What's New in PowerSHAPE2014

PowerSHAPE 2014
What's New
PowerSHAPE
Copyright 1982 - 2013 Delcam plc. All rights reserved. Delcam plc has no control over the use made of the software described in this manual and cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage howsoever caused as a result of using the software. Users are advised that all the results from the software should be checked by a competent person, in accordance with good quality control procedures. The functionality and user interface in this manual is subject to change without notice in future revisions of software. The software described in this manual is furnished under licence agreement and may be used or copied solely in accordance with the terms of such licence. Delcam plc grants permission for licensed users to print copies of this manual or portions of this manual for personal use only. Schools, colleges and universities that are licensed to use the software may make copies of this manual or portions of this manual for students currently registered for classes where the software is used. Acknowledgements This documentation references a number of registered trademarks and these are the property of their respective owners. For example, Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States. Patent Information Emboss functionality is subject to patent number GB 2389764 and patent applications US 10/174524 and GB 2410351. Morphing functionality is subject to patent application GB 2401213.
PowerSHAPE 2014. Published on 03 June 2013
Contents
What's New in PowerSHAPE 2014 1
User interface ..................................................................................................... 1 Toolbars ..................................................................................................... 1 Dialogs ....................................................................................................... 4 General editing ................................................................................................... 5 Cloud modelling .................................................................................................. 7 Filtering points on import ............................................................................ 8 Selecting points in a cloud .......................................................................... 8 Filtering points in a selected cloud ............................................................. 9 Generating a curve from a selected cloud ................................................ 10 Mesh modelling ................................................................................................. 13 Wireframe modelling ......................................................................................... 14 Direct modelling ................................................................................................ 16 Smart Feature Manager ........................................................................... 16 Surface modelling ............................................................................................. 27 Solid modelling ................................................................................................. 28 Solid Cavity/Core Separation ................................................................... 30 Solid fillets ................................................................................................ 38 Solid chamfers .......................................................................................... 43 Extrude regions ........................................................................................ 44 Divide solid ............................................................................................... 50 Delcam Draft ..................................................................................................... 53 Drawing properties ................................................................................... 54 Delcam Electrode ............................................................................................. 59 Vector burn electrodes ............................................................................. 61 Electrode holders - substitution strings ..................................................... 62 Electrode frames ...................................................................................... 63 Delcam Toolmaker ............................................................................................ 65 Component Wizard................................................................................... 65 Running macros from Toolmaker wizards ................................................ 66 Other changes .................................................................................................. 66 Type of a macro variable or expression.................................................... 67
Index
69
PowerSHAPE 2014 What's New
Contents i
What's New in PowerSHAPE 2014
Major changes included in PowerSHAPE 2014 are: Smart Feature Manager. (see page 16) Solid Core/Cavity Separation functionality (see page 30). New options for specifying the cross-section of fillets as circular, parabolic or curvature continuous (see page 38). Updates to Electrode Design Wizard to support vertical base vector burn (see page 61). Additional selection methods on the Cloud editing toolbar (see page 8). Improved creation and editing of drawing properties (see page 54).
