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Tue Sep 19, 2017 3:50 pm

So I decided to make an accurate CAD model of a bus.

Spent a few hours and got the frame ruffed in. Each piece of metal is a separate part. The floor structure is accurate but I will need to do some detailed measuring on my bus to get the fames exact.

This will be done over time in my spare, spare time... I doubt I will make a complete bus model. The front doors and nose would be nearly impossible to draw accurately without scanning.

I will need some help to verify some dimensions from time to time. Especially on some internal parts. Also may need some details on original parts. Maybe someone has some accurate drawings or models of some parts that could speed things up also :) I will keep this thread updated as I progress.

I am not planning to make construction drawings for individual parts although I want all detail to be in the model. My main purpose is to have accurate drawings with dimension that we can use to reassemble a bus. And its fun :)

Index
Jack Points
Outriggers
Tophats
Rocker panels

Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:53 pm

Really cool!

Tue Sep 19, 2017 9:05 pm

That's awesome!!!

Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:43 pm

Once you are finished, I am up to get a set of drawings.... :D
Big Job!

Wed Sep 20, 2017 3:31 am

Nice job, what software are you using sgellis? We use Autodesk Inventor in our classroom, which if you want to save as stl file and 3D print. Nice fun for long cold winters.

sgellis wrote: So I decided to make an accurate CAD model of a bus.

Spent a few hours and got the frame ruffed in. Each piece of metal is a separate part. The floor structure is accurate but I will need to do some detailed measuring on my bus to get the fames exact.

This will be done over time in my spare, spare time... I doubt I will make a complete bus model. The front doors and nose would be nearly impossible to draw accurately without scanning.

I will need some help to verify some dimensions from time to time. Especially on some internal parts. Also may need some details on original parts. Maybe someone has some accurate drawings or models of some parts that could speed things up also :) I will keep this thread updated as I progress.

I am not planning to make construction drawings for individual parts although I want all detail to be in the model. My main purpose is to have accurate drawings with dimension that we can use to reassemble a bus. And its fun :)

Wed Sep 20, 2017 4:24 am

LAGrunthaner wrote: Nice job, what software are you using sgellis? We use Autodesk Inventor in our classroom, which if you want to save as stl file and 3D print. Nice fun for long cold winters.

I am using inventor 2018. Most parts are created as sheet metal parts and can be unfolded.

3D printing would be a problem with the thin wall parts. Maybe it could be printed at 1:1 scale though... :)

Wed Sep 20, 2017 5:43 am

What an awesome idea! Can't wait to see this come together.

Thu Sep 21, 2017 1:56 am

sgellis, interesting the sheetmetal file format is foldable? I'll have to try them. Yea 1 to 1 scale 3D printed would be cool LOL.

sgellis wrote: LAGrunthaner wrote: Nice job, what software are you using sgellis? We use Autodesk Inventor in our classroom, which if you want to save as stl file and 3D print. Nice fun for long cold winters.

I am using inventor 2018. Most parts are created as sheet metal parts and can be unfolded.

3D printing would be a problem with the thin wall parts. Maybe it could be printed at 1:1 scale though... :)

Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:11 am

There is a scale model design topic in the barndoor forums. Maybe you can find some useful info and dimensions in there.
To my knowledge it was never finalized which I think is a real pity.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:28 am

Peter_N wrote: There is a scale model design topic in the barndoor forums. Maybe you can find some useful info and dimensions in there.
To my knowledge it was never finalized which I think is a real pity.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

Thanks, hadn't found that thread. Nice work but only components. I don't plan to do anything but metal... at this time :)

Thu Sep 21, 2017 7:04 am

LAGrunthaner wrote: sgellis, interesting the sheetmetal file format is foldable? I'll have to try them. Yea 1 to 1 scale 3D printed would be cool LOL.

sgellis wrote: LAGrunthaner wrote: Nice job, what software are you using sgellis? We use Autodesk Inventor in our classroom, which if you want to save as stl file and 3D print. Nice fun for long cold winters.

I am using inventor 2018. Most parts are created as sheet metal parts and can be unfolded.

3D printing would be a problem with the thin wall parts. Maybe it could be printed at 1:1 scale though... :)

Sheet metal works well. Very easy to create parts. Falls down on areas that are stamped though.

Here is a front outrigger with a flat pattern generated. I still need to verify a bunch of small details but I don't have an original outrigger to look at. I replaced all the outriggers on my buss. For this part I will look for photos and then I may need to request a measurement or two.

Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:33 am

sgellis, wow that is great, so you draw it in the ipt then it flattens out on the idw? If so then the software makes all the adjustments for the bends, which makes for an easy transfer to metal. After using Inventor for our engineering program for over 10 years I've had a hidden very cool feature right under my nose. With your permission I'd like to print this for my classroom.

sgellis wrote: LAGrunthaner wrote: sgellis, interesting the sheetmetal file format is foldable? I'll have to try them. Yea 1 to 1 scale 3D printed would be cool LOL.

sgellis wrote: LAGrunthaner wrote: Nice job, what software are you using sgellis? We use Autodesk Inventor in our classroom, which if you want to save as stl file and 3D print. Nice fun for long cold winters.

