SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Part VI: Using Advanced Techniques

ways. such as removal and remodeling. Gap tolerances can cause problems during import opera-

tions to other software that doesn’t have the capability to adjust tolerances. Certainly use the Gap

Control options, but also be aware of the potential problems you might see with data downstream.

Thicken Surface

The other function that also creates a solid from a surface is the Thicken feature. If a surface body
that encloses a volume is selected, then the option Create solid from enclosed volume appears on
the Thicken PropertyManager, as shown in Figure 27.8. You can access the Thicken feature by
choosing Insert ➪ Boss/Base ➪ Thicken from the menus.

FIGURE 27.8

The Thicken PropertyManager

Planar Surface

Planar surfaces can be created quickly and are useful in many situations, not just for surfacing
work. Because they are by definition planar, you can use them to sketch on and for other purposes
that you may use a plane for, such as mirroring.

However, more commonly, Planar Surfaces are created from a closed sketch such as a rectangle.

You can create multiple Planar Surfaces at once, and the surfaces do not need to all be on the same

plane or even parallel. This is commonly done to close up holes in a surface model, such as at the

bottom of cylindrical bosses on a plastic part, using a planar circular edge. A good example of this

is the bike frame part in the material for Chapter 27 on the CD-ROM, named Chapter 27 –

bike frame.sldprt.

Remember that a Planar Surface was used in Chapter 26 with the Split feature to split the leg off of

an imported part. This was more effective than a sketch or a plane because the split was limited to

the bounds of the Planar Surface, not infinite like the sketch or the plane.

The Planar Surface does not knit itself into the rest of the surface bodies around it automatically;

you have to use the Knit feature to do this.