Help how to draw a basketball in Inventor.

[scottydoh]

Originally Posted by Mara

I would just create an sphere with an 8" diameter. No need to get fancy

Who's getting fancy here?

[MrBasse]

If you want to create the black lines that outline the ball for realism there is only one way that I know of to do it. If you create a 2d sketch in a plane outside the ball, you can use any lines from the 2d sketch in a 3d sketch. In the 2d you need to create a u shape that approximates the black lines on the ball. If you then create a 3d sketch, you can project the 2d lines to the surface of the ball and it will wrap around the surface. You can then use a sweep to cut a profile along that 3d sketch.

Once you get the top one in, all it takes us a mirror to the bottom half and you get the fancy curved lines on a basketball.

We just did this in my Design Technology class, it sounds confusing but once you do it it seems really simple. PM me if you get lost and I'd be happy to walk you through it.

[Ninja_Bait]

I think you can also do it with the emboss function. You draw the basketball pattern on a tangent plane and then emboss it in black, and then mirror it.

Disclaimer: I haven't tried this yet; the only thing like this I've done is raised lettering on a curved bumper shape...