Use the Specify Electrode Blank page to specify the blank used to manufacture the electrode from. This topic covers the options displayed when the workpiece is an active solid, and your model also contains a pre-selected electrode solid with a base.
The base, formed by the top part of the blank, can either include or interact with an electrode holder. If you are creating a vector-burn electrode that may require a specialised holder, click
to specify details of the vector burn, before specifying the blank.
- Select a standard blank from the list. The blanks available are those which fit the dimensions of the electrode.
If you select a standard blank, its dimensions are automatically added to the Electrode Wizard and you can't change the values.
- Select User Defined to create your own blank:
- Click the
/
button to specify whether to create a rectangular or circular blank.
- Enter values in the following boxes to specify the dimensions of the blank:
- Length — To specify the length of a rectangular blank.
- Width/Diameter — To specify the width of a rectangular blank, or the diameter of a circular blank.
- Height — To specify the height of the blank.
- Select an option from the Material list to specify the material of the blank. Choose from copper or one of three grades of graphite:
Name
Grade
Grain size
Graphite-1
High
< 3
m
Graphite-2
Medium
3-10
m
Graphite-3
Low
> 10
m
These grades are used by the Electrode Family page to determine the recommended values for the undersizes.
Tip: You can add new materials to this list using the materials alias file. - Enter X, Y, and Z coordinates in the Blank Top-Centre boxes, so that they are positioned at the centre of the blank.
These coordinates default to the top-centre of the blank's bounding box. They are used to position the electrode on the set-up sheets.
- Enter X, Y, and Z coordinates in the Datum Point boxes, to define the required datum position for your electrode.
This specifies the position of the electrode in the model, and is used for machining purposes.
- Type values into the boxes.
- Click the
button to open the Position dialog, and use position entry tools.
- Click
to automatically rotate the electrode blank to the best position. Alternatively, enter a value in Rotation to specify the angle by which the blank rotates around the Z axis.
- Enter a value in Burn Depth to specify the height of the burn region in the burn direction.
Note: To specify coordinates, you can either:Tip: If you rotate the blank, you may be able to specify a smaller blank for the electrode. This can reduce the amount of material wasted and also save on machining time.Note: You can edit the blanks.csv file so that user-defined blanks appear with the standard blanks in the list. - Click the