Setting critical dimensions for a Shrink analysis

The Shrink analysis will verify whether these critical dimensions can be met given the calculated recommended % shrinkage allowance for the part as a whole.

  1. Click Critical Dimensions (Boundary Conditions tab > Dimensions > Critical Dimensions) and select Shrink from the drop-down menu.
  2. If the model nodes are not displayed, in the Layers pane, select the check box next to the layer(s) containing the model nodes.
  3. For each critical dimension to be defined:
    1. Click on the node location at one end of the critical dimension. The number of the selected node will be displayed in the Node 1 box.
    2. Click on the node location at the other end of the critical dimension. The number of the selected node will be displayed in the Node 2 box and the distance between the two nodes is displayed.
    3. Specify the allowed +ve and -ve tolerances for the selected model dimension or accept the default values which represent +/- 5% of the modeled dimension.
    4. Click Apply to create the critical dimension input for Shrink analysis. The critical dimension will appear as a light blue bar on the part.
  4. To change the attributes of an existing critical dimension:
    1. Click Select, Viewer toolbar Select.
    2. Click on the critical dimension symbol (light blue solid line).
    3. Right-click and select Properties from the context sensitive menu.
    4. Edit the properties as required and click OK.