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ZW3D Mold and Die Training Guide （Only for Prefessional Version&Prenium Version）
Copyright and Trademarks ©Copyright 2010 ZwCAD Software Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. Floor 4, NO.886, Tianhe North Road, Guangzhou 510635 P.R.China (8620)38289780 ZW3D™ V2010 This documentation may be reproduced provided it complies with the terms presented on the LICENSE AGREEMENT supplied. ZwCAD Software Co., Ltd and the program authors have no liability to the purchaser or any other entity, with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused, directly or indirectly by this software and training materials, including uding but not limited to, any interruptions of service, loss of business, anticipatory profits, or consequential damages resulting from the use of or operation of this software. Updates may be made to this documentation and incorporated into later edition editions. ZW3D™ is a registering trademark of ZwCAD Software Co., Ltd. The ZW3D™ logo is a registering trademark of ZwCAD Software Co., Ltd. ZWCAD™, ZWSOFT™, the ZWCAD™ logo, and the ZWSOFT™ logo are all trademarks of ZwCAD Software Co., Ltd. Printed in the P. R. China.
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Table of Contents Forward ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1
Importing and Creating Geometry ................................................................................ 4
Chapter 2
Analysis, translation, and scaling.................................................................................22
Chapter 3
Creation of Core, Cavity and Parting Planes ...............................................................36
Link Manager ..................................................................................................................................62 Chapter 4
Creating your first insert ..............................................................................................70
Copy Insert to the Core ...................................................................................................................80 Link Manager ..................................................................................................................................81 Chapter 5
Creating your second insert .........................................................................................88
Copy Insert to the Core ...................................................................................................................95 Link Manager ..................................................................................................................................96 Chapter 6
How to create Sliders ..................................................................................................99
Copy Slider to the Cavity ..............................................................................................................102 Link Manager ................................................................................................................................107 Appendix A
2D Drawing Layout .................................................................................................109
Appendix B
Mold Base Creation ................................................................................................116
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Forward The full version of the ZW3D documentation is available online by selecting Help Browser from the ZW3D Help Menu.. You can also browse all ZW3D online documentation in HTML format directly from the ZW3D CD. Go to the "\ZWSOFT\ZW3D 2010 Eng\doc" Eng directory on the ZW3D CD using Windows Explorer and open the file “ZW3D.chm.” .” This Mold & Die Training Guide is available as a printed manual and in PDF format. To view or print the PDF version, install the Adobe Acrobat Reader (provided on the ZW3D CD in the Acrobat directory) and open the corresponding files in the \ZWSOFT ZWSOFT\ZW3D 2010 Eng\PDF directory on the CD. Refer to the On-line HELP for information relating to specific tasks (e.g., Creating and Editing Parts, Sketch Dimensions, Constraints, etc.). NOTES: 1. For best results, view and print the PDF version of the documentation using the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Traini Guide is only a portion of the complete documentation, 2. Since the Mold & Die Training it is highly recommended that you utilize the On-line HELP.. You will find additional topics, more information on command options, input options, additional command notes, and cross-links links to related tasks and topics. 3. It should be noted that the On-line HELP will always be more up-to-date up than any printed or PDF material. If you find any discrepancies between the two, always refer to the online documentation. 4. ZW3D's Help Interactive Mode allows you to view the online documentation simultaneously while you are working. It will automatically load topics as you select new commands.
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Chapter 1
Importing and Creating Geometry
NOTE: This exercise is done in MM Units. It would simplify things if you were to edit the configuration, set your default units to MM and add a default part template called PartTemplate(MM). You should see this template on the Create new (Part) menu but you wouldn’t have to pick it each time we create a new part object.
Let’s create a Multi-Object file called “Project_554.Z3”. Create an Part object called “01_IGES_001”.
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Now that we are in the part,, we can verify what units we will be working in. in To do that, we will select Edit on the Utilities toolbar and then the Preferences option.
The default system tolerance is 0.01 and we will keep that value for this exercise. The Part settings menu allows us to configure: Units – Option that allows the user to define work units. Show Back Facing Edges –Option Option that allows the user to see the hidden edges of the model as dashed lines or continuing lines. Alternate Display of Free Edges – Option thatt allows visualization of openings and “Gaps” in the 3D model. Auto Sew On Face Creation– Option that indicates if the new faces created by the user are automatically sewn to the active model.
Whenever you have a Boolean Operation type, holes on surfaces or openings across two objects, they can be joined as one or kept separate.
**********NOTE: On the Part Settings menu, it is recommended to turn “Auto Sew” off allowing the t user to analyze alyze the geometry after importing.
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Now, let’s import an IGES file. To do that, select, File and go to Import. This opens the IGES Import dialog so that you can definez settings for the file that you are importing. We will select the IGES option for importing.
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In ‘IGES Import Settings’ it is possible to define import parameters by choosing the Set IGES Options button. Auto Sew Geometry – Indicates if the geometry is to be automatically united. Rename layer collisions – Renames the layers if they already exist with the same name.
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Auto activate part – Indicates that after importing, the geometry is automatically activated. This command is only necessary if the importing is done at the object level of the work session.
Remove duplicate surfaces – If there are duplicate trimmed surfaces, the duplicate is thrown away. Break trim edges - Will analyze the edges of the surface and break the edges on the tangent points if needed. Reset Dependencies - It is not uncommon for third party IGES files to contain incorrect dependency flags causing entities to not import, or to import more than once. Use this option to flushes the dependencies reported in the file, and recreate them based on the entity references from the parameter section of the IGES file. Drawings – Import the 2D lay-outs included in the file for the 3D environment. Bounded planes – Import planes with limits. Unbounded planes – Import planes without limits. *********NOTE: For this exercise, deactiveate the Auto Sew Geometry option and select ‘OK’ on the Options menu.
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importing Select the Filter optionss as shown. shown Select the Filter settings for importing.
This menu lets the user define the type of geometry to be imported. Select OK.