User interface
Changes have been made to the interface in PowerSHAPE 2014: Toolbars (see page 1) Dialogs (see page 4)
Toolbars
The following changes have been made to toolbars in PowerSHAPE 2014:
The Smart Feature Manager button has been added to the Feature toolbar (see page 16).
New Solid Core/Cavity Separation functionality has been added to the Wizards toolbar (see page 30).
For clarity, the existing core/cavity button has been renamed Surface core/cavity separation. You can now click the right mouse button to create a composite curve instead of pressing the record button on the composite curve creation toolbar (see page 14). When you click the Spline curve button (Curve edit toolbar), the Spline curve dialog is now displayed (see page 14), even if the current selection of curve points is not correct. Use the new Generate curve button (Cloud toolbar) to generate a curve from a selected cloud using the Curve Generation dialog (see page 10).
2 What's New in PowerSHAPE 2014
Use the new Filter points button on the Cloud editing toolbar to filter points by distance (see page 9). Cloud selection flyout has been added to the Cloud editing toolbar (see page 8).
Use the following buttons to select clouds: Box select button. The button has been updated in PowerSHAPE 2014. Continuous lasso. Click a point and drag the cursor to define the lasso. Discrete lasso. Click points to specify the segments in the lasso. Click the start point to create a closed curve. Use the new Extrude Regions button (Solid creation toolbar) to extrude selected nested wireframe items to form regions (see page 44).
Use the new Divide solid button on the Solid Edit toolbar to divide a disjoint solid into separate solids (see page 50).
Dialogs
The following changes and additional have been made to dialogs in PowerSHAPE 2014: Use the new Smart Feature Manager wizard to: Detect all features in a solid (see page 19). Detect all instances of a particular type of feature (see page 22). Detect features in a solid with specified dimensions (see page 23) Click Preview on the Fillet Surface dialog to see the fillet path (see page 27). Use the new Boundaries button on the Nesting dialog to select boundaries for editing (see page 5). You can use the new Filter points as they are acquired option on the Tools > Options > General > Arm dialog to filter points during scanning (see page 8). Cloud selection information is now displayed in the Selection Information dialog (see page 7). Mesh selection information is now displayed in the Selection Information dialog (see page 13). Use the new To number of triangles option on the Reduce mesh dialog to reduce a mesh to a target number of triangles (see page 13). Use the Detailed Information button on the Selection Information dialog (see page 28) to display the names of the currently selected solid faces and features when a single solid is selected. Use the Constant width option on the Fillet dialog to create a constant width for a fille (see page 38)t. The actual radius of the fillet varies to maintain the constant size. You can now choose from different cross-section shapes when creating fillets (see page 38): Circular. Parabolic. Curvature continuous. Use the Constant width option on the Chamfer dialog to create a constant width for a chamfer (see page 43). Previous and Next Solution buttons have been added to the following dialogs: Solid Draft Faces
Solid Replace Faces Use the new Text Substitution dialog to manage, add and edit drawing template properties (see page 55). Electrode drafting template properties can be managed using the new Electrode tab on the Properties dialog (see page 57). Vertical base vector burn is now supported for pre-modelled electrodes. Use the new Vector Burn page (see page 61) to select the type of vector burn to use. Additional support has been included for spark gaps on the Electrode General Options page (see page 59). You can now: define the workpiece material. choose the spark gap data set (AGIE, OPS-Ingersoll and Zimmer & Kreim).
General editing
There is a new Boundaries button on the Nesting dialog. For an item with multiple boundaries, clicking this button selects: which boundary is used as the outline of the part for nesting purposes. which are simply transformed along with the part. Nesting boundaries example The part to be nested on the sheet consists of of two concentric circles. 1 Select the sheet and click Add sheet. 2 Select the concentric circles and click Add as a single part.
3 Enter 10 as the Maximum quatity to be nested.
4 Click Apply to nest the parts.
5 Click
6 Click the outer boundary. The boundary turns red, to show that it will not be used when nesting.
7 Click on the Nesting toolbar to leave nesting boundary editing mode. The options on the dialog become active.
8 Click Apply. The parts are re-nested, using the inner circle as the boundary.
Cloud modelling
The following changes have been made to the cloud modelling functionality in PowerSHAPE 2014: Selecting points in a cloud has been updated (see page 8). You can now: filter points on import (see page 8). filter points in a selected cloud (see page 9). generate a curve from a selected cloud (see page 10). Cloud selection information is now displayed in the Selection Information dialog.
Filtering points on import

