Geometry Tool Error—A New Surface Could not be Created

Issue

In the Void Fill tab of the Geometry Tools dialog, one of the following messages is issued as the Build Surface button is pressed:

Error: A new surface could not be created. The previous model state must be restored to continue.

Error: An error was encountered during formation of the new surface. The previous model state must be restored to continue.

Warning: The surface could not be constructed

Solution

Surfaces created at the openings completely bound the interior void, resulting in the creation of the internal volume. The basic requirements for successful creation of the capping surfaces is that they are planar and do not overlap other surfaces. These messages indicate that the capping surface could not be created from the selected edges.

There are a number of scenarios that can lead to this error:

• The selected edges are not planar.
• The selected edges do not form a closed loop. A surface cannot be created if there are gaps between endpoints.
• The loop of selected edges partially bounds an existing surface so that the resulting surface overlaps with the existing one.
• The mathematical definition of the new surface could not be generated. This could be due to a problem with the underlying geometry.

If the edges are not planar, the best solution is to return to the CAD system and either create a cut or extrusion feature to create planar edges at the opening. An alternative is to create a capping volume directly within the CAD model.

If the selected edges do not form a complete loop, select the missing edges for the loop. Note that this Geometry tool does not provide for the creation of edges--only edges that exist within in the model can be selected.

If the new surface bounds an existing surface, then the solution is to create the capping volume in the CAD model. This is necessary because the edge selection only allows connected edges to be selected.

If the definition of the new surface could not be generated, the solution is to create the capping volume in the CAD model.