Part I: SolidWorks Basics
continued
By default, the Direction of Extrusion is normal to the sketch plane, but you can also select a
linear entity such as an edge or axis as the direction. All the end-condition options are still
available when you manually define the Direction of Extrusion as something other than the
default.
You can also assign a draft option to an extrusion as it is created, and you can control the
draft separately for Direction 1 and Direction 2.
Best Practice
When dealing with molded or cast parts, certain types of features, such as draft, fillets, and shells, are
often the targets of users trying to assign best practices. This is partially because using draft, fillets, and
shells is very much like playing Rock, Paper, Scissors; the only way to win this game is by luck. Arranging
the features in the correct order so that the model is efficient and achieves the desired results is challeng-
ing. It is usually best to apply draft as a separate feature rather than using it in the definition of the
Extrude feature. It is also best to apply draft after most of the modeling is done, but before you apply the
cosmetic fillets and before you use the shell feature. n
Thin Feature panel
The Thin Feature panel is activated by default when you try to extrude an open loop sketch (a sketch
that does not fully enclose an area). The end-condition options remain the same. What changes is the
feature applies a thickness to the sketch elements in the manner of a sheet metal part, thin-walled plas-
tic part, or a rib. The Thin Feature panel of the Extrude PropertyManager, along with a representative
thin feature extrusion.
The Thin Feature panel and a thin feature extrusion
The Cap Ends option is available only when you specify a Thin Feature to be created from a closed loop
sketch. This creates a hollow, solid body in a single step. You can also use Thin Features with cuts, and
they are very useful for creating slots or grooves.
