Hello,
I'm thinking of using Columbus Max or Mini Max on the next frame I build. Has anyone used the BikeCAD miter templates with an elliptical tubeset like Max? If so, how well did that work?
I've contacted Brent and he mentioned that I can't currently put both vertical and horizontal dimensions in for an elliptical tube in BikeCAD. However, he did mention that the horizontal dimension isn't really as critical as the vertical dimension regarding the miter template. I'm afraid I don't really understand why that is.
Thanks for the help in advance!
You are correct that you currently cannot model elliptical tubes in the front triangle. I should have been more clear in my explanation because I DO NOT advocate using miter templates to miter an elliptical seat tube, down tube or top tube.
My comment was that with elliptical tubes, the best you can do for now is to specify the cross sectional width of each end of the tube in the vertical direction. If required, you can specify a variable diameter tube in order to input a unique diameter at either end of the tube. This way, when BikeCAD calculates miter to miter distances, those numbers will still be accurate. For example, see the top tube below. BikeCAD allows you to control the diameter of the top tube in the vertical direction in both the front and rear of the tube. In the rear, we have a diameter of 31.8mm, in the front, we have a diameter of 25.4mm. BikeCAD does not currently allow you to enter the DH dimension shown below. However, notice that even if you could control it, it would have no impact on the miter to miter measurements of the top tube.
If you use a hole cut saw to miter the end of your tube, the miter to miter distances and the miter angles that BikeCAD Pro provides are all that you would need.
BikeCAD Pro does allow you to generate a miter template for an elliptical chain stay. However, be aware that this miter template will only be accurate if the cross section is a true ellipse.
In practice, when a bicycle tube is ovalized, it may not necessarily be a true ellipse.
Thanks Brent. I follow you now. Right now, I do the miters by hand, hence the reason I like your templates so much. I think I may not use the Max tubeset this time. Once I get the tooling to use a hole saw effectively, I'll try the max tubing.
As of BikeCAD version 10.0, you can now model elliptal or ovalized tubes throughout the entire bike design. For more, see: bikecad.ca/ovalized.