[mbam]

Not sure if extrude is the proper way to describe what I need, but the result is close.

I have 2 identical surfaces created, they are 6" apart on Z axis, and offset 2" on Y axis.

I want to connect them to make a solid. I know there must be a simple way to do it, but the 3d stuff is new to me!!

Thanks!!

[mcphill]

You only need one of those surfaces. Take that surface and extrude the 2" needed so it would terminate where your second surface is/was. The surface will have been turned to a solid the thickness of the extrusion.

Depending on your surface, you may need to rotate it first so that your extrusion will be along the Z axis. If it is a 3D surface, the "normal" direction may not get you what you want. So, rotate the surface 90 degrees around the Y axis. Then extrude the surface along the Z axis. You can then rotate the solid back 90 degrees around the Y axis so it is aligned the way you originally had it. Unfortunately your only extrusion direction options are Normal and Z-axis. This limits the way you can get the job done, but not what you can do - just how to do it (SolidWords for instance lets you define a line and you can extrude along that line - the line can be in any funky direction).

Another option would be to use the Sweep function. Here you can define a line on the X-Y plane, and you can sweep the outline of your surface along that line. This way is a bit more complicated IMO, but I do suggest you try it so you can understand how it works. It will allow you to do MUCH more complicated solids than a simple linear extrude.

[BurrMan]

You would use your UCS's to extrude objects in different directions.. If the part is not x or y or z planar, you would add a custom UCS to get the extrude direction.

[BurrMan]

Here's a quick example.

ucs_extrusion - YouTube