Creating Midsurface Faces by Selecting Offset Pairs

  1. Click Midsurface in the Analysis group of the Prepare tab.
  2. Select the Use selected faces option in the Options panel.
    This option automatically detects all offset face pairs on a body with one or more offset distances.
  3. Select a face for which you want to create a midsurface.
  4. Select a second face that makes an offset pair with the first face. All face pairs that have the same offset distance will be added to the selection.
  5. Use the Add/Remove Faces tool guide to remove detected face pairs or to add undetected face pairs.
    To add or remove a detected face pair, click either face in the pair.
    Note:

    • If the face has an offset pair that was previously selected, the pair will be deselected.

    • You may need to remove a face from selection if it is paired incorrectly.

    • The midsurface distance will be offset from this face the same distance as adjacent faces, regardless of any potential offset pair for this face.

    • Two faces may be detected as a pair because they have the same offset distance as the face pairs to be midsurfaced. Select the cyan face to remove the pair from selection.

    • A face pair that should be midsurfaced may not be detected because its offset pair is not a perfect offset of the first face. Select the face you want offset to add it to the selection. Its midsurface will be offset using the thickness of neighboring detected face pairs.

  6. (Optional) Click the Selected Faces tool guide or hold the Ctrl key and select additional face pairs with a different offset distance.
    When you add face pairs, all face pairs with the same offset distance will be added to the selection.
  7. Click the Complete tool guide when you are finished selecting faces.
    When you successfully create a midsurface, the solid will become semi-transparent and the surface will be opaque until you select a different tool or clear your selection.
    Midsurface bodies are created in a component in the structure tree, and are named using the name of the original object and appended with MidsurfaceN, where N is a unique number.