Xsection GCD

Xsection GCDs represent part cross-sections in planes orthogonal to the ram direction.

By default, aPriori creates up to 11, evenly-spaced Xsections, including Xsections near the top and bottom of the part (the bottom Xsection is half the blank thickness from the bottom of the part, and the top Xsection is half the blank thickness from the top of the part).

Administrators can customize the number of Xsections by setting the site variable maxNumXsections (11 in starting point VPEs).

When you select an Xsection, the Viewer displays the following:

• Red line for the rectangle that closely bounds the Xsection.

• Blue line for the corresponding cross-section of the part’s bounding box

• Green dots, which mark the Xsection boundary where it doesn’t coincide with the bounding rectangle.

The cost model examines the arrangement and widths of the Xsections in order to determine whether deep draw hydroforming is required (see Process Feasibility for Hydroforming), and in order to determine the number of draws required by deep draw hydroforming (see Number of Forming Draws).

Important Xsection properties used by the cost model include the following:

• Section Position: this is the distance between the Xsection and the bottom of the part.

• Rectangle Lower Left and Rectangle Upper Right: these provide coordinates for opposite corners of the Xsection extent, and allow calculation of the extent dimensions in millimeters. Note: These values remain millimeter-based regardless of whether you have chosen Show English Units from the View menu.

Note that some Xsection properties apply only to the Stretch Forming process group, and so do not have a value in the context of the Hydroforming process group.