Platters

Jim Grieco

Jim Grieco

PRO Member
I noticed there are no plans or profiles for platters although there is a category.

I understand that there are give and takes for a segmented platter.

Any tips or tricks in designing one? Minimal slope angle?
 
Segment PRO does a great job for designing vessels but not a good job at platters and here’s the reason…

In Segment PRO, you draw the outside profile and the software creates the inside profile based on the dots you used to create the outside. It does this by creating an inside dot for each outside dot. It uses the slope of the dots around a dot to determine the slope of the profile at that elevation. It then uses the wall thickness and the slope and uses trigonometry to determine the location for the inside dot. This works well when there is vertical space between the dots. In a platter, there is likely to be little or no space between dots and so it simply can’t place an inner dot in an intelligent manner.

3D Design PRO, on the other hand, doesn’t create the inside wall profile for you. You are in complete control and you create the outside and inside profiles using as many dots as you like and you place them and move them however you want.

Also, there are no limitations in Woodturner PRO. You can make a platter that is as short as 1” made from rows of different thicknesses whereas you’ll find it difficult to design anything that isn’t at least 3” tall.

I initially added a Platter category thinking that I may be able to come up with a way to trick the software into working differently than it does when it comes to the Profile editor. I soon realized that whatever I did would make it still inferior to 3D Design Pro that puts you in complete control of the entire wall profile.

Lloyd
 
Lloyd Johnson said:
Segment PRO does a great job for designing vessels but not a good job at platters and here’s the reason…

In Segment PRO, you draw the outside profile and the software creates the inside profile based on the dots you used to create the outside. It does this by creating an inside dot for each outside dot. It uses the slope of the dots around a dot to determine the slope of the profile at that elevation. It then uses the wall thickness and the slope and uses trigonometry to determine the location for the inside dot. This works well when there is vertical space between the dots. In a platter, there is likely to be little or no space between dots and so it simply can’t place an inner dot in an intelligent manner.

3D Design PRO, on the other hand, doesn’t create the inside wall profile for you. You are in complete control and you create the outside and inside profiles using as many dots as you like and you place them and move them however you want.

Also, there are no limitations in Woodturner PRO. You can make a platter that is as short as 1” made from rows of different thicknesses whereas you’ll find it difficult to design anything that isn’t at least 3” tall.

I initially added a Platter category thinking that I may be able to come up with a way to trick the software into working differently than it does when it comes to the Profile editor. I soon realized that whatever I did would make it still inferior to 3D Design Pro that puts you in complete control of the entire wall profile.

Lloyd
Click to expand...
Thanks Lloyd for the explanation - I figured it was something like that.

I really need to learn 3-D Pro
 
Make sure you watch the tutorial at this link:

Introduction to 3D Design PRO

This is an older tutorial, but the instructions presented are all the same as the current version. This tutorial introduces the user to 3D Design PRO, part of the PRO Suite from Woodturner PRO. In addition to 3D Design PRO, the suite contains Woodturner PRO, software that allows you to take a...
woodturnerpro.com

However, there is one part of the tutorial that talks about a grid and that has been removed because it caused problems and didn’t really add any functionality.

You’ll see right off why 3D Design Pro is such a powerful program IF you need to have control over the wall profile including the inside wall profile. This is seldom the case if you are making a bowl because the Segment PRO profile view does a perfectly adequate job and does it far more quickly than 3D Design Pro will do. Still, I can make a a profile using 3D Design Pro in a minute where I can do it in half a minute using Segment PRO. To have full control with a cost of 30 seconds isn’t much of a price to pay.

You need to know both of these programs and then decide when you start a new project - can it be done as a ‘standard’ segmented bowl and if so, use Segment PRO. If you need (or want) total control, use Woodturner PRO.

Fast and Easy or Slower and Total Control. If you know them both, you’ll immediately know which one to use.

Lloyd
 
Lloyd Johnson said:
Make sure you watch the tutorial at this link:

Introduction to 3D Design PRO

This is an older tutorial, but the instructions presented are all the same as the current version. This tutorial introduces the user to 3D Design PRO, part of the PRO Suite from Woodturner PRO. In addition to 3D Design PRO, the suite contains Woodturner PRO, software that allows you to take a...
woodturnerpro.com
Click to expand...
Another good video - easy to follow!
It references another video using a photo but I did not see it with the others. Is it somewhere else?

Thanks Lloyd
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top