Cannot Thicken Surface on Boat

[mulde111]

I have spent all day designing a catamaran style boat from some pictures and have a final stitched surface. As I want to 3D print this boat, I need it to have a thickness to the surfaces I created. When I try to thicken/offset the body, my inventor crashes every time. I have also tired doing each face individually and it changes the shape of the boat and does not allow me to complete some faces. Any help would be appreciated.

[JDMather]

Attach file.

[mulde111]

Attached.

[kelly.young]

Hello @mulde111 thanks for attaching the part. Not sure what issue you were having, but when you Stitch surface bodies together with closed loop seams, it will create a Solid.

https://autode.sk/3c62dUo

Hope that helps.

Please select the Accept Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.

[mulde111]

I see, I thought that the faces were just stitched together but now that I know it is a solid, would there be a way to make it hollow with a uniform wall thickness of 6 mm? Thank you

[mikejones]

You just need to use the shell command and specify the wall thickness you need. 

[mulde111]

I have tired using the shell command and I get an error or it crashes. I have even tired only shelling the one half of the model before mirroring and the same thing happens. Anyone have an idea on the problem?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! The way the part is modeled will not shell correctly in Inventor. You are modeling it in a less precise manner. The geometry is either unnecessarily complicated or loose. Boundary Patch has a tendency to create tolerant edges leading to downstream modeling failures more easily.

I suggest you export it as a mesh model (STL or OBJ). Then import it to Autodesk Mesh Mixer. There you can create a mesh shell, since you are going to print it anyway.

To get the precise shell, I would use Loft instead. The part will need to be remodeled.

Many thanks!

[kelly.young]

@mulde111 If you have complex geometry, it may be difficult to shell, especially inward. 

If you are going to 3D Print this, why do you need to have the walls defined? You can do that within the slicing software by setting the wall thickness and infill percentage.

Also, the part is only 13mm wide, make sure your scale is accurate.

Please select the Accept Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.

[lena.talkhina]

Hello @mulde111  !

Great to see you here on Inventor Forum.

I hope you finally find a solution?
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