Offset surface
Builds a sheet at a distance from faces of a body: the same shape, moved along the normal. The body stays put, the sheet stands beside it as a surface of the part.
How
- Pick the faces — or press Offset surface with nothing picked and click faces of a body or a sheet.
- Type the Distance in the field at the geometry: positive goes out of the body, negative goes in, zero is a copy in place. The field takes a formula.
- The preview shows the sheet before it is applied. Enter applies, Esc cancels.
A double click on the timeline row opens the command again — with the same faces and distance.
Why
- To set a surface off by a thickness: a skin along the outline, a gap for a coating.
- To give Replace face another shape: the top of a block replaced by a sheet lifted 5 makes the block 5 taller.
- To get a sheet for Thicken, Trim or Stitch.
Worth knowing
- The sheet follows the body. Change the part higher up the timeline and the sheet rebuilds at the same distance from the same faces.
- Faces are stored as a description, as for Copy face: "all faces of this feature" stay those after the base changes.
- A sheet has no volume. The source body does not disappear: the sheet stands beside it.
If it does not work
- The node is red: a face turns inside out or vanishes — the distance inward is larger than the radius of a curved face (a cylinder of radius 10 cannot move in by 12). Take a smaller distance.
- A click took no face — an edge or empty space was clicked; click the face itself.