THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

3.0 THE SURFACING MENU COMMANDS

I wish that I had a dollar (U.S. currency) for every time that I have heard someone say: "I can't use Solid Edge because it doesn't do surface modeling." I would be so rich that I would be out at Pebble Beach, California, teeing up the golf ball. I have been doing surface modeling for years (that's about how long every job seemed to take back in the old days), and anyone that wants to do surface modeling is either: A) Certifiably crazy, or B) Doesn't understand how the Solid Edge Surfacing Menu can be used in the modeling process. The Solid Edge Surfacing menu can be used in the Part and Sheet Metal modules to help create parts that make even the expensive CAD software jealous.

Figure 2
Look at the commands shown in Figure 3.

3.1 SURFACING MENU COMMANDS

To access the Surfacing menu, you can click the RIGHT mouse button on any menu in the Main Toolbar or the Features Menu, and select Surfacing as shown in Figure 1. These commands are: BLUESURF BOUNDED SURFACE REVOLVED SURFACE COPY SURFACE. SWEPT SURFACE EXTRUDED SURFACE OFFSET SURFACE

Figure 3

Look at the commands shown in Figure 4.

Figure 1
This will open the Surfacing menu, which runs down the left side of the screen, next to the Features Menu. The Surfacing menu is shown in four parts to better fit the format of THE BLUE BOOK in Figure 2.

Figure 4
These commands are: BLUEDOT TRIM SURFACE EXTEND SURFACE DELETE FACES STITCHED SURFACE SHOW NON-STITCHED EDGES REPLACE FACE.

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

Look at the commands shown in Figure 5.

THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

3.1.1 The BLUESURF Command

WHAT: The BLUESURF command. WHERE: The BLUESURF command is located at the top
of the Surfacing menu. It is shown in Figure

Figure 5
These commands are: KEYPOINT CURVE INTERSECTION CURVE CROSS CURVE DERIVED CURVE INTERSECTION POINT. CURVE BY TABLE PROJECT CURVE CONTOUR CURVE SPLIT CURVE

Figure 7
The BLUESURF command is used to create a surface by using several cross sections. It works very similar to the LOFTED PROTRUSION command. The Ribbon Bar for the command is shown in Figure 8.

HOW:

Look At the commands shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8
The first command on the Ribbon Bar is the BLUESURF OPTIONS command. This command opens the BlueSurf Options window, which is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 6
These commands are: DIVIDE PART INSERT PART. BOOLEAN FEATURE

Figure 9
The Advanced tab of the BlueSurf Options window is shown in Figure 10.

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

The resulting surface is shown in Figure 13.

Figure 10
The SmartStep commands in the Ribbon Bar are shown in Figure 11.

Figure 13
Once the surface is created, the GUIDE CURVE STEP can be used to extract curves in two directions that match the contour of the surface. To extract curves that match the contours of the surface, the GUIDE CURVE STEP lets you place reference planes through the surface. The reference planes can be placed in the usual way that you create reference planes. The reference plane commands will appear on the Ribbon Bar as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 11
The commands are: CROSS SECTION STEP, INSERT SKETCH STEP. GUIDE CURVE STEP, CANCEL/FINISH.

In the CROSS SECTION STEP, you select the 2-D curves that will be used to create the BLUESURF. After selecting a cross section, you can check the green check mark, or right mouse click. This will let you select the next cross section. If you have a Guide Curve, you can select the GUIDE CURVE STEP button on the Ribbon Bar and then select up to three Guide Curves. The Guide Curves must intersect the cross sections. Figure 12 shows three cross sections and three guide curves.

Figure 14
Look at the surface model that is shown in Figure 15.

Cross Sections

Figure 15
It was created by the three sketches that are shown highlighted in Figure 16.

Guide Curves
Figure 12

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

The sketches that are added in the second direction are considered as Guide Curves. The original sketches and the sketches added in the first direction are considered Cross Sections. When the new sketches are added to the model, the surface is regenerated and the surface is then controlled by the new sketches as well as the original sketches. When you need to create a surface model that matches cross sectional data, the BLUESURF command can do that for you easily. Also, the BLUESURF command gives you the ability to add additional curves to the surface if additional control is necessary. There is no other command that can do this.

