Pads or Pockets from Surfaces

This task explains how to extrude surfaces in any direction. The scenario below shows you how to create a pad, but the method and options described are also valid for creating pockets.

Open the ThickSurface.CATPart document.

Select Extrude.1 as the surface to be extruded.

The different surfaces you can select are: surfaces created in the Generative Shape Design workbench, CATIA Version 4 surfaces and non-planar faces.

Click the Pad icon

The Pad Definition dialog box appears. You need to define an extrusion direction. To do so, either you select a geometric element after expanding the dialog box or set the "Up to Plane" limit and select the plane of your choice. In that case, the direction will be given by the normal to that plane (for more, see pockets).

For the purposes of our scenario, click More to expand the dialog box.

4. Click the Reference field and select Plane.1 as the plane defining the extrusion direction. The direction is the normal to the plane.

Make sure that the surface to be extruded is not tangent to the extrusion direction nor to the plane.

For both limits to be defined, you can use all the options described in the tasks showing the pad creation:

	Dimension
	Up to Next
	Up to Last
	Up to Plane
	Up to Surface

Enter 21mm and 11mm as the first and second limit values respectively.

6. Click OK to confirm. The new element identified as Pad.XXX is added to the specification tree.

Non-planar faces

If you create a pad or a pocket from a non-planar face, that face is displayed as a datum in the specification tree.

Pockets

In the following example, two different types of limits are defined for trimming the material extruded then removed from each side of the surface.

Initial part

Preview

The option used to define the first limit "LIM 1" is "Up to plane" (the white arrow points to the selected plane). The extrusion direction is then defined by this plane.

LIM2 is defined by a dimension type limit.

Result

Material has been removed from each side of the surface.

The options for creating thin solids are not available when you select a surface as the element to be extruded.