Select OK and select the file “Backcover_ Backcover_554_Rev_04.igs”,, which is located in the \ZWSOFT\ZW3D 2010 Chs\training training installion directory.
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After you have finished importing the IGES file, the object should look like this:
Your model has all the edges of the surfaces dashed, because they were not sewn during the import. The Quality of the imported geometry can be improved by “healing”. Select the Heal Tool Tab. Select the command Heal Part Topology as shown in the figure below.
This command defines the tolerance for correction. Keep the tolerance at 0.01 for now.
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The image below shows some examples of problem geometry.
During the import we deactivated the auto sew command. Now let’s join the faces using Sew. To do this we need to display the Free Form Tool Tab as shown below below. The icons on this tab are the tools for the building and manipulation of individual surface surfaces. Refer to the online help for more about each command.
A few commands are described below. N-Sided Patch: Use this command to create a face by patching across 3 or more profiles. The profiles can be wireframe geometry, sketches, or face edges. Required inputs include the profiles to define the patch. Intelligent Blend: Use this command to create an intelligent blend face. Required inputs include the curves, edges, or faces that the new face will start from, go to and pass through. Optional inputs puts include using curves, faces or a datum for spine control, circular and conic cross-sections, sections, sewing, capping and the ability to give the face a unique name if desired. Set Face Isolines: Use this command to set the number of isolines displayed in the U and V directions of a face. You can also set isolines with the Modify Face command command. Explode Faces: Use this command to separate faces from a shape. Use the Group option to maintain the connectivity of the explode faces (i.e., they become a separate shape). Use the Sew command to join faces back into a shape shape. Trim to Faces: Use this command to trim away part of a face or shape where it intersects with other faces, s, shapes, and/or datum planes. Extend a Face: Use this command to extend one or more edges of a face. First select the face. Then select the edges to extend and enter the distance to extend.
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Select the Sew command. Select OK to select all faces. You can change the value of the tolerance to be different from that of the Part Tolerance. Don’t change it at this time. Suggestions to help determine the scope of the needed repairs: 1. Put your Pick Filter on Shape. Window pick the entire screen. The message window will report how many separate shapes have been imported. 2. Right-click on the biggest shape that highlights and pick Attributes. Change the face color to the darker of the two light blue colors. This way you can visually see the other shapes and it also may give you an immediate idea of how to approach the repairs. You could also temporarily blank this shape to see what’s left.
Your model should have most of the edges sewn. Do you notice the difference in appearence between the sewn edges and the open edges?
Whenever the surfaces are missing or have “Gaps”, the edges will be blue and dashed.
After sewing, the system will give you information about the largest Gap existing on the geometry. The user can refer to that value to redefine the Sew command using it as the new tolerance. You can use the Heal command again to correct the geometry with the intended tolerance. W e will do this after we are finished repairing the model. U
***********NOTE: Since the majority of faces have been joined by sewing, turn the ‘Auto Sew’ option back on under ‘Edit > Preferences’.
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Use the command EDIT > EDGE > Concatenate. OK This will find colinear edges and combine them into one. Make this command a regular part of your everday Healing Creating the missing surfaces is the next step. For this exercise let’s use the “Trimmed Plane”” command. This command permits the construction of surfaces from 2 or more edges and/or curves. Select edges shown in the image.
> to “accept” the edge selections. > again to “finish” the
command.
For the next surface we will use another command which will also allow us to create a surface on the free edges. edges These tools are found on the “Heal Heal” toolbar.
The bottom faces of the pockets are missing. mis When the part is shaded, the red face you see is actually the inside of the back face of the part.
To verify that a face is missing as opposed to a face that has its normals reversed, zoom in close to one of the edges and window pick the edge and an look at the message window. Your Filter must be set to Edge. This will give you a count of the edges found. One edge means a face is missing.
Select the “Fill Fill Gap between edges with a new face”” command. Select an open edge and then > to fill and confirm.
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This menu also contains a command which helps us detect problems with the geometry. Select the command “Show Open Edges”. This command lists the number of free edges. It also displays a form, which allows you to “Zoom To” to better identify the problem area.
Now we will show you how to solve the problem. In this situation we can use the command “Trim to curves”. To use this command, first select the surface to be trimmed. Next select the edges/curves for that trim. (Use the edges shown in the image). Finally, indicate the side you wish to keep. Face
Edges – Pick 6
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Trimming a surface does not automatically sew. S Select the Sew command, and select OK.
Use the Fill Gap command to create the next surface and select an edge. This is shown in the image below.
A new surface should be created and automatically sewn per the Preferences setting.
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Find the problem area shown below. Select the Ruled command, for the construction of this surface. Just select the two edges as shown in the image. Select both edges on the same end to avoid creating a twisted surface. (generally referred to as a “bow-tie” effect)
The Ruled command will not only create flat surfaces, but will also create surfaces supported by two curved edges. Select the arcs as shown in the image below. This type of surface creates straight line rulings between each point on the two curves selected.
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Once again use se the command Inquire Open Edges to locate the open edge shown on this image.
After locating the problem, use the Fill Gap command. Activate ctivate all of the available tangency options as shown. Select elect one of the edges. You will now see a new surface that is tangent to the surfaces from which it originated.
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Now we are going to repair the surface shown in this image by using the Trim to Curves command.
Select the surface to be trimmed. (You may have to change the filter to FACE)
Select the boundary edge (use to chain select the edges). Finally select the side of the face to keep.
Again this surface was trimmed. Sew and select OK
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The next surface will be repaired by extending exte and trimming. Use the Extend Face command on the Free Form toolbar. Select elect the open edge of the planar surface (on ( the right) to extend. Select an extension value of “0.5 0.5”. (If you extend the exact distance with the sew option checked you can skip the next two commands.)
Now trim the surface to the edge which will be the boundary.
Guess what?
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If you verify the openings on the model again, you will see one of two possible results. If after the initial sew command you sewed again with the tolerance equal to the largest gap, you will have a solid with zero open edges......you’re done. If you did not select that command you will have two edges left that do not match.
