Manual Electrode Design

Electrode Design

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Electrode Design Tutorial Overview Downloading the Sample Part Initializing the Electrode Design Project Defining Manufacturing Geometry Attributes Creating Sparking Heads Designing Blanks Validating Electrodes  Adding a Holder  Generating Engineering Drawings Generating a Bill of Materials Supplemental Case Studies

Overview The Electrode Design tutorial takes you through a hands-on, end-to-end scenario for modeling two electrodes, from initializing the project to generating engineering drawings of the finished electrode components. The instructions are modular and linked in the correct sequence to ensure your success in modeling a sample electrode that can be machined and used in an EDM process. Do not skip a task or a step within a task. To be successful, you must perform each step in the order in which it is presented in the tutorial. This tutorial consists of a cumulative series of linear tasks. Always complete the current task before moving on the next. For your convenience, Next and Previous navigation button are provided at the bottom of each page. These buttons are intended to help you move forward from task to task, or back to revisit a previous procedure.

Before you Begin If you have not already done so, open the Electrode Design Overview in the online help and browse the content. Then, also in the help, look at the Electrode Design Toolbar  Toolbar to to familiarize yourself with the interface.

Related Topics More About Electrode Design 2

Electrode Design Tutorial Overview Downloading the Sample Part Initializing the Electrode Design Project Defining Manufacturing Geometry Attributes Creating Sparking Heads Designing Blanks Validating Electrodes  Adding a Holder  Generating Engineering Drawings Generating a Bill of Materials Supplemental Case Studies

Overview The Electrode Design tutorial takes you through a hands-on, end-to-end scenario for modeling two electrodes, from initializing the project to generating engineering drawings of the finished electrode components. The instructions are modular and linked in the correct sequence to ensure your success in modeling a sample electrode that can be machined and used in an EDM process. Do not skip a task or a step within a task. To be successful, you must perform each step in the order in which it is presented in the tutorial. This tutorial consists of a cumulative series of linear tasks. Always complete the current task before moving on the next. For your convenience, Next and Previous navigation button are provided at the bottom of each page. These buttons are intended to help you move forward from task to task, or back to revisit a previous procedure.

Before you Begin If you have not already done so, open the Electrode Design Overview in the online help and browse the content. Then, also in the help, look at the Electrode Design Toolbar  Toolbar to to familiarize yourself with the interface.

Related Topics More About Electrode Design 2

Electrode Design is Design is supported by a variety of online information, which you can easily and assertively explore. Click any link in this list to see an overview of the functions you will be using as you progress through the tutorial. On each Overview page, you will see a row of labeled buttons just below the heading. The buttons allow you to navigate anywhere and everywhere in the Electrode Design help-oriented Design help-oriented documentation.

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Initializing the electrode project  Adding attributes for downstream manufacturing (Manufacturing Geom etry)

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Creating sparking heads

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Designing blanks

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Validating electrodes

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 Adding electrode holders

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Generating bills of materials

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Generating electrode assembly drawings

Electrode Design Toolbar Electrode Design provides Design provides you with a unique suite of tools that are dedicated to the quick and efficient design of electrodes for Electrical Discharge Machining. The design functions are arranged horizontally on the toolbar in a sequence that suggests the recommended process. You begin each electrode design session with project initialization. As the project continues, you proceed sequentially through the functions.

Electrode Design modeling tools are described in this table. For information on tools that are shared across NX Tooling applications, Tooling applications, see Shared Tools. Tools. Icon

Menu Label

Description

Initialize

 Allows you to start a new NX Electrode Design project Design project using mold parts and project templates.

Manufacturing Geometry

 Allows you to quickly define the spark ing area of an electrode.

Blank Design

 Allows you to add standard blank component to your electrode project, link the bodies of selected heads into the blank component, and update the dimensions based on the head selection. 3

On the Blank Design tool dialog, the Blank option lists the blank templates defined in the blank list. If there are material choices, the Material option is active on the dialog. The Joint option allows you to use any of three methods to create the blend body between the head and the blank. 

