Is there a plugin to create grooves in a torus shape?
There are a lot of ways to do that, even without plugins, can you be a bit more specific maybe with images or sketches of what are you trying to do.
Multiple radius grooves with different angles to use as a coil
Let me know if the photo of the 3d print is visible
it reminds me of knurling.
so I start with a doughnut.
from there (with hidden lines visible) I’ll trace one slice.
just… trace one diagonal, and keep at it until it loops around.
now I’m grouping the loop on one side and the torus on the other. actually, making a component of the loop might be smarter. long day, food is cooking, I’m in low brain power mode.
from there, I rotate + copy my loop component. and make my array.
at this point, a simple symmetry of the loops to have the other way around.
so, I have one solid group, my torus, and plenty of identical components.
due to the nature of the curve, a standard follow me won’t give you a solid component at the end. there is a bit of twist.
I’ll use eneroth’s upright extruder.
simply select the face and the path, and click on the first button. simple.
a quick solid inspector to get rid of a few stray lines. and now I have a solid group, the torus, and solid components around it.
for a one direction torus, you’ll need to do many actions.
for a 2 direction torus, you can first merge all the loops, then just substract them all at once. it can take a bit of time. making the whole thing super big will help with the tiny face problem of sketchup. just resize it after the substraction.
(yes, it takes a bit of time)
so off course, lots of variables. the amount of segments in your initial torus, and also the shape you’ll carve in it (size and segments)
torus.skp (2.0 MB)
I’m sure there is a quicker way, or simpler, probably something with an old extension, three clicks and hop.
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See this SU file for ideas using the TrueBend plugin.
Torus with diagonal lines.skp (624.0 KB)
This is just rough thinking without annotations on it.
Nice work, I’m trying to create a torus with precise dimensions and a grooved surface. I need a plugin that can generate the torus based on inner and outer radius parameters, without any twisting. Crucially, this plugin should then automatically generate a grid of diagonal lines on the torus surface, controlled by pitch and count values in both the toroidal and poloidal directions. These lines should then be converted into a solid shape, which can subsequently be used as a cutting tool to subtract material from the original torus, creating the desired grooves.
Thx
A couple of ways come to my mind, the first thing I noticed is that it’s a symmetrical shape, you could create a torus(donut) using the native follow me tool, with the exact number of sides you need, both for the circle profile and the path, then model on one segment of the torus, it doesn’t even has to be the whole section, if you model the top part of the section you can just use the flip tool and mirror it on the z axis, you’ll need plug-ins like tools on surface to make the inset and drawing the diamonds, then make a radial copy of the segment from the center of the original torus. Another way that will let you be more precise with the dimensions and shapes is using a plugin called flowify, it lets you create all those patterns but on a flat surface, just make sure that the length of the rectangle must be the same or as close as you can to the perimeter of the outer circle and the perimeter of the circle used as a profile, This will be the height and the other will be the length. It’s hard to explain on message how you must use this extension, so I’ll make a video as soon as I can trying both methods.
It would be better if you tell us what are the exact dimensions of the torus, the insets and diamonds.
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I’m designing a torus with specific dimensions and grooved surface. The torus should have a 2-inch outer radius and a 1-inch inner radius. The grooves will be formed by intersecting diagonal lines creating a lattice pattern. I need the ability to control the number of diagonal lines and their angle in both directions (currently 12 lines in each direction at a defined angle). Critically, the grooves themselves should have variable depth and width, allowing for customization of the groove profile.
I did this using the first method I mentioned, Just worked on a section of the torus the exploded it and with the plugin joint push pull a pushed the paths between diamonds. It doesn´t have the dimensions you need cause i made it before your reply.
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You should have posted this in another section and you should hire a plugin developer to create this.
I moved the category and changed the title.
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yeah, but t’as a manual solution, like mine. as they replied earlier, they need a plugin that would automate this from a set of parameters.
Hence the move to the dev section by Mike
An extension is meant for use in a multitude of design scenarios, not a single one. Software development is very expensive. This does not sound feasible for single use.
If you do not know how to model this, it would be cheaper for you to just hire a modeler to model it for you.
Click in sequence on the scenes tabs of this SU file for more ideas.
Torus with rectangular grooves.skp (2.6 MB)
I think they want it to be customizable.
Except that the comment I quoted said “a torus”, singular.
Stepping back, how many users out there in 3Dland need to model this specific kind of dog chew toy? I stand by what I said, … this seems to be a “one off” need and not what I would think is a good target for an extension.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, just quoting the OP.
BTW, asking if a plugin exists, is not the same as having the desire and financial wherewithal to hire a programmer.
If a developer is really requested, then this topic should go in the Developer Job Board category.
Otherwise, a simple extension existence query should perhaps be in the Extensions category. It could be debated whether it even belongs there or in the normal SketchUp category, as the OP’s basic question really is how to easily model such a torus with grooves using plugins.
Your work is impressive! I’m trying to replicate your Eneroth plugin technique, but I’m having some trouble. Could you perhaps explain how you achieved the effect using a channel instead of a circle? Also, is it possible to create the groove in a spiral, so the coil wraps continuously around the doughnut instead of stopping at each loop? I’d be incredibly grateful for your guidance and appreciate you taking the time to help.