Shell

You can use the shell tool to hollow out a model, remove the faces you select, and create thin-walled features on the remaining faces.

This task shows you how to:

Creating a Shell of Uniform Thickness

You can create a uniform thickness for all the walls in the feature.

  1. From the Features section of the action bar, click Shell .
  2. In the Shell dialog box, select one of the following:
    OptionDescription
    One Way

    Hollows out the inside of the face.



    When you click Reverse Direction , the material is added to the outside of the face. Double-click the ball handle to specify the Both Ways option.
    Both Ways

    Hollows out the inside of the face and adds material to the outside of the face. Double-click the ball handle to specify the One Way option.
  3. Optional: To hollow the entire body, click Shell Body.


  4. Select faces (or bodies) from the work area to hollow the selections.
    Note: You cannot apply this feature to a sheet metal geometry.
  5. In the Thickness section, specify a wall thickness value.

    Specify the wall Thickness by entering a value or dragging the handle.

    Note:

    The Dimension Edit Box is displayed as you sketch. Type the value for the dimension and press Enter.

  6. Optional: Click Tangent propagation to extend the shell to all faces that are tangent to the selected face.

    Tangent propagation is not available when you are shelling a body.

  7. Click .

Creating a Shell of Custom Thickness

You can specify different thickness for individual walls.

  1. From the Features section of the action bar, click Shell .
  2. Create a Shell object as previously described, see Creating a Shell of Uniform Thickness.
  3. Select Custom Thickness in the Advanced section of the Shell dialog box.
  4. Select the faces on the current shell feature to customize.
  5. In the Thickness, specify a thickness value or drag the handle for the Custom Thickness face.
    The thickness of the selected custom face changes while the other shell faces remain the same.

  6. Click .