Extrude Options in SOLIDWORKS

Let’s get back to basics with this week’s Video Tech Tip, where we talk about the options in the Extruded Boss feature. This is probably the very first tool you learned to use when you started using SOLIDWORKS, and for good reason. It’s one of the most useful, fundamental tools in the software. Check out this video where we go over the extrude options and how to use them.

Different Extrude Options in SOLIDWORKS

The Extruded Boss/Base command is found on the Command Manager in the first position all that way on the left corner of the interface. It’s the foundation of the Features Ribbon in the default user interface. Within the Extrude Command are a lot of useful options and we will cover more of them in-depth in later Video Tech Tips. In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we look at the first set of options, which defines the end condition. In other words, it defines the extent or length of the extrusion.

Each one of the many end conditions works in a different way. The only thing you need to think of is your design intent—how you want your model to behave and adapt to changes—and you’ll understand why you’d use one condition over the other.

• Blind: Defines the distance or length extrusion with a numerical value
• Through All: Through the entire extent of the geometry
• Up to Next: Extends the extrusion through the bounding box of your model
• Up to Vertex: Extends the extrusion to a defined vertex
• Up to Surface: Extends the extrusion to a defined surface or face
• Offset from Surface: Extends the extrusion to a surface but maintains an offset value away from that surface
• Up to Body: Extends the extrusion to the solid body you define
• Mid Plane: This is similar to the blind in that you define the distance numerically, however, it keeps the sketch plane centered around the extrusion. Half of the distance will go one way, while half of the defined distance will go the other way

Some of these are explicitly defined with numbers while others are implicitly defined with based on existing geometry. Having these options really helps enable you to maintain your design intent.

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