Use the new Filter points as they are acquired option on the Tools > Options > General > Arm dialog to filter points during scanning.
1 Select Filter points as they are acquired. 2 Enter a value for Distance between points. This distance is used to remove points that lie within a specified distance of another point. The distance is specified in the units that are defined in Tools > Options> General > Units and Tolerances.
Selecting points in a cloud

Use the Cloud selection flyout (Cloud toolbar) to select areas of a cloud.
Box select. This button has been updated in PowerSHAPE 2014; the method of using box selection is unchanged. Discrete lasso. 1 Click .
2 Click points to specify the segments in the lasso. 3 Click the start point to create a closed curve.
Continuous lasso. 1 Click .
2 Click a point and drag the cursor to define the lasso.
Filtering points in a selected cloud

Use the new Filter points button on the Cloud editing toolbar to filter points in the selected cloud.
1 Select one or more clouds. 2 Click to display the Filter points by distance dialog.
The number of clouds and number of points in the selected clouds is displayed. 3 Enter the Distance between points. After filtering, no point will lie within this distance of any other point.
Generating a curve from a selected cloud

Use the Generate curve button (Cloud toolbar) to generate a curve from a selected cloud using the Curve Generation dialog.
1 Select the cloud 2 Click . The Generate curve dialog is displayed, together with a curve that conforms to the default curve creation values.
The points in the cloud are assumed to be 'in order'; if the cloud was imported, the first point will be the start of the curve and the last point will be the end of the curve.
3 Use the sliders on the Generate curve dialog to create the required curve.
For each slider option, the following values are displayed: minimum value maximum value current value . . .
Use a combination of the sliders to create a smooth curve to represent the cloud: Use the Sample size slider to control the number of points to sample to create a smoother approximation of the cloud for the curve. The minimum value is 1.
Use the Tolerance slider to specify the maximum distance allowed from any given point in the cloud to the closest part of the curve. The minimum value is 0.
4 Create a closed curve from an open curve by selecting the Closed curve option.
The following options are available when Closed curve is selected:
Select Hold ends to start and end the curve at exactly at the start and end points of the cloud. Select Use all smoothed points to use smaller samples at the start and end of a curve, in cases where less points are availible.
Mesh modelling
The following changes have been made to mesh modelling in PowerSHAPE 2014: The Reduce mesh dialog has been updated. Use the To number of triangles option target number of triangles as follows: to reduce a mesh to a
Enter the target number of triangles; this is the maximum number of triangles in the resulting mesh. Previously you could only reduce the number of triangles to a percentage of the original or by entering a tolerance Click Apply to reduce the number of triangles in the mesh. The dialog continues to be displayed; you can change the values in the dialog to reduce the number of triangle again. Click Cancel to close the dialog.
Mesh selection information is now displayed in the Selection Information.
Wireframe modelling
Changes have been made to the following areas of wireframe modelling: You can now change the selection while Limit Cut toolbar is displayed. Creating a spline curve When you click the Spline curve button (Curve edit toolbar), the Spline curve dialog is now displayed, even if the current selection of curve points is not correct. You can then: select different curve points using the Select Point dialog. use the mouse to select curve points. In addition, Apply has been added to the Spline curve dialog. Composite curve creation You can use to save a composite curve and close the composite curve toolbar: 1 Select (Curve toolbar). The Create Composite Curve toolbar is displayed. 2 Select the segments of the wireframe to be included in the normal way. 3 instead of clicking to Save the composite curve.
4 Click Variables
to close the Composite curve toolbar.
The following variables have been added in PowerSHAPE 2014: CURVE.SELECTED.POINTS Returns the number of currently selected points on a wireframe curve (an INT). COMPCURVE.SELECTED.POINTS Returns the number of currently selected points on a wireframe composite curve (an INT).
Direct modelling
The Smart Feature Manager has been added to PowerSHAPE 2014. 1 Ensure that you have an active solid. 2 Click (Feature toolbar) to display the Smart Feature Manager (see page 16).
3 Use the Smart Feature Manager to: recognise multiple features on history-free imported geometry. recognise holes, cuts, bosses, pockets, protrusions and fillets. recognise features-based on a search criteria; for example all the holes between 5 and 10mm diameter. add the features into the solid tree.
Smart Feature Manager

Use the Smart Feature Manager dialog to recognise features in a solid that has no history. Use the dialog to: Detect all features in a solid (see page 19). Detect all features in a solid with specified dimensions (see page 23) Detect all instances of a particular type of feature (see page 22). The dialog lets you complete the following steps: 1 Select the feature type. 2 Set the selection criteria for the selected feature types.
3 Detect the features in the solid that satisfy the type and selection criteria. 4 Add the features to the solid feature tree.
Feature type Use this section of the dialog to select the feature types to be detected. Select one or more types from the Feature Type panel . Appropriate options are displayed in the Selection Criteria panel . For Hole, the following Selection Criteria that are available: Depth Diameter Check though
Click Invert to select all the currently selected types and deselect all the types that are currently selected.
Click All to select all feature types in the list.
Move the cursor over the solid. As the cursor moves over an instance of the selected feature type, a label is displayed.
Selection Criteria If you select a single type of feature from the Feature Type list, the corresponding Type is selected automatically from the dropdown list. If you have selected multiple features from the Feature Type list, All selected is displayed as the Type and no dimension selection options are displayed. When you have multiple feature types selected, you can set the dimension selection criteria for each type as follows: 1 Select the required feature type from the Type drop-down list. 2 Select additional selection criteria for the selected feature type. 3 Select another feature type and enter the dimensions. Click to reset all selection criteria that you have entered.
Detecting features When you have selected the required feature types and entered the dimensions for each: 1 Click Scan to detect the features on the model that match the criteria. 2 Click to display the Scan and Apply Results dialog. This gives details of the features that have been recognised. Adding features to the feature tree Add the detected features to the feature tree by clicking one of the following buttons: Apply Adds the features to the feature tree and continues to display the Smart Feature Manager dialog. This lets you continue to specify criteria and detect other features for addition to the feature tree. When you have finished detecting features and adding them to the feature tree, click Cancel to close the dialog without saving unapplied changes. OK Adds the features to the feature tree and closes the dialog.
Detecting all features in a solid

Use Smart Feature Manager to detect: all features in a solid, without specifying any additional selection criteria.
all features in a solid, where dimensions are specified for each feature type. Detecting all features in a solid Use the following steps to detect all types and sizes of feature in a solid: 1 Ensure that you have an active solid.
2 Click dialog;
(Feature toolbar) to display the Smart Feature Manager
3 Click All to select all the feature types.
4 Click Scan. The number of each type of feature is displayed in the dialog.
5 Click OK to add the features to the feature tree and close the dialog. 6 Select Group All from the Solid popup menu.
The tree is updated to show the grouped features:
You can use Rewind (Feature popup menu) to rewind the history to any point
Detecting all instances of a single type of feature