To easily repair the fault in the geometry use the Extend faces to close gap between edges command. Just select two of the edges that need repair. The software will only select open edges so you don’t have to be real accurate picking.
If you analyze the model again, you can verify that it is completely closed. However, the model does not have to be completely closed to continue the project in ZW3D.
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Turn on Shade. Change the pick filter to Shape. Run the cursor over the edge of the part. Attributes Change the Face color or select OK for the default. Right-Click and select Attributes. Run the cursor over the edge again. This will show us that we are still missing something.
Using Blank, Unblank and Swap entity visibility v you will see that a solid was left in the model that needs to be subtracted. We can use Combine Shapes with the Remove option as suggested in this image.
Select the mold part as your base. base Select the object shown in the image as the object to be removed.
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To complete the repair on the model we just need to heal by selecting Heal part topology with a tolerance of 0.005.
This will complete the import and repair of your model.
Save your file.
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Chapter 2
Analysis, translation, and scaling
After finishing the repairs on the imported part, the next step is to the analyze for draft angle violations and reposition the model.
Create a new Part at the object level and give it the name “02_Part_Scale_&_Position”.
Use the Insert Component command found on the right mouse button menu.
The menu will present you with options that allow you to select a part to be inserted on the activated part. Choose the object “01_IGES_001” Check the box next to Anchor component Position it at 0,0,0 Remember, you can type ,, or type one zero and hit on the keyboard.
Zoom All is necessary because the part is not centered on (0,0,0).
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You must use the Merge command available on the Shape tool tab and select the component so that the object will become local. This way the surfaces also belong to this part. The Component will become “Real Real Geometry”. Geometry The component itself is not deleted but the instance of the component in the active part is is. The Merge option is also found on the right mouse button menu when the component is highlighted. (Pick filter should be set to All or Component)
Let’s analyze the draft angles.
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Open the new Inquire tool tab.
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By using the Draft Checking mode of the Analyze faces command it’s possible to verify the existing draft on the 3D model. It also allows us to more clearly see which faces belong to the ‘Core’ and those that belong to the ‘Cavity.’ Select the Draft Checking icon from the Required Inputs section and then select the “Direction” option. Now right-click in the graphics window and select the option Face normal. Select the face as shown in the image. Right-click again picking On Entity and then select any point on the face. The default direction is +Z but this part has not been oriented correctly yet.
The optional inputs allow you to vary the direction and draft angle to verify. For the draft angle enter 2 or use the slider provided. The gray surfaces are at exactly 2 degrees. The green surfaces are OK. As you rotate the part slightly you will see the surfaces at the right are purple. This indicates that the draft angle is less than 2 and these surfaces need repair. You should find 5 on each side of the part including the hole.
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Based on this analysis, we will correct the draft angle of these faces. Select OK at the bottom of the options form. ********NOTE: The display has been set to Analyze mode. You can correct the draft while still in this mode. To change it back to Shade mode select View > Shade from the top menu.
You will correct the face angles. angles Select the Draft command from the Mold and Die tool tab. Select the filter option op Edge. Select the edges shown on the e image below on both sides of the part.
Set the angle value to “-2”. Select the top of the ribs as a reference plane.
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If you analyze the model again at 2, it will verify that the faces have been corrected.
Now change to regular shaded mode.
Save your file. The next exercise will use some of the Mold and Die tools.
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The first tool we are going to use is called Create extruded stock. This his tool allows you to create a block by the maximum boundaries (limits or edges) of the part.. It will be used to create a datum needed to help in repositioning the part. plan of orientation of the block. bloc Select the same Select the part and indicate the flat face as a plane face used for the draft analysis analysis.
This menu shows the maximum dimensions of the block which envelopes your part.
Toggle the Side Increment to 1 and back to 0 to see the values shown. Side Increment is a round off value. A value of 1 rounds the numbers to the nearest mm. This techniq technique can be used for estimating and ordering material.
Select OK or > to finish.
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Let’s now create a datum plane on the top face of the block. Later we’ll use this as a reference position of the part. Select the option Insert Datum found on the right mouse button menu. Select the face indicated in the image. Change Z- angle to 180 to get the same orientation shown. for offset of zero.
To place it, select the Origin option found on the menu. Entity filter on ALL Right-click Critical Right-click Between
Select the two points shown in the image.
to accept the default percentage of 50 to finish the command.
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We are finished with the Stock. Erase the stock shape.
Let’s position your part in the workspace. workspace This positioning has to be done by align aligning the plane we just created and the XY datum. Use the command Move entities ties by aligning frames frames. The terms: Datum, plane and frame all mean the same thing.
Select your part as the object to be aligned aligned. Filter on SHAPE. To align the planes first select the datum plane we just created. You can pick the plane in the graphics window or click on the History Manager button Pick the Input Manager command.
then pick Plane1 from the list.
to return to the
Do the same thing to select XY as the To Frame. We are finished with the datum plane. Erase the datum. Zoom all to see the part in its new position.
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Finish orienting your part by rotating it on the “Y” axis. To do this we will use the command Move along direction. Use “0” for the distance value and “180” for the rotation value.
After rotating your part it should look like the following image.
You are only moving the Shape so make sure you don’t window pick with the filter on All .
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Dynamically rotate your view of the part so you can measure the distance between a point and a point on the geometry (shape). (shape) There is a group of tools found on the Inquire toolbar that you can use to measure distances, angles, etc... .
Pick Measure Distance
For this exercise you should select the option Distance > Geometry to point as shown in the image. image
Specifying the letter A for the name of the Variable. For the Point enter the value “0,0,0”. “ Select the face indicated in n the image. (Narrow face at the lip)
You will use the Z component of the distance in the next command. You can copy and paste the number from the Measure Distance window or use the Variable ‘A ‘A_Z’ that we created.
From the Tools pulldown, pick Variable Browser to see the format.
