Subtract A Surface Body from A Solid Part???

[Vgrafix57]

We have been able to Combine/Subtract one part from another part to make custom gripper jaws and things like that.  But today we have another challenge.  We are very complicated parts from our customer that are Surface Bodies and not solids.  We can make an assembly and derive the assembly into a part and maintain each solid as a solid body.  Then when we open that part and do a Combine/Subtract. we can select the part that is an ipt as the Basebody (which is what we want to keep), but when we try to select the Toolbody, it will not allow us to select the part that is a Surface Body.  

Is there a way to subtract the surface body from the part or is there a way to turn the surface body into a solid body?

We're running 2022.5 but will be 2024.3 soon.  

[chris]

@Vgrafix57 Can you post the part file or at least a screen shot?

[Alexander_Chernikov]

This largely depends on the model.

Perhaps the Split command can help you, which allows you to trim the body with a surface. 

Example in version 2021 in the application

[Vgrafix57]

@chris , we absolutely cannot upload the models.  They are proprietary and we would violate our NDA if we did.  These are parts that were made into 3D models from IGES files.  I can try to make an example that I can share.

@Alexander_Chernikov we cannot do a split, very complicated parts and when we select the split command it will not allow us to select either part.

[CCarreiras]

Hi!

You can only apply COMBINE tool between 2 solids.
If you have a solid and a surface it will not work.
Probably the easy way is to transform the surfaces into a solid, but in this case the surfaces must have to be a closed volume, with no gaps.

Is just another idea, but as @Alexander_Chernikov said, it will depend on the models.
Different models, different approaches.

[Vgrafix57]

@CCarreiras we're kind of learning that we cannot subtract a surface model from a solid but we're not sure how to turn the surface model IN TO a solid.  🙄

[CCarreiras · Accepted solution]

Hi!

To turn surfaces into solids you can use STITCH tool, or SCULP tool.
If the surfaces are in "good condition", and have no gaps, is easy:

If the surfaces have some gaps, missing surfaces, etc, you have to repair the surfaces.
This can take a minute, or hours, again, depends on the model healthy.

[Vgrafix57]

@CCarreiras thanks!  Took several attempts but the stitching worked.  Every time I tried something, I never got the solid IPT icon at the top of the model tree, it remained the surface icon.  But I did a repair, then a stitch, and it changed to the IPT icon.  Then I recreated my assembly and I could subtract it.  WOO WOO!   THANK YOU!!!!