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Creating a pocket consists in extruding a profile or a
surface and removing the material resulting from the extrusion. The
application lets you choose the limits of creation as well as the direction
of extrusion. The limits you can use are the same as those available for
creating pads. To know how to use them, see
Creating Up to Next Pads, Creating Up to Last
Pads,
Creating Up to Plane Pads,
Creating Up to Surface Pads.
This task first shows you how to create a pocket, that is a cavity,
in an already existing part, then you edit this pocket to remove the
material surrounding the initial profile. |
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Open the Pocket1.CATPart
document. |
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Select the profile to extrude, that is Sketch.2.
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About Profiles
- You can use profiles sketched in the Sketcher workbench or planar
geometrical elements created in the Generative Shape Design workbench
(except for lines).
- You can create pockets from sketches including several closed
profiles. These profiles must not intersect.
- You can select diverse elements constituting a sketch too. For more
information, refer to Using the Sub-Elements of
a Sketch.
- Instead of selecting profiles, you can select surfaces created in the
Generative Shape Design workbench, non-planar faces and even CATIA V4. To
know how to create a pocket from a surface, refer to
Creating Pads or Pockets from Surfaces.
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Click Pocket
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The Pocket Definition dialog box is displayed and the
application previews a pocket.
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- If you launch the Pocket command with
no profile previously defined, click the icon
to access the Sketcher workbench and sketch the profile you need.
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If you have chosen to work in a
hybrid design environment, the geometrical elements created on the fly
via the contextual commands mentioned above are aggregated into
sketch-based features. |
You can define a specific depth for your
pocket or set one of these options:
- up to next: The extrusion stops at the
first face that the workbench detects while performing the operation.
- up to last: The extrusion stops at the last face that the
workbench detects while performing the operation.
- up to plane: The extrusion stops at the selected Plane
while performing the operation.
- up to surface: The Extrusion stops at the selected surface
while performing the operation. If the surface cuts the extruding
profile, partially, app continues the extrusion for the uncut portion of
the profile.
If you wish to use the Up to plane or Up to surface
option, you can then define an offset between the limit plane (or surface)
and the bottom of the pocket. For more information, refer to
Up to Surface Pad. |
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To define a specific depth, set the Type
parameter to Dimension, and enter 30mm.
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Alternatively, select LIM1
manipulator and drag it downwards to 30. |
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Click
to open the Sketcher. You can then edit the profile
to modify your pocket. Once you have done your modifications, you just need
to quit the Sketcher. The Pocket dialog box reappears to let you
finish your design. |
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About Directions
By default, if you extrude a profile, the application extrudes normal to
the plane used to create the profile. To specify another direction, click
the More button to display the whole Pocket Definition dialog
box, uncheck the Normal to profile option and select a new
creation direction in the geometry.
- When copying and pasting a pocket using the As specified in Part
document option (for more, see Handling
Parts in a Multi-Document Environment), note that if the extrusion
direction used does not belong to the same body as the pocket, this
direction is not taken into account by the Copy and Paste
commands.
- If you extrude a surface (for example created in the Generative
Shape Design workbench), you need to select an element defining the
direction because there is no default direction.
Limits
If you set the Up to Plane or Up
to Surface option, contextual commands creating new planes or
surfaces you may need are then available from the Limit field:
- Create Plane: see
Creating Planes
- XY Plane: the XY plane of the current coordinate system
origin (0,0,0) becomes the limit.
- YZ Plane: the YZ plane of the current coordinate system
origin (0,0,0) becomes the limit.
- ZX Plane: the ZX plane of the current coordinate system
origin (0,0,0) becomes the limit.
- Create Join: joins surfaces or curves. See
Joining
Surfaces or Curves.
- Create Extrapol: extrapolates surface boundaries. See
Extrapolating Surfaces.
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If you create any of these elements, the application then displays the
corresponding icon in front of the Reference field.
Clicking this icon enables you to edit the element.
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If you have chosen to work in a
hybrid design environment, the elements created on the fly via the
contextual commands mentioned above are aggregated into sketch-based
features. |
- The application allows you to create pockets from open profiles
provided existing geometry can trim the pockets.
- If your insert a new body and create a pocket as the first feature of
this body, the application creates material:
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- Pockets can also be created from sketches including several profiles.
These profiles must not intersect. In the following example, the initial
sketch is made of eight profiles. Applying the Pocket command
on this sketch lets you create eight pockets:
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- The Up to next limit is the
first face the application detects while extruding the profile. This face
must stops the whole extrusion, not only a portion of it, and the hole
goes thru material, as shown in the figure below:
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Preview |
Result |
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When using the Up to Surface option, remember
that if the selected surface partly stops the extrusion, the application
continues to extrude the profile until it meets a surface that can fully
stop the operation.
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