Extend (Face) : Natural - Multi Continuous

Access: Open this function from one of the following locations:

Click the button in the toolbar.
Select Faces > Main Tools > Extend from the menu bar.
Select Parting Surfaces > Extend New Parting from the Mold Design Guide Toolbar or Parting Guide Toolbar.

Extend faces beyond their edges. This extends one or more faces (or creates new faces) on the edges of open or stitched faces.

In the Natural - Multi Continuous option, create a multiple natural extension on a continuous sequence of edges (composite) of one or more faces. In this option the extensions may either be new or same faces; see the New Face parameter explanation below.

Demo: Press the button below to view a short movie demonstrating the function:	Practice: Press the button below to open Cimatron with a practice ELT file similar to that used to create the movie (if the relevant feature already exists in the ELT file, you can either edit it or delete it and create a new feature).

Required Step 1

Select Natural - Multi Continuous from the dropdown list of Extend function options:

For the face(s) to be extended, pick one or more edges or a composite curve based on the edges of open or stitched faces and set the parameters.

In the example below a composite curve is picked.	Once the edge(s) or composite curve is selected, additional parameters are displayed.

Set the parameters as required:

Delta

The length of the extension.

New Face

This is a toggle option New Face / Same Face that enables you to define the extension either as a new face or as part of the same face whose edge was selected. The following conditions apply to this parameter:

This toggle option is only enabled if the selected edge(s) belongs to an unstitched face.
If the selected edge(s) belongs to a stitched face, the New Face option is displayed grayed out (the Same Face option is not available). This means that a new face is always created.

Examples:Examples:

An edge of an unstitched face is selected.	The extension is created as a new face.	The extension is created as part of the same face whose edge was selected.

Auto Direction

This is a dropdown list of options that enables you to define how to control the directions of the extension. The following options are available:

Auto Direction

This option displays all arrows on the vertices and their corresponding default directions are calculated. The direction of the arrows can be set by right-clicking on the arrow. One or more arrows can be removed so that their default direction at this point will not be calculated.
Example:Example:

Manual Direction

This option displays only two arrows at the end vertices of each face. Side directions of extensions on each vertex can be added.

The symbol "X" appears on each vertex of the picked composite or edge. To add the direction on the specific vertex, pick the "X" upon which an arrow appears near this vertex and change the direction of the arrow. The additional arrows can be subsequently removed so that their default direction at this point will not be calculated, however, the arrows at the end vertices of faces cannot be removed.
Example:Example:

Single Direction

This option displays a single arrow and enables you to extend all the faces to one single direction at once.
Example:Example:

Flip

Flip the direction of the extension. The system flips the direction by automatically choosing the neighboring face's edge. This option is only displayed if at least one selected edge (or an edge from the picked composite curve) is an edge of a stitched face.
Examples:Examples:

Optional Step 1

Set a draft angle. This option is only available for the Tangent > Normal option.
See Options and Results.

Optional Step 2

Pick edges to replace the extended faces with a patch. This option is only available for the following options:

Tangent > Normal option if the Single Face option was not selected in Required Step 1.
Tangent > Normal option if the Draft Angle option was not selected in Optional Step 1.
Tangent > Continuous
Natural - Multi Continuous

This step can be used to create patches on complex areas that may require additional manipulation to achieve the desired result.
See Options and Results.

If this is the final result, press OK or Apply in the Feature Guide to complete the function.

When completed, the Extend feature will appear in the Feature Tree as follows:

Some functionality may be dependent on the product package. Contact your Reseller if you require a license.