Welding Design > Creating Welding Features > Preparing Edges > To Prepare Edges for Welding
  
To Prepare Edges for Welding
You can combine creating edge preparations with creating welds and adding notches. You can only prepare edges and create notches if you simultaneously create a weld.
Before you begin edge preparation, define general welding preferences in the Weld Preferences dialog box.
1. Click Applications > Welding. The Welding tab opens.
2. Click Weld Wizard. The Weld Definition dialog box opens.
3. Under Feature, select the Edge prep check box.
 
* You can also create welds and notches simultaneously with the edge preparation:
• To join metals by applying heat or a filler metal with a high melting point, or both, click the Weld check box.  
• To create an opening (cut) that enables your welds to cross assembly components without interruption, click both the Weld and Notch check boxes.
4. Under Combination, click an option to define how to create the geometry:
◦ Single—Creates a single edge preparation.
◦ Symmetrical—Enables sequential creation of the same edge preparation on both sides of a part.
◦ Unsymmetrical—Enables sequential creation of separate edge preparations on both sides of a part.
5. Select an edge preparation cut to create, and the contact surfaces offset:
◦ —One side root opening
◦ —Bevel angle cut
◦ —Both sides root opening
◦ —V angle cut
◦ —Bevel angle cut with root opening
◦ —V angle cut with root opening
6. Depending on the type of edge preparation, specify the dimensions for offsetting contact surfaces. Type values for the root opening, preparation depth, penetration, and angle dimensions in the appropriate boxes.
7. Click OK. The Edge Preparation dialog box opens.
8. Select the appropriate surfaces and references for the edge preparation and then click OK.
9. When the general weld preference Edge preparation driven by is set to Assembly, and either of these conditions exist, then you must define a neutral plane:
◦ Contact surfaces lie on different planes
◦ One of the contact surfaces is not planar
You define the neutral plane by creating or selecting a planar surface or a datum plane that defines the translation direction of the edge preparation. An outline of the contact surfaces is automatically projected onto the neutral plane to create a projected sketch. Then the sketch is used to automatically offset the contact surfaces normal to the neutral plane.
10. To define the edge preparation feature's dependency:
a. In the Edge Preparation dialog box, select Dependency, and click Define. The Feature Dependency dialog box opens.
b. Select an option:
▪ Dependent—The feature is updated automatically when the references are updated and in session.
▪ Independent—There is no dependency between the feature and its references. The feature must be updated manually.
11. Click OK in the Edge Preparation dialog box. The edge preparation is created. Solid edge preparation geometry types are represented in the Model Tree by , and light edge preparation geometry types are represented by .