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To create an extruded feature from the top faces of the selected heads, choose Extrude. To create an offset feature from the top faces of the selected heads, choose Offset. To manually create the connection between the heads and the blank choose None.

 Allows you to create a drawing fr om the electrode model. To generate a draft: Electrode Drafting

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Select the electrode and assign the components to the machined, excluded, and optional lists.

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Select a drawing template or sheet.

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Enter or modify the assembly name.

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Apply your information to create the drafting assembly and update the tabular report

 Allows you to locate misalignm ents between the tool and the workpiece . Even small alignment errors may gouge the core or cavity during manufacturing. The Electrode Checking tool allows you to: Electrode Checking

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Check the electrode and workpiece touch status.

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Create a sparking area sheet body.

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Create an interference body.

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Map colors from the workpiece to the electrode.

When the check is complete, the touch status items are reported in the Check Results window.

BOM

 Allows you to generate a parts list from the parts defined in t he template file. The electrode position, and the spark setting and size are also written to the Bill of Materials.

Navigation and Accessibility This tutorial allows you to access supplemental information as needed. To this end, the tutorial provides a set of buttons that allow you to navigate to additional information, always in a new overlaid window, without forcing you to abandon the instructions in the main window. The icon on each button indicates it's purpose. If you don't need more information about a particular topic or step, you can ignore these buttons and move straight through the instructions without looking at the ancillary information.

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Button Type

Navigation Icon Description

Launches a movie in a new window to help you visualize the context of the current activity. The movies play inside a viewer console that allows you to control the pace of what you see. You can start, stop, pause, scroll, and fast forward or back using the control buttons on the console interface. For an example, click here.

Launches a full-size dialog image in a new window. Complete dialogs are not shown in the main tutorial, only the icons images or partial dialogs are provided. For an example, click here.

Launches an enlarged image that shows the current design elements in greater detail in a new window. For an example, click here.

Launches a Dialog Options page in the active window. This button is always found in the popup window that hosts the dialog image. For an example, click here. Next and Previous buttons appear at the bottom of each page in the tutorial. These buttons help you stay in sync with the ordered sequence of the step-bystep procedures. Each button has a “tool tip” that appears when you roll the cursor over the button image. The text in the tool tip tells you where the button is programmed to take you. For example:

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Browser and Plugin Requirements This tutorial is viewed through a Web browser. The browser must support Java (MS JVM or Sun JVM Version 1.5 or higher) for the search function to work. We certify and support the following browsers: Windows — Internet Explorer 6.0 UNIX, Linux — Mozilla version 1.6 or higher Internet Explorer is preferred. If you have problems displaying the tutorial in Internet Explorer, you may need to set your browser options to allow active content to be displayed. This is usually an issue when running Windows XP, Service Pack 2 (SP2). To allow active content to be displayed in Internet Explorer, follow these steps:   Select Tools→Internet Options, then the Advanced tab.

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Scroll down to the Security category and turn on Allow active content to run in files on My Computer .

Downloading browsers 5

These browsers are free and can be downloaded from the following web sites: 

Internet Explorer — http://www.microsoft.com

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Mozilla — http://www.mozilla.org

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Downloading the Sample Part

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This tutorial is based on the sample NX part model shown here:

Tutorial Sample Model: saw_cover_cavity_011 

This part model is the cavity half of a mold that is used to manufacture the engine cover of a power saw like the one in the image. The slots and the end piece shapes are the focus of the tutorial.

