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FIGURE 20.17

Using the Up To Body setting

Tip

Using Up To or Offset From Body rather than Face often avoids the common error message, “The end face cannot terminate the extruded feature,” especially if the feature that is extruded spans more than one face.

Figure 20.18 shows a part using an Offset Surface to extrude text up to where the text spans more than a single surface. This is a very common application, even if it is not text that is being extruded. The part that was used in Figure 20.17 is on the DVD in the materials for Chapter 20, and is called Chapter 20 – Up To Body.SLDPRT.

FIGURE 20.18

Extruding text

Using Cut With Surface

Sometimes you may need to make a cut that is more complex than what a simple extrude can do. For example, the cut may need to have shape in multiple directions. You could make the cut with multiple cut features, or even with a surface. Figure 20.19 shows a part that is cut with a surface.

FIGURE 20.19

Using the Cut With Surface feature on a part

When cutting with a surface, the edges of the surface must be outside of the body that is being cut. With sketches, it is advisable to have more sketch than you need so that you are not trying to cut line-on-line. The same applies to cutting with a surface, where it is advisable to have more surface than you need to make the cut.

Using Replace Face

The Replace Face feature can be used on imported or native geometry. You can use it to add or remove material from a part. When it adds material, it must be able to extend faces adjacent to those that are being replaced, which can be a limitation. A face or faces do not need to be replaced with the same kind or same number of faces, but the entire face that is being replaced must be removed. If you only want to replace a part of a face, then you can use a Split line to scribe the face, and then replace the part you want.

Figure 20.20 shows that the multiple faces of the letter U on this part have been replaced with a surface from an inserted part. Replace Face is a fantastic tool that you can use in a number of situations, although it is a little particular sometimes and you cannot always predict when it will or will not work.

Using Fill Surface

The Fill Surface feature is one of my favorites in the SolidWorks software. It can get you out of modeling binds easily, and is often used to cover over nasty modeling mistakes or areas you just can't get right by any other method. In addition to its duty in the complex shapes department, it can also be used as a fast way to create a Planar Surface in some situations. If you do much surface modeling, the Fill feature will become a staple of your diet.

FIGURE 20.20

Using Replace Face

Note

The Fill Surface is an advanced surfacing function. Sometimes, when talking about advanced surfacing functions, or indeed any software function, users have a tendency to sound a little cynical. This is because the tool is often expected to work on very complex geometry. It is not always the software's fault when it cannot perform a particular task, or does not do what you imagine you want it to do. Sometimes, the tool is simply not meant to perform certain tasks, there may be an unseen flaw in the geometry that prevents it from working, or the user does not understand the settings completely. The more complex the work, the more frequently you need to find workarounds to get something done. Avoiding problems does not make them go away. In this book, I have chosen to take a realistic look at most of the features.

Figure 20.21 shows the Fill Surface blending an intersection between tubes. The image to the left shows the before condition with the tubes coming together at an edge. The center image shows the edge trimmed out using the Trim feature, and the right image shows the hole blended over by the Fill Surface feature.

In Figure 20.22, a solid starts with a Split line on the surface. A sketch is then added, and a Fill Surface is created using the sketch as a constraint