Plane Parallel

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

Click the button in the toolbar.
Select Wireframe > Datum > Plane Parallel from the menu bar.
Select Mold Design > Cooling > Parallel Plane from the menu bar.
Select Mold Design > Runner > Parallel Plane from the menu bar.
Select Cooling > Parallel Plane from the Mold Design Guide Toolbar.
Select Runner Design > Parallel Plane from the Mold Design Guide Toolbar.

Create a plane parallel to an existing plane, or to a plane defined by selected entities.

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).

General Interaction

The following is the Feature Guide for Plane Parallel.

Tip: You can open the Feature Guide at any time by right-clicking the mouse in the graphic display area.

Required Step 1

Pick the references entities that define a plane. The following entities can be picked to create the plane:

Planar facePlanar face

Planar face:	Result:

3 points3 points

3 points:	Result:

2D curve / edge (non-linear)2D curve / edge (non-linear)

2D curve / edge:	Result:

Line / linear edge / axis and a pointLine / linear edge / axis and a point

Edge and point:	Result:

2 intersecting lines2 intersecting lines

2 intersecting lines:	Result:

Existing datum planeExisting datum plane

Existing plane:	Result:

Planar Face selected

Notes:

If you pick a line, the directional arrow is immediately displayed in the Z direction of the active UCS. This means that you can either press <exit><exit>(middle mouse button) to immediately display the plane and continue to the next step, or you can pick additional entities to define the required plane and then proceed to the next step.
In certain cases, you can pick the entities and then enter the Plane Parallel function. If you do this, the selected entities will automatically be included in Step 1.

Required Step 2

You can locate the plane on one or both sides of the reference geometry selected in Step 1. You can also fine tune the position of the parallel plane either by offsetting a Delta amount in a specific direction, by selecting a Point and (if required) offsetting from that point in a specific direction, or (when using the Both Sides option) you can set a mix of options - By Point on one side and By Delta on the other side.


	One Side: By Delta	One Side: By Point



Reference entity selected in stage 1	Both Sides: By Delta, By Point or mixed (one side by Delta and the other side By Point - as in the image above)

Parameters

One Side / Both Sides

This is a toggle option to create the plane either on One Side or Both Sides of the selected reference geometry.

When One Side is selected, the plane is created in the offset direction indicated by the direction arrow. When Both Sides is selected, a plane is also created in the opposite direction, creating planes in both offset directions in a single operation.

When switching from Both Sides to One Side, the plane on the direction arrow side remains.

When using the Both Sides option, the location of the planes needs to be defined at both the Primary and Secondary Sides. Both sides can be defined using the options By Delta, or By Point or mixed, with one side By Delta and other side By Point, as shown in the example below:
Example:Example:

When using Both Sides with a mix of options (By Point on one side and By Delta on the other side), indicate the Primary direction and the delta value/reference point.

By Delta / By Point

This is a toggle option By Delta / By Point to set a location at which the plane will be created, in the direction indicated by the direction arrow and parallel to the geometry selected in stage 1.

By Delta

Set the Delta distance from the geometry selected in stage 1, at which the plane will be created.
Use the direction arrow to set the offset direction.

By Delta One Side; plane created one side of the reference geometry at the delta distance. Indicate the direction and enter the offset value.	By Delta Both Sides; planes created both sides of the reference geometry at the delta distance. Indicate the Primary direction and enter the offset values.

By Point

Select a reference point at which the plane will be created, parallel to the geometry selected in stage 1.

The Offset from Ref. option sets an offset distance from the selected reference point, at which the plane will be created.

Pick the point(s) through which the plane(s) will pass. Use the direction arrow to set the offset direction.
(See Picking Points.)

By Point One Side; plane created one side of the reference point, at the offset distance from the point. Indicate the direction and pick the reference point.		By Point Both Sides; planes created both sides, at the offset distance from the Primary and Secondary Reference points. Indicate the Primary direction and pick the reference points.


Point selection	Plane offset from reference point in the defined direction	Planes offset from selected Primary and Secondary Reference points, in the defined direction

When using the Both Sides option and with By Point, pick the Primary and Secondary Reference points at which the planes will be created. The Primary and Secondary reference points are labeled as they are picked, as shown in the example below. The Offset from Ref. option is available to set an offset distance from one or both reference points.
Example:Example:

When you are finished, <exit><exit>(middle mouse button) to complete the step, and press OK or Apply in the Feature Guide to complete the function.

The datum plane now appears, with drag handles for resizing.

Note: The default size of plane drag handles can be set by editing the Plane Grab Handle size value in the General Preferences > Datum Planes.

When completed, the Plane-Parallel 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.