Creating a Shell from Solids and NURBS Surfaces

The Shell Solid tool creates a hollow shell from a solid object or NURBS surface. The shell can be created outside or inside the solid; for NURBS surfaces, it gives the object a thickness. Most injection-molded plastic parts have a shell.

Shell from a Solid Object

 

To create a shell solid from a solid object:

1.	Click Shell Solid from the 3D Modeling tool set.

2.	Click on the face of the solid object where the shell will be created.

The Shell Solid Preferences dialog box opens. Specify the shell settings.

 

Parameter	Description
Shell
Inside	Creates an interior shell
Outside	Creates an exterior shell
Thickness	Enter the thickness of the shell wall
Select Tangent Faces	Selects the tangentially-connected chain of faces

Click Shell Solid Preferences on the Tool bar to edit the settings.

3.

Click OK.

The selected face of the object is highlighted in red.

If the wrong face is highlighted, select the correct face before pressing Enter.

4.	Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh), or click the check mark button on the Tool bar, to create the shell.

Shell from a NURBS Surface

To create a shell solid from a NURBS surface:

1.	Click Shell Solid from the 3D Modeling tool set.

2.	Click on the NURBS surface to thicken.

The Shell Solid Preferences dialog box opens.

3.	Specify the desired shell settings as described in Shell from a Solid Object.

Click Shell Solid Preferences on the Tool bar to edit the settings.

4.

Click OK.

The selected face of the object is highlighted in red.

5.	Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh), or click the check mark button on the Tool bar, to create the shell.