WHY:

Figure 16
The two new sketches that are shown in Figure 17 were added to the surface after the surface was created with the INSERT SKETCH STEP command.

EXAMPLE 1: Look at the surface model that is shown

from the top view in Figure 19, right view in Figure 20 and iso view in Figure 21. The curves shown in Figure 22 were used to create the surface.

Figure 17
The sketches running in the opposite direction shown in Figure 18 were also added by the INSERT SKETCH STEP command.

Figure 19

Figure 18

Figure 20

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THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

3.1.2 The SWEPT SURFACE Command

WHAT: The SWEPT SURFACE command. WHERE: The SWEPT SURFACE command is located
on the Surfacing Menu. It is shown in Figure 23.

Figure 21

Guide Curve

Point Used As Cross Section

Figure 23

HOW: The SWEPT SURFACE command is used to create

a surface model. The surface created is a construction element and can be used with many other solid and surface modeling commands to help define the shape of the model.

Cross Section

The SWEPT SURFACE command works just like the SWEPT PROTRUSION command. For more information about the SWEPT PROTRUSION command, see THE BOOK ABOUT Solid Edge.

Point Used As Cross Section

Figure 22

Guide Curve

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

3.1.3 The BOUNDED SURFACE Command

WHAT: The BOUNDED SURFACE command. WHERE: The BOUNDED SURFACE command is
located near the top of the Surfacing menu. It is shown in Figure 24.

Figure 26

Figure 24

HOW: This command creates a surface from boundary

elements, like SKETCHES or edges of other surfaces. The Ribbon Bar for the command is shown in Figure 25.

Figure 25
The first command is the SELECT EDGES STEP. In this step you select the edges that will bound the new surface. When the edges have been selected, you can use the second button, which is the SELECT TANGENT FACES STEP, to control the tangency of the new surface along the edges that you selected. This option is not relevant unless you are selecting edges of surfaces to create the BOUNDED SURFACE. This command can be used to easily create surfaces with unusual shapes.

Figure 27

EXAMPLE 2: Look at the three surfaces and two

SKETCHES shown in Figure 28.

WHY:

EXAMPLE 1: Look at the surface shown in Figure 26.

It was created with the BOUNDED SURFACE command using the SKETCH that is shown in Figure 27.

Figure 28

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THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

A fourth surface can be added on top of the model using the SKETCHES and the top edges of two surfaces. The new BOUNDED SURFACE is shown in Figure 29.

Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

Figure 29

EXAMPLE 3: Look at the two surface models that are

shown in Figure 30. Notice that two sketches connect the corners of the surfaces.

Figure 31

3.1.4 The EXTRUDED SURFACE Command

WHAT: The EXTRUDED SURFACE command. WHERE: The EXTRUDED SURFACE command is
located in the upper part of the Surfacing menu and is part of the fly-out menu shown in Figure 32.

Figure 32

HOW: The EXTRUDED SURFACE command is used to

Figure 30
The BOUNDED SURFACE command can be used to create a surface between the two surfaces. In Figure 31, the third surface was created by using the two sketches and the edges of the existing surfaces. create a 3D surface model. The surface created is a construction element and can be used with many other solid modeling commands to help define the shape of the model. The EXTRUDED SURFACE command works just like the PROTRUSION command. For more information about the PROTRUSION command see THE BOOK About Solid Edge.

NOTE:

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

3.1.5 The REVOLVED SURFACE Command

WHAT: The REVOLVED SURFACE command. WHERE: The REVOLVED SURFACE command is part
of the fly-out menu that is shown in Figure 33.

Figure 35
The Smart Step commands are: SELECT STEP, OFFSET STEP, and CANCEL/FINISH. In the SELECT STEP, you can select the types of elements shown in the Select field in Figure 36.

Figure 33

HOW: The REVOLVED SURFACE command is used to

create a 3D surface model. The surface created is a construction element and can be used with many other solid modeling commands to help define the shape of the model.

