. Next, Activate the Group: In the Edit menu, you can choose Group (Ctrl+G).
Step 7: Modifying the Edge.
Select the 3D models that are the base of the comb to modify them. Edge selection enables us to select just the edges instead of choosing the complete section or object. Click on Edge selection (Ctrl+2). Now, select the edges.
You can see that in the above 3D model, we’ve selected the Edge. Now we will modify it.
Step 8: Activating the Fillet.
In the Modify category, choose the Fillet Tool (M+F). Set Intensity to 49, Level to 10. Finalize the Fillet. Fillet sets the smoothness of the 3D object or section. It’s like chamfering the surface we want to.
Now click on the part of the selection cube (Ctrl+0); this will turn off the region selection that we did previously.
Step 9: Activating the Stitch and Scoop tool.
Select the 3D models. Activate the Stitch & Scoop tool in the Toolbar (B). In the tool panel, activate the Difference (B+D). Here in the Select-Object to Subtract: choose group_1 and group_2 to subtract. Finalize the Difference. You can see that with the Stitch and Scoop and Difference tool, we just minimized the teeth height in a perfect comb shape.
Now the last step is to Fill the Polygon. In the Toolbar, click on Tools and choose the Fill Polygon (T+F). Finalize the Fill Polygon.
Conclusion:
We have 3D designed the simple 3D Shape of a Flat Comb. The design was effortless to make. It is just the use of accurate tools and how to use them. You can check out the Hot Feature category in selfCAD to know more about the software features. We hope you find the tutorial informative and handy. Drop us a line if you need any clarifications. We’ll get back to you in a moment.
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