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Molded Part from Cavity 

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The cavity part is supplied on the installation CD and was downloaded onto your desktop or network server at installation time. The tutorial requires that you have unrestricted access to this part on your desktop or server. Instructions and links follow on this page. On your desktop or the appropriate network drive, create a folder named Sawcover . Open the tutorial's Download Web page. The launch button code on this page automatically locates and opens the archive file containing the part. To open the Download page, click this link: Launch Download Page

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On the Download page, click the Launch Zip button. Using your native archive utility, extract the part file to the Sawcover folder. When you have downloaded the part file and saved it in the folder, click Next to go to Initializing the Electrode Project

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Initializing the Electrode Design Project You initialize an Electrode Design project by setting the project name, units, and part material. For more information, see the Initialize Project Overview. This section takes you step-by-step through the procedures you need to start a new project. In NX, choose File→Open and navigate to the Sawcover folder you created in Downloading the Sample Part. Open the Sawcover folder, select saw_cover_cavity_011 and click OK.

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Tutorial Sample Model: saw_cover_cavity_011 To start Electrode Design, on the NX menu, choose Start→All Applications→Electrode Design. The Electrode Design toolbar is displayed. For a detailed description of the displayed toolbar, see Electrode Design toolbar . Step Step Step Step

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Launch the Project Initialization Process Create the Machine Setting Establish the Working Coordinate System (WCS) Link the Working Objects

Step 1. Launch the Project Initialization Process On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Initialize Electrode Project

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The Electrode Project Initialize dialog is displayed. In the dialog image, the icons that you will choose in the initialization process are arranged in progressive order from left to right, from Step 1 through Step 4. Perform the tasks in this order. Do not skip any steps. For a detailed description of fields and icons on the dialog, click the dialog image. On the Electrode Project Initialize dialog, do the following: 

In the Project Path field, enter an absolute path to a folder on your local machine or network server to store the project data. For example

C:\Electrode_Tutorial 

In the Project Name field, enter a name for the project. For example:

1000 Choose New Project

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Electrode Design automatically saves the part into an assembly with a link to the product model. You can verify this in the NX Assembly Navigator :

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Assembly View in Assembly Navigator  In NX, choose Format→Layer Settings. On the Layer Settings dialog, make Layer 8 selectable and click OK.

Step 2. Create the Machine Setting The Machine Setting, or MSET, is the assembly that contains the machined part, machining origin, electrode working part, blank parts, and the holder components. You can create multiple MSETs for a single project, allowing different designers to work on the project concurrently from within their own MSET. On the Electrode Project Initialize dialog, choose New Setting

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On the dialog, verify that the MSET name you defined appears in the information window. For example, if you named your project 1000 in Step 1, you will see:

1000_mset_001

Single MSET in Initialize Dialog Electrode Design automatically creates a subassembly. You can verify the subassembly composition in the Assembly Navigator  :

Assembly View with MSET in Assembly Navigator 

Step 3. Establish the Working Coordinate System (WCS) 10

In this step, you create the working coordinate system for the electrode. You use the MSET WCS to define the coordinates for EDM machining and the electrode assembly drawings. In NX, make sure that Layer 8 is still selectable. On the NX menu, choose Format→WCS→Rotate. On the Rotate WCS about... dialog, select —YC axis: XC→ZC. In the Angle field, enter 180.000 and click OK. This sets the WCS to the orientation you need for creating sparking heads within the cavity. The ZC-axis must correspond to the Z-axis of the EDM. On the Electrode Project Initialize dialog, choose Edit Origin Point and WCS

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On the choice box, choose the Face Center  method.

Choosing the WCS Origin Method In the graphics window, rotate the part so the bottom (base) of the cavity is on top. Select the bottom face.

On the Selection Filters toolbar, click OK

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This defines a project CSYS element at the specified origin, which is oriented the same as the WCS.

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Tutorial Project Coordinate System

Defining Manufacturing Geometry Attributes Overview Before you begin creating the electrode object, you specify the method for downstream manufacturing. This tutorial will focus on two areas on the cavity where you will add the attributes for downstream machining of the electrode. For more information, see Manufacturing Geometry Overview.

