Create a solid from an enclosed volume using the SOLIDWORKS Thicken command

The Thicken feature has a hidden option you may not be aware of! If you do any amount of surfacing work you should be familiar with the Knit feature, which gives you the ability to create solid body from surface bodies. Did you know the Thicken feature has a very similar option?

SOLIDWORKS Thicken Feature

The trick to getting this hidden option to show is to select ONE fully enclosed surface body. As shown in the example below an enclosed revolved surface has been created:

Enclosed Surface Revolve feature

When the Thicken command is applied you can select the create volume from enclosed volume to generate a solid body as shown in the figure below:

Thicken feature applied to create solid body

I like to use this option as a simple check to ensure that I’ve successfully merged all my intended surface bodies together and that there are no small gaps.

Learn more about Surfacing

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