To Perform a Typical Casting Session
A typical Casting session may include the following steps:
1. Create or retrieve a cast model. To create a new cast model, you must first create a design model representing the part to be manufactured. This design model must then be added or created as part of the cast model. When the design model is added to the cast model, it is replaced by a reference model (a copy of the same model).
2. Determine the optimal pull direction (the direction in which the die opens with the minimum amount of draft) for the reference model. You can determine the optimal pull direction by performing a draft check on the reference model that uses a datum plane, edge, axis, curve, or coordinate system as a reference for determining pull direction.
3. Determine regions that require additional draft.
4. Add or create a die block as part of the cast model.
5. Create a silhouette curve on the reference model. The silhouette curve is a Cast feature that is used to determine the location of the parting surface on the reference model.
6. Create a parting surface on the reference model.
7. Add draft and rounds to the reference model surfaces as required. When adding tangent draft to model surfaces, you must first create draft lines.
8. Set up the shrinkage of your reference model. You can set up isotropic or anisotropic shrinkage for the whole model; you can also specify shrink coefficients for individual dimensions.
9. Fill any holes that are machined in the reference model.
10. Design sand cores and core prints are required to create cavities within the cast result.
11. Add gates, runners, and sprue to the cast model. These are added as assembly features, and are considered by the system when it creates the cast result, as well when it evaluates the die opening process.
12. Split the die block into separate die volumes along the parting surface.
13. Extract die volumes from the die block to produce die components. Once extracted, the die components are fully functional parts. For example, they can be openned in Part mode, used in drawings, or machined with NC Manufacturing.
14. Define steps for the die opening sequence. Check interference with static parts for each step. Modify the cast model if necessary.
15. Fill the die cavity to create the cast result. The cast result is created automatically by merging the volume of the die block cavity with the gates and runners present in the model.
16. Check the wall thickness and shape of the cast result. Modify the cast model if necessary.
17. After the Casting session is over, you can bring the die components into Manufacturing mode for machining.
During the casting process, changes to the design model may occur. Any changes to the design model are propagated throughout all aspects of the design to engineering drawings, finite element models, assembly models, sand core models, and casting information.