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After storing the value of the distance on “Z” let’s move the part along the “-Z axis” where you can copy the value used before.
For the Direction
Right-click pick –Z axis
For the Distance either type A_Z (We know this because we looked at the Variable Browser on the previous page) or Right-click > Pick the Select Variable icon, then select the A_Z variable
Pick OK
Or
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As shown in the image below, paste the value from memory into the “Distance “Distance” box. The part will then move that far along the “-Z “ axis”.
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In the next exercise you will scale the 3D model to compensate for shrinkage in the mold. A scale of 0.6% is suggested. Scale the model using the command “Scale entities” that is found in the “Tools” toolbar. Select the Scale entities command. Select the geometry to be scaled. Indicate that the scale is Uniform and then set the scale factor to 1.006.
Pick OK
Save your file. You are now finished with the editing of this “Part”. Exit this section by using the command “Exit part”.
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Chapter 3
Creation of Core, Cavity and Parting Planes
Create a new Part named “03_Core_Cavity”. This new part will be used for core and cavity separation, and will be used in the construction of the parting faces.
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After you have activated the new part, insert a component by using the Insert Component command found on the right mouse menu as shown in the image.
Select “02_Part_Scale...” as shown in the image. Select the option Anchor component omponent and locate it at the coordinates “0,0,0”.
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After you insert the component perform a Merge so the object can be locally edited. Now the surfaces belong to this part. Select the Merge command found on the Shape toolbar. Select the object to be converted. Another way to do this is to select the component, then select the Merge option found on the right mouse button menu.
*****Note: In this application when you Insert a Component you will always Merge
Select the Attributes > Line menu and configure the thickness of the 3D lines that will be created by the Parting Line command. The color will have no affect here because the color of Parting Lines is defined in the ZW3D Configuration. The default is green.
Parting Lines will need to be created along the exterior edges forming a closed loop. You will also need to create Parting Lines around any holes in your part.
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With the pick filter set to all, you will create the parting lines. Use the Parting line from silhouettes command. Select the “Z axis” as the axis of extraction. to accept all of the faces. to finish the command.
Save Blank the part and the exterior parting lines only by using the Blank command. command With the pick filter set to All, select the part and the outer parting line. U
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Erase the leftover parting lines. We want to erase just the lines, and not the planes so be sure to select the “Parting Line” filter and pick all.
After erasing the unnecessary parting lines, select Unblank all entities.
Create a new parting line around the holes in your part by using the Parting lines from face edges command.
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Using the command Parting lines from face edges indicate all the of the faces you wish to calculate by picking the two large flat surfaces and the 5 vertical surfaces on the tab.
Flat surfaces
5 vertical surfaces
Select only the edges as shown in the image. If you get too many, to delete them. pick pick Shift-pick
Again we should have a closed loop
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Repeat the previous command by and create Parting lines on the edges shown in the image. Pick the two faces and the two edge loops.
Shift-pick Again we should have two closed loops To check for future problems in the Parting lines, select the Check for gaps in parting lines command.
There should be no gaps or overlaps in order for the part to split in the next step.
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ZW3D has two commands to o divide the model.
The command Separate into core/cavity regions is used for a fast separation separation. You simply select the surfaces to be separated and indicate the dividing divi axis. You can define a layer for each of the parts. Ex: “Z axis” Layer for the entities belonging to the cavity “-Z axis” Layer for the entities belonging to the core.
The command Divide faces a at parting lines is only used when Parting lines exist. Select all of the lines necessary for the division of the model. model If you wish to separate sepa the object into two Shapes, select the Separate Shape at Parting Line option. Otherwise the model will be divided only on the surface and will n not separate into two Shapes.
In this exercise we will use the command Divide faces at parting lines. lines Make sure the option to separate is checked. pick all, twice
You now have two separate shapes. To temporarily tempo see the results blank – shape or Move – Along a direction ( Z axis) select one of the shapes. When your done, Undo.
Save
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Start the construction of a new “Sketch” using the “Datum Plane XY”. This “sketch” will serve as the limit (border) for a parting plane. It will also be used to create the Mold Insert Block.
Your parting face boundary sketch does not have to be fully constrained because we don’t anticipate any changes being made, but just to get some practice we will constrain this sketch. (Can you imagine an engineer saying he doesn’t anticipate changes????) Changes to an unconstrained sketch may cause unpredictable results.
All new sketches automatically have a “point” at “0,0” and an anchor constraint
Draw a rectangle “center”, centered on the point. Use a width and height value of 552/2 or 276. (ZW3D will do the calculation in the text input window.) The only thing left to fully constrain the sketch is to center the square on the point.
Select “mid point constraint” found under the “anchor” icon. Select two diagonal corners of the rectangle. Select the point at (0,0) An Alternate method: There are predefined fully constrained sketches located on the Ready Sketch toolbar. Use the Square. Middle-click to place at (0,0) Edit the width.
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After defining your Sketch we can exit the sketch by using the option Exit Sketch found on the right mouse button menu or by using the command on the toolbar.
In the next step, we will create a parting plane using some of the commands available in ZW3D. But first, let’s define a new color for the new faces that will be created.
To create the new face color select the command Default surface color. color Define a color as suggested in n the image and apply this as the color.
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With the Parting Face command ZW3D will automatically create parting surfaces. Select the Sketch to which the parting faces will be limited. Next, the exterior (outer) parting lines. Lastly, to skip the interior (inner) parting lines.
Envelope
Outer Parting line Shift-pick
In the next step we will join all the surfaces that belong to the Parting plane. Select the command Sew. This command recognizes all of the surfaces that belong to the “Feature” parting plane. So we need to simply select one of the surface planes.
Notice the adjoining edges of the parting plane are now sewn.
