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CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Pro/ENGINEER Wild Fire

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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S.NO

CONTENT

PAGE
NO.

1.

INTRODUCTION TO PRO-E

2.

SKETCHER

3.

PART MODELLING

11

4.

HOLE, ROUND, CHAMFER

28

5.

SHELL AND RIBS

43

6.

PATTERN & COPIES

50

7.

ADVANCED MODELLING

57

8.

HELICAL SWEEP

66

9.

TOROIDAL BEND

68

10.

ASSEMBLY

86

11.

DETAILING

101

12

SURFACE MODELLING

115

13.

123

14.

BEHAVIORAL MODELLING
EXTENSION
PRO-MECHANISM

15.

CADDCAMM TIPS

163

16.

SHEETMETAL

184

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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Introduction to Pro/ENGINEER
This Introduction to Pro/ENGINEER Training Guide may not be copied,
reproduced, disclosed, transferred, or reduced to any form, including electronic
medium or machine-readable form, or transmitted or publicly performed by any
means, Electronic or otherwise, unless Parametric Technology Corporation
(PTC) consents in writing in advance. User and training documentation from
Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) is subject to the copyright laws of
the United States and other countries and is provided under a license agreement
that restricts copying, disclosure, and use of Such documentation. PTC hereby
grants to the licensed user the right to make copies in printed form of this
documentation if provided on software media, but only for internal/personal use
and in accordance with the license agreement under which the applicable
software is licensed. Any copy made shall include the PTC copyright notice and
Any other proprietary notice provided by PTC. This documentation may not be
disclosed, transferred, modified, or reduced to any form, including electronic
media, or transmitted or made publicly available by any means without the
Prior written consent of PTC and no authorization is granted to make copies for
such purposes. Information described herein is furnished for general
information only, is subject to change without notice, and should
not be construed as a warranty or commitment by PTC. PTC assumes no
responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this
document.

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SKETCHER

About Creating Geometry in Sketcher


To start sketching, select an option from the Sketcher toolbar or the Sketch menu. Create
entities by clicking points inside the Sketcher window.
As you move the mouse pointer, Sketcher determines applicable constraints and displays
them; Pro/ENGINEER displays the active constraint in red. As you create geometry it snaps
to satisfy these constraints (for example, horizontal or vertical line constraint).
After the entities are sketched, you can apply additional constraints by selecting the
Constrain option in the Sketch menu.
You use the mouse in Sketcher in different ways:

Use the left mouse button to pick points on the screen and the middle mouse button to
abort the current action.

Press SHIFT and click the left mouse button to switch between circle and ellipse
creation. You can use the same mouse operation to switch between circular fillet and
elliptical fillet creation.

While you are sketching, you can disable the current constraint (shown in red) by
pressing the right mouse button and lock the constraint by pressing SHIFT and the right
mouse button.

Press CONTROL and click the left mouse button to gather selected items.

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You can click the right mouse button menu for a shortcut menu with frequently used
sketching commands (while you are not in the rubberband mode).

The system automatically dimensions geometry as you sketch entities by adding only those
dimensions that are necessary to solve the section. The system dimensions are called "weak"
dimensions (they appear in gray), because the system can remove or change them without
your input. Use the Dimension option in the Sketch menu to add "strong" dimensions (they
appear in yellow
To Create a Line
1.

Click Sketch > Line.

2.
Click at the location at which you want to start the line. A "rubberband" line appears
attached to the cursor.
2.
Click at the location at which you want the line to end. Pro/ENGINEER creates a line
between the two points and starts another rubberband line.
2.

Repeat Step 3 to create additional lines.

2.

Click the middle mouse button to end line creation. The rubberband line disappears

To Create a Centerline
Centerlines are used to define the axis of revolution of a revolved feature, to define a line of
symmetry within a section or to create construction lines. Centerlines have infinite length and
are not used to create feature geometry.
1.

Click Sketch > Line> Centerline.

2.
Click to select a location at which to intersect the centerline. A centerline appears
attached to the cursor.
2.
Click a second location at which to intersect the centerline. Pro/ENGINEER creates a
Centerline between the two points.
To Create a Line Tangent to Two Entities
1.

Click
and then click
Line Tangent.

located in the Line creation fly-out or Sketch > Line >

2.

Select a start location on an arc, circle. Use middle mouse button to end the command.

3.

Select an end location on an arc, circle. Use middle mouse button to end the command

To Create a Rectangle
1.

Click Sketch > Rectangle.

2.

Place one vertex with the left mouse button and drag the rectangle to the desired size.

2.

To place the other vertex, click the left mouse button.

The four lines of the rectangle are independent. You can handle them (trim, align, and so
forth) individually.
To Create a Circle
1.