Manufacturing Geometry Overview Overview How To Options Related Topics

Use Manufacturing Geometry to add CAM attributes to electrodes for downstream tooling of the core/cavity area.EDM, WEDM, Hard Milling, and Grinding operations can be identified with attributes. 

Electrical Discharge Machining (the EDM option) uses thermal energy from a precisely controlled spark to vaporize metals. The scope of this process can range from drilling holes smaller than a human hair to machining large industrial dies. 12

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Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (the WEDM option) vaporizes material using a wire burning longitudinally through the material. This technique is often used to cut punches and dies and to shape pockets.

  The Hard Milling option allows you to assign attributes for conventional CNC tooling operations where successive passes are executed to mill the cavity to a specified depth.

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  The Grinding option allows you to assign attributes for conventional grinding operations.

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Step 1. Specify the Regions for EDM In this step, you will remove extraneous regions, and specify the regions you want to keep for further processing. The dialog information window will show a list of nodes. These are the nodes you want to keep. You will delete the rest. On the Manufacturing Geometry dialog, press and hold the CTRL key on your computer keyboard and carefully select all the electrode nodes except for two; the nodes with 54 and 16 components respectively. When the unwanted nodes are selected, the dialog should look like this:

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Manufacturing Geometry Nodes to be Deleted Press the Delete key. Only nodes 02 and 04 remain on the list. These are the cavity areas to be burned by electrodes. Select the remaining nodes and click Apply. Rotate the part to optimize your view of the remaining sparking areas. On the Manufacturing Geometry dialog, move the Translucency slider to fade the surrounding geometry.

The working cavity areas should like this: 14

Sparking Areas with EDM Attributes Close the Manufacturing Geometry dialog. To continue, click the Next button.

Creating Sparking Heads This procedure consists of two tasks that result in discrete sparking (burn) areas, using different tools and techniques. The first task creates a sparking head that burns material away from the cavity to create a row of stubs. The stubs in the cavity will create a row of ventilation slots in the saw cover.

The second task creates a sparking area that burns away three small rib shapes situated adjacent to the slot area. These areas are too small for traditional hard milling.

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Sparking Area 1: Slots

Sparking Area 2: Ribs

 A finished electrode assembly in a cavity m odel will look similar to th is:

Sparking Heads in Transparent Cavity . 16

Step 1. Create the Slot Stub Sparking Head Step 2. Create the Rib Sparking Heads

Step 1. Create the Slot Stub Sparking Head In this task, you create an electrode sparking area that burns away surrounding material, leaving a row of stubs that mold the cooling slots on the saw cover. On the Electrode Design toolbar, click Trim Solid

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The Trim Solid dialog is displayed. On the Trim Solid dialog, choose Face, Manual, and Subtract.  Adjust the display to maximize your view of the floor and stubs. Select the floor surface that lies under the stubs.

Select the Floor Surface

On the Trim Solid dialog, select the Convex option, and set the search level to 2. 17

One at a time, select any flat side on slot stubs 1 through 9.

Select the Slot Stub Geometry

On the Trim Solid dialog, choose Create Bounding Box

On the same dialog, choose Edit Bounding Box

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Press F3 to clear the dynamic input fields from the display. To size the sparking head, drag the X and Y arrow handles in the -X and -Y directions as shown.

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Modify the Floor Size

Stop when it looks like the face offsets are approximately -3 mm in the Y direction and -38 mm in the X direction. This balances the electrode design by placing the slots in the center. Drag the vertical arrow upward until it clears the edge of the cavity, approximately 44 mm offset in the Z direction.

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Dynamically Extrude the Electrode

Press F3 again to restore the dynamic input fields to check your offset values. To refine the offset values, select the X , Y, and Zinput fields and key in the correct values. Make sure you press Enter after each instance. Click OK and Apply.