I am using inventor 2018. Most parts are created as sheet metal parts and can be unfolded.

3D printing would be a problem with the thin wall parts. Maybe it could be printed at 1:1 scale though... :)

Sheet metal works well. Very easy to create parts. Falls down on areas that are stamped though.

Here is a front outrigger with a flat pattern generated. I still need to verify a bunch of small details but I don't have an original outrigger to look at. I replaced all the outriggers on my buss. For this part I will look for photos and then I may need to request a measurement or two.

Fri Sep 22, 2017 5:26 am

LAGrunthaner wrote: sgellis, wow that is great, so you draw it in the ipt then it flattens out on the idw? If so then the software makes all the adjustments for the bends, which makes for an easy transfer to metal. After using Inventor for our engineering program for over 10 years I've had a hidden very cool feature right under my nose. With your permission I'd like to print this for my classroom.

The software takes care of the calculations. There are unfolding rules for sheet thickness and materials. I added custom rules for some plastics we use.

Its especially cool when constraining the sketches to existing parts. The outrigger is constrained to the frame and inner rocker so if I change their size or position the outrigger will stretch to conform and the flat view will update.

I suggest doing some sheet metal tutorials. And feel free to use these.

Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:48 am

I real like this! :D
In the past I also worked with a 3D CAD system (Solid Designer) and still miss it sometimes. :wink:

Fri Sep 22, 2017 12:40 pm

Ruffed in a bit more. Need to go measure some on the bus. This would have been easier when it was on the rotisserie. :)

About half of this is accurate and the rest guessed. It is very easy to change a parts dimensions.

I do need to decide on a longitudinal zero point. (using top of frame as Z axis) Center rear torsion beam is the logical spot but in reality it is hard to measure to the center of a tube. I am thinking the rear of the bulkhead (front of top hat). Most will have something there to measure from.

Problem I have is that is a difficult point to measure from if you are not working on the cargo floor.

I would like to give XYZ coordinates of bolt holes for alignment. I have a laser frame alinement system that I will setup on my bus to verify dimensions. With this system a hole or bolt is much easier to setup to. VW used the top front holes on the torsion tube for a couple measurements... Any thought on the are welcome.

I want the drawings to all be consistent.

Fri Sep 22, 2017 3:47 pm

would this not best be done with a laser?

Sat Sep 23, 2017 5:19 am

mandraks wrote: would this not best be done with a laser?

If you mean a laser scanner then not really. They make a point cloud that would be useful as a reference for some areas but not really that accurate. If I had a pile of of og body parts and a high end scanner I could use the scan as a guide to creating the parts.

A scan of a nose panel would be very useful though.

Sun Oct 01, 2017 5:50 am

Been a busy week so no new modeling. Also not going to do anymore until I make a decision.

I am considering changing the CAD platform for this project to Autodesk Fusion 360. It is cloud based so I will have access to it from anywhere and on any connected device. Controls are very close to inventor. Not as powerful but seems a good fit for this project. Allows markup from my phone that will be very useful.

The big thing Fusion 360 does is allow others to contribute. I can invite people to the project and it keeps all revisions and edit information. It is also relatively inexpensive and has a free education licence. Good help system and relatively easy to learn.

I want this to be freely available to the community and allow the community to contribute... And possibly the community or a small group to share ownership at some point so it doesn't get lost. Just need to figure out how best to accomplish it.

Anyway, for now I need to move the project to a CAD system that allows easy shared work space and is affordable. Quite sure it will be Fusion 360.

Tue Oct 03, 2017 4:58 am

Awesome! I am impressed of the extensive work you have done.

I started to rebuild the vw beetle in 3D, but not in CAD.

Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:24 am

Decided to move the project to Fusion 360. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview It requires recreating all the parts to keep them easily editable so been doing that while getting used to the new system.

The floor frame is about done. Just need to do a bit more measuring to get all the details fixed up. Rear frame is just guessed.

This link brings up a model viewer. http://a360.co/2kXtuT6 it is the working model of the floor frame so at times it may be a bit messed up if I am working on it. As I complete sections I will make them accessible to download and make some drawing views. Haven't decided how I will do that yet but it will likely be links here until I get farther along. Fusion can publishing direct to GrabCAD so that is one possibility.

I am also creating drawings of each part. Mostly for easy verification of dimensions. I will be asking others help in verifying dimensions and details on some parts as I go. Eventually I want to add year and chassis model versions.

This is fun but definitely a long term project. I welcome anyone that would like to get involved.

viewer... http://a360.co/2yx056W