Create a cap
Description: 5 minutes; Lab exercise: 20 min
New to the Create Cap command are the new CoPilots,
the Cap Vector button, and the Preview button.
Use them to create a
surface quickly.
CoPilots
- To specify a Cap Point, select the edges of the surface
and then the system calculates an initial position for the Point 3D CoPilot
handle, which is the weighted centroid of all edges. (For a circular edge, the
initial position will be the center of the circle.)
- Cap Vector specifies the cap normal and weight. The
initial direction for the Cap Vector (the cap normal and weight) is taken from
the W axis of the Point 3D CoPilot handle and the initial weight is 1. Use the
Vector 3D CoPilot to specify the Cap Vector.
Cap normal is the normal of the tangent plane at
the cap point. Cap weight is the relative weight of the tangent plane at the cap
point.
Preview
The Preview button is now a boolean button.
If the Preview button
is on, the system provides graphical feedback of the cap once all parameters are
specified. Feedback is visible while specifying the the cap point and vector. If
the cap calculation is time-consuming, turn off Preview. Once off, no preview of
anything is displayed.
Lab exercise
Prerequisites
- Knowledge of other Surfacing commands.
- Previous experience using the Cap command.
These labs will only
cover new capabilities.
- Read the CoPilots topic and watch the
Using the CoPilots and
Using the Point 3D CoPilot videos.
Create a surface with Cap - Preview on
Watch a video of this step
- Create a rectangle using the 2D CoPilot.
- Extrude the rectangle.
- Click Surfacing
.
- Click Cap in
the Create Face section.
- Click Preview.
- Specify the four edges of the box with the Select tool.
- Preview of the cap, including the Length and Angle of the
cap, is shown.
Move the cursor to
change the height and angle of the cap. Click the viewport at Length: 0.8 in,
Angle: 0.

- Click Cap Vector
and use the Vector 3D CoPilot in modify mode to modify the vector. Click an
arc and change the angle. Click the arrow and change the distance.

- Click
to
complete the operation.
Create a surface with Cap - Preview off
Watch a video of this step
- Create a rectangle using the 2D CoPilot.
- Extrude the rectangle.
- Click Surfacing
.
- Click Cap in the
Create Face section.
- Specify the four edges of the box with the Select tool.
- Use the Point 3D CoPilot and its feedback to determine the
location of the cap.

- Click the viewport at the desired location.
- Click Cap Vector
and use the Vector 3D CoPilot in modify mode to modify the vector. Click an
arc and change the angle. Click the arrow and change the distance.
- Click
to
complete the operation.