welcome to this ansys how to series
video
in this video we will focus on how to
use the blend tool
and on the various operations that can
be carried out with it
blend is an extremely versatile tool
that can be used to generate new
geometry
between points curves surfaces and
solids
you can think of the blend operation as
a way to create a transition from one
item to another
it can be used to add features as well
as to repair or replace
troublesome geometry in this video we
will work through
several different examples for you to
get a better understanding
of the many capabilities contained
within the blend function
the examples will range from very basic
to advanced
with each new example building on the
previous method
ready let's go
our first example is the simplest
application of the blend command
but also the one that is most overlooked
any two points can be used to create a
straight line by blending
the general workflow is to start the
blend tool by clicking here
and then holding ctrl and selecting the
two items we wish to blend
this approach will work for points as
well as vertices on a solid body
and has a wide range of uses when
modeling geometry
we can click the green check mark or
press enter to complete the operation
the next example adds a new level of
control to the blend between two points
in this case we have two line segments
if we repeat the steps from the first
example by selecting the end point of
each segment
we'll just end up with a straight line
but
what if we want a smooth curve
connecting the two segments
this is a perfect time to explore one of
the most powerful options within the
blend tool
and that's the select guides option
select guides allows us to specify
additional geometry that our blend
should take into account
the best application for the guides is
to specify tangent references
with a two-line endpoint selected let's
click
select guides click one of the line
segments
and notice that the preview of our blend
curve has changed shape
it's now tangent to the line segment we
selected
to add another guide hold ctrl and click
the remaining line segment
the preview changes its shape again and
is now tangent at both ends
click the green check mark or press
enter on the keyboard to complete the
operation
we've just covered the general workflow
for the blend tool
but you can also work in a slightly
faster way
if we start by holding ctrl and
selecting these two curves
and then start the blend tool our
preview appears immediately
from there we just have to press enter
to accept the result
so far we've only used blend on items in
a single plane
but blend is capable of creating complex
geometry as well
the fourth example illustrates this at a
basic level by blending between an
arc and a straight line
example 5 shows an even more advanced
application
with a blend between two straight lines
using a spline as a guide curve
here we can clearly see the amount the
guide curve is able to influence the end
result
by acting as a path for the blend to
adhere to
the blend operation can also be used to
connect and transition between two
different surface profiles
as shown here in example six
we're able to create a solid that tapers
from a large square
to a smaller square we could achieve a
similar result with the draft option in
the pull tool
but when starting with two profiles this
way is much faster
example 7 shows that we can blend
through multiple different
profiles and shapes in a single
operation with more than two blending
profiles
we have the option to use rule segments
to control the transition between each
profile
enabling rule segments will create
straight transitions between the
profiles
instead of the default smooth blend the
profiles should be selected
in order to avoid the blend changing
direction
with more complex profiles some care may
need to be taken
to ensure a similar number of points
exist on each
this will help prevent twisting as the
blend moves through each profile
you can always create guide curves to
assist you and control the end result
blend can also be used to merge solid
bodies as shown in example 8.
follow the same steps as before by
selecting two profiles
and any optional guide curves
in some cases there may be areas on a
model that require repair
or replacing the blend tool is an
excellent option for this
even when the area is very complex the
surface gap
shown in example 9 cannot be repaired
with a standard sketch
in this case we will choose either set
of opposing edges to blend
and the remaining pair will serve as our
guide curves
in some cases we may even select
adjacent surfaces as guides
as you can see this ensures that the
newly created surface
matches the existing curvature
the last variants of blend we're going
to examine are the rotational blend
and the periodic blend
both of these require blending profiles
that can be rotated about a common axis
rotational blend will attempt to create
cylinders or cones whenever possible
this is just an additional way to
control the shape of the resulting
geometry
periodic blend will create a full loop
from the concentric
blending profiles
it will create a connecting blend
between the final profile and the
starting profile
so let's summarize the blend tool
creates new geometries between the items
we select
the geometry transitions from one item
to the other
using guidelines we can force the
blended geometry to follow a desired
path
the blend tool can also be used to
repair or replace
incorrect geometries keep these uses for
the blend tool in mind
as you begin designing new models they
will come in handy as you progress from
beginner to advanced spaceclaim user
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