{"id":27015,"date":"2020-08-20T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/tech\/?p=27015"},"modified":"2020-07-25T14:02:47","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T18:02:47","slug":"new-addition-to-thicken-command-in-solidworks-2020-defining-thicken-direction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/tech\/2020\/08\/new-addition-to-thicken-command-in-solidworks-2020-defining-thicken-direction.html","title":{"rendered":"New Addition to Thicken Command in SOLIDWORKS 2020: Defining Thicken Direction"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOLIDWORKS 2020 adds a very nice option to one of my favorite surface-to-solid tools,\u00a0Thicken<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Thicken<\/strong>\u00a0takes a surface body (which has zero thickness) and makes it a solid (making it a volume) by specifying a thickness value and side to thicken. Until now, the calculation was based on surface normal, which is often what you want. Now, though, we can specify a direction for the offset created by the\u00a0Thicken<\/strong>\u00a0command.<\/p>\n

Consider the default behavior shown here:<\/p>\n

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You can see in the preview that the thickness surface being created is normal to the faces of the surface we are thickening.<\/p>\n

Now look at the preview we get when we specify a direction vector:<\/p>\n

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You can see in this preview the offset surface being made, but the\u00a0Thicken<\/strong>\u00a0command is normal to the selected planar face on the solid part (purple highlight), affecting both faces being offset from the surface body. This gives us a different solid than the default settings.<\/p>\n

What if we select a different face of the solid to set the\u00a0Thicken<\/strong>\u00a0direction? We would get this:<\/p>\n

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How about if we select a line from a sketch to be the\u00a0Thicken<\/strong>\u00a0direction vector?<\/p>\n

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The examples above show a surface body with two planar faces. Here are a few examples of the same option when thickening a spline surface body:<\/p>\n

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Thicken<\/strong>\u00a0may not be a command you use every day, but when you need it, it is a valuable tool. While thickening normal to the surface selected is often the desired result, the option we now have to specify a direction vector adds even more power. Do you use\u00a0Thicken?\u00a0<\/strong>If so, drop me a line at\u00a0john.setzer@gsc-3d.com<\/a>. I\u2019d love to hear from you about how you use it!<\/p>\n

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Read other\u00a0blogs by John<\/a>, or find more videos on\u00a0our YouTube Channel including more Tips and Tricks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want More on 3D CAD?<\/h1>\n

If you\u2019re interested in SOLIDWORKS CAD and other resources:<\/p>\n