In this video, we’re going to talk about how to use the shell tool inside of Autodesk Fusion 360 to create hollow objects!
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AUTODESK FUSION 360 TOOL TUTORIAL PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk3M9ew2Qg0&list=PLHEouj-sdEJG-5313nFyVRmm1eU39VG9x
Remember that most of what we’ve talked about when working with Fusion 360 has been working with solid models. These are models that are completely enclosed with no holes. If we were to inspect these objects, for example, you’d see a simple, solid fill inside of them. However, sometimes, you want to take a solid and remove the material on the inside, either to make it lighter, or to save on material, or sometimes this is just what the object needs to be, like a cup or a vase. This tool will remove the central material of an object to create a shell from the geometry you have selected.
This can work in a few different ways. The first, and probably the easiest, is to activate the tool and select the faces from which you’d like to create a shell. For example – with our cylinder, if we select the top face, then run the shell tool, it will remove your top face and create a shell of a thickness you dictate with the rest of your object. If we inspect this, you can see that it creates a solid shape with a thickness with the remaining walls. If you were to select the top and bottom of the cylinder, this would shell out just the cylinder walls.
This works for more complex shapes as well, like this vase shape, simply by selecting the top face. Notice that the tool can thicken inward, outward, or both. Notice that this works a bit differently depending on how you model your shapes. For example – one of these objects was modeled using the extrude tool in join mode, while the other was modeled with the thickened portion being a new body. Notice that the thicken tool will give you a smooth hole all the way through with the one where the thickened portion is a separate body, while the other will shell based on the whole object, meaning you don’t get a smooth transition.
As a general rule, I find this tool works the best when you have an object with “ends” that you can select – this allows you to quickly create a shell. If you select one end, you make a shape almost like a cup, but if you select both, you make an object with a hole that travels fully through.
