To Create a Slider

1. In the Model Tree, click the mold or die volume feature and select Redefine Mold Volume or Redefine Die Volume. The Edit Mold Volume or Edit Die Volume tab opens.

2. Click

Slider. The Slider Volume dialog box opens.

3. If your mold model has only one reference part, its name is selected and displayed in the Reference Part text box of the dialog box. Otherwise, because you can select only one part, select a reference part to check for undercuts.

4. If you have already defined the Pull Direction for your model, it is selected automatically. You can select a different Pull Direction by clearing the Use Default check box and specifying a Pull Direction using a plane, edge, axis, or coordinate system. You also have to specify Pull Direction if it has not been defined in your model prior to creating a slider.

5. Click Calculate Undercut Boundaries. The system performs geometry analysis by shining a light on the reference part in the Pull Direction. The areas where the light does not reach are undercuts, or black volumes. After the check is complete, the system generates default names for the boundaries of the black volumes (such as Quilt 1) and displays the boundary quilts of the volumes in purple, while placing their names in the Exclude list of the Slider Volume dialog box.

6. Select a boundary quilt or quilts to be used for creating a slider by moving their names into the Include list. When you place your cursor over a quilt name, its edges are highlighted in dark red. For better visibility, you can also select a quilt name and click

to mesh the corresponding boundary surface, or click

to shade it. To move a quilt name, select it in the Exclude list and click

. The quilt name moves into the Include list. Once you move a quilt name into the Include list, its edges are displayed in blue.

7. Select a projection plane to define the slider extension. At the time of feature creation, the system extends the black volumes whose boundary quilts are listed in the Include list up to the projection plane, in the direction normal to the plane.

8. Click

to preview the slider geometry. In some cases, the system is unable to generate the extension. It then issues a message and gives you an option to deselect the projection plane (using the

button) and create a slider volume based on the undercut geometry. Later, you can manually manipulate this slider volume, as any other Mold Volume, to create a slider component. For more information on dealing with slider extension failure, follow the link under See Also.