The Surface From Mesh tool lets you manipulate a
mesh object that you imported from an *.stl,
*.obj, *.off, *.ply,
*.ply2 or *.3MF file to create surfaces and
solids.
The Surface From Mesh tool works best on mesh files
with regular prismatic geometry such as planes, cylinders, cones, and spheres. The
tool may not be appropriate for highly irregular meshes such as those created from a
3D scan of an organic shape. Because the feature only creates surfaces, the
recommended workflow is to trim the surfaces to form a solid.
To create a surface from mesh feature:
-
In , under File Format, select
STL/OBJ/OFF/PLY/PLY2 and click Import as
Graphics Body. Then click OK.
-
Open a file of the format you just selected.
-
Click
.
-
Under Facets, do the following:
-
Clear Dynamic Help if you do not
want to display detailed help.
-
For surface type, select the type of surface you want
to create. You can select either a Planar
, Spherical
,
Cylindrical
, or Conical
surface.
-
In the graphics area, select a group of facets to
define the area of the surface you want to create by using the
Paint Select tool.
- Access the tool by right-clicking Selection
Tools in the graphics area and clicking
Paint Select Facets.
- Press the left mouse button and hold while you drag the pointer
and select the facets. The facets that intersect with the
Selection Circle are highlighted.
- Adjust the radius of the Selection Circle
by moving the slider or clicking the Up
or Down arrow.
- To deselect facets, click ALT +
left mouse button and drag the
pointer over the facets you want to remove.
- Click
.
-
Adjust the Facet tolerance slider to
include fewer mesh facets in the surface you are creating.
Moving the slider left loosens the tolerance for the
facets, while moving the slider right tightens the tolerance. For example,
if you are attempting to create a plane, and there are three facets, one of
which is at a slight angle to the other two, then a loose tolerance will
include the angled facet in the plane, while a tight tolerance will exclude
it.
-
Use the Extend surface size, setting to
specify the extension distance of the surface body that fits the selected facets
and geometric shape.
-
In the PropertyManager, click Calculate.
A preview of the surface body displays in the graphics area.

-
Click
.
The Surface-From-Mesh feature is added
to the FeatureManager design tree.

You can continue to trim and knit the surfaces together to form a model.