Before you can create the core and cavity forms, you need to define a parting surface between them. Fill surfaces are also required for the forms and for creating sliders. Two standard Surfacing tools are also included in the Core & Cavity menu: Insert surfaces and Delete Face.
You can create a parting surface, which is extended to the mold block, from the parting line and pull direction of a molded part. The parting surface can be created in one of six modes; however, individual edges of the parting line can be given a different mode for the parting surface creation.
To create a parting surface,
1. Click Mold Design and then, in the Surfaces group, click Parting. The Parting Surface dialog box opens.
2. Specify the feature from which to get the boundary edges for the parting surface, or click Edges and click the edges manually. (Hint: You can use the Boundary button in the Select tool to select the edges that form the boundary of an area defined by faces.)
3. If necessary, specify the Pull Direction of the parting surface.
4. Specify the Mold Block to be used in the parting.
5. Select the Default Mode that determines how the parting surface is created:
◦ Perpendicular (the default selection)
◦ Parallel
◦ Anti Parallel
◦ Normal
◦ Tangent With this option, you must specify whether to use the left or right reference face for the parting mode.
◦ Constant With this option, you must specify with the Direction 3D tool the direction for the parting.
See below for graphical examples of the mode options.
6. To change the parting mode for individual edges:
◦ Select the edges to modify:
▪ Click Edge (in Change Options), and click the edge or edges to modify.
▪ Click Chain and specify a chain of edges to modify: Click in turn the start edge, the end edge, and an inner edge to define the chain.
▪ Click Parting Line option to change the direction value for all edges of one or more parting line features. The New Mode is automatically set to By Parting Line. The edge direction will be set according to the direction stored with the parting line feature. The By Parting Line mode is only available when users change the direction value for edges using the Parting Line option.
◦ Select the parting mode for the selected edges from the New Mode list.
◦ Continue changing the parting mode for individual edges as required.
7. Click Preview to see how the parting surface would look with the current settings, or click OK to complete the operation.
The following graphics show the differences between the six parting surface modes listed above. The parting edges are defined by the boss.
Figure 159. Perpendicular and Parallel
Figure 160. Anti-parallel and Normal
Figure 161. Tangent and Constant
To create a fill surface,
1. Click Mold Design and then, in the Surfaces group, click Fill. The Fill Surface dialog box opens.
2. Specify the open loops requiring a fill surface in one of the following ways:
◦ Specify a feature from which to get boundary edges.
◦ If there are multiple open loops on the selected feature, click Loops and select the correct loops for the fill surface.
◦ Click Edges and specify a series of edges defining closed loops. (Hint: You can use the Boundary option in the Select tool to select the edges that form the boundary of an area defined by faces.)
3. Select the Default Mode that determines how the fill surface is created:
◦ Tangent With this option, you must specify whether to use the left or right reference face.
◦ Interpolate
4. To change the mode for individual loops:
◦ Click Change Loop (in Change Options), and click the loop to modify.
◦ Select the mode for this edge from the New Mode list. The options are the same as above.
◦ Continue changing the mode for individual loops as required.
5. Click Next to create the current fill surface and keep the menu open to create further fill surfaces with the same settings, or click OK to complete the operation.
Parting. The Parting Surface dialog box opens.
to complete the operation.
Fill. The Fill Surface dialog box opens.