{"id":51366,"date":"2023-01-04T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/?p=51366"},"modified":"2022-12-30T15:16:38","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T20:16:38","slug":"new-year-new-and-improved-molds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/2023\/01\/new-year-new-and-improved-molds.html","title":{"rendered":"New Year, New and Improved Molds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy New Year! It\u2019s that time when we start off the year with New Year\u2019s resolutions. You know when we plan to mold ourselves into the best version of ourselves or get into shape or whatever.<\/p>\n

And speaking of molding, one power tool that\u2019s going to help you meet your goals (at work) is 3D Mold Creator<\/a>, our browser-based role for the creation of mold core, cavity and inserts. Here at SOLIDWORKS we want to continue to help you be as productive as possible in the new year so I want to share with you my top five favorite features so that you can start taking advantage of them in the new year if you\u2019re not already.<\/p>\n

The latest iteration of 3D Mold Creator features a number of tools and enhancements that automate tasks and speed up your component and assembly designs.<\/p>\n

Here are my top five features:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0Create Assembly from Sets<\/strong> \u2013 speed up your mold component and assembly designs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Create Assembly from Sets command in the Assembly toolbar enables you to create an entire mold assembly from sets. You can also customize the mold assembly and component names as well as select the Collaborative Space you want to save it in from the Create Assembly from Sets toolbox.<\/p>\n

    I think you\u2019ll find It really comes in handy when making assembly and mold components, such as core, cavity and side actions.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    The new Create Assembly from Sets command streamlines the process of making an assembly and mold components.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u00a0Visualize Material Volume Trapped by Undercuts<\/strong> \u2013 validate manufacturability faster and more accurately.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The latest enhancement for undercut analysis enables you to detect the volume of material that would be trapped by an undercut. Simply define the pull direction for the mold and all undercut volumes will be created automatically.<\/p>\n

      This enables you to easily validate manufacturability of plastic and cast part designs faster and more accurately.<\/p>\n

      \"\"
      Validate the manufacturability of plastic and cast part designs faster and more accurately through improved undercut detection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Perform Thickness Analysis<\/strong> \u2013 ensure parts are the proper thickness and prevent sink marks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        For plastic parts you typically want a consistent material thickness, because a plastic part that is too thick will shrink and create a divot as the part cools down during manufacturing. The new Thickness Check tool lets you perform two methods of analysis to prevent these kinds of issues: 1) the rolling ball method, called Sphere<\/em>, or 2) normal distance between faces check, called Ray<\/em>.<\/p>\n

        Prevent sink marks, evaluate structural design integrity, and validate a part\u2019s capacity to fill properly with this new tool. Also, you can manually check thicknesses at specific locations by clicking on an area. Color coding enables you to easily see areas of the model that are too thick or thin.<\/p>\n

        \"\"
        Ensure parts are the proper thickness and prevent sink marks with the Thickness Check tool.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. \u00a0Parting Surface Automatic Merge of Inside Corners<\/strong>\u2013 save time with better handling of self-intersections.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Handle inside corners more easily when creating a parting surface for your mold designs with self-intersections that automatically merge to create a smoother, more continuous surface.<\/p>\n

          This enhancement not only speeds up parting surface creation but makes your molds easier to manufacture. The manufacturing team will thank you!<\/p>\n

          \"\"
          Create molds faster with improved handling of self-intersections during parting surface creation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \u00a0Parting Surface Extension Direction Control <\/strong>\u2013 save time with less manual work on parting surfaces.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            My number-one favorite feature is the ability to use the new \u201cManual direction control\u201d option, giving you more control than ever of your parting surfaces. You can use it to control the parting surface extension direction relative to a coordinate system or smooth rough areas in your parting surface by automatically blending between adjacent faces. Plus, you can control parting surface extension direction relative to model geometry such as planes and sketch curves.<\/p>\n

            This option adds an extra level of control, enabling you to override the alignment for any seam edge along a parting surface or when you get undesired results, such as intersecting or unmachinable parts.<\/p>\n

            The end result is faster creation of the final part surface with less manual surface work, and molds that are better quality and easier to machine.<\/p>\n

            \"\"
            The \u201cManual direction control\u201d option provides more flexibility when creating a parting surface with less manual work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

             <\/p>\n

            That sums up my top five features. Let\u2019s not forget 3D Mold Creator runs on the cloud-based 3D<\/strong>EXPERIENCE platform, giving you built-in data management capabilities that I hope you are also taking advantage of.<\/p>\n

            While 3D Mold Creator has you covered in the mold department, you\u2019re on your own with your resolutions. However, I wish you the best in both areas. Happy New Year, and happy molding!<\/p>\n

            What are your favorite capabilities or tips? Share your insight in the Comment section. And tell us what else you\u2019d like to see in future releases of select software, such as 3D<\/strong>EXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS or 3D Creator by submitting your ideas to the Top Ten List<\/a> of requests, now open for submissions.<\/p>\n

            Learn more about 3D Mold Creator at www.solidworks.com\/product\/3d-mold-creator<\/a>. And look out for sessions on 3DEXPERIENCE Works<\/a> browser-based roles at the upcoming 3D<\/strong>EXPERIENCE World, annual user event, taking place in Nashville, TN, February 12-15, 2023. Check out the list of sessions and register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            While you are making those new year’s resolutions, add making better molds to your list. These top five features in 3D Mold Creator will help you make better quality, easier to manufacture molds.<\/p>\n... Continued<\/a>","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":51361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2933,3285,18],"tags":[3889,4033,4034,4035,4036],"class_list":["post-51366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3dexperience","category-3dexperienceworks","category-solidworks","tag-3d-mold-creator","tag-browser-based-role-for-the-creation-of-mold-core","tag-cavity-and-inserts","tag-create-assembly-from-sets","tag-parting-surface-extension-direction-control"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51366"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51369,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51366\/revisions\/51369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}