Creating Variable Offset Surfaces

Variable Offset lets you manage several variable and constant offset surfaces in one operation.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin:

Create a 3D shape containing a surface and subelements (surface or wires).

 

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Create a Variable Offset Surface

You can create a variable offset surface.

  1. In the Base Surface box, select the surface to be offset.
  2. In the Parameters tab, select each subpart to be offset (whether wires or surfaces).
  3. In the Offset list, select the offset type for each subpart.

    Important: If the subpart to an offset is an element such as a line, curve, or edge, you can select the offset to be:
    • Constant (Border): The element is considered as a border element. Hence, it must lie on a boundary.
    • Constant (Inner): The element is considered as a constant constraint within a variable area. Hence, it must lie in a variable area and not on a boundary.

  4. In the Offset law type area, select the offset law type between Linear and S type. By default, the offset law type is S type. In this mode, the extremities are tangent continuous.
  5. Click Preview.

    The offset surface is displayed normal to the reference surface.

  6. Click OK.
    One single feature is created: an automatic join of the resulting areas is performed if the result quality allows it (G1 connections).
    Important:
    • All adjacent surfaces that are tangent continuous must have the same offset value. Otherwise an error message is issued.
    • Avoid any fading edges between two surfaces that have different offset values.