I have offset the outside of my part and now I want to combine it with the rest of the part. How do you go about this?
I have offset the outside of my part and now I want to combine it with the rest of the part. How do you go about this?
If you're trying to make the part thicker, don't use Offset Surface. Use Move Face. Select the Offset option. It automatically integrates the offset into the solid. Solid and Surface functions aren't always interchangeable.
Thank you both. I can't believe I didn't know about that command. Worked great
thank you Matt, I have learn something new today. Thanks for your time.
I don't work with faces and surfaces much, but "Move Face" might be a better option.
Edit: It looks like I was right. If Matt Lombard says that's the way to do it then that's the way to do it.
Thank you Glenn, something new in my inventory.
these solutions can certainly work and they are the only way to manipulate import geometry, but in a production environment I would caution against falling in love too much with move face and move body for general modelling.
it starts to complicate the model when more than one feature can affect the final dimension of the part. if you model a part with an initial thickness of 2mm and then you have an offset or a move command later to add an additional 2mm there are now two independent dimensions driving the final thickness of the part. and of course, any children that are based on either of these first two dimensions then can react in unexpected ways if one of the dimensions is changed.
when modeling from scratch, I always prefer going back in the model tree and changing the dimension that makes the the final dimension you want and fixing whatever breaks in the tree after that. it just creates a more stable model.
I've worked on models that contractors had so many move features in there it was impossible to know what was changing. basically the models were unusable to me and I basically remodeled them. I get that it's a fast and easy way for them to get a part done, but since I'm going to be maintaining the CAD in production for many years and I"m going to have to make changes to it, I want the model stable and the only way to do that is by using the features correctly to create the most stable and easily editable model I can.
Like anything, there are times to use certain features and benefits to each of them. Just be aware of what you are doing and understand what the negatives may be for you or for others down the road.
Michael Paul wrote:
these solutions can certainly work and they are the only way to manipulate import geometry, but in a production environment I would caution against falling in love too much with move face and move body for general modelling.
it starts to complicate the model when more than one feature can affect the final dimension of the part. if you model a part with an initial thickness of 2mm and then you have an offset or a move command later to add an additional 2mm there are now two independent dimensions driving the final thickness of the part. and of course, any children that are based on either of these first two dimensions then can react in unexpected ways if one of the dimensions is changed.
when modeling from scratch, I always prefer going back in the model tree and changing the dimension that makes the the final dimension you want and fixing whatever breaks in the tree after that. it just creates a more stable model.
I've worked on models that contractors had so many move features in there it was impossible to know what was changing. basically the models were unusable to me and I basically remodeled them. I get that it's a fast and easy way for them to get a part done, but since I'm going to be maintaining the CAD in production for many years and I"m going to have to make changes to it, I want the model stable and the only way to do that is by using the features correctly to create the most stable and easily editable model I can.
Like anything, there are times to use certain features and benefits to each of them. Just be aware of what you are doing and understand what the negatives may be for you or for others down the road.
I started typing something similar, but got pulled away. The question was about how to move the face, and Matt's and Glenn's answers address the direct question, but your above explanation is also correct. Just because we can do something doesn't always mean we should.
To be fair, the geometry was imported, so the Move Face was the way to go. Plus his question was related to the Offset surface, and Move Face is the closest solid equivalent to Offset. I could have even gone for Replace Face with his Offset surface.
If the part could be converted to sheet metal, it could have been handled differently, but that wasn't the question.
And while everyone prefers working with native features over imported geometry, FeatureWorks really isn't the answer most of the time.
I generally agree about avoiding the use of "direct edit" tools in SW on native data. But on imported stuff, that's what the direct edit tools were made for.
If you're trying to make the part thicker, don't use Offset Surface. Use Move Face. Select the Offset option. It automatically integrates the offset into the solid. Solid and Surface functions aren't always interchangeable.