SolveSpace Logo SOLVESPACE -- parametric 2d/3d CAD
Examples
Tutorials
Features
Download
Reference
Technology
Library
Forum
Contact
USER FORUM

(you are viewing a thread; or go back to list of threads)

How to offest object to create smaller or larger version (by James Cotsell)
Hi Forum, I would like to create a smaller version of an object by doing something like offsetting the outline so that when I extrude the combined lines it creates a hollow version of the irregular shape. I was wondering if there is any way to do this? Thanks.
Sun Jul 27 2025, 18:53:03
(no subject) (by Paul)
If you need to create an offset outline in a 2d sketch, one way to do it is draw a second outline inside the original and then constrain it. For straight lines, constrain the inner and outer ones parallel, then select one line and one point from the other line. Press D to enter the point-line distance (the thickness you're looking for. Repeat this for all line pairs in the sketch.

If you have rounded corners you'll need to do the same for the inner outline. Im not sure what constraint to use for the radius... radial construction lines with length difference constraint might work.

Bezier curves can not be exactly offset by the same degree curve, but in practice I find construction lines connecting the control points can be offset similar to regular lines as a first approximation.
Mon Jul 28 2025, 18:45:27
offset irregular shape to create wall thickness (by G Powell)
I've got exactly the same situation. I have an irregular shape (coordinate points for a geographic area) that I've input by tracing an image with straight lines and beziers. There are hundreds of points, though, so constraining all of those segments would be tedious and maybe problematic for robustness. Any other options?
Mon Dec 22 2025, 12:59:40
(no subject) (by ruevs)
Save the file with the contour. Then link/assemble it in a new file with a scaling factor (more than one time with different scaling factors if needed)
Wed Dec 24 2025, 12:32:01
Post a reply to this comment:
Your Name:
Your Email:
Subject:
(no HTML tags; use plain text, and hit Enter for a line break)
Attached file (if you want, 5 MB max):
© 2008-2022 SolveSpace contributors. Most recent update June 2 2022.