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To complete the parting faces you will need to create three inner shut off surfaces. Select Create faces by inverting loops. loops ( It is behind the previous parting face command. ) This will create missing faces on the areas shown in the image. Face
Edge
Select one face and one of the edges. Repeat for the other shutoff. (NOTE: You could click> for the edge selection because there is only one internal loop. The last area to close off is the “tab” shown s right. Erase the two parting line segments that you had to pick separately in the previous step. See the two dotted edges below. Select Create faces at angles to surface and select the parting lines on the raised tab. Shift-pick the parting lines on the tab.
Indicate ndicate the value ““10” for the size of the surfaces and “0”” for the angle.
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Select Sew and pick once on the parting faces just created. Don’t just pick OK.
From the orientation shown above you should be looking at the back of the face (pink). Use Reverse Direction if necessary. (probably not)
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Select Create faces at angles to surface again and shift-pick the other parting line that lies on the flat surface. Change the angle to -10 degrees
Select Sew and pick once on the parting faces just created. OK.
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Use the Combine Shape > Remove operation as suggested in the image.
Remove
Base
Result
Save your file
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Remember the sketch we created before our first set of parting faces? We are now going to use that to create the mold block. Select Extrude > Base
The Object called “03_Core_Cavity 03_Core_Cavity”” is a working part that contains 3 distinct parts of every mold. The Core, Cavity and Parting Geometry. Construction of the three had to ocurr in the same object but now they need to be separated into into their own object files.
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Our next step will be to separate the different “Parts”. Select the command Edit > Copy > Geometry to Part. Set the filter to Shape and start by selecting everything related to the parting planes including the block......
.......Before finishing the command go back and change the filter to Curve, and select everything related to parting lines..... HINT: 5 times.
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Middle-click to repeat epeat the command to create a “Part” for the ‘core.’
05_Reference_Core”. Give this “Part” the name “05_R
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Repeat the command again to create a “Part” for the ‘cavity’.
Name this “Part” “06_Reference_Cavity”.
After creating the respective “Parts”,
Save
Exit part
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Once at the ZW3D objects level, select the “Part” “05_REFERENCE_CORE 05_REFERENCE_CORE” and select “Edit”.
Insert the component “04_Parting arting_Faces” by using a right mouse button menu. Select the Insert Component option. When you activate this option a new menu will pop up. From this menu you can select a part to insert into the active Part. You can preview the parts p before insertion by selecting the Preview - Graphics option. This way you can be sure you have chosen the right part before you insert it. Select the object “04_Parting_F _Faces” as the component to be inserted. Select the Anchor component option Locate it at the origin point (0,0,0 0,0,0) as shown in the example. Pick OK.
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Be sure to Merge the component after inserting it.
Or right-click Merge
Remember, our component is now a shape. Activate the Mold toolbar and select the Trim plates to core/cavity region command icon. Select the block. Select the core. On the menu that pops up, select the Flip option. all of the surfaces of the parting plane (4). For the copy option select Neither.
You now have a closed solid shape. Save
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When you have finished the command your object should be identical to the image below.
At the ZW3D Objects Level, select the “Part” “06_Reference_Cavity” to be edited. Now we will apply the same techniques that were used to define the reference core.
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Insert the Parting Faces component as shown below.
Select Merge. (RMB)
Trim the plates as you just did in the Reference Core.
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The next part of the exercise will demonstrate how to associate parts together so if a change is made to one it is propogated automatically to the others. Select the “04_Parting_Faces aces” part to edit.
Blank the block.
Erase the six surfaces shown in yellow in the image (6).
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Once you have erased the surfaces on the corners of the parting plane you can rebuild them using the Drive curve loft command. This next step will create a single face between the edges. Don’t forget to activate the Smooth option so the connection will be tangent to the ajoining faces. toolbar
It’s necessary to extend the surfaces so they will exceed the limits of your block. To do that we use the surface command, Extend, available on the Free Form toolbar as shown in the image below. Use an extension value of “10”.
Repeat this process to extend the other surface.
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Select the Unblank command and apply Fillets with a radius of “30mm mm” on the edges shown in the image.
We need a method thod for automatically updating the Reference_Core and Reference_Cavity to reflect these and any changes made to the Parting Faces object. The next step will update e all the parts that are associated to the parting planes.
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Link Manager Select the ZW3D objects Link Manager found on the Tools menu. Select Insert and select the objects to be updated. In this case, select the parts “05_Reference_Core” and “06_Reference_Cavity”.
Select Select All.
Check the option Auto Regen to turn it on.
If the user sets up the link manager to do an automatic regen of the Reference parts, each time the “04_Parting_Faces” part gets regened, so do the “Reference_Core” and “Reference_Cavity”. Select Dismiss
You can now run the Regen command. Watch the message window and you will see that the two reference parts are also regening.
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The ‘reference core’ and ‘reference reference cavity’ are now updated according ing to the modifications that we created on the parting plane.
Create reate a new object with the name shown below.. It will be used as a separator. This separator is nothing more than a ZW3D object with a visually unique name. name This helps us visualize and separate the different steps of the project in the Objects window. window We suggest you follow this type of naming scheme. Since ince each part is based on the previous one, using numbers will help to organize your models in the object list.
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The next step will create a new Part/ Assembly object. This is where you’re going to set up your mold. Create a new Part/Assembly object and name it “08_Mold_Assembly”.
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Insert the component “09_Core ore_Group” at the “0,0,0” point. This is a new part object so just type the name as shown.
This component doesn’t exist so ZW3D will create and activate it automatically for editi editing.
he user knows which file is active active. The name appears The on the ZW3D title bar. ZW3D automatically created, inserted and activated a new component
In this new object we will create all of the ‘core group’ reference information.
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The core should be the first object you create in this group. To do that, Insert a new component and name it “11_CORE”. Anchor and Position at (0,0,0). Once more the system creates a component and automatically activates it for editing because it doesn’t yet exist in this project.
Notice that activating the part changed the name of the new object in the title bar and inserted it into the ‘core group’.
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After creating the core object, insert inser the component “05_Reference_Core ore”. Anchor and Position as before.
Merge it using the same operations as before.
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Use the command Exit part to position it in the “08_MOLD_ASSEMBLY” object.
