Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 198 AutoCAD and Its Applications—Advanced Converting to Solids Converting to Solids Additional fl exibility in creating solids is provided by the CONVTOSOLID command. This command allows you to directly convert certain closed objects into solids. You can convert: • Circles with thickness. • Wide, uniform-width polylines with thickness. This includes polygons and rectangles. • Closed, zero-width polylines with thickness. This includes polygons, rectan- gles, and closed revision clouds. • Mesh primitives and other watertight mesh objects. Working with mesh objects is discussed in Chapter 9. • Watertight surface models. First, select the command. Then, select the objects to convert and press [Enter]. The objects are instantly converted with no additional input required. Figure 8-23 shows two different objects before and after conversion to a solid. If an object that appears to be a closed polyline with a thickness does not convert to a solid and AutoCAD displays the message Cannot convert an open curve, the poly- line was not closed using the Close option of the PLINE command. Use the PEDIT or PROPERTIES command to close the polyline and use the CONVTOSOLID command again. PROFESSIONAL TIP PROFESSIONAL TIP To quickly create a straight section of pipe, draw a donut with the correct ID and OD of the pipe. Then, use the Properties palette to give the donut a thickness equal to the length of the section you are creating. Finally, use the CONVTOSOLID command to turn the donut into a solid. CONVTOSOLID Ribbon Home Solid Editing Convert to Solid Type CONVTOSOLID Top edge Hole diameter edge A B Top edge (second selection) Base surface (first selection) Intersection edge (third selection) Figure 8-22. A—A hole is chamfered with the CHAMFER command by picking the top surface, then the edge of the hole. B—The top edge of the cylinder is chamfered by first picking the side, then the top edge. Both edges can be chamfered at the same time, as shown here.