SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [271]
FIGURE 20.21
Blending with the Fill Surface
FIGURE 20.22
The Fill PropertyManager for merging a Fill Surface directly into a solid
If you had to go through these steps manually, then you would use the Replace Face feature to integrate the surface into the solid. The key to integrating the Fill Surface directly into the solid without any additional features is the Merge Result option in the Fill PropertyManager.
Using a memory surface
A memory surface is not another new type of feature that you can select from the menu or a toolbar; it is just the name that I gave to a technique that I use from time to time. A memory surface is just a Knit or Offset Surface that is made at one point in the feature tree when a particular face is whole, and reused later when the face has been broken up, but you still need to reference the entire original face. An example of this technique is shown in Figure 20.23. In this case, extra material is created around the opening, and a surface that was created in a Rollback state is used to remove it.
FIGURE 20.23
Using the memory surfaces technique to cut away unwanted geometry
Tutorial: Working with Surfaces
This is another chapter that contains many important ideas, and yet there is only so much space for tutorials. The best way to learn is to experiment. I recommend that you closely follow the tutorial steps once, and then, when you understand the concepts involved, that you go back and experiment.
Using Cut With Surface
Follow these steps to gain some experience with the Cut With Surface feature:
1. Start by creating a new part and drawing a rectangle on the Top plane, centered on the Origin, about 4 inches by 6 inches, with the 4-inch dimension in the vertical direction.
2. Extrude the rectangle Mid-plane, by 2 inches.
3. From the Surface toolbar, select Lofted Surface, and select one 4-inch edge as a loft profile. Then select a second 4-inch edge diagonal from the first one. This is shown in Figure 20.24.
4. Expand the Start/End Constraints panel, and set both ends to use the Direction Vector setting, selecting the plane that is in the middle of the long direction in each case. In the part shown, the Right plane is used. Click OK to accept the feature. This is shown in Figure 20.24.
Figure 20.24
Lofting a surface from the edges of a solid
5. From the menus, choose Insert⇒Cut⇒With Surface. Select the surface from the flyout FeatureManager, and toggle the arrow direction so that the top is cut off. (The arrow points to the side that is cut off.)
Using Offset Surface
Follow these steps to gain some experience with the Offset Surface:
1. Open the part from the DVD called Chapter 20 – Offset Tutorial.sldprt.
2. Right-click a curved face of the part and click Select Tangency in the menu.
3. With the faces still selected, from the Surfaces toolbar, click Offset Surface, and set the surface to offset to the outside of the part by .060 inches. You can tell when the surface is offsetting to the outside when the transparent preview appears. If you do not see the transparent preview, toggle the Flip Offset Direction arrow button. Click OK to accept the feature when you are satisfied.
4. Look in the Surface Bodies folder at the top of the FeatureManager tree, expand the folder, and select the Offset Surface. Then use the Appearances toolbar button to change the transparency of the surface body to about .75. You can also do this through the Display Pane, by clicking in the column following the surface body in the bodies folder that is farthest to the right, as shown in Figure 20.25. This is done so that you can see the part underneath the surface, without mistaking the surface for the actual part.
Figure 20.25
Using the Display Pane