Challenge

Switch Bezel Design

MMakimai Prakash E29 Sept 2022

CATIA

SWITCH BEZEL

Objective :

To design switch bezel as per automotive OEM Standard.
Create B Class and C Class and tooling axis.
Converting close surface into the solid inside part workbench and providing the thickness of 2.5mm.
Performing draft analysis to verify the creation of the Tooling axis and C Class surface.

Software :

CATIA V5 (Generative Shape Design & Part design)

Abstract:

In this project, I modelling a Switch Bezel using Catia v5. I received input as Class A Surface. I Check the direction to eject the tool based on the component design. Later I checked whether all faces that intersected will clear the direction based on the tooling axis. I started working on the Draft Analysis tool to check if our tooling direction clears the path for easy removal of material from the tool. After that, I go class B creation using Advance tools from the surface followed by class C creation using the sweep command. after design A ,B ,C class surface converting close surface into solid inside the part workbench.

Design Methodology with images:

Procedure for creating Tooling Axis

A Reference Point is created along the Surface zero and a new Axis system is created
The X Direction along Class A and Y direction along Class A was used to create the Tooling direction
Finally the Tooling axis is created by bisecting the two lines and it is published. Class A Surface as input using surface operation commands Class B is developed
The tooling Axis determines the direction of the Class C boundary swept with draft direction.
When viewing from the tooling direction normal all the parts that are drafted should be visible so it gives a rough idea to determine product manufacturing in Injection molding.

Procedure for B Surface Creation

The next step is to design the B surface for the input which is usually the surface where all engineering aspects and support creations are done.
The B surface Creation is performed using surface operations in CATIA which is an offset from Class A with dimension proportional to the thickness of the part
In the Switch bezel the B surface is offset 2.5mm from the input which is the thickness of the part
The B surface is extrapolated compared to the A surface and forms the bottom skin of the part.

Procedure for C Surface Creation

The Next step is to form the C surface which is an intermediate surface between A and B and is used to give the closed surface appearance to the design
The C Surface is swept using the profile as the boundary line of Class A which is the Guide curve with a subtype along the draft direction.
The Direction of the sweep is the tooling direction formed earlier
The draft angle for the sweep operation is provided which is 3 Degree and the surface is swept for length above the thickness of the specified part
The C surface is refined using smooth Curve options to remove the complexity and patches along the swept surface
Finally the Class A and Class C surfaces are joined together and the connexity of surfaces should be less than 0.003mm and the surfaces are merged.

Draft analysis

The Draft Analysis command enables you to detect if the part you drafted will be easily removed. This type of analysis is performed based on color ranges identifying zones on the analyzed element where the deviation from the draft direction at any point, corresponds to specified values .

CLASS A SURFACE DRAFT ANALYSIS