Solid Modeling

Publisher Summary Advanced solid modeling tools make up curved design. While these tools are not necessarily more difficult to master, they do open up a new range of modeling possibilities, including some rather complex 3D designs. This chapter introduces revolve, shell, taper, loft, path extrusion, and sweep. Revolve easily creates complex revolved shapes based on the concept of solid or surface of revolution, and this command has no other equivalent in AutoCAD. Shell is one of several AutoCAD 3D commands “borrowed” from engineering solid modeling software due to their usefulness. The command creates a “shell” of a predetermined thickness out of a solid object. Loft is a recent addition to the AutoCAD toolbox, added along with many other 3D enhancements in AutoCAD 2007. Path extrusion and sweep, which follow next, are commands with a similar mission but different approaches. Path extrusion is the older command and still quite useful in certain situations, while the newer sweep just expands and simplifies the same idea.