You can use the Smart Feature Manager to detect all instances of a single type of feature, The following example detects all instances of fillets. 1 Ensure that you have an active solid.
2 Click dialog.
3 Select Fillet as the Feature Type. 4 Click Scan. The number of fillets is displayed in the dialog.
The fillets are highlighted on the model.
5 Click OK to add the fillets to the feature tree and close the dialog.
Detecting features in a solid with specified dimensions

You can use the Smart Feature Manager to detect all features, with dimensions specified for each feature type. The following example detects all plain holes that have a depth >20 and all protrusions that have a height >10. You can also set search criteria by selecting a feature (see page 26). 1 Ensure that you have an active solid.
2 Click dialog.
3 Select Hole as the Feature Type and then select Plain Hole from the Type drop-down list. 4 Select the Depth option, enter a value of 20 and select the drop-down list. from
5 Select Protrusion as the Feature Type and then select Protrusion from the Type drop-down list. 6 Select the Height option, enter a value of 10 and select the drop-down list. from
7 Select All selected from the Type drop-down list. 8 Click Scan. The number of each type of feature that satisfy the criteria is displayed in the dialog.
The features are highlighted on the model.
9 Click OK to add the features to the feature tree and close the dialog. 10 Select Group All from the Solid popup menu.
The tree is updated to show the grouped features:
It is important to remember that although you can specify the criteria for more than one type of feature, you must choose All Selected from the drop down before you click Scan.
Setting search criteria by selecting a feature

You can set search criteria by selecting a feature on the model. This lets you search for all similar features even if you don't know their size. 1 Ensure that you have an active solid.
2 Click dialog;
3 Select the Feature Type you want to detect. 4 Hover the mouse over an instance of the selected feature type, so that the label is displayed.
5 Click on the feature. The feature turns blue and the search criteria is set to match the selected feature. You can use this method to select multiple types of feature, but ensure that you select All selected before clicking Scan.
Surface modelling
The following changes have been made to surface modelling in PowerSHAPE 2014: Where appropriate, OK buttons have been replaced by Apply buttons. Click Apply to apply the change and continue to display the dialog so that further changes can be made. Click Cancel to remove the dialog. Point labels are now automatically displayed when the Extend Pcurve dialog is displayed. The button to toggle Turn point labels on and off is available on the toolbar; click labels. to hide the
Click Preview on the Select Fillet Route dialog to see the fillet path.
If you click Apply, the fillet is created and you can continue to create additional fillets. Creating a guide curve in Smart Surfacer has been updated: 1 Press on the keyboard.
2 Click the positions on the wireframe to create the new guide curve. 3 Press Variables The following variables have been added in PowerSHAPE 2014: SURFACE.SELECTED.CURVES Returns the number of currently selected surface curves (an INT). SURFACE.SELECTED.POINTS Returns the number of currently selected surface curve points (an INT). again to exit guide curve creation.
Solid modelling
Changes have been made to several areas of solid modelling in PowerSHAPE 2014: New Solid Core/Cavity Separation functionality (see page 30). New Smart Feature Manager (see page 16). Additional options on the Fillet dialog (see page 38). Additional option on the Chamfer dialog (see page 43).
New Extrude Regions functionality (see page 44). New Divide solid functionality (see page 50). Other changes Other changes to solid modelling include: Re-ordering of the buttons on the Solid Edit toolbar. Duplicate dependencies are detected and removed in File Doctor. Click on the Selection Information dialog to display the names of the currently selected solid faces and features when a single solid is selected.
Previous and Next Solution buttons have been added to the following dialogs: Solid Draft Faces Solid Replace Faces
These buttons work on the current operation; once you have selected Apply, you are not able to change the solution for the applied operation.
Where appropriate, Accept buttons have been replaced by Apply buttons. Click this button to apply the change and continue to display the dialog so that further changes can be made. Click Cancel to remove the dialog. The Dismiss button has been changed to a Cancel button on the following dialogs: Solid Divide Faces Solid Draft Faces Solid Replace Faces Convert Solids Solid Boolean Feature The behaviour of the buttons has not changed; Cancel will cancal any unapplied changes.
Solid Cavity/Core Separation

New Solid Core/Cavity Separation functionality has been added to the Wizards toolbar in PowerSHAPE 2014.
1 Select the solid to separate.
2 Click to display the automatic split line directions for the part .
and the draw
3 Use the Solid Core/Cavity Separation wizard (see page 31) to split a solid into core, cavity, sliders and internal features (such as holes). When using Solid Core/Cavity Separation (see page 34): solids are split based on the natural horizons from looking down the Z axis of the active workplane. parts are automatically split into core/cavity groups. you can move faces between different groups. any number of split directions can be used to define sliders. you can edit the split line by sketching new wireframe and dividing the relevant faces. The new faces can then be assigned to the relevant split group.
Solid Core/Cavity Separation wizard

Use the options on this wizard to: simulate the separation of the core and cavity of a solid using the slider . control the draw direction shade the core and cavity . .
create wireframe from the split line
Draw direction Use the options in this section to make changes to the draw direrction
Add draw direction 1 Click a face to be used to define the draw direction. 2 Click to display the Select draw direction toolbar.
3 Use the toolbar to define the draw direction.
Select a normal face to be used to define the draw direction. Select a workplane and use one of the principal axes to define the draw direction. Accept the current draw direction. Cancel the creation of an additional draw direction.
Remove from draw direction Click this button to remove the selected draw direction. Any faces being extracted along this draw direction become ambigous. You cannot remove the Core/cavity directions. Modify draw direction Select a draw direction and click this button display the Direction dialog. Use this dialog to modify the selected draw direction. You cannot modify the Core/cavity directions. Shading Use the options in this section to modify the shading of the core and cavity.
Undercut shading Click to toggle undercut shading. In the Core/Cavity Separation wizard, undercut shading works slightly differently from standard undercut shading:. The areas highlighted in red are undercut with respect to the draw direction they will be extracted along; faces that cannot be extraced along either draw direction will be coloured red. Core and cavity transparency Click this button to toggle the transparency of the core/cavity faces. This lets you see internal features more clearly in relation to the core and cavity. The transparent faces cannot be selected; only the internal features can be selected. Colour faces Use this selection drop-down list to choose the colour of the faces to be extracted along the current draw selection. Create wireframe from split line When this option is selected, wireframe will be created along the split line. Retain face colours Select this option to use the wizard colours on the faces after splitting. Click this button to re-calcualate the split line and face classification. This may be required if you have made a lot of changes to the model or the draw direction.
Click this button to access other PowerSHAPE functionality whilst remaining inside the Solid Core/Cavity Separation Wizard. This means that you use a range of operations including: creating wireframe. using solid editing and Direct Modelling tools to divide faces. Use the buttons on the Split faces toolbar to re-enter the wizard:
Accept the changes you have made and re-enter the wizard. Cancel the changes you have made and re-enter the wizard. Finish Click this button to split the part and close the dialog. Cancel Click this button to undo all the changes you have made and close the dialog. The part is not split and any wireframe you have sketched or changes you have made whilst using the Solid Core/Cavity Separation dialog.
Example Separating a solid cavity and core

Use the Solid Core/Cavity Separation wizard to divide a part into its molding pieces. 1 Select the part. 2 Select (Wizards toolbar).
The part is split into the cavity and core sections. 3 Open the part using one of the following:
draw direction arrows slider on the dialog .
Any ambigous faces remain in the central region
and
4 Click to select Undercut shading; this will indicate faces that have insufficient draft when viewed from above or below the tool.
5 Click
to deselect Undercut shading.
6 Click to select Core and cavity transparency. This lets you see clearly the faces that are ambigous, that is,they are not assigned to the cavity or the core.
You can assign ambigous faces to a part in translucent mode, but you can only assign a face by clicking the draw direction arrow. If you are not in transluscent mode, you can also assign an ambiguous face by clicking on the core or cavity. 7 Click to deselect Core and cavity transparency.
8 Rotate the model so that you can see the individual ambiguous faces. 9 Assign the indicated ambiguous faces a Select the ambigous face. b Click either the face of the core or the draw direction arrow 10 To assign the ambigous faces of draw as follows: , you need to create a new line to the core as follows:
a Select the ambiguous face.
b Click face.
to display a default draw direction for the selected
c Click (Select draw direction toolbar) to accept the default draw direction and assign the selected part to the new draw direction.
11 Assign the indicated the remaining ambigous faces to the new draw direction.
12 Close the part. 13 Select Create wireframe from split line create wireframe that represents the split line. 14 Click Finish. You now have three solids: the core, the cavity and the side core that you created in the new draw direction. wireframe that represents the split line.
Solid fillets
The following options have been added to the Fillet dialog : Constant width deselected. . The default setting for this option is
Cross-sectional shape
Constant width When you create a fillet, the width of the fillet varies to reflect the angle between the surrounding faces.
Select Constant width to create a fillet that has a constant width. When this option is selected, the distance between the edges of the fillet is always the same.
Cross-sectional shape Select one of the following options from the drop-down list to change the shape of the cross-section of the fillet. The option that you use depends on your model; choose the option that gives the smoothest fillet for your model.
Circular This is the default cross-sectional shape. It can give a slight change of curvature where the fillet meets another curved edge.
Parabolic Select this option to create a fillet with parabolic sections.
Curvature continuous - This option creates a fillet without the sharp change in curvature that is created using the Circular option. Sections of the fillet are not circular; the curvature varies continously as the blend is created between the adjoining faces.
Solid chamfers
A new Constant Width option has been added to the Chamfer dialog.
When you create a chamfer, the width of the chamfer varies to reflect the angle between the surrounding faces.
Select Constant width (Chamfer dialog) to create a constant width for a chamfer.
Extrude regions
Use the new Extrude Regions button to extrude multiple nested regions in a single operation using the Extrude Regions dialog.
1 Click Extrude Regions on the Solid creation toolbar
The Extrude Regions dialog is displayed.
2 Select the type of extrusion from the Type drop-down list.
Default creates extrusions from the wireframe items (see page 47).
Tiered uses the height of the wireframe items to define the height of the extrusions. A modified dialog box is displayed.
The Innermost tier can be: positive, to define a boss-like tier. negative, to define a cut-like tier. zero, if you want a neutral tier. 3 Enter the Length (Direction 1)of the extrusion. The length of the extrusion can be zero if the length specified in Direction 2 is nonzero. 4 Enter the Draft Angle (Direction 1). This is the draft angle between the base curve of the extruded surface and the curve at the other end. The angle is measured from the axis normal to the principal plane.
5 Enter the Length of the extrusion (Direction 2). 6 Enter the Draft Angle (Direction 2). 7 Click or to specify if the draft angle is to go in or out. If selected, in/out draft is added to each region alternately.
8 Select Equal lengths to set the same Length for Direction 1 and Direction 2. If this option is selcted, updating either length will also cause the other length to update. 9 Define the extrusion plane: If Same base plane is selected, the inner and outer wireframe are extruded from the same plane. This option is selected by default. If Same top plane is selected, each region of the solid is extruded up to the height of the outer wireframe. 10 Click Apply to extrude the regions
Example Extruding regions

Extruding regions is useful when you need to extrude a hollowed out shape.
1 Select the wireframe.
2 Click (Solid creation toolbar) to display the Extude Regions dialog and a preview of the extrusion.
3 Edit the extruded regions by:
using the handles on the model to adjust the extrusion. Any changes you make will update the values in the Extrude Regions dialog.
entering a new value in the Extrude Regions dialog and clicking Apply.
Divide solid
Use the Divide solid button (Solid editing toolbar) to divide an existing solid into separate solids.
This is useful for dividing: a disjoint solid into two solids. (see page 50) a solid into inner and outer solids (see page 51).
Example Dividing a disjoint solid into two solids

1 Select the disjoint solid
2 Click (Solid edit toolbar). The disjoint solid is divided into two separate solids.
Example Dividing a solid into inner and outer solids

You can use Divide solid to divide a solid into an inner solid and an outer solid.
1 Select the two faces that join the inner and the outer portions of the solid.
2 Click
(Solid edit toolbar) to extract the faces.
3 Blank the faces you have extracted. 4 Click (Solid edit toolbar) to divide the solid.
5 Use Blank Except to display the solids separately:
Outer solid.
Inner solid.
Delcam Draft
The following changes have been made to Delcam Draft in PowerSHAPE 2014. Drawing properties The method for creating and editing drawing properties has been improved. (see page 54)
Other changes Select the Text box option on the Annotation tab of the Dimension dialog to add a text box around the dimension.
The alignment of + and - tolerance values on dimensions has been improved. When a section view is updated, the hatching pattern is now maintained for solids and components.
Drawing properties
The method for creating and editing drawing properties has been improved in PowerSHAPE 2014. You can now: use the new Text Substitution dialog to manage, add and edit drawing template properties. add properties, for example, %[author], %[date] to drawing templates. These properties are substituted with the relevant text when the drawing is created. include electrode specific properties, for example, %[electrode_name], %[roughing], %[finishing]. Using the updated functionality Defining a new property (see page 54) Adding a General property to a drawing template (see page 55) Adding an Electrode property to a drawing template (see page 57)
Defining a new property

You can add new properties to the Properties tab as follows:
1 Display the Properties dialog in one of the following ways: Select File > Properties. Click the Show model contents button (Model Analysis toolbar). 2 Click to add a new item (property1) to the list of properties.
3 Change the Name, specify the Type and Value. You can delete an existing property by clicking 4 Click OK to close the dialog.
Adding a General property to a drawing template

