Calculating the Projected Surface Area

You can calculate the projected surface area of models by using the Silhouette Entities and Measure tools, which is useful for mold tooling.

1. In a model, select an existing plane or create a plane that is offset from the model surface to calculate.
   
2. In the FeatureManager design tree, select that plane and click Sketch .
3. Click Silhouette Entities (Sketch toolbar) or Tools > Sketch Tools > Silhouette Entities .
4. In the PropertyManager, select External Silhouette and for Entities to Silhouette, select the model.
   This projects a sketch of the model's external silhouette entities onto the plane.
   
   
5. Click Planar Surface (Surfaces toolbar) or Insert > Surfaces > Planar .
   In the PropertyManager, for Bounding Entities , Current Sketch appears.
6. Click to create a planar surface of the projected sketch.
7. Click Measure (Tools toolbar) or Tools > Evaluate > Measure .
8. Select the planar surface to display the model's projected surface area.