Shell Solid

Introduction

This topic will explain the Shell function, will explain where to find the function, and explain the options found in it. This topic will also explain creation with quick steps and an example, and provide links to related topics.

The Shell Function

The Solid Shell function is used to remove one or more faces of a solid body and recreate the solid with the specified wall thickness for the remaining surfaces. You can also shell the whole solid to create a closed hollow solid.

 

To open Shell Solid:

 

  • In the Modify group, of the Create 3D tab, click Shell.

 

The parameters display in the Data Entry Manager.

The Data Entry Parameters

Geometry Selection

  • Whole Solid- With this check box cleared, selection mode will be set to individual surface faces only.

 Whole Solid - With this check box selected, selection mode will be set to solid bodies only.

 

Selected Geometry

 

(Delete) - removes the highlighted item from the Selected Geometry list.

(Delete All) - removes all entities from the Selected Geometry list.
The list will display all entities currently selected for the function.

Direction

The direction parameters determine which way the shelled solid is created from the original solid.

 

    • Inward - when this option is selected, the shell will be created by offsetting inward from the original geometry.

    • Outward - when this option is selected, the shell will be created by offsetting outward from the original geometry.

 

Parameters

 

  • Wall Thickness - is the thickness for the resulting surfaces of the shelled model.

 

  • Fillet Edges - creates fillets for all resulting shelled surface edges. This option uses the Wall Thickness parameter for the fillet radius.

Fillet Edges - does not create fillets.

 

Important: The Fillet Edges parameter is applied to outward shell creation, and is very important for creating successful shelled surfaces. Turning this option on or off can often resolve failed calculations. The Fillet Edges option uses the Wall Thickness as the fillet radius so the dimensions of the original solid must allow this radius to be applied.

 

  • Show Preview / Hide Preview

Once geometry has been added to the Selected Geometry list, selecting this toggle will enable, and disable the CAD preview, which displays the result that will be created when you click OK.

 

 

  • OK - finalizes the function.

  • Cancel - exits the function.

Quick Steps - Shell Solid

  1. Open the function and define all Data Entry parameters.

  2. Click to select one or more faces of the solid that you want to remove.

    You can perform the function on one or more solids.

  3. Once geometry is added to the Selected Geometry list, click Show Preview to see a preview of the result.

  4. If needed, update the Data Entry parameters.

    The changes update the CAD preview.

  5. Click OK to create the shell.

    The feature is added to the CAD Tree.

  6. Repeat this process as needed for any other solids, if you want to create another shell with different parameters.

  7. Click Cancel to close the function.

Example

A BobCAD file installed with the software can be opened to follow along with this example.

Part 1) Open the Example File

  1. In the Quick Access Toolbar, click Open.

  2. Navigate to: C:\BobCAD-CAM Data\BobCAD-CAM V**\Examples, and select ShellSolid Example.bbcd.

  3. With ShellSolid Example.bbcd displaying in the FileName box, click Open.

Part 2) Open Shell Solid

To open Shell Solid:

 

  • In the Modify group, of the Create 3D tab, click Shell.

 

The parameters display in the Data Entry Manager.

Part 3) Create a Shelled Solid

For this example, we select the geometry first to create the CAD Preview before updating the Data Entry parameters. This allows us to visualize the effect of each parameter and the result before actually creating it.

 

  1. Click to select the top face of the part as seen in the image below.



    The selected face is added to the Selected Geometry list.

  2. Click Show Preview to create the CAD preview.



  3. In the Data Entry Manager, under Direction, click Outward.

    The Direction option determines to which side of the original surfaces the Wall Thickness is applied.



  4. Double-click in the Wall Thickness box, to select all the text, and type 0.0625.

    Press Tab or click anywhere in the graphics area to update the CAD preview.

    The Wall Thickness is applied to all surfaces and it also determines the radius value when using the Fillet option.



  5. To shell the solid as shown in the CAD preview, click OK.

    The Shell is created in the graphics area and a Shell feature is created in the CAD Tree.



  6. Click Cancel to close the Data Entry Manager.

Part 4) Modifying the Feature Using the CAD Tree

After using Shell Solid, a feature is created and added to the CAD Tree to allow for modification and more as explained in the CAD Tree. When you cancel the function, the CAD Tree Manager automatically displays. Notice the Shell feature in the CAD Tree.

 

  1. Click the Shell feature in the CAD Tree and notice that the result highlights in the Workspace.



  2. Next to Shell, click to expand the feature.

    The Geometry item contains a right-click shortcut menu that can be used to modify the selection and update the feature. For this example, we edit the feature to show how to use Shell Whole Solid.

  3. Right-click Shell, and click Edit Parameters.

 

The Edit Parameters option opens the function with the geometry preselected for you to change only the parameters. If you use the Edit option, the function is opened without the geometry preselected.

Part 5) Using Shell Whole Solid

You can also use the Shell Whole Solid option to create a hollow solidbody.When using this option, no faces are removed from the model.

 

  1. In the Data Entry Manager, click Whole Solid.

    In this scenario, changing to Shell Whole Solid clears the geometry selections, because we are changing the way that the Shell function works by changing the selection mode.

  2. Click to select the flange in the graphics area.

    Notice that you can now only select the entire solid, not separate faces as earlier.



  3. Press the Show Preview button to create the CAD preview.



  4. Click OK to shell the whole solid.

 

The Data Entry Manager is automatically closed when you click OK after editing.

 

 

About the Shell Whole Solid Result

When using the Shell Whole Solid option, the result is not easy to visualize because you are creating a hollow solid. After using Solid Split on our shelled solid, you can easily see the part is a hollow solid model.

 

 

 

This concludes the example.

Related Topics

The CAD Overview