Authoring punch patterns
A punch pattern is a named list of punches, authored on the Punch Patterns page or imported with an order (see Punch pattern import). A pattern is machine-agnostic: it says what to punch and where on the part, and Eclipse works out how each machine produces it when the pattern is solved.
Each row in the pattern grid is one punch: a type (what to punch), an X reference and offset (where along the part), and a Y reference and offset (where across it).
Punch types
| Type | What it punches | Who resolves it |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | A named shape — RD500, SLOT2X1, … — looked up in each machine's shape table. | Eclipse. Shape punches are fully resolved per machine: the shape code picks a press and tool, per-tooling-code flips and offsets apply, and segment references are converted to real positions. The controller receives only absolute positions. |
| Tool | A specific tool number. | The controller. Tool punches pass through as-is, so the pattern only runs on machines that have that exact tool. |
| Macro | A named macro — a reusable sub-pattern — placed at a position along the part. | The controller expands the macro when the part runs. |
Shape punches are the portable kind, and everything on the rest of this page about solving — flips, segments, repetition — applies to them. Tool and macro punches are carried through to the controller unchanged.
A shape code can also be an alias — a name from the global shape alias table that stands for one or more real shapes, so a single punch row can mean a cluster of hits. The editor shows what an alias resolves to next to the shape code; the expansion happens at solve time.
A pattern can itself be a macro: its punches then position relative to the point where the macro is placed, and only the Leading Center and Trailing Center X references are allowed inside it (the editor flags anything else, and the save is rejected with "Macros must have all X Reference values set to LeadingCenter or TrailingCenter.").
X references — where along the part
Every punch has an X reference naming an anchor and an X offset measured from it. "Leading" is the first end of the part to leave the machine.
The four anchors
| X Reference | The offset measures… |
|---|---|
| Leading Edge | …from the leading end. The position is fixed — it does not move if the part gets longer. |
| Trailing Edge | …back from the trailing end. The position moves with part length. |
| Leading Center | …from the middle of the part, toward the leading end. |
| Trailing Center | …from the middle of the part, toward the trailing end. |
These anchors are what make a pattern length-parametric. The pattern stores the anchor and offset, not a final position; Eclipse computes absolute positions from the actual part length at solve time. A typical stretching pattern pins some punches to the leading end, some to the trailing end, and lets the middle take care of itself.
Repeating punches — Even Spacing
For a run of evenly spaced holes, rows with the same shape code work together as a group:
- An Even Spacing row's offset is the pitch, not a position. Holes repeat at that pitch to the end of the part — the hole count comes from the part length, so longer parts simply get more holes.
- An optional Leading Edge row of the same shape becomes the start anchor: the first hole lands exactly there, then every pitch after. (The anchor row doesn't emit a separate hole of its own.) Without one, the first hole lands one pitch in from the leading edge.
- An optional Spacing Limit row of the same shape defines a trailing dead zone: its offset is a distance from the trailing end that the run must stay out of. It never emits a hole itself.
For example, pitch 10 on a 100-inch part puts holes at 10, 20, … 90. Add a Leading Edge row at 15 and they become 15, 25, … 95. A Spacing Limit of 15 instead keeps the run out of the last 15 inches.
One even-spacing run per shape code per pattern — use different shape codes for independent runs.
Proportional spacing
Where Even Spacing fixes the pitch and derives the count, the proportional references fix a bound on the spacing and pick the count that divides the part evenly:
- ProportionalMin — the offset is the minimum acceptable spacing. Eclipse picks the largest hole count that keeps the actual (even) spacing at or above it.
- ProportionalMax — the offset is the maximum acceptable spacing; Eclipse picks the smallest count that keeps the spacing at or below it.
- ProportionalLimit — an optional companion row giving the bound on the other side. If no count can satisfy both, the pattern fails to solve for that part length.
As with Even Spacing, same-shape Leading Edge and Trailing Edge rows act as companions: they pull the span's endpoints in from the part ends and place a hole exactly on each anchor, with the proportional holes dividing the span between them.
Kerf Adjust and Independent
These two are part of the controller's pattern language and remain selectable for tool punches, which pass through to the controller. They are not supported on shape punches — a shape punch using either will not solve.
Y references — where across the part
The Y reference and Y offset place the punch across the strip. Machine plus/minus is the machine's own Y direction (see machine orientation for how it's drawn).
| Y Reference | Meaning |
|---|---|
| None | No explicit reference — behaves as Center+. |
| Center+ / Center- | Offset from the strip center, toward machine plus / minus. |
| +Edge / -Edge | Offset measured inward from the strip's plus / minus edge. Offset 0 is on the edge. |
| Macro+ / Macro- | Offset from the macro's placement point, toward plus / minus — for punches inside a macro pattern. |
On a shape punch, filling in the Segment column changes the frame: the Y reference then selects an anchor within the named profile segment instead of the machine. See Segment references.
Authoring shortcuts
The editor has two conveniences that expand into ordinary punches when the pattern is saved:
- Mirrors. Center Mirror and Edge Mirror (offered for both X and Y) create the symmetric pair in one row: Center Mirror becomes a Center+ and a Center- punch with the same offset (Leading Center / Trailing Center on the X side), Edge Mirror becomes the +Edge / -Edge pair (Leading Edge / Trailing Edge on X). This is a one-shot shortcut — after saving, the pattern shows the two expanded rows, not the mirror.
- Comma lists. The offset and tool fields accept comma-separated values; the row expands into every combination. Three X offsets and two Y offsets make six punches.
From pattern to parts
The pattern's Solutions tab shows the result per machine — the solved operations, or the solution alert explaining why the machine can't produce it. Each solved row's flat view draws the punched blank exactly as that machine runs it, which is the quickest way to sanity-check a new pattern.