Cooling Circuit

This command allows you to create a positive of a cooling circuit with baffle lines in one or several parts. The cooling components, plugs, seals or/and baffles can be automatically included during the circuit creation. The process of the circuit and its components will be done in a second time with the Cooling circuit process command.

Creation stages / Use:

Click the icon or select the Mold > Cooling Circuit... command from the drop-down menu.

Select or create a cooling set.
Select the part(s) in which to create the cooling circuit or select a previously created 3D sketch.
Choose the associated cooling circuit style.
Determine the drilling diameters.
It is possible to choose to create or not baffle lines. If yes, set the baffle lines parameters.
Validate .
Create a cooling 3D Sketch, converted on the fly in a cooling circuit.

In a 3D Sketch, when an element is being created, you can use the Ctrl + Space keys to change input planes (toggle XZ then YZ), then the input plan will be automatically positioned on the last input point.
On each sketch segments a drilling will be created, with including or not a standard components following the cooling circuit style.
It i possible to include a component on a sketch segment.

Validate the sketch to validate the circuit creation.

A part, representing the positive shape of the circuit will be created. It could be added to the representation projected in draft for example.
It is possible to know the Circuit Effective Length by the command Analyze (F8) on the circuit positive

Available options:

Cooling Circuit:

Set: Each cooling set describes a complete circuit. This set is included in the Cooling set. It is possible to edit it, and insert or remove components included outside the cooling sketch.
If no circuit was created in document, by default a new set will be created.
If a set was already created, it will be possible to choose it, in order to add the new cooling circuit in this set.

Two circuit creation modes are available:

Cooling sketch: A 3D cooling sketch is created. On each segment added to the sketch, a drilling will be created, with or without the inclusion of standard components following the cooling circuit style.

Parts: Select the part(s) in which to create the cooling circuit. Only one circuit will be created.
Hide: This option allows you to hide the selected entities during the command, in order to select more easily other entities, especially those that were behind the first ones.

Existing sketches: This option allows you to create a circuit, associative to the selected 3D sketches. A drilling is created for each segment of the selected sketch, and a baffle line for each external point.

Sketches:

Select the sketch(s) on which to create the cooling circuit. Only one circuit will be created.
Hide: This option allows you to hide the selected entities during the command, in order to select more easily other entities, especially those that were behind the first ones.

Parts:

Automatic detection: The parts through which selected sketches pass are automatically added as targets for cooling.
Or select "manually" the parts in which to create the cooling circuit. Only one circuit will be created.
Hide: This option allows you to hide the selected entities during the command, in order to select more easily other entities, especially those that were behind the first ones.

A new cooling sketch is based on the selected sketches.
New drillings can be added to this sketch by adding new segments.

Style:

This option allows you to associate to the chosen drilling diameter a Cooling circuit style. It will be possible to create one with the button .
The style drive the drilling parameters, the baffle lines, the components automatically included and the circuit color.

Drillings:

Diameter: This option allows you to give the drilling diameter of the cooling drilling. The drilling parameters are defined by the cooling circuit style.
Entry / Exit faces: It is possible to define the entry or exit faces of the drillings on the selected parts.
Selection filter: If the option is activated, the selection of the entry faces will only be possible on the part selected in the filter. In the case of a circuit created on several parts, it is possible to activate the filter on each part, one after the other.


Without entry face defined	With an entry face defined

Direction mode: Allows you to give the drilling preferred direction during the cooling circuit creation. Two modes are available:
The Shortest drilling mode, the default mode. The shortest drillings are preferred:
The Sketch mode. The drillings are created following the sketch sense:

If these drilling orientation modes are changed when editing the operation, they will only be applied for the new segments added in the cooling sketch.

If entry faces are defined, they will be the entry faces of the drillings intersecting them. For the other drillings, the chosen direction mode will apply.

Baffle lines:

It is possible to add or not baffle lines with checking this section. These options allow you to determine the global baffle lines parameters.

Diameter: Determine the baffle lines diameter.
Direction : Allows you to indicate the baffle lines direction from the chosen Reference palne. By default, if the chosen parts are on:
A Side, the direction is - Absolute Z Axis.
B Side, the direction is Absolute Z Axis.
Reference plane: This is the baffle lines exit plane. Par default the chosen plane is:
A Side, the published plane corresponding to the upper face of the first selected part.
B Side, the published plane corresponding to the bottom face of the first selected part.

The baffle lines are created in the 3D sketch.

Select points, and create Create Baffle Line with the contextual menu.
Or via the Baffle Line Point command.

Design modes:

Hide / Show Targets:

When creating the cooling sketch, the displayed parts are those visible at the start of the command. The Hide / Show Targets command allows you to hide or show the parts selected as parts to be drilled by the cooling.
The other parts of the mold can be shown / hidden by viewing shortcuts, or from the Parts tree.
The transparency attribute of the targets is configured in the Cooling Attributes options of the mold document.

Hide Cooling:

This creation mode makes it possible to display or not the positive of the cooling drillings, created from the cooling sketch. The display is dynamically created when the sketch is created.

Safety Margin:

This mode displays a Safety Margin around the drillings when creating the cooling sketch.

Modifications / Additional information:

Outside the cooling sketch, selecting a drilling face on the positive circuit, or a resulting face after the cooling process allows you to launch two commands from the contextual menu:
- Edit Cooling Sketch
- Edit Cooling Circuit: It will allow you to modify the global parameter of the created circuit.
Inside the cooling sketch, with contextual commands, it is possible to:
- Set as Entry the selected drilling.
- Set as Exit the selected drilling.
- Edit Entry And Exit: This command makes it possible to modify the start and end of the circuit by choosing the desired drillings.
- Edit Drilling: This command allows you to edit a drilling, selected from the cooling sketch, in order to modify locally its parameters or style.
- Modify Drillings: This command allows you to simultaneously modify the diameter and the overlap of several drillings, from the cooling sketch.
- edit a Component: This command allows you to edit a component, selected from the cooling sketch, in order to modify it locally.
- Modify Components: This command allows you to simultaneously modify the manufacturer, document and code of several components, from the cooling sketch.
- Remove ONE component: This command allows you to remove a component included automatically with the cooling style. Automatically the linked drilling style is modified with an exception.
- Remove Components: This command allows you to simultaneously remove several components, from the cooling sketch.
- edit a Baffle line: This command allows you to edit a baffle line, from the cooling sketch, in order to modify locally its parameters or style.
It is possible to set the Cooling Attributes in the cooling sketch, and differentiate between the holes and components that are automatic or forced.

Cooling circuit effective length:
- This length corresponds to the length of the fluid circulation, the "blue circuit", rounded to the nearest 0.01 of the current document unit.
- It is given by the command Analyze (F8), with the category Property activated and by selecting the circuit positive with the key "Shift".