Use the same insert technique again to create the ‘cavity group’. Insert the component “10_CAVITY_GROUP” into the active object “08_MOLD_ASSEMBLY”. We will also be creating and activating a new component here. The following is an outline of the steps for the cavity side. They are identical to what we just did on the core side. Insert a new component called: 12_Cavity
anchor and position it at (0,0,0)
Insert the 06_Reference_Cavity anchor and position it at 0,0,0 and Merge it.
Now we have an assembly which contains 2 sub-assemblies
08_Mold_Assembly
09_Core_Group
11_Core
05_Reference_Core
10_Cavity_Group
12_Cavity
06_Reference_Cavity
The core and cavity groups will have more components added like inserts and slides but this should give you a better feel for what we have done and where we are going.
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Use the command Exit part to position the “08_MOLD_ASSEMBLY” object.
Here you can see the assembly o of your mold divided by groups. See the History to verify.
At the ZW3D Objects level you will see that new objects were added to the file.
Again, notice the naming structure. In reality we suggest separating the groups a little more than we have done here. You may want to use 100_Core_Group and 200_Cavity_Group and use numbers in those ranges.
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Chapter 4
Creating your first insert
Select the name “08_Mold_Assembly” from the Object list to edit. Select the ZW3D “Assembly Manager”, using the right mouse button menu...
********NOTE: At first glance, one may think we are done. We now have what looks like the ‘core’ and ‘cavity’ in an assembly. However, there are more parts to create for this mold. There are a couple of inserts and slides required as well as the geometry used to subtract material from the ‘core’ and ‘cavity’ to accomodate the inserts and slides. With the Assembly Manager, you can hide, erase, or select a part to edit. You can also double click a part for editing by setting the filter selection to All or Component options. For this exercise it doesn’t matter so select an edit method for the component “09_CORE_GROUP”.
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After activating the core group group, select the option Show target so that only the objects in this group, in this case the core,, will be visible. visible
Insert a new component in the ‘core’ that does not contain any geometry. You will be creating one of the inserts.
Insert a component” and name it “13_Core_Insert_01”. Anchor and locate it at “0,0,0”. Since this component does not yet exist, the system will create and activate it automatically for editing.
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If you select the Show Target option again you will see the only things that exist are the three default datum planes. You may have to pick this twice. The icon will toggle between Show All and Show Target.
Since this object was created as an empty part, you must insert the component “05_Reference_Core”.
As in previous steps, anchor and position at the “0,0,0” point.
Merge
When you are finished the construction of this insert, the above shape will be trimmed away leaving you with the insert and the tool used to remove material in the core.
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Now we will add some geometry to “13_Core_Insert_01”. Let’s create e an Extrude. The ‘sketch’ should be on the “XY”” datum plane.
*******Hint: Hint: Any time you are creating a sketch on the XY datum plane, twice.
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Create a two point rectangle and dimension it from the point located at (0,0). For this “Sketch” use the dimensions shown in the image below.
Exit Sketch by using the right mouse button menu.
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The start value of your extrusion will be the point shown in the image below and an end value of “50”.
our object should now look like this. After creating the extrusion, select the Shade button. Your Save
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Hide the core reference, by using the Blank Entities command icon.
Create an extruded boss on the new component.
Add an extrusion. image.
Your “sketch” should be located on the highlighted face shown in the
Reference curves should automatically be created if you set the option in the configuration file. If not, use the following.
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Draw a 2 point rectangle on the reference plane with the dimensions shown below.
Exit Sketch and complete the extrusion form as shown. Give it a start value of “0” and an end point at the point shown in the image.
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“Unblank” so the core reference will be visible. Create a boolean operation Shape toolbar > Combine Shape between the two entities by using the Trim Shapes command. In this command, the Reference Core will be the object for the base and the object for trimming will be the previously created solid. Be sure to select the options Flip side to keep and Keep trimming shapes.
2 1
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When you have completed the command it should look like the image shown. shown We now have the ‘insert’ and the ‘subtraction subtraction tool tool.’
As shown in the image above,, you should Blank the actual ‘insert’ and create a clearance gap on the ‘subtraction tool’ that will be used on the ‘core insert’. Use the command Face Offset Offset. Select the face indicated in n the image and give it a value of “0.5”.
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Copy Insert to the Core After creating the clearance gap, export the geometry. Select the option Edit > Copy > Geometry to Part. Select the shape, and indicate the part for the destination (11_CORE).
Swap entity visibility. This will hide the insert subtraction tool and make the actual insert visible.
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Link Manager You need to associate the ‘insert’ with the ‘core’ so that anytime the ‘insert’ is altered the ‘core’ will be updated as well. Activate the ZW3D objects Link Manager and insert the object “11_CORE 11_CORE” into the regeneration list.
Regen will regenerate the history of the active part as well as 11_core. The part 11_Core is created from the 13_core_insert_01 part with the copy geometry to part command. This does not create a history operation in the 13_Core_insert_01 part, but does create a history operation in the 11_Core part. This means that if the 13_Core_insert_01 part gets changed, the user has to manua manually go into the 11_core part and perform a regen so that the latest geometry gets read in to the 11_core.. If the user sets up the link manager to do an automatic regen of the 11_Core part, each time the 13_Core_Insert_01 gets regened, so does the 11_Core. Reactivate Parent Object so you are in the “09_Core_Group”.
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Set the filter to component and the object “11_Core” to activate it.
Use Combine Shapes > Remove, where the object base is the ‘core’ and the ‘subtraction tool’ is the shape to be removed.
Base Remove
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th case will be the Select the option Show target to show only the active object, which, in this ‘core.’
one that belong to the If you wish to see the objects that are on the next level, and not just the ones this assembly, use the command Show More found on the menu View > Show Scope > Show More.
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to open the ZW3D objects editor.
Select the ‘13_Core_Insert_01’, and click Edit.
Right click on Trim1 as shown below and select the option Rollback from the History Manager.
