Deep dive into Conics with Onshape. Check out the progress on my "Section Surface" (Custom Feature)

Right upfront I must say that this is a long video! Without a script I just got going and (evidently) had a lot to say. There was a pause or two while I had dinner etc..

I've been researching and playing with conic curves and surfaces quite a bit over the past couple of months. Here are some of the fruits of that labor. I'm building a custom feature called "Section surface" which, inspired by its namesake in NX and equivalent in CATIA, and perhaps aspects of Creo's variable section sweep, builds very clean surfaces with strict conic sections.

Conics are desirable in many aspects of CAD: e.g.for building early/clean/conceptual slab surfaces, or for establishing clean aerospace fairings, fuselage sections and more. They are characterized by minimal math required for definition, clean distribution and flow of control points, easy/intuitive setups based on guide curves, amongst other benefits.

My feature is not yet ready to publish, though i think it is 99% functionally complete. It needs some refactor for clarity, maintainability and performance - this is my next task.

An essential part of the process has been using Josh Newth's Custom feature called "Report"
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/e25...
I can't recommend this enough. Just.... use it.

I'm interested to see what people think, what might be missing (or weird), or any other encouragement :) Please leave a comment below!

Again, some apologies for the length of this video, but I hope you get something from it.

Join me behind the scenes for another of my single-take rehearsals for demos that I am prepping for, test-driving new concepts, or generally practicing. Usually recorded late after all my normal work is done, you might enjoy some of the tips and tricks I hope to offer.