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Step 2. Create the Rib Sparking Heads In this step, you create three sparking heads that burn cavities for support ribs on the saw cover. The ribs are in a complex area of the end piece so three heads are required; however, there will be only one blank and holder for the set. This step consists of three interrelated tasks. First, you create a complete, standalone sparking head in an end-to-end procedure. Then, as you create the second and third sparking heads, you will use the Replace Solid tool to capture the parameters of the preceding head and pass them on to subsequent heads. You will use this parameter inheritance feature to ensure that all three heads are identically configured.

Prepare the Electrode Design Environment Blank the slot electrode. Rotate the part to optimize your view of the rib geometry, as shown, then zoom in on the sparking area.

Optimizize the View of the Sparking Area

To continue, click the Next button.

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Finished Slot Stub Sparking Head Blank the parent cavity model. Rotate the part to optimize your view of the electrode head for burning the slot stubs.

Slotted Sparking Head Unblank the cavity model. To continue, click the Next button.

Task 1. Create the Initial Rib Sp arking Head 22

In this task, you will create the first of three sparking heads that are similarly configured in size and shape. You will export the parameters of the initial sparking head to configure the second, then repeat the procedure to create and configure the last sparking head in the set. On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Replace Solid . The Replace Solid dialog appears. In the graphics window, select the rib face that is furthest to the left on the end piece region, as shown.

Select Rib 1 Face 1

Rotate the part to optimize your view of the opposite face of the rib cavity. Select the second rib face as shown.

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Select Rib 1 Face 2

On the Replace Solid dialog, turn off the Bounding Box Face option. Select the floor of the rib cavity in between the faces as shown.

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Select Rib 1 Face 3

The initial sparking head outline appears in the rib cavity. On the Replace Solid dialog, choose Edit Bounding Box. The Create Box dialog appears. Press F3 to clear the dynamic input fields from the display. To size the sparking head, drag the X and Y arrow handles 2mm  in the positive direction, and the Z  arrow handle approximately 20mm  in the positive direction as shown in the image and the demonstration movie. Stop when you think the offsets are +2  mm in both the XY  directions. If theX or  Y  face offsets are greater than +2, it may cause an interference condition in the downstream validation procedure.

Size the Sparking Head

Press F3 again to restore the dynamic input fields to check your offset values. To refine the offset values, select the X and  Y  input fields and key in the correct values.

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Make sure you press Enter after each instance. On the Create Box dialog, click OK. The Replace Solid dialog reappears. On the Replace Solid dialog, click OK.

Task 2. Create Sparking Head Two In this task, you will use Replace Solid to export the parameters of the initial sparking head to the second sparking head. Do not rotate the part until you have selected the first face in the procedure. On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Replace Solid

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Rotating the part as necessary, select the opposing faces and the floor of the second rib cavity, as shown.

Select Faces and Floor on Rib Cavity 2

The sparking head appears in the rib cavity. Rotate the part as necessary to allow selection of the faces on the first sparking head. On the Replace Solid dialog, turn off the Bounding Box Face and Replace Reverse Face options. This action may cause the electrode to over-burn. You will verify this later when you validate the electrodes.

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To export the parameters of the first sparking head to the second, do the following on the first sparking head : 

Select the top face.

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Select the near (front) vertical face.

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Select the far (back) vertical face.

Select Top and Side Faces to Export the Size Parameters

On the Replace Solid dialog, click OK.

Finished Sparking Head 2 This second sparking head inherits the size parameters of the first sparking head. 27

Task 3. Create Sparking Head Three In this task, you n use Replace Solid again to create and configure the third and final sparking head. This task is the same as Task 2, except for the location of the cavity faces.

Create the Sparking Head To create and configure the third sparking head, follow the instructions in Task 2. Create Sparking Head 2 .

Review the Results When you have completed the third sparking head, take a look at all three heads in context. In NX, choose Edit→Object Display. Select the part body and click OK. On the Edit Object Display, choose Apply to all faces. Move the translucency slider until you reach 75%. The sparking heads should look like this:

Finished Set of Sparking Heads Reset the translucency to 0.

