Chapter 32: Using Plastic Features and Mold Tools
- To create a simple plastic part, start by opening a new SolidWorks part file.
- Draw a Centerpoint Rectangle on the Top XZ plane centered on the Origin, 4 inches
(vertical) by 6 inches (horizontal).
- Extrude 1 inch with 2 degrees of draft, using the Draft Outward option.
- Apply fillets to the vertical edges with 0.5 inch radius.
- Apply a fillet to the face nearest the Origin with a 0.25 inch radius.
- Draw a circle on the Top plane centered on the Origin with a 0.75 inch diameter,
and extrude it through the part as a cut, using 2 degrees draft, without the Draft
Outward option.
- Shell the part with a 0.10 inch thickness, removing the top face (large end of the
extrusion).
- Draw a centered rectangle on the Front plane 0.25 inch deep by 0.5 inch wide
where the top of the rectangle is coincident with the top edge of the part. Cut
through one side of the shelled block. To do this without cutting the boss in the center of
the part you will have to use the From panel, extruding from an offset of 0.5 inch. Your
model should look like Figure 32.30.
FIGURE 32.30
The tutorial model as of Step 8
- To create a Split Line, on the Front plane, draw a line from the bottom-right corner
of the rectangular notch cut in Step 8 horizontally off the right side of the part.
Make sure it goes past the part. Draw another short line from the bottom-right corner of
the rectangular notch so that it makes a 100-degree angle with the horizontal line.
- Use a Split Line to split all the faces that the lines project onto (should be a front, a
back, two fillet faces, and a side for five total faces). Figure 32.31 shows the Split Line
and the sketch.