Figure 36
When the surface is selected, the OFFSET STEP becomes active. In the OFFSET STEP, you set the Distance in the Distance field, as shown in Figure 37.

NOTE: The REVOLVED SURFACE command works just

like the REVOLVED PROTRUSION command. For more information about the REVOLVED PROTRUSION command, see THE BOOK About Solid Edge.

3.1.6 The OFFSET SURFACE Command

Figure 37
You can also select to REMOVE BOUNDARIES or to SHOW BOUNDARIES of the surface that is offset. This is done with the buttons that are shown in Figure 38.

WHAT: The OFFSET SURFACE command. WHERE: The OFFSET SURFACE command is located
on the fly-out menu shown in Figure 34.

Figure 38
When you are creating complex surface models, the OFFSET SURFACE command can be quite handy to use. The OFFSET SURFACE can help you creating CUTOUTS or PROTRUSIONS on the model with the OFFSET SURFACE being used as the From/To surfaces in the EXTENT STEP of the modeling commands.

WHY:

Figure 34
The OFFSET SURFACE command can create a surface that is parallel to the selected surface. You can control the distance of the offset, and the offset can be zero. The Ribbon Bar for the OFFSET SURFACE command is shown in two parts to better fit the format of THE BLUE BOOK in Figure 35.

HOW:

The OFFSET SURFACE command can create surfaces with an offset value of 0.00. This can help you when working with complex surface models, like cutting text out of a contoured surface model, like the one shown in Figure 39.

EXAMPLE 1:

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

Figure 39
Also, the OFFSET SURFACE command now supports the removal or internal boundaries. This will also help you when creating models like BIG BAR Soap, a manly deodorant bar. To create a model like BIG BAR, you can start with two Construction Surfaces like those that are shown in Figure 40.

Figure 41
The front and right views of the model are shown in Figures 42 and 43.

Figure 42

Figure 40
A PROTRUSION can be added with a From/To EXTENT using the Construction Surfaces. This is shown, with the Construction Surfaces hidden in Figure 41.

Figure 43
ROUNDS can be added to the model to soften the corners. This is shown in Figure 44. Now the fun part starts. To cut the letters into BIG BAR requires a little thought process, but it is easy because of the OFFSET SURFACE capabilities.

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

Figure 44
You need the letters first. Create a SKETCH using the reference plane that runs through the center of BIG BAR. The SKETCH profile can be created with the TEXT PROFILE command, which is accessed by selecting Insert, Text Profile from the Menu Bar. The Text window used in this example is shown in Figure 45.

Figure 46
The OFFSET SURFACE command can be used to offset the top surface of the model .200 deep into the model. This is shown in the right view in Figure 47.

Surface Offset Into Model

Big Bar Sketch Text Figure 47

The CUTOUT command can be used to remove the material that shapes each letter with a From/To EXTENT. This is shown in Figure 48.

Figure 45
The BIG BAR SKETCH is shown in Figure 46.

Figure 48

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THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

This is shown in the right view in Figure 49. Notice how the CUTOUT goes into the model until it hits the OFFSET SURFACE.

Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

Letters Penetrate Model Surface And Stop At Offset Surface

Figure 51

3.1.7 The COPY SURFACE Command

Figure 49
Figure 50 shows the completed Big Bar.

WHAT: The COPY SURFACE command. WHERE: The COPY SURFACE command is located in
the fly-out menu shown in Figure 52.

Figure 52

HOW: The COPY SURFACE command creates a copy of a

surface. The surface from which the copy is created can be a surface model or a surface from a solid model. The Ribbon Bar for the command is shown in Figure 53.

Figure 50
It almost makes me want to jump into a nice hot bath and clean up. The bathtub is shown in Figure 51. The same modeling technique of using a From/To EXTENT with a surface model can be used to create the bathtub.