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Designing Blanks In this task, you add blanks to the rib and slot electrode heads. Start with the rib electrodes. On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Blank Design

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On the Blank Design dialog, the following options should be active:

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Create/Reposition Electrode Blank, Add Head(s)

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Select Head(s)

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Unite Head and Blank

These options are the initial defaults. One at a time, select the top face of each of the rib electrode heads.

Select the Top Faces of the Rib Electrode Heads On the Blank Design dialog, choose OK. Electrode Design automatically generates a common blank for the three rib electrodes.

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Generated Blank In NX, choose Edit→Object Display. Select the part body and on the Class Selection dialog, choose OK. On the Edit Object Display dialog, move the slider until you reach 75% transparency. The electrode and blank should look like this:

Rib Electrode Detail On the Edit Object Display dialog, reset the translucency value to 0.

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Blank the rib electrode and repeat the Designing Blanks procedure to add a blank to the slot electrode.

Slot Electrode Detail

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Validating Electrodes This section takes you step-by-step through the procedures to validate that your electrodes are free of interferences and other errors. For more information, see Electrode Checking Overview. In this task, you evaluate the slot stub electrode for interferences and touch instances. Unblank the rib electrode. On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Electrode Checking. The Electrode Checking dialog appears. On the Electrode Checking dialog, choose Select Product

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In the graphics window, select the parent cavity model.

On the Electrode Checking dialog, choose Select Electrode

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In the graphics window, select both electrodes. On the Electrode Checking dialog, choose Touch Area Calculation. Turn off the Create Touch Sheet Body option.

Click Apply. In the graphics window, Electrode Design highlights the location of any touch or interference instances, automatically generates a detailed report, and displayed it in the Information window.

Depending on how you created your electrodes, the report may contain descriptions of touch points, interferences, or both. The report shows you the status of these instances and the orientation and location of the electrode relative to the MSET CSYS. For touch status, the report describes the touch area, the projection area to the WCS, and the depth of the sparking area. Electrode Design saves the validation report data and stores it in the electrode assembly as part attributes. To get a better view of the error, on the Electrode Checking dialog, move the translucency slider to make the surrounding geometry transparent. Use the Electrode Design tools to correct any interferences and rerun Electrode Checking.

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Adding a Holder In this procedure, you add an electrode holder from the default holder library to the slot electrode assembly. The holder library can contain any number of standard and user-defined electrode holders. Blank the rib electrode assembly.

On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Blank Design

On the Blank Design dialog, choose Add Holder 

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The Blank Design dialog switches to the holder selection panel. . In the graphics window, select the top face of the slot electrode blank. On the Blank Design dialog, select the ER009222 holder from the list. Click Apply. The holder appears on the blank.

Holder Added to Slot Electrode Assembly Repeat this procedure to add a holder to the rib electrode blank. To continue, click the Next button.

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Generating Engineering Drawings In this task you use Electrode Drafting to create 2D drawings from the 3D electrode assembly. The Electrode Drafting function allows you to use predefined templates to generate multi-view assembly drawings. On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Electrode Drawing

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Open the Assembly Navigator , and select the assembly components that you want to use in the drawing output.

Components in Assembly Navigator  You can also select the components in the graphics window. The component information is added to the Electrode Drafting dialog.

Selected Components On the Electrode Drafting dialog, to build the Component List, select the assembly parts that you want to see in the 2D drawing output.

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Use the arrow buttons to add assembly parts to the Machined Components list. To modify the Machined Components list: 

In the Excluded Components list, use the arrow buttons to add or remove components.

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In the Optional Components list, use the arrow buttons to add or remove components.

Edit the plot frame to update the attribute table, if necessary. When the list is the way you want it, click OK or Apply. The Electrode Drawing output is generated and displayed.

Use NX Drafting to automatically add dimensions to the drawing.

