Transforming a Body to Surface

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1

Hello! I am preparing a plan for moulding and I am stuck.

I designed my shape as a solid body, but for the production I need only the surface which has few mm thickness. How is it possible to modify a body by breaking the surface and keeping only the surface, to which then I add thickness (Offset)?

Thanks in advance!
Balazs

2

Hey Balazs,

Copy the body, hide the original then on the copied body select the required faces and apply Face Offset with the value of the thickness. Unhide the original body. Select both bodies and pick subtract, you’ll end up getting a surface with the required thickness.

3

Hi Daneil!
Thanks for the quick response! I would like to create an offset on the whole body not only on a certain Face. Anyways if I click on (almost) any Face, i get the “operation failed, because the body wouldn’t be valid.” notification.

I add some screenshots, it might help. I design a bath tub what is not a solid object and for the production i would like to cut out the bottom part (highlighted) and thats why I need to apply the offset evenly on the surface.

IMG_0260.PNG
IMG_0260.PNG1920Ă—1341 168 KB

4

Hi @balazspusztai ,
Another method would be

  1. Slice the model into two parts, A and B
  2. Hide part A
  3. Shell part B picking only the sliced surface
  4. Hide B and reveal A
  5. Shell part A
  6. Reveal part B
  7. Union A and B

This video is a little weird, hope it helps.

1 Like
5

FYI: You don’t need to slice the body. If you select the full body you can make it hollow with shell tool :wink:

1 Like
6

Cool. Thanks Zoli!

7

Wow Thank you Bob, i managed it!! :slight_smile:

8

Great! Glad to hear you got what you needed. And I learned something too :grinning: