250 AutoCAD and Its Applications—Advanced 250 AutoCAD and Its Applications—Advanced Offsetting Surfaces The SURFOFFSET command allows you to offset a surface to create a new, parallel surface at a specifi ed distance. You can offset a surface in one direction or in both directions from an existing surface. You can also offset a region to create a new surface. Select the SURFOFFSET command and select the surface or region to offset. Then, press [Enter]. A preview of the offset surface appears with offset arrows indicating the direction of the offset. See Figure 10-17A. Next, specify the offset distance. If the design calls for the offset surface to be located on the opposite side, select the Flip direction option. You can offset the surface to both sides by selecting the Both sides option. After specifying the offset distance, press [Enter] to create the offset surface. In Figure 10-17B, the hair dryer housing is offset to the inside of the existing surface at a distance of .125. The Solid option allows you to create a new solid based on the specifi ed offset distance. In Figure 10-17C, the Solid option is used to create a solid. This is similar to using the THICKEN command, as discussed later in this chapter. The Connect option can be used when you have more than one surface to offset and you need to maintain connection between the surfaces. When using this option, the original surfaces must be connected. See Figure 10-18. SURFOFFSET Ribbon Surface Create Surface Offset Type SURFOFFSET A B C Curves selected for third patch surface Curves selected for first patch surface Curves selected for second patch surface Figure 10-16. Using the LOFT and SURFPATCH commands to create a freeform design from a series of curves. A—The original model. The LOFT command is used to create six separate loft surfaces to form the sides. Each loft surface consists of two cross-sectional curves (shown in color). B—The Curves option of the SURFPATCH command is used to create three separate surface patches forming the top of the model. Each surface is created from four curves (shown in color). C—The model after creating surface patches. For each surface patch, the continuity is set to G1 and the bulge magnitude is set to 0.