Table top inlay banding

[Philip Shantz]

I'm trying to do a quick rendering of a shaker style hallway table for a client. I have been fairly successful in showing the medallion I want to inset in the top but I'm having a devil of a time with inlaid banding: I would like to show thin (1/4") contrasting inlay following the contour of the top, about 2 or so inches in from the edge.
(I can do it in the shop but not in eCabinets... )

I've been twiddling around unsuccessfully for long enough now, might someone who knows the part editor and/or shape manager better than I chime in?
Thanks,
Philip

[Glenn Van Reason]

Forthe inlay strip round the edge I would bring the top into the part editor and go to contour mode, select create edges and delete any edge that is not the perimeter, then select each edge one at a time and use the move function to reposition them 2 inches inside the top. Use the trim function to join the lines to create a single path. from here you can apply a tool to this path to cut your inlay.
Hope this helps
Glenn

[Rick Palechuk]

Something like this Philip?

[Philip Shantz]

Something like this Philip?

EXACTLY, Rick! How did you do that?

[Rick Palechuk]

What I did was create the top, then in CE made a copy of it, took that to Contour, created edges, offset the lines in, then offset them again the width of the inlay, trimmed the lines, back out to PE, cut away the inside and outside, took that back to CE, aligned it to the corner of the top, set move increment, move it to position, brought in a cabinet of the texture I wanted, hilited the part, did the texture match. HTH Say that all in one breath.

[Philip Shantz]

What I did was create the top, then in CE made a copy of it, took that to Contour, created edges, offset the lines in, then offset them again the width of the inlay, trimmed the lines, back out to PE, cut away the inside and outside, took that back to CE, aligned it to the corner of the top, set move increment, move it to position, brought in a cabinet of the texture I wanted, hilited the part, did the texture match.

OK, thanks, Rick -- very similar to Glenn's answer above, which I also attempted (unsuccessfully)...here's what happens:
I can get the top (or a copy) into PE, take it into Contour, right click an empty window section, and click "Create Edges" in the menu that appears. That causes all the edges of the top to turn from faint black lines to slightly thicker blue ones (have I, at that point, "created edges?).

After that it's a no-go for me, I can't seem to do anything with what I've got...how do I "offset" the lines? If I hold the pick box over one of the edges it turns red, but that's as exciting as it ever gets...

[Philip Shantz]

Played around and got it, at least the offsetting lines part (I was forgetting the cursor drop-down menu for "select entities"...sheesh!) I haven't yet been successful at "trimming edges" but I suspect if I mess around enough it will come back to me.

I guess I've spent too much time this year building cabinets and not enough time playing with the software, I seem to have temporarily lost what I knew...
Philip

[Philip Shantz]

Well, it turned out that it was WAY easier than I was trying to make it! (I shoulda' known )
Philip