Flange Modelling in Blender

This tutorial describes how to make a realistic looking eight-holed flange in Blender. It is not difficult to make a flange, the problem is how to make holes in the flange. Actually it is not difficult to make holes either. Anybody can make holes. The trick is how to make round holes. Luckily Blender is capable of this. Following this tutorial, within 10-15 minutes you can make quite a nice flange with a whole bunch of holes suitable for all your technical needs.

Let's start. Clicking on images will bring the entire size screenshots.

Step 1: start Blender and delete the default cube. Switch to the Front View, NUM 1.

Step 2: Add --> Mesh --> Plane, and delete everything except one vertex.

Step 3: Using E key extrude the vertex to make this shape, merge the first and the last vertices with W key:

Step 4: Add Modifier --> Subsurf --> Level 3:

Step 5: Add --> Mesh --> Tube, Vertices 6.

Step 6: Select the lower edge of the Tube, press G Z keys to transform the Tube along the Z-axis:

Step7: Using E and Z keys extrude the lower edge of the Tube along the Z-axis to make this form:

Step 8: W key --> Merge vertices:

You will get something like this:

Step 9: Using X key remove unnecessary vertices:

Step 10: Switch to the Top View, NUM 7. Place 3D cursor in the intersection of the Y- and X- axises and don't click with your Left mouse button any more. Select the thing, grab and place it along the X-axis:

Step 11: Select the upper edge of the thing. Set the following parameters (see the bigger screnshot): Screw Degr 22, Spin Steps: 3, Spin Dup Turns: 1, Clockwise:

Step 12: Hitting the Spin Button you will get this:

Step 13: Select the lower edge of the thing:

Step 14: Uncheck Closewise and hit Spin:

Step 15: Select the whole thing, change Pivot to 3D Cursor and press in sequence R Z keys and number pad -22:

Step 16: Select the upper edge and hit S Y keys and number pad 0:

Step 17: Select the whole thing and press R Z keys and number pad 44:

Step 18: Select the lower edge of the thing:

Step 19: Hit S Y keys and number pad 0:

Step 20: Select the whole thing and set Screw Degr: 360, Spin Steps: 8 and Spin Dup Turns: 1. Hit Spin Dup:

Step 21: Press X key --> Vertices to remove the unnecessary segment.

Step 22: Select the whole thing and press R Z keys and number pad -0.5:

Step 23: Using B key select edges:

Step 24: Hit S Y keys and number pad 0:

Step 25: Press W key --> Remove Doubles:

We got a couple of defected faces and are going to fix them now:

We know that each our segment has the angle of 44^o +0.5^o that is made of 7 other little segments 44.5^o / 7 = 6.357142857. It is not convenient to rotate the whole thing, we will rotate vertices instead.

Step 26: Using B key select vertices: