Table of Ejectors : Options and Results

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

Create a Table of Ejectors. The function automatically selects known ejection devices, numbers them, and creates corresponding numbers as engravable text on the pins and their holes in the ejector retainer plate. Several options allow you to control the numbering scheme as well as the size and style of the text. In addition, the function also outputs a full table of the ejectors to an Excel report, with information such as the ejector diameter, length, XY location, and BOM ID number.

Example Excel table result

Example ejector/plate result

 

Required Step 1

Select the required ejectors. By default, the system selects all of the ejectors that are under the active assembly. You can unselect ejectors, as required. Instances of selected ejectors are selected or unselected together.

Example mold before invoking the Table of Ejectors function:

The same mold after invoking the function; all the ejectors are automatically selected:

Parameters

Settings

Press the Settings button to display the Table of Ejectors - Settings dialog, see below.

Create Excel Table for all selected items

This is a dropdown list that enables you to control whether or not to create an Excel table of ejectors upon exiting the function.

The following options are available in the dropdown list:

Don't Create Excel Table

Create Excel Table for selected items
This is the default option.

Create Excel Table for all numbered items

 

 

Settings

Display the Table of Ejectors - Settings dialog.

Example Excel table result

Example Ejector/Plate result

 

The following parameters are displayed:

Font Attributes

Set the Font type, bold, italics and underline.

Force Underline On

Force Underline On enables you to put an underline under certain numbers even if the Underline option is turned off. The dropdown options are:

This means that the underline will be under 6 for example, but not under 16. The default is 6 & 9, to differentiate between 6 and 9.

 

Ejectors/Plates

Define whether to create text on the ejectors/plates and if so, set the text display parameters.

In the case of ejectors and sleeves, when sleeves are independent parts, the Table of Ejectors tool knows to find ejectors and sleeves that go through the same hole and make sure they get the same number. However, when sleeves are all instances of the same part, the numbering mechanism is adjusted to give a unique number to all sleeves that are different than the one given to the ejectors.

An image displaying this feature is shown in the example images below.

Create Text on Ejectors/Plates

This option controls text creation on ejectors and/or plates. If this option is selected (by default it is ON ), the other options in this section become available.

Mirror Text on Ejectors/Plates

Display the text as mirrored text. This is useful if you are viewing the mold from the bottom.

Upside Down Text on Ejectors/Plates

Display all text upside down.

Text Rotation

Rotate all text by the entered degree amount. Either enter the degree amount in the field (from -360° to +360°), or select it from the dropdown list.

Text Size

Set the required font size in the text.

Default = 5

Text Color

Select the color of the displayed text.

Text Position on Ejectors/Plates

Select the appropriate radio button to position the text on the component, when looking from the top view of the mold.

For Ejectors, the default position is the center of the ejector. When positioning text outside of the center of an ejector (where a sleeve will have a hole), it will be placed close to the edge of the base of the ejector.
For Plates, the default position is the bottom right of the plate hole.

Prefix/Postfix

Add a prefix and/or postfix for ejectors and/or plates. These pieces of text are added before or after the 'main' text respectively.

 

  

Create Text as

Text, including prefix and postfix text, can be created as standard wireframe Curve Text or as PMI Curve Text. Select the required option from the dropdown list.

Curve Text Feature
Create a wireframe (curves) out of text. Create and position wireframe text (arcs & lines only) from text defined in any language, font, or according to specific parameters. The result is a Text feature.

This is the default option.

Curve Text PMI

Create PMI Text that can be used as a curve. Create and position PMI text from text defined in any language, font, or according to specific parameters. The result is an annotation that behaves as geometry when exported to NC, Drafting, or external files.

 

Numbering

Use ID Numbers

For the ejector numbering, use either the numbers created by the Table of Ejectors function or use the ID Numbers of the BOM.

When this checkbox is marked , the system uses the ID Numbers of the BOM, so the remaining Numbering and Numbering Order parameters of the dialog become unavailable (grayed out).

When this checkbox is OFF , the system uses the numbers created by the Table of Ejectors function and Numbering and Numbering Order parameters of the dialog are available for editing.
This is the default option.

Begin Numbering From

Set the number from which to start numbering the first ejector.
Default = 1.

 

Numbering Order

The Numbering Order section is available for editing if the Use ID Numbers checkbox is OFF (the system uses the numbers created by the Table of Ejectors function).

Number by size - Large to Small

Renumber by size from large to small or small to large. The sorting is done first by diameter, then by length, and then by the first ordering position.

If either of the Number by Size options is selected, the Numbering by Location options are unavailable.

Number by size - Small to Large

Numbering by Location

Select the required radio button to define whether to number rows and then columns (this is the default), or columns and then rows.

When this option is selected, the following options are also available:

Row / Column Width

Define the analysis tolerance of row/column.
Default = 10 mm or 0.5 inch.

Numbering Begins from Corner

Define from which corner the numbering starts. The default is the bottom right corner.

 

 

 
In Edit mode, the following parameter appears below the Settings button:

 

 

Renumber Ejectors / Don't Renumber Ejectors

This is a toggle option which appears only in edit mode.

Renumber Ejectors

Renumber all selected ejectors.
This is the default option.

Don't Renumber Ejectors

Ejectors that already have a number will not get a new one. Only those that don’t have a number will get a new number, starting at the first number after the last used number (or a higher number if so defined in the settings).

The following approval options are available in the dialog:

Restore Default: Reset all values and settings to the system defaults.

Save as Default: Save the current settings as the default. These default settings will be used whenever this operation is re-invoked.

OK: Accept the changes, perform the operation, and close the current dialog/task.

The last used values of all the parameters are kept for the current file.

Cancel: Cancel all changes and close the dialog/task without saving the settings.

Optional Step 1

Manually select a target plate face upon which all plate text will be positioned.

By default, the plate face is selected automatically during Step 1. This optional step enables you to manually select the plate face.

A toggle option Select Plate Face Manually / Select Plate Face Automatically is displayed. The Manual mode is the default for this optional step. If you switch to Automatic, the system returns to the Step 1 stage.

Press OK or Apply in the Feature Guide to complete the function.

Example Excel Table Result

When OK is pressed, and if one of the option Create Excel Table has been selected (see above), the system displays the Save As dialog enabling you to save the .XLSX file containing the table of ejectors. The default file name is Table of Ejectors.XLSX and is saved in the same folder as the assembly. The table displays the information shown in the example table below:

This table shows, among other data, the following columns:

Ejector / Sleeve Length

The length of the sleeve itself.

Sleeve+Extension Length

 This shows the combined length of the sleeve and the extension.

Ejector Standard Length

The original (catalog) length of the ejector.

Ejector Sleeve Extension Catalog No.

The extension catalog number, if it exists.

Ejector Sleeve Extension Catalog Name

The extension name, if it exists.

Note: When there is more than one ejector sleeve going through the same hole:

  • The lower one is considered as the Ejector Sleeve Extension.

  • Only the lower one gets a plate number.

  • Two rows are displayed in the Excel table, one for the ejector and one for the ejector sleeve.

 

Example Ejector/Plate Result

In the case of ejectors and sleeves, when sleeves are independent parts, the Table of Ejectors tool knows to find ejectors and sleeves that go through the same hole and make sure they get the same number. However, when sleeves are all instances of the same part, the numbering mechanism is adjusted to give a unique number to all sleeves that are different than the one given to the ejectors.

Below is an example of ejectors and their holes with corresponding numbers, and also an example of text on sleeves that are instances of the same part.

Example showing the ejectors and their holes with corresponding numbers. Note that the numbering positions are as defined by default - yellow text at the center of the ejectors and blue text at the bottom right of plate holes

Example of text on sleeves that are instances of the same part. Note that the numbering on the sleeves is different to those of the ejectors

 

 

 

When OK or Apply is pressed in the Feature Guide to complete the function, the Table of Ejectors feature will appear in the Feature Tree as follows:

When multiple text features are created on a part in a single operation, these text features are collected into a folder on the feature tree. This is relevant for functions such as Cooling Labels, Table of Baffles and Table of Ejectors, where there may be cases of multiple text features within the same part (cavity or ejector plates, for example).

Note that in the case of the baffle and ejector tables, the text feature folder is created on the plate part, which may have many text features (on the baffle or ejector, there is only one text feature, so a text feature folder is not created).

In the example on the right, multiple cooling label text features were created and collected in a folder, with the function name.

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