Mechanical Desktop 5.0 Tips
Open Profile Extrusions
Mechanical Desktop 5.0 provides a handy tool for creating
thin-wall parts, such as sheet metal enclosures, etc. This
new feature is called an “open profile extrusion”, since it
starts by simply sketching an open profile, such as a line
that does not form a closed boundary.
The profile above was sketched and profiled as you would
normally. But when you select the AMEXTRUDE
command, a slightly different Extrusion dialog box appears.
From this dialog box, you can select the direction of the
extrusion and the thickness of the extrusion. For example,
selecting Midplane causes the extrusion to happen on
either side of the profile line.
Now that the profile line has been extruded, you can
assemble it or modify it as you would any other part.
The ability to create open profile extrusions is just one more
way that Mechanical Desktop is giving you more tools to
help you.