Explaining Solid Modelling in BricsCAD Mechanical

Quick answer: BricsCAD Mechanical provides a rich solid modeling toolset, traditional 3D modeling tools like Extrude and Subtract, intuitive Direct Editing tools like Push/Pull and Copy Faces, and powerful 3D Constraints for adjusting a part’s shape and size. With CREATESKETCHFEATURE on, created 3D solids get parametrized and their sketch features become visible in the Mechanical Browser panel, confirming the same variable covered on this hub’s part design methods and sketching pages. Find these tools on the Modeling tab of the Mechanical workspace ribbon.

Creating 3D Solids from Sketches

Extrude, Revolve, Loft, Sweep, and Thicken all create 3D solids from existing sketches.

Creating 3D Solid Primitives Directly

The Primitives toolset creates solids directly, without any underlying sketch: Box, Polysolid, Cylinder, Sphere, Wedge, Pyramid, Cone, and Torus.

Editing 3D Solids via Faces and Edges

Push/Pull, Move, 3D Rotate, Copy Faces, Fillet, and Chamfer all edit 3D solids by acting on their faces and/or edges.

General 3D Solid Editing Tools

Shell, Slice, the Boolean tools (Union, Subtract, Intersect, Separate), Scale, 3D Mirror, and Array edit 3D solids more broadly.

Erase

Applies to a whole 3D solid, or to a set of its faces forming a specific feature, a fillet or a hole, for example.

Audit 3D and Simplify 3D

Audit 3D finds and fixes errors in imported geometry. Simplify 3D automatically recognizes canonical faces (planar, cylindrical, conical, spherical, toroidal) from a solid’s spline faces, often a necessary step before applying 3D constraints.

Stitch

Stitches touching surfaces and regions that form a watertight boundary into a single 3D solid.

Deformation Tools

Twist, Move Point, Move Edge, and Transform Curve deform a 3D solid uniformly.

Select Toolset

Selects faces and edges of 3D solids based on geometric and topological criteria, like length, area, and smoothness.

Constraints

Adds 3D constraints to a solid’s faces and edges, aligning and resizing them to make the part parametric. Geometric 3D constraints like parallel, perpendicular, coaxial, and tangent can also apply automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between creating a solid with Extrude versus one of the Primitives tools? Extrude builds a solid from an existing 2D sketch; Primitives tools like Box or Cylinder create a solid directly, with no sketch involved.

When would I need to run Simplify 3D before applying 3D constraints? When a solid’s faces are represented as splines rather than canonical shapes (planar, cylindrical, conical, spherical, toroidal), Simplify 3D recognizes and converts them first.

Can Erase remove just part of a solid, like a single fillet? Yes, it applies either to a whole 3D solid or to a set of faces forming a specific feature, like a fillet or a hole.

Does turning on CREATESKETCHFEATURE change what shows up in the Mechanical Browser panel? Yes, sketch features become visible there once it’s turned on, alongside the solid becoming parametrized.