Part RefineShape

ElementCopy

CheckGeometry

Part

Part RefineShape
Menu location
Part → Create a copy → Refine Shape
Workbenches
Part
Default shortcut
None
Introduced in version
-
See also
Part SimpleCopy, Part TransformedCopy, Part ElementCopy, OpenSCAD RefineShapeFeature

Description

The Part RefineShape command produces parametric copies with a refined shape from selected objects. It can for example be used to remove unnecessary edges left over after a Part Fuse operation.

Original with 11 faces (left), and refined copy with 7 faces (right).

Usage

1. Select one or more objects.
2. Select the Part → Create a copy → Refine shape option from the menu.
3. For each object a cleaned, parametric copy is created
4. The original objects are hidden.

Notes

• This command can be used as the last step in a traditional constructive solid geometry workflow.
• It may help to clean up the model before applying other features, such as fillets.
• Cleaning up an object may prevent 3D printers from printing unwanted edges once the object is exported to a mesh format.
• This command can also be used after converting a mesh to a shape (Part ShapeFromMesh).
• By default this command creates parametric (linked) copies. There is fine-tuning parameter to change this to non-parametric copies. More information about parametric/non-parametric copy behavior can be found in this forum post.
• Some interesting information about what is happening with placement and how to access by Python can be found in this forum post.

Scripting

The Python command for refining a shape is the following:

shape.removeSplitter()

ElementCopy

CheckGeometry

Part

Part

• Primitives: Box, Cylinder, Sphere, Cone, Torus, Tube, Create primitives, Shape builder

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• Creation and modification: Extrude, Revolve, Mirror, Fillet, Chamfer, Make face from wires, Ruled Surface, Loft, Sweep, Section, Cross sections, 3D Offset, 2D Offset, Thickness, Projection on surface, Attachment

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• Other tools: Import, Export, Box selection, Shape from Mesh, Points from mesh, Convert to solid, Reverse shapes, Create simple copy, Create transformed copy, Create shape element copy, Refine shape, Check geometry, Defeaturing, Appearance, Color per face

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