Chapter 27: Working with Surfaces
Using Offset Surface
Follow these steps to gain some experience with the Offset Surface:- Open the part from the CD-ROM called Chapter 27 – Offset Tutorial.
sldprt. - Right-click a curved face of the part and click Select Tangency in the menu.
- 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. - 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 27.23. This is done so that you can
see the part underneath the surface, without mistaking the surface for the actual part.
FIGURE 27.23
Using the Display Pane to change transparencyTip
It is a common practice to change surface colors to something that contrasts with the part color. I usually use a
color like yellow, which suggests temporary status or construction. Some users take this a step further and set
the template colors for surface types by choosing Tools ➪ Options ➪ Document Properties ➪ Colors. These set-
tings do not always work; in some cases, they turn surface features to a different color, and in other situations,
they do not. n
- Select Sketch2, and select Extruded Boss/Base from the Features toolbar. Do not
mistake the Extruded Surface for an Extruded Solid. Set the end condition to Up To
Body, activate the body selection box, and select the Offset Surface body from the Surface
Bodies folder. The result is shown in Figure 27.24.