Loft

A transition from a square at the bottom to a circle at the top — one operation.
A transition from a square at the bottom to a circle at the top — one operation.

The body passes through sections in order: an adapter from a circle to a square, a blade, a streamlined housing.

How to do it

  1. Select the first section sketch and press Loft.
  2. Click the next sections in the tree in order — at least two; the bar above shows sections: N.
  3. In the bar choose the faces — Smooth or Ruled (straight transitions between sections) — and the result: Add, Cut, Union, Intersection with the body of the part, or Surface.
  4. Enter applies, Esc cancels.

The order of sections is the shape

Sections are joined in the order they are picked. Mix the order up and you get a twisted body.

Usually each section lies on a datum plane of its own: move the plane and the adapter stretches.

Surface

Surface is the same outline without caps on the end sections: a shell with no volume. That is how a side, a hood, a transition between two outlines are made. It becomes a body later — by thickening or stitching with neighbouring sheets.

If it did not work

  • A loft needs at least 2 sections — you picked one. Click another section in the tree.
  • The body is twisted — the sections were picked out of order. Open the loft with a double-click and pick again.
  • The closer the sections are in their number of corners, the smoother the transition: a circle and a square join well, a circle and a star — as it happens.
Fillet →