Figure 53
The first button is the SELECT STEP command. In this step you select the surfaces you want to copy and then select the green check mark to OK the selection. The REMOVE INTERNAL BOUNDARIES and the REMOVE EXTERNAL BOUNDARIES commands, which are shown in Figure 54, can be used to have boundaries removed from the copy when it is created. A boundary is an edge on a surface. If the

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

surface was originally created and modified, the copy may change if you use the REMOVE EXTERNAL BOUNDARIES command. The REMOVE INTERNAL BOUNDARIES command will copy the surface without internal holes.

THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

Figure 54
In advanced modeling scenarios, you may need to copy a surface to set up the creation of a complex feature. Also, you may need to remove boundaries from the copy to set up From/To surfaces when creating PROTRUSIONS, or other boundary elements.

WHY:

EXAMPLE 1: Look at the model shown in Figure 55.

Figure 57
Notice that the square hole has been removed from the surface with the internal boundaries removed.

Figure 55
A copy of the surface is shown in Figure 56. A copy of the top surface is shown with internal boundaries removed in Figure 57.

Figure 56

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

The BLUEDOT command can be used to create connect points at the intersections of each curve as shown in Figure 60.

3.1.8 The BLUEDOT Command

WHAT: The BLUEDOT command. WHERE: The BLUEDOT command is located in the
upper portion of the Surfacing menu. It is shown in Figure 58.

BLUEDOTS
Figure 58
The BLUEDOT command creates special Control Point between curves that touch or intersect. The curves must physically touch and the BLUEDOT will keep the curves connected at that Control Point. The BLUEDOT can be placed at endpoints of curves or sketches, or along curves. Notice the word Curve. In Solid Edge, a curve in not an analytic element like a line, arc or circle. The curve must be created by the CURVE command, KEYPOINT CURVE command, or converted from an analytic element with the CONVERT TO CURVE command. After a BLUEDOT is placed on two curves, the position of the BLUEDOT may be edited, or moved. When the BLUEDOT moved, both of the curves will change to stay connected at the BLUEDOT.

HOW:

Figure 60

EXAMPLE 2: You can edit the position of the

BLUEDOT by shortcutting on a BLUEDOT and selecting Dynamic Edit as shown in Figure 61.

WHY: The BLUEDOT can be used in the design of complex

surfaces that are mode from a network of curves. The BLUEDOT edit capability gives you the ability to modify the shape and positions of the curves and keep the curves connected. When the curves are modified, the complex surface will also be modified. Without BLUEDOTS, this type of surface creation and modification would be next to impossible, unless you called me for help.

EXAMPLE 1: Look at the set of curves shown in

Figure 59.

Figure 61

Figure 59

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Chapter 3 -- The Surfacing Menu Commands

This will show the BLUEBOT Ribbon Bar. It is shown in two parts in Figure 62. You can use the X, Y and Z fields to key in an absolute position of the BLUEDOT. This absolute position is based on the location of the COORDINATE SYSTEM in the model (where the three original reference planes all cross).

THE BLUE BOOK About Solid Edge V14

If the central BLUEDOT is selected for an edit, you will see a COORDINATE SYSTEM as shown in Figure 65.

Figure 62
If the DELTA (triangle) command is used, the Ribbon Bar will change to the one that is shown in Figure 63. This will allow you to key in movements of the BLUEDOT relative to the current position of the BLUEDOT.

Figure 63
Notice the dX, dY and dZ fields. When the position of a BLUEDOT is changed, the curves will react to the movement. You can control the way the curves move by using the Curve 1 and Curve 2 fields in the Ribbon Bar. The types of movements are: Shape Edit This may change the shape of the entire curve when you move a point on the curve. Local Edit This will change only a limited part of the curve that lies near the edit point. If a middle point on the curve is edited, the ends will remain stationary. Rigid This prevents the curve from moving. This is used when you want one curve to change and the other curve to remain constant when modifying the BLUEDOT. Look at the set of curves and BLUEDOTS shown in Figure 64.

Figure 65
If the point is moved in the delta Z direction with the Shape Edit option set on both curves, the results will be as shown in Figure 66.

Figure 66
This is shown again in the front view in Figure 67. Notice how the Shape Edit option allowed the curve to become non-symmetric.

Figure 64

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