Generating a Bill of Materials In this final task, you generate a bill of materials from the electrode assembly. The BOM function generates reports on the parts listed in the template file, the electrode positions, sparking settings, electrode sizes, and the parameters and attributes that were applied to the assembly components during the design process. The BOM is automatically created from the contents of the assembly in the MSET. Electrode BOM heavily leverages a shared NX Tooling BOM facility. For more information, see the Electrode Design Bill of Materials (BOM) Overview. This overview provides a brief introduction to the Electrode BOM function and a link to the Mold Wizard BOM help which thoroughly documents the NX Tooling BOM application. Make 1000_top_000 the displayed part.

On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Electrode Bill of Materials

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In the Assembly Navigator , select one of the block_blank components for the BOM report.

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Assembly Navigator Component Selection Click Apply. The BOM is displayed in the information window on the BOM Record of Edit dialog. In addition to the component list, the BOM displays the parameters and attributes, such as material, catalog, and part name, that were automatically or manually applied during the design process.

Choose the desired dialog options to manipulate the BOM information. When you complete this task, you have finished the  Electrode Design tutorial. . Generating

a Bill of Materials

In this final task, you generate a bill of materials from the electrode assembly. The BOM function generates reports on the parts listed in the template file, the electrode positions, sparking settings, electrode sizes, and the parameters and attributes that were applied to the assembly components during the design process. The BOM is automatically created from the contents of the assembly in the MSET. Electrode BOM heavily leverages a shared NX Tooling BOM facility. For more information, see the Electrode Design Bill of Materials (BOM) Overview. This overview provides a brief introduction to the Electrode BOM function and a link to the Mold Wizard BOM help which thoroughly documents the NX Tooling BOM application. Make 1000_top_000 the displayed part.

On the Electrode Design toolbar, choose Electrode Bill of Materials

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In the Assembly Navigator , select one of the block_blank components for the BOM report.

Assembly Navigator Component Selection Click Apply. The BOM is displayed in the information window on the BOM Record of Edit dialog. In addition to the component list, the BOM displays the parameters and attributes, such as material, catalog, and part name, that were automatically or manually applied during the design process.

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Choose the desired dialog options to manipulate the BOM information. When you complete this task, you have finished the  Electrode Design tutorial.

Supplemental Case Studies These case studies are designed to let you experience a variety of way to create sparking heads using the powerful solid modeling tools provided by Electrode Design. The tutorial tasks are described and visualized in the following table. If you want to know more, to access direct links to the individual tasks, click here.

Case Workpiece Study

Commands

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Create Box

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Create a simple box and modify Create Box the angle relative to the workpiece

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workpiece_1.prt

Expected Results

Create and edit a simple box.

Create a Create Box sparking head by using Trim Trim Solid Solid to trim an existing box.

Reference Blend 4

Description

Extend Solid Trim Solid Electrode Checking

Create and validate a sparking head using multiple Electrode Design commands.

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Trim Solid

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Take a detailed look at how the Trim Solid→Subtract option works.

workpiece_2.prt Use helper geometry for complex trimming operations. Trim Solid Extrude

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Trim Body

workpiece_4.prt

The Extrude and Trim Body commands require an NX Modeling license.

To continue, click the Next button.

Direct Links to Case Studies se Study 1. Create and Edit a Box Case Study 2. Create a Box With a Modified Z-vector  Case Study 3. Create a Box, Trim with Trim Solid Case Study 4. Use Electrode Design Tools Case Study 5. Use Trim Solid with the Subtract Option Case Study 6. Use Helper Geometry to Trim the Sparking Head

Electrode Design Attributes Electrode Design attributes are described in the following table: Attribute Name

Description

Location

EW_TOP

Electrode top part ID

Top part

EW_MSET

Electrode MSET component ID

Each MSET component

EWSET_ELE_LEVEL

Maximum Z level of the working part. May be used for machine level setting

Each MSET component 38