1 Click to display the annotation toolbar.
2 Click and click a position on the drawing where the text will be positioned. 3 Enter a label, if required.
4 Click (Annotation toolbar) to display the Text Substitutions dialog.
5 Select the required substitution string.
6 Select Live value option to re-evaluate the substitution whenever the text is drawn. 7 Click Apply.
8 Click Dismiss and click the drawing to display the substituted text. In this example, the name of the model was sub-text.
Adding an electrode substitution string to a drawing template

1 Click to display the annotation toolbar.
2 Click and click a position on the drawing where the text will be positioned. 3 Enter a label, if required. 4 Click (Annotation toolbar) to display the Text Substitutions dialog. 5 Select the Electrode tab.
6 Use one of the following methods to enter the required substitution string: Select the required substitution string.
Click dialog
to enter an expression using the Electrode Calculator
Use the options on the dialog to enter an expression. For example, the following expression gives a safe height of 10 above the part: %part_max_z + 10 7 Click Apply.
8 Click Dismiss and click the drawing to display the substituted text
Delcam Electrode
Changes have been made to the following areas of Delcam Electrode: A new button has been added to the Specify Electrode Blank pages of the wizard. Click (see page 61). to display the Vector Burn dialog
Electrode holders (see page 62) Electrode frames (see page 63). Electrode drafting template properties can be managed using the new Electrode tab on the Properties dialog. A new interface has been added that lets you add electrode substitution strings to a drawing template. There is also a file containing the list of electrode substitution strings. The file is called
electrode_substitutions.txt
and is located in
.........\powershapeXXXXX\file\electrode
Electrode Family page The Electrode Family page of the Electrode Wizard has been updated: Use the Workpiece Material drop-down list workpiece material with the ZK dataset. to select a different
OPS-Ingersoll has been added to the Undersize Data Set dropdown list .
Vector burn electrodes

Vertical base vector burn is now supported for pre-modelled electrodes. Previously, it was only possible to create vector burn electrodes with an angled holder. Use the new Vector Burn page to select the type of vector burn to use.
1 Select the Type of burn you require: ABC burn Select this option to create a vector burn electrode where a special holder angles the electrode relative to the part. Vertical-base burn Select this option to create a vector burn electrode that uses a standard holder and the electrode is angled into the blank. 2 Define the extraction direction using the options in the Direction section of the dialog. You can use pre-defined vectors or create a custom vector by selecting the Manual option. Using one of predefined vectors will automatically insert the correct values in A and B. The electrode will be created in the Z direction by default. In addition to the traditional Z direction, electrodes can also be created in X and Y direction or along any vector you define.
Click to display the Position dialog to use position entry tools. Use this dialog to specify the extraction vector. Use this button to define the burn vector by clicking on a surface where the surface normal is in the required direction. 3 Use the Simulation slider to simulate the extraction of the electrode, so that you can check that you have defined the electrode vector correctly. In the case where an electrode is used under an overhanging region of the part, use the simulation to check that the electrode is clear of the part when it is withdrawn.
Burn depth. This is the height of the burn region in the burn direction. Click to calculate the dimension of the burn vector in the direction you have specified (Z by default) Vector clearance. This is the amount the electrode is clear of the part in the vector part of the motion. Click to calculate the clearance that is required to ensure that the electrode is clear of the part. Total vector length is automatically calculated and is the sum of the burn depth and the vector clearance.
Electrode holders - substitution strings

The following holder substitution strings have been added:
%[edm_holder_width] Width of edm holder, empty if no holder %[edm_holder_height] Height of edm holder, empty if no holder %[edm_holder_length] Length of edm holder, empty if no holder %[machining_holder_width] Width of machining holder, empty if no holder %[machining_holder_height] Height of machining holder, empty if no holder %[machining_holder_length] Length of machining holder, empty if no holder
Electrode frames
Additional functional frame functionality has been added to Delcam Electrode: An electrode frame is a separate area for burn-region shading on the electrode. Frames on pre-modelled electrodes are autodetected on entry into the wizard.
Electrode frames are coloured purple ; this allows different machining strategies to be applied easily using PowerMILL templates.
Macro variables The following macro variables for frames have been added in PowerSHAPE 2014: electrode[...].frame.exists returns 1 if the electrode has a frame, 0 otherwise electrode[...].frame.length returns the length of electrode frame. electrode[...].frame.width returns the width of electrode frame. electrode[...].frame.height returns the height of electrode frame. electrode[...].frame.has_chamfer returns 1 if the electrode frame has a chamfer, 0 otherwise. electrode[...].frame.chamfer_size returns the size of chamfer on the electrode frame. Substitution strings Additional substitution strings for frames have been added in PowerSHAPE 2014:
%[frame_length] %[frame_width] %[frame_height] %[frame_chamfer] The values are 0 if there is no frame or frame chamfer.
Delcam Toolmaker
The following changes have been made to Delcam Toolmaker in PowerSHAPE 2014: Component Wizard (see page 65) Running macros from Toolmaker wizards (see page 66) Ejector pin trimming When using ejector pin trimming, the depth of the fit hole is now measured from the lowest point of the trimmed region of the ejector pin. This allows holes to have sufficient depth when they are trimmed to a steep 3D face.
Component Wizard
When you select a user-defined custom component from the catalog, a preview of the component is displayed.
The preview reflects the component geometry that is stored in the solid tree. The following example shows the preview that is generated if you have created a custom component where the hole depth is greater than the dimension of the block.
If required, you can modify the geometry of the component and create a new component from the modified geometry.
Running macros from Toolmaker wizards

