Molds require a great deal of specialized design work in order to produce the various core and cavity components that make up the finished molding surfaces. With the design part as a starting point, the mold designer may be required to:


VGX ™ Core/Cavity (VCC) provides specialized tools to support this specialized type of design work. These tools can significantly reduce cycle time for the mold designer. Part Interrogation VCC includes an advanced Die Lock Check function that identifies and categorizes surfaces as one of:

Surface categories are communicated clearly by applying surface colors to each group. Modeling problems are quickly identified. Draft issues are easy to under-stand. Undercut surfaces are obvious. This tool is tremendously helpful for giving the mold designer a starting point to work on. Multiple pull vectors can betried to discover the most effective molding strategy. Surface colors can be permanently saved for downstream use. Part Modification VCC conveniently provides the most frequently used modification tools right on its tear-away icon palette:

The mold designer often needs one or more of these tools to ensure that the part has a workable parting line and can in fact be molded. Mold SurfacesShut-off and parting surfaces are a critical part of the mold design. The underlying NURB geometry can be used to create shut-off surfaces in the interior of the part, providing for smooth and continuous surfaces inside the mold. VCC also includes a unique surface operator specifically developed to produce parting surfaces quickly and easily. This surface operator is remarkably flexible and interactive, allowing the user to achieve complex results very quickly. Parting surfaces can automatically be generated from the parting line identified by the Die Lock Check. These surfaces can be dynamically manipulated to create complete or partial parting sur-faces associated to the part edges. Core/Cavity Splitting The ultimate aim of the mold design is to produce individual models of the core side, cavity side, and any side action or lifter pieces. Once the parting surfaces have been created, VCC automatically divides the insert block into the separate pieces which make up the mold volume. Again, this process is completely associative so that these pieces can each be brought up to date in case of a change to the original design part.