Animations illustrate geometry rather than exact app screens. Browser 0.4 uses the new modeling tools; Windows remains 0.3. Check version differences and project compatibility.
Useful first: Turn a sketch into a solid
Shell hollows a supported solid by removing selected opening faces and offsetting the remaining faces inward. Joined and curved solids are supported when the requested thickness produces valid walls. This exercise starts with one simple block.
Try it in Cadivari
Start from the solid block
Open a separate copy of the 160 × 96 × 15 mm Push/Pull practice block before any Fillet or Shell. Keep its top-face edit, but use a block with no pockets, holes or curved faces.
Choose the opening
Hide the source sketch if needed. Click Shell in the 3D rail, then click the top planar face. That face will become the opening, so choose the face rather than its edge.
Preview the thickness
Enter Wall 2 mm. Orbit above the opening to inspect the walls and floor. If the cavity is rejected, reduce the thickness and read the task message.
Apply the cavity
Inspect the preview and click Create. The outside dimensions remain the same while the inside becomes hollow. The remaining floor is part of the solid.
Edit the stored thickness
Reopen the Shell history item, change Wall to 3 mm and apply the valid preview. Compare the smaller cavity, then undo to restore 2 mm. Save and reopen the project to inspect the retained feature.
A small exercise
Open the top of the 15 mm block with a 2 mm Shell. Compare it with a 3 mm Shell, then restore the original thickness.
What you should see
At 2 mm, the rectangular cavity is 156 × 92 mm and 13 mm deep. The outer block stays 160 × 96 × 15 mm, with a 2 mm floor and side walls.
Things to look out for
- The face you click is removed. Clicking a different supported face changes the opening.
- A thickness that collapses narrow areas or intersects other walls is rejected. Begin with the simple block before trying more complex joined solids.
Check your understandingDoes Shell shrink the outside of the block
No. This inward Shell keeps the outside and removes material inside it. Increasing Thickness makes the cavity smaller while leaving the outside dimensions unchanged.
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Go deeper in the knowledge base
Instructions checked against the Cadivari Browser 0.4.0 source and knowledge base on 2026-10-27. Lesson revision 2.