topic Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION) in Inventor Forum

Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

gioia.emanuelex — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 16:50:39 GMT

Good evening, I am currently doing design work from a reverse engineering process for mechanical parts.

Usually working in the Autodesk suit, the parts I am studying were developed in Solidworks.

The function I am writing for is "thicken", which in inventor allows to select a direction (even different from the one normal to the surface) (which obviously implies not being able to recreate the same component)

I can't find an equivalent in either Inventor 2023 or Fusion 360. Do you have any ideas?

PS.

I have attached three photos, where I show, the SURFACE on which to apply the thicken feature, the OBJECT with the direction selected (thus corrected), and the SOLID without having selected the direction (same result I get on inventor by not being able to select it).

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

JDMather — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 20:03:55 GMT

@gioia.emanuelex

Can you turn off the shadows in your SolidWorks screen captures - I am confused as to what you are after.

Can you Attach the *.sldprt and your attempt in Inventor *.ipt files?

If Inventor Thicken doesn't return the results you are after - then I am suspecting maybe Direct Edit will work.

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

johnsonshiue — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 23:48:53 GMT

Hi! On Inventor or Fusion, Thicken/Offset work hand-in-hand. Only the face normal direction (+-) is allowed. The vertical protrusion can be done using either Extrude/Offset Start or Ruled Surface.

Many thanks!

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

gioia.emanuelex — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:02:32 GMT

I tried using "Ruled Surface" (on fusion) and actually, I got the desired result.
The problem that remains is how to fill the surface evenly in order to get a solid and not a surface.
I attached photos to represent:
-the surface I have to "extrude" following a direction (other than normal to the surface)
-the correctly machined surface (BUT THAT I MUST FILL UNIFORMLY)
-the application of the thicken command without selecting a direction which leads me to the wrong solid.

thanks for the help!

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

gioia.emanuelex — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:06:49 GMT

To better explain the problem I will refer only to Fusion 360, with related photos.
I have a surface that I need to "extrude" to make a solid. The most consistent command would be "thicken," but the inability to choose a direction results in the wrong solid.
Solid that in Solidworks I can get very simply by choosing a direction other than normal to the surface.
I attached photos to represent:
-the surface I have to "extrude" following a direction (other than normal to the surface)
-the correctly machined surface (BUT THAT I MUST FILL UNIFORMLY)
-the application of the thicken command without selecting a direction which leads me to the wrong solid.

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

blandb — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 13:30:13 GMT

Can you utilize the vector ruled surface to move straight up, then boundary patch and sculpt or stitch the surfaces together?

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

gioia.emanuelex — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:29:54 GMT

Thanks a lot!

It worked!

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

johnsonshiue — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 00:00:13 GMT

Hi! Instead of using Boundary Patch as Brad suggested, you may simply pattern the surface vertically. Then stitch the surfaces.

Many thanks!

Re: Thicken feature Problem (DIRECTION)

xot_UFO — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 10:05:05 GMT

Hello. Is there still no plan to add this feature to fusion ? Every CAD software has it, it's vital for many workflows.