You can now run macros from the following: Mold Lock Wizard. Slide Core Wizard. Cooling Wizard. For example you can create a macro to set some pre-defined values on the dialogs. You can also create a button to run your macros and add them to a user-defined toolbar. Details about creating macros are included in the Customising PowerSHAPE section of the on-line help. Details about userdefined toolbars are included in the Basic Modelling Concepts section of the on-line help. When you have created a macro, you can run the macro using one of the following methods: Select Macro > Run and selecting the required macro from the dialog. Click a button on a custom toolbar.
Other changes
The following changes have been made to the general operation of PowerSHAPE:
When you import a file, the model is zoomed to full, so the geometry is visible. This is particularly useful if the items are not close to the origin. Additional support for different monitor sizes: 1:1 zoom is now supported on widescreen monitors. Use powershape.con settings to specify an unusual size. Use a command to determine the type of an expression or variable (see page 67). Model version All models opened in PowerSHAPE 2014 use model version 25. When PowerSHAPE 2014 is installed and run for the first time, the initialisation work will open the latest NEW_MODEL_MASTER_XX you have (where XX <25) and save it as NEW_MODEL_MASTER_25. Materials Materials have changed in PowerSHAPE 2014; you can no longer define a creation material. Create a shaded object, or an object that has an associated material in the following way: 1 Create the object. 2 Set the material. Import/Export Export drawings option has been removed from the Tools > Options > Data Exchange > U3D / PDF dialog. Use the Export Wizard to export the model and drawings to PDF. Vorum (.o ). has been added to the list of import file formats.
PowerSHAPE Pro and Toolmaker Pro can import curves from Adobe files (*.ai, *.pdf) using Exchange.
Type of a macro variable or expression

Use the following command todetermine the type of an expression or variable :
TYPE(...) The command returns a string that is: INT REAL STRING VECTOR LIST ERROR Examples LET my_var = 17 PRINT TYPE($my_var) // this prints INT LET a = 12.345 PRINT TYPE($a) // this prints REAL PRINT TYPE('hello') // this prints STRING PRINT TYPE([1; 2; 3]) // this prints VECTOR PRINT TYPE({'a'; 'b'; 'c'; 'd'}) // this prints LIST PRINT TYPE(SQRT(-57)) // this prints ERROR, because you are trying to take square root of a negative number.
Index
Example Dividing a disjoint solid into two solids 50 Example Dividing a solid into inner and outer solids 51 Example Extruding regions 47 Example Separating a solid cavity and core 34 Extrude regions 44
A
Adding a General property to a drawing template 55 Adding an electrode substitution string to a drawing template 57
C
Cloud modelling 7 Component Wizard 65
F
Filtering points in a selected cloud 9 Filtering points on import 8
D
Defining a new property 54 Delcam Draft 53 Delcam Electrode 59 Delcam Toolmaker 65 Detecting all features in a solid 19 Detecting all instances of a single type of feature 22 Detecting features in a solid with specified dimensions 23 Dialogs 4 Direct modelling 16 Divide solid 50 Drawing properties 54
G
General editing 5 Generating a curve from a selected cloud 10
M
Mesh modelling 13
O
Other changes 66
E
Electrode frames 63 Electrode holders - substitution strings 62
R
Running macros from Toolmaker wizards 66
Index 69
S
Selecting points in a cloud 8 Setting search criteria by selecting a feature 26 Smart Feature Manager 16 Solid Cavity/Core Separation 30 Solid chamfers 43 Solid Core/Cavity Separation wizard 31 Solid fillets 38 Solid modelling 28 Surface modelling 27
T
Toolbars 1 Type of a macro variable or expression 67
U
User interface 1
V
Vector burn electrodes 61
W
What's New in PowerSHAPE 2014 1 Wireframe modelling 14
70 Index

What&#39;s New in PowerSHAPE2014

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PowerSHAPE 2014

PowerSHAPE 2014. Published on 03 June 2013

PowerSHAPE 2014 What's New