Chapter 32: Using Plastic Features and Mold Tools
Note
You need to pay attention to the direction of the arrows for the draft (pointing up) and the selected faces (also
pointing up). These arrows can have a mind of their own, and when you change one, it often changes the oth-
ers without asking if that’s what you want to do. You may have to individually select edges from the Parting
Lines box and click Other Face to get all the arrows pointing in the right directions. n- Click OK to accept the feature. Notice the drafted face steps out from the main part
faces. Take a moment to examine the result of the Step Draft. - To create Rib features, on the Front plane, create a sketch like the one shown in
Figure 32.33. Initiate a Rib feature, and make it 0.075 inch wide at the base (by selecting
the At Wall Interface), with 1 degree of draft. Make sure you are using the Parallel to
Sketch option (skyline). - Open a sketch on the horizontal face of the rib that is 0.3 inch above the Origin, as
shown on the lower image of Figure 32.33, and create the sketch shown, with a
complete circle crossed by three lines. - Create another rib. This time use the Perpendicular to Sketch (plan view) option. The
thickness is again 0.075 inch at the base with 1 degree of draft. The part at this point
should look like Figure 32.34. - Add the Mold Tools to your CommandManager (right-click a tab and select Mold
Tools), or if you are not using the CommandManager, turn on the Mold Tools tool-
bar (by right-clicking on a toolbar and selecting Mold Tools). - To scale the part, add a Scale feature with a factor of 1.008. Scale about the Origin of
the part. - To initiate the Parting Line tool, use the Top plane as the Pull Direction, and set the
draft angle to 1 degree. Click the Draft Analysis button. - Notice a purple parting line goes all the way around the part, but a warning mes-
sage appears at the top of the Parting Line PropertyManager. The warning says that
the parting line is complete, but you need to also create a shut-off surface. Figure 32.35
shows the Parting Line PropertyManager and the model at this point.
You might also notice that the two side faces of the notches don’t have draft. For now, go
ahead with creating the mold with the faces like this, and as an exercise, come back later
and add the draft and watch it propagate through the surface features into the mold
blocks.
Note
You may need to deselect some edges around the rectangular notch. The edges selected for the Parting Line
should be a clean single loop of edges that always separate the red faces from the green or yellow faces. Be
careful that the Parting Line goes around the Step Draft faces correctly. n