Click Sketch > Circle. The default circle type is Center/Point.

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2.

Click on the arrow to the right of the Circle button to select the creation method.

Center/Pointcreate a circle by picking the center point and a point that lies on the
circle.

ConcentricCreate a concentric circle. Select a reference circle or an arc to define


the center point. As you move the cursor, the circle rubber bands until you press the left
mouse to finish. The selected referenced circle can be a sketched entity or a model
edge. If the selected circle reference is a model entity that is "unknown" to Sketcher, it
automatically becomes a reference entity.

To Create a Circle Tangent to Three Entities


1.

Click
and then click
> 3 Tangent.

located in the Circle creation fly-out or Sketch > Circle

2.

Select a start location on an arc, circle, or line. Use middle mouse button to end the
command.

3.

Select an end location on an arc, circle, or line. Use middle mouse button to end the
command.

4.
Select a third location on an arc, circle, or line. Use middle mouse button to end the
command
To Create a Circle through Three Points
1.

Click
> 3 Point.

and then click

located in the Circle creation fly-out or Sketch > Circle

2.

Select a start location on an arc. Use middle mouse button to end the command.

3.

Select the first point on the circle.

4.

Select the second point on the circle.

5.

Select the third point on the circle

To Create an Ellipse
1.

Click Sketch > Circle > Ellipse.


Note: You can also use this command by clicking the Ellipse button in the Sketcher
toolbar.

2.

Click the center of the ellipse.

2.

Drag the ellipse to the desired shape and click the left mouse button to finish.

2.
Once the center and the corner of the defining rectangle of the ellipse are selected, the
sketch is created and two dimensions, Rx and Ry are placed in the sketch. The dimensions
Rx and Ry define the length of the X and Y axis of the ellipse. The following figure is an
example of an ellipse.
To Create a Conic
1.

Click Sketch > Arc > Conic.

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2.

Pick the first endpoint for the conic using the left mouse button.

3.

Pick the second endpoint for the conic using the left mouse button.

4.

Pick the location for the shoulder using the left mouse button. The conic rubber bands
as you move the cursor.

To Create an Arc
1.

Click Sketch > Arc.


2.

Select one of the following creation methods from the ARC menu:

3 Point/Tangent End create a 3-point arc by picking its endpoints and an


additional point on the arc. To create a tangent arc, pick an endpoint of an existing
entity to determine tangency, and then pick a location for the other endpoint of the arc.

ConcentricCreate a concentric arc. Select an arc to use its center, rubberband to the
desired radius, and sketch the arc.

Center/EndsCreate an arc by picking the center point of the arc and the endpoints
of the arc.

Example: Creating an Arc using a Target


When you create a 3 Point/Tangent End Arc on an existing endpoint, Sketcher displays a
target symbol attached to the endpoint. To create a 3 point arc, drag the cursor out of a
quadrant perpendicular to the end of the entity. To create a tangent end arc, drag the cursor
out of a quadrant tangent to the end of the entity.
1.

Endpoint

2.

Existing Geometry

3.

Quadrants for 3 Point Arc creation

4.

Quadrants for tangent end are creation.

To Create a Fillet Arc


The Fillet option creates a rounded intersection between any two entities. The size and
location of the fillet depends on the pick locations.
1.

Click Sketch > Fillet > Circular.

2.

Click the first line using the left mouse button.

2.
Click the second line using the left mouse button. Pro/ENGINEER creates a fillet
from the selected point that is closest to the intersection point of the two lines and trims the
lines to the intersection point.
Sketching a Fillet Arc
The Fillet option creates a rounded intersection between any two entities. The size and
location of the fillet depends on the pick locations.
You cannot create a fillet between the following entities:

Parallel lines

A centerline and another entity

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When a fillet is inserted between two entities, the system automatically divides two entities at
the fillet tangency points. If you add the fillet between two non-parallel lines, the lines are
automatically trimmed to the fillet. If you add the fillet between any other entities, you must
delete leftover segments manually.
Example: Fillet Arcs
Fillets Between Different Entities
1.

Fillets between lines, splines and circles

2.

Division points

3.

Resulting geometry after deleting entities between division points

To Create an Arc Tangent to Three Entities


1.

Click
Tangent.

and then click

located in the Arc creation fly-out or Sketch > Arc > 3

2.

Select a start location on an arc, circle, or line. Use middle mouse button to end the
command.

3.

Select an end location on an arc, circle, or line. Use middle mouse button to end the
command.

To Create an Elliptical Fillet


The axes of the elliptical fillet are horizontal and vertical. The elliptical fillet is tangent at its
endpoints to the entities selected for its creation. For this operation, you can select the same
entities as for Arc, Fillet.
1.

Click Sketch > Fillet > Elliptical.

2.