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Add Fillets each with a radius of “1” Window pick the edges shown in the image.
Complete the history replay by clicking the Replay all operations button. button
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To change the ‘core’ according to the modification on the ‘core insert’, Edit the “11_Core” and select the Regen command.
When you analyze your core object you can verify that it’s updated according to the edits you just made to the core insert.
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Optionally, let’s use the techniques previously employed in the construction construct of the first ‘core insert’ to construct the he second ‘core insert’. Name it “14_Core_Insert_02 _02”.
Don’t forget, that when you create the second ‘core insert’, the ‘core group’ group “09_Core_Group” should be active.
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Chapter 5
Creating your second insert
For the next step of this exercise let’s create another ‘insert’ in the ‘core’. The ‘core group’ should be activated first.
Insert a new object component and name it “15_Jiggle_Pin_01”. Anchor and position it at the coordinate “0,0,0”.
As on previous exercises, we have to insert the Reference core in the active part.
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Merge the ‘core reference’ component. component
insert’, you must first create an Extrusion on the “XY” datum plane To create the shape of the ‘insert
Create a 2 point rectangle as shown and dimension it to “0,0”.
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Exit the “Sketch” and complete the extrusion with the values shown in the image.
*******Note: Orient the part as shown here before adding draft. Use the Blank command to hide the ‘core reference’.
Now that we have created the geometry for the head of your insert, we need to add draft angles on the lateral faces. Use the command Draft and select the filter option Edge. Select the edges as suggested in the image. For the reference plane, select the bottom face of the insert as indicated in the image. Also indicate the value of the angle, in this case “-1”. Select Bottom for the Draft side option.
*******NOTE: Because the angle is so small, one way to verify that you indeed do have the draft applied is to toggle back and forth with the Undo and Redo commands.
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Based on the information shown in the image repeat the same ame command on the indicated face and apply a “-6” degree draft angle. Use the bottom face as the reference plane.
Draft again and apply a “-4”” degree angle to the bottom face as suggested in the image.
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Create a “Sketch” on the bottom face of the insert.
Create the references suggested in the image and create a circle with the dimensions shown.
Right Mouse click >
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Create an Extruded Boss. The he start value is “0”, and the end value is “100”. “
shown Fillet with a radii of “3” as shown.
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Unblank to make the core reference visible. Erase the bottom face with the pick filter set to face.
Create a trim operation between two entities by using the “Trim Shapes” command.
In this command the object for the base will be the core reference and the trimming object is the solid created previously. The options Flip side to keep, Keep trimming shapes and Cap Trimmed regions should be selected.
Result
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Subtraction tool
Insert
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Copy Insert to the Core C
Blank to hide the insert.
Z3
You now have the tool used d to subtract material from the core.
Select the command Edit > Copy > Geometry to Part to export this to the ‘core’. ‘core’ Select the solid and indicate the destination part (11_CORE).
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Link Manager You can change the workzone by clicking Swap entity visibility. This will hide the subtraction tool and make the insert visible.
Now, we just need to associate the files of the insert and the core. This way if any change is made on the ‘insert’ the ‘core’ will be updated as well. Remember, this needs to be done when you use the Copy Geometry to Part command. U
Select the ZW3D objects Link Manager from the Tools Pulldown and insert the object 11_CORE into the regeneration list.
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Exit part until you are in the “09_Core_Group” object.
Set the filter to component and the object “11_CORE 11_CORE” to activate it for edit.
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You need to do a Combine Shapes > Remove where the base shape is the ‘core’ and the ‘subtraction tool’ is the shape to be removed.
Show Target Your part should look like this.
As an optional exercise, create another ‘insert’ named “16_JIGGLE_PIN_02”.
After the final construction of the two ‘inserts’ your ‘core’ should look like this.
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Chapter 6
How to cr create Sliders
To create slides that belongs to the ‘core group’ we should edit the “09_CORE_GROUP”. “09_CORE_GROUP”
Create a new object anchored and positioned on the coordinate “0,0,0 0,0,0”. Name it “17_SLIDER_01” We have to insert the reference cavity into the active part “17_SLIDER_01 17_SLIDER_01”. U
U
Merge the component to make a shape.
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Create an Extrusion. The sketch should be on the XY datum plane.
Create a shape just like the one shown in the image. Dimension it to the coordinate “0,0”.
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Exit Sketch and d continue the extrusion with the values indicated in the image.
Use the Trim Shape command to create a trim operation between the 2 entities.
The base is the ‘reference cavity’ cavity and the solid previously created is the trim object. Verify that the three optional inputs shown at the right are checked.
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Copy Slider to the Cavity Your object should look like the image below.
Blank to hide the front of the ‘slide.’
Let’s export into the cavity the subtraction tool for your slide. Select the command Edit > Copy > Geometry to Part. Select the solid. Indicate the destination for the export “12_Cavity”.
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Swap Visibility and let’s add some geometry to the ‘slide’. ‘slide’ You need to create a reference point. point Create an extension for your ‘slide’. Open the Wireframe menu and select the Point command. Select the options Critical + Center of Curvature from the right mouse button menu as shown in the image. Select the edge on which to locate your point.
Insert Sketch as shown in the image. image
Up until now we were not concerned where the origin of a sketch was when sketching on a face. Now we want the origin to be projected from the point we just inserted. Use the Origin option and pick the point entity we inserted in the last step. Pick the line indicated by the arrow for the UP direction.
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Draw the sketch shown below.
Exit Sketch
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Extrude using the Add option, with a start value of “0”” and an end value of ““60”. If your sketch was drawn correctly this seam will disappear.
Create a draft angle for your slide. xtrusion using the Remove option. to create a new You’ll need to create an Extrusion sketch. Select the Up option on the command’s dialog menu and select the edge indicated below. The sketch should be on the highlighted face shown in the image.
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Create a reference curve on the three edges in the upper left of the part. (one horizontal and two vertical) Create a line as shown. Use the suggested dimensions.
