You can register a solid as an electrode within PowerShape. This electrode can then be drawn on the EDM setup sheet.
If you have a number of solids which represent an electrode and its base, you need to add them together before registering:
- Make any one of the solids active. To make a solid active, right click the solid and select Active from the context menu. Alternatively click the flag next to the solid in the solid tree. The flag turns red, indicating the solid is now active.
- Select the other solid which is inactive.
- Click the
Feature
button and, from the
Solid Feature menu, select the
Add the selected solid to the active solid
button.
To register a solid as an electrode:
- Make active the solid from which the original electrode was extracted.
- Select inactive solids. If an active solid is included in the selection, then PowerShape ignores it.
- Click Wizard tab > Electrode panel > Create.
- If your solid is a version 8 solid, contains more than 20 surfaces, and is not watertight, you are asked if you want to make it watertight. If you select Yes, the
Make Watertight Wizard appears to help you make the solid watertight (within tolerance). This wizard allows you to repair the solid before using it.
If your solid is watertight, a message asks whether it contains a base. Click:
- No if the Electrode solid does not include a base. To specify the blank that becomes the base, you use the standard Specify Electrode Blank page.
- Yes if the Electrode solid includes a base. The Specify Electrode Blank page that is displayed lets you define the parameters of the blank to fit the electrode base.
The parameters from the last electrode you created are displayed in the dialog.
- Complete the Specify Electrode Blank page of the wizard to define the electrode's blank.
- Click Next to display the Specify Electrode Holderpage of the Electrode wizard. Continue to use the Electrode wizard to register the electrode.