Part II: Building Intelligence into Your Parts
automated surface techniques. Surface modeling in itself can be tedious work because of all the
manual detail that you must add. Solid modeling as we know it is simply an evolutionary step
that adds automation to surface modeling. The automation maintains a closed boundary of sur-
faces around the solid volume.Because surfaces are the underlying building blocks from which solids are made, it would make sense
to teach surfaces first, and then solids. However, the majority of SolidWorks users never use surfac-
ing, and do not see a need for it; therefore, surface functions are generally given a lower priority.Cross-Reference
Refer to Chapter 27 for surfacing information. For a comprehensive look at surfacing and complex shapes, see
the SolidWorks Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling Bible (Wiley, 2008).n
Loft end constraints .......................................................................................
Loft end conditions control the tangency direction and weighting at the ends of the loft. Some of
the end constraints depend upon the loft starting or ending from other geometry. The optional
constraints are covered in the following sections.None
The direction of the loft is not set by the None end constraint, but the curvature of the lofted faces
at the ends is zero. This is the default end constraint for two-section lofts.Default
The Default end constraint is not available for two-section lofts, only for lofts with three or more
sections. This end constraint applies curvature to the end of the loft so that it approximates a
parabola being formed through the first and last loft profiles.Tangent to Face
The Tangent to Face end constraint is self-explanatory. The Tangency to Face option includes a
setting for tangent length. This is not a literal length dimension, but a relative weighting, on a scale
from 0.1 to 10. The small arrow to the left of the setting identifies the direction of the tangency.
Usually, the default setting is correct, but there are times when SolidWorks misidentifies the
intended tangency direction, and you may need to correct it manually.The Next Face option is available only when lofting from an end face where the tangency could go
in one of two perpendicular directions. This is shown in Figure 7.11.Apply to All refers to applying the Tangent Length value to all the tangency-weighting arrows for
the selected profile. When you select Apply to All, only one arrow displays. When you deselect it,
one arrow should display for each vertex in the profile, and you can adjust each arrow individually.Curvature to Face
The difference between tangency and curvature is that tangency is only concerned with the direc-
tion of curvature immediately at the edge between the two surfaces. Curvature must be tangent