Use the command Trace Profile to create a curve. Select just the three entities that you want to see.
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Link Manager Exit your sketch. Complete an extrude using the remove option with a start value of “0”. End it on the point shown in the image.
Use the Link Manager again to force the 12_Cavity to automatically regen any time the slide is regened. Exit part to go to the “09_Core_Group 09_Core_Group” object.
Here we can analyze all the objects that belong to this group.
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Once you are in the main assembly of the mold, set the filter to component and the object “10_CAVITY_GROUP” to activate it. on the object “12_CAVITY” to activate it. Combine Shapes > Remove operation where the base shape is the cavity and the slide tool is the shape to be removed.
As your final (optional) exercise, create a second slide for the mold.
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Appendix A
2D Drawing Layout L
In this new chapter we will create crea 2D drawings based on the 3D objects previously created. Create a NEW - Drawing Sheet object. Select the drawing sheet template. template You can accept the automatically-suggested suggested name.
These sheets can be configured ed by the user. The Template file that holds hold all of the definitions is located in the .\User-14.00\resource resource directory. Starting with version 13 there are two template files. Templates_IN.Z3 Templates_IN. and Templates_MM.Z3.. Depending on how you answered the question when you entered ZW3D the first time, you are using either the inch or metric template file. See the Files tab of the ZW3D Configuration.
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Before beginning to draw, look at the ZW3D configuration.
See the Color tab and Display tab. Don’t change anything yet. Review the color settings for anything related to 2D geometry. The display tab defines global settings for line thickness. Now cancel. Select the Attributes pulldown menu. The first option we will look at on this menu is a line-type configuration.
Here the user can override the attributes set in the configuration of new lines that will be created. This will be in affect for any sheet created during the currect session.
If you wish to alter any existing entities select the Attributes option from the middle or right mouse button menu. This option will activate the same menu as shown above, but it will only affect the selected entities. You can also keep these settings for later use by ‘Saving a Bundle’. See the On-line HELP or try it yourself.
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Another ther option available on the Attributes menu allows for the configuration of the dimensions. dimensions Here the user can intuitively configure the aspect of dimensions to apply to the drawing.
Other menus are used to define the text style and the type of Hatch pattern that should be applied to sections.
These configurations can be done in the Template_IN.ZW3D and Templates_MM.ZW3D files file as opposed to a single drawing sheet, and since every new project is based on the “template” the software will assume the new configurations that were previously defined.
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The last option available on this menu changes the properties of the 2D views that are created from the 3D objects. Here the user can define ways of representing the views: hidden line or shaded, scales, aspects of lines, “layers” etc.
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As a first exercise select the command shown in the image. This command lets you create 3 or 4 views of the selected model, redefine the parameterss configured by default, and indicate the type of projection intended—a a 1 degree angle or a 3 degree angle. Select “11_CORE” as the object to be used in the 2D views. Click OK or to finish. Your first drawing should look like this.
After creating the views it’s possible to change their position on the drawing. drawing Just select the desired views and right mouse click Move. Select the starting point and the destination point. You can also use this menu to alter the attributes of the selected views. Select the isometric view and change the hidden lines attribute from dashed to Ignore.
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For the next exercise you’re going to create different types of sections. You can choose between simple sections showing the cross section only and sections showing a hidden line view of the entire part with the sectioned volume removed. In the Section command indicate if you want to create a simple Sect Curves or a Trimmed Part section type.
Create the detail views. In ZW3D there are three types of details.
Create a circular detail from one of the sections shown in the previous image. Give this a scale of 4.
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mensions using the Right Mouse B Button menu. Add dimensions So the final result of your project should look like the image above with dimensions. dimensions
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Appendix B
Mold Base Creation
The first time you pick this icon you will get the old Mold Base menu. This has been discontinued but is here only temporarily while we transition to the new Mold Expert software from Antares.
Save your file and click on the Applications pulldown menu.
Click on Install Mold Expert
The messages above will be displayed in the message window and you will have to restart ZW3D. Start ZW3D and open a file. Click on the User pulldown and select MoldExpert
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Click on the Mold Base icon shown above.
There are two versions. Basic gives you the same functionality that we had in the old software at no additional cost. You will probably notice that some icons on your screen are hazed out. Those commands are included in the Advanced version.
Click on the Configuration icon to obtain a license for the Advanced version.
MoldExpert has its own HELP.
The following is an outline of the steps to get started:
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Open a new part object for your MoldBase Assembly. Insert Component Core 11_Core Insert Component Cavity 12_Cavity Component Merge ... pick both components --- -------- These need to be shapes at this point Insert the MoldBase
The Frame will typically be the XY datum. Either type XY or pick the plane from the graphics area.
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The bounding box option allows you to pick geometry which will be used to automatically select the appropriate mold base size. You can think of it as an envelope.
Select the button highlighted above
You will have 3 options for defining the bounding box. You can pick the core and cavity shapes, select two diagonal critical points, or enter values. The “Extra X and Y sizes” are to give you space around the core and cavity for cooling lines, etc.
You can accept this size or continue to edit the sizes that were selected. Select OK
The moldbase will be inserted.
The plates are “shapes” and the other hardware are “components”. It is done this way so you can work on the plates.
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Typically the next step is to subtract material from the Plates to accomodate the core and cavity.
Extrude a Base Shape using the Right-click “Insert Curve List” option. the entities that make up the top edge of the cavity. U
U
Start at 0 End at
Combine shape remove from the 2 plates.
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Before we insert some screws let’s look at the configuration tool.
We are going to insert 4 identical screws so check the option, “Retain last used values” While we have this menu open let’s look at the Catalogs tab.
If you don’t have access to all the moldbases listed you can subtract some from the visible list. You can also select the catalog that you use the most. If it is the only one you use, check the box.
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Pick the “Standard Elements” icon and we are going to insert 4 socket head cap screws to hold the cavity to the top plate.
The point will be the critical center of the four radii on the cavity. Repeat this for the other three.
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