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How do I Add a Shell to a Solid?

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This tutorial requires:

DesignSpark Mechanical V6.0

Use the Shell Tool Symbol Shell tool in the Insert ribbon group on the Design tab to remove one of the faces of a solid and create a shell of a specified thickness. You can then use the Shell tool to remove other sides of the shell. DS Mechanical automatically creates an offset relationship between the sides of the solid for you.

Shell Tool in Ribbon Group

You can also create a closed shell without removing a face.

Shelled solids can have chamfers and rounds, and the faces can be drafted. The chamfer or rounded edge will be created and maintained on both offset faces. A shelled solid with a chamfer is shown in the cross-section below.

shelled solid with a chamfer

Shell in DSM

To create a shell

  1. Click the Shell tool in the Insert ribbon group on the Design tab.
    Mouse over the solids in your design to highlight the faces that could be removed.
  2. (Optional) Enter a value into the dimension field to change the thickness of the shell.
    Enter a negative number to create the shell thickness from the outside of the solid.
  3. Select the face you want to remove.
    The face is removed and a shell is created. The baseline of the offset is shown in blue. If you did not change the thickness, the default thickness is set by the minor grid spacing.
  4. (Optional) Continue clicking to remove additional faces.

To create a closed shell

  1. Select the solid.
  2. Click the Shell tool.

An internal shell is created.

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