Creating a Surface Using Extrude  

This task shows you how to create subdivision surfaces by extruding a curve along a direction.
A .CATPart document must be open.

  1. Click Extrude in Creation toolbar (Sweep Primitives sub-toolbar).

    You can also access this command by pressing ALT+SHIFT+Z.

    The following Tools Palette along with screen for curve creation are displayed.

     
 

Creating a Curve
 

  1. Click Add Point to begin drawing the curve.

  2. Click to add points and draw the curve. The entire curve is drawn so that all options available in Tools Palette can be described in this section.

    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+S.

     

    • The created points define the polygon of the curve of subdivisions.
    • The surface can be previewed as the points are created.
    • When a point is added, it can be moved as long as you keep the left mouse button pressed.
 

Adding New Points
 

  1. Add a new point on existing curve by clicking the left mouse button at the required position. The point can be previewed on the existing curve.
    Once the point is created the surface is immediately previewed.
 

Manipulating the Points
 

  1. Click Move Point to move the point. The point closest to the mouse is manipulated.

    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+M.

  2. Select the point and manipulate keeping the left mouse button pressed.
 

Aligning the Points
 

  1. Click Align Point to align a point horizontally and vertically.

    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+H.

  2. Move the cursor over the point you want to align. The segment closest to the mouse is highlighted. Horizontal and vertical segments are seen.

  3. Click the left mouse button. The point close to the mouse is fixed. The second point moves along the horizontal or vertical segment.
    You can see that the point below the selected point has moved up.

    The choice of horizontal or vertical segment is automatic and the chosen direction depends on the smallest angle of rotation.
 

Adding Weight to the Points
 

  1. Click Attraction to add weight to the point. A new icon is added to Tools Palette. The icon has two states:

    • Sharp Attraction: Selecting this gives a sharp edge.
    • Smooth Attraction: Selecting this gives a smooth edge.
    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F.

  2. Select the point.
    A slider indicating the value of the weight is displayed on the right of the screen and can be changed between 0 and 100.

  3. Hold the left mouse button and move the mouse to reach the desired value on the weight slider. Release the left mouse button when you are satisfied with the weight added to the surface.
 

Erasing a Point
 

  1. Click Erase Point to delete a point.

    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+E.

  2. Select a point. The point is deleted.
 

Closing the Curve
 

  1. Click Close Curve to close the curve. The icon is now changed to .

    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+C.

  2. Click Close Curve again to open the curve.
 

Reframing on Drawing View
 

  1. Click Drawing view reposition the view to drawing view (the plan).

    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+R.
 

Defining the Extrusion Length
 

  1. Click Length to position the view laterally such that the length of extrusion can be changed.

    The Tools Palette is modified.

    You can also access this command by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+L.

  2. Hold down the left-mouse button and drag to the surface to extrude it along the defined direction. You can also use Extrusion Edition command to define the extrusion length.

  3. Click Extrusion Edition . The Extrusion Length dialog box is displayed.
     

  4. Enter the length to be extruded or use spinners to change the value. In this case enter the value as 1300mm.

  5. Click OK.

  6. To go back to drawing view (plan), click Drawing view .

 

Apply Command
 

  1. Click Apply to validate and create the extruded surface.

  2. The Manipulation command along with Tools Palette is automatically activated, allowing you to manipulate the surface.

    The final surface without any manipulation is as seen:

  • You cannot use a pre-existing curve for surface creation.
  • Undo and Redo commands are not available.