The document provides steps to trace the shape of a complex, hard-to-measure object by importing a picture of the object into a 3D model in ProE. It involves creating a surface, adding an appearance with the picture as a texture map, applying the appearance to the surface, and adjusting the surface size to match the picture scale. This allows capturing the object's shape by tracing it on the textured surface in the 3D model.

1. 1
ProE Tip of the Week: Create a Trace Sketch
You’re tasked with creating a 3D model of a hard-to-measure object; it has complex curvature and
few—if any—planar surfaces. How can you capture the shape of the object in your model? Simple!
Insert a 2D picture into your model, and then trace the object in the picture.
Note: ProE’s STYLE add-on has a feature called “Trace Sketch” that allows you to import a picture directly. However, the STYLE add-on is
an extra cost option that most users do not have. The following procedure will work without the STYLE add-on!
Hockey Stick Blade
3D Model
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2. Step #1:
Create a surface. 2

3. Step #2:
Click Appearance Gallery > Appearance Manager 3

4. Step #3:
Click “Create a new appearance” 4

5. Step #4:
1. Click on the “map” tab. 5
2. In the pull-down menu under “Color Texture”, select “image”.
3. Click the square to the left of the pull-down menu.

6. Step #5:
Navigate to the picture file. 6
Click “Open”.
Close the Appearance Manager.

7. Step #6:
1. Click “Appearance Gallery”. 7
2. Click your new appearance.
3. Select the surface that was created in step#1.

8. Step #7:
The surface now displays the picture! 8
The final step is to tweak the overall size of the surface so that your image is scaled correctly. Note that the
height:width ratio of the surface should be the same as the picture (otherwise, the imported picture will be
stretched).