A groove template is a saved grooving setup: the width, depth and offset, set once under a name, which are then applied to a part in one click. Instead of entering the same groove dimensions by hand every time, the technologist takes a ready template.
What a template stores
A groove template stores the main parameters of the channel: width, depth and offset. The template has a name — to recognise it in the list, and a colour — it helps to tell templates apart right on the part.
Why they are needed
- Speed. Repeated grooves — for the back panel, the drawer bottom, glass — are placed in one click, without re-entering the dimensions.
- Uniformity. One template for the whole project guarantees that the groove is the same everywhere — there will be no channels «wandering» by a couple of millimetres.
- Clarity. An applied template is visible on the part by its colour and number — it is immediately clear which groove is where.
How working with templates is arranged
Templates go through three steps:
- Creation. A template is created from the grooving form with the «Create template» button (see the article «Creating a template from the groove form»).
- Library. Saved templates are kept in the company's template tree (see the article «The grooving template library»).
- Application. A template is applied to a part via the «Grooving template» button (see the article «Applying a template to a part»), and the applied templates are visible by the four sides of the part (see the article «Templates on a part: the four-sides view»).
A template groove and a manual one
A groove can be set manually in the form (see the subcategory «Grooving a part») or placed with a template. The difference is that a template groove is linked to its template, while a manual one is an independent operation. So template grooves are changed through the templates, and manual ones — in the form or by group processing.
Next
Each step in detail — in the articles of this subcategory: creating a template, the library, applying to a part and the view by sides.