Page 149 - Mastering SolidWorks

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118 CHAPTER 4 Creating Simple partS and drawingS

direction 1 and direction 2 are always opposite one another. direction 2 becomes inactive if you
select mid plane for the end condition of direction 1. in the graphics window, you will see a single
arrowhead for direction 1 and a double arrowhead for direction 2. For the Blind end condition,
which is described next, dragging the arrows determines the distance of the extrusion.
each of the end conditions is affected by the reverse direction toggle. this toggle simply changes
the default direction by 180 degrees. You need to be careful when using this feature, particularly
when using the Up to end conditions, because if the entity that you are extruding up to is not in the
selected direction, an error results.

Ending an Extrusion
Following is a brief description of each of the available end conditions for the Extrude feature:

Blind: In this case, Blind means an explicit distance. The term is usually used in conjunction
with holes of a specific depth, although here it is associated with a boss rather than a hole.
Up To Vertex: In effect, Up To Vertex works just like the Blind end condition, except that the
distance is parametrically controlled by a model vertex, edge, or sketch point.

Up To Surface: Up To Surface could probably be better named Up To Face, because the end
does not necessarily have to be an actual surface feature or body. This end condition may
display a warning if the projection of the sketch onto the selected face extends beyond the
boundary of the face. In that case, it is advisable to knit several faces together into a surface
body and to use the Up To Body end condition.
Offset From Surface: By default, Offset From Surface extrudes until it reaches a specified
distance from a selected surface. There are two methods for determining the type of offset and
one for determining direction.

◆ The default offset method behaves as if the selected surface were offset radially, so that
a surface with a 4-inch radius and a 1-inch offset would give a curvature on the end of
the extrude of a 3-inch radius (Figure 4.7).
◆ The second method, called Translate Surface, behaves as if the surface were moved by
the offset distance (Figure 4.8).

◆ Reverse Offset refers to specifying whether the offset stops short of the selected face
(Figure 4.9 top) or goes past it (Figure 4.9 bottom).
Up To Body: The Up To Body end condition is very useful in many situations, especially
when you receive the error message, “The end face cannot terminate the extrusion,” from the
Up To Surface end condition.
Mid Plane: The Mid Plane end condition eliminates the Direction 2 options and divides the
extrude distance equally in both directions. For example, if you specify a 1.00-inch Mid Plane,
SolidWorks extrudes .50 inches in one direction and .50 inches in the other direction. This is a
useful option for ensuring symmetry in a direction normal to the sketch plane.