Week 9 - Project - Master Section Development

Report:

Introduction:

B-pillar is a part in the midsection of the roof of a car or an automobile. In this project, a B-pillar has been created using the given Class-A surface. First, the tooling axis is determined for Class-A and the draft analysis is carried out. Then using the surfacing features, the solid block for the B-pillar is created and later the features are added. Again, the draft analysis is carried out for the complete 3D part.

Draft Analysis is the process of assessing the designed plastic part if it has the drafting angles as per the requirement. In CATIA, draft analysis is done by the tool called Feature Draft Analysis. It shows the different draft angles available at different parts and says if it meets the requirement or not by various color codes. In this example, a B-pillar’s class-A surface is taken for the draft analysis study.

Fig.: Class-A with the Master-Section

Fig.: Complete 3D Part with features

Objective:

To perform the draft analysis of a B-pillar using CATIA V5.

To report back for possible errors on the Class-A surface.

To create the 3D part of the B-pillar from given Class-A with the features like ribs and dog houses.

To perform the draft analysis of the features in the B-pillar.

Steps involved:

1) Determining and making the Tooling Axis

• Checking the boundary:
  
  The given part is first checked for its boundary to find if there are any gaps or openings or discontinuity in the boundary. If there is more than one boundary because of the openings, they can be separated.

• Insert a coordinate system:
  
  In order to perform the other steps, first, insert a point at almost the symmetric center of the part and insert a coordinate system at the point. The coordinate system should be facing in all directions the same as the default coordinate system.

• Determining the tooling axis:
  
  By looking at the part from various directions, the optimum tooling axis is determined by taking into consideration of various factors such as low cost, avoiding side cores, etc. For this class A surface, by visualization, it is clearly seen that the Y-Axis can be the tooling axis for this B-pillar because the locator pin can be seen facing Y-axis in the Master section.
  

• Creating the tooling axis:
  
  Now, using the help of the locator pin's lines in the master section, the bisecting line is created to create a new line (TOOLING AXIS) and select the result in the required direction. This will give the tooling axis we require. It can be made bold and the color can be changed for better visibility.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

2) Publishing the Class-A and the tooling axis:

Publishing elements in CATIA V5 are used for various purposes. It helps to make the references of the part as a datum entity of the part. Here, the B-pillar's Class-A surface and the tooling axis are published before the tooling axis is created. The following screenshot of published surfaces contains all the elements required to publish; Tooling axis, Class A surface, B surface, C surface, Master sections, and Lifter axis.

3) Perform Draft Analysis:

Now, perform the draft analysis of the B-pillar. To do so, go to tools > analysis > Feature Draft Analysis. This tool has three groups of options namely; mode, display, and direction. First, the second icon from the direction group is selected and the red dot in the compass is clicked and dragged to the part to be drafted. The line in the dragged element is matched with the tooling axis and it is locked using the first icon in the direction group. It will define the tooling axis direction and lock it. Then click any face on the B-pillar. It will turn green or green and red based on the draft angles. If the minimum draft angle is set to 3 and we have only 2 degrees of draft angle, it will show that portion in red. If the portion has enough draft angle, it will show in green. Thus, the draft analysis is complete.

* Screenshots of the Draft analysis report for the Class A surface and final plastic component:

Draft Analysis of the CLASS A SURFACE (with 3-degree draft requirement):

Draft Analysis of the 3D COMPONENT without features (with 3-degree draft requirement):

Draft Analysis of the DOG HOUSE along the MAIN TOOLING AXIS (with a 0.5-degree draft requirement):

Draft Analysis of the DOG HOUSE along the LIFTER AXIS (with a 0.5-degree draft requirement):

Draft Analysis of the RIBS along the MAIN TOOLING AXIS (with a 0.5-degree draft requirement):

DRAFT ANALYSIS REPORT IN Ms. PowerPoint (PPT):

Screenshots of the completed design with LOCATORS and HEAT STAKES in various orientations (Isometric, Front, Side, and Top View):

Isometric:

Front:

Side:

Top View:

Specification Tree Structure (after completion of final component):