Click the entities between which you want to create an elliptical fillet.

To Create a Spline
Splines are curves that pass smoothly through any number of intermediate points.
1.

Click

or Sketch > Spline.

2.

Click in the Sketcher window to add points to the spline. A "rubberband" spline
appears attached to the cursor.

3.

Repeat Step 2 to add additional spline points. Click the middle mouse button to
end spline creation.

Using a Coordinate System


You can add a coordinate system to a section to be used with the following:

SplineYou can dimension a spline to a coordinate system. This allows you to


modify the spline points by specifying the x-, y-, and z-axis coordinates with respect to the
coordinate system.

ReferenceYou can add coordinate systems to any section to aid dimensioning.

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Blend feature sectionYou can use the coordinate system to establish the relative
origin for each of the sections used for blends.

To Create a Coordinate System


1.

Click Sketch > Coord Sys.

2.

Click a location to locate the coordinate system.

Creating an Axis Point


Use the Axis Point option from the Sketch menu to create an axis that is normal to the
sketching plane. The depth of the axis is determined by the geometry of the feature and is
similar to an axis of a cylindrical hole.
You can use the axis created with the Axis Point option for referencing and dimensioning
both in Sketcher and throughout Pro/ENGINEER. The axis point behaves as an axis created
with Datum > Axis in Part mode. You can include the Sketcher axis in a punch UDF and slot
To Create an Axis Point
1.

Click Sketch > Axis Point.

2.

Click a point.

3.

The system creates an axis through the point

To Create Text in Sketcher


1.

Click Sketch > Text and select a start point on the sketching plane to set text height
and orientation.

2.

Click an end point. Sketcher creates a construction line between the start point and the
end point. The length of the construction line determines the height of the text, while the
angle of the line determines the text orientation. The Text dialog box opens.

3.

Under Text line, select Enter text manually or Use parameter.


Enter text manuallyType a single line of up to 79 characters of text.

If required, click Text Symbol to insert special text symbols. The Text Symbol dialog
box opens. Select the symbol that you want to insert. The symbol appears in the Text line
box and in the graphics area. Click Close to close the Text Symbol dialog box.
Use ParameterAllows you to select a parameter that you have defined. The value
of the parameter is displayed on the screen.

a.

Click Use Parameter. The Select Parameter dialog box opens.

b.
Under Look In, select Part, Feature, Annotation Element, Surface, or Edge to
determine the object type. The name of the object type you select, appears in the Look In
box.
c.
Select a parameter from the Parameters Table and click OK. The name of the
selected parameter appears in the Text line box and cannot be modified. The value of the
parameter is displayed on the screen.
1. You can specify any of the following under Font in the Text dialog box.
o

FontSelect a type face from a list of PTC-supplied fonts and TrueType fonts.

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Aspect ratioUse the slide bar to increase or decrease the aspect ratio of your text.

Slant angleUse the slide bar to increase or decrease the slant angle of your text.

Place along curveClick this box to place your text along a curve and select the
curve on which you want to place the text. Pro/ENGINEER prompts you to select the
direction in which you want the text to flow. Click Flip to change the direction.

Click OK to create the text. If you have selected Enter text manually, then the text is
created on the sketching plane and if you have selected Use parameter, then the value of the
parameter is displayed in the current sketcher window.
5.

To Trim and Extend Entities


1.
2.

Bring the pointer over the entity that you want to trim. The entity is highlighted.
Holding down the CONTROL key, drag the endpoint of the entity that you want to
trim. The entity is trimmed or extended in the direction in which you drag it. At every
intersection, the constraint that it created is displayed.

To Trim Entities to Each Other


1.

Click Edit > Trim > Corner. Pro/ENGINEER prompts you select two entities to
trim.

2.
Click any two entities (they do not have to intersect) on the portion of the entity that
you want to keep. Pro/ENGINEER trims the two entities together
Mirroring Geometry
Use the Mirror command from the Edit menu to mirror Sketcher geometry about a sketched
centerline. For example, you can create half of the section and then mirror it.
Pro/ENGINEER uses the dimensions of one side to solve the other. This reduces the number
of dimensions necessary to solve the section. When you mirror geometry, Sketcher mirrors
constraints too.
To Mirror Geometry
1.

Make sure the sketch contains a centerline.

2.

Select an entity or multiple entities to mirror.

3.

Click Edit > Mirror.

4.
Click a centerline. The system mirrors all selected geometry about the selected
centerline.

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PARTMODELING

About Part
Pro/ENGINEER Part enables you to design models as solids in a progressive threedimensional solid modeling environment. Solid models are geometric models that offer mass
properties such as volume, surface area, and inertia. If you manipulate any model, the 3-D
model remains solid.
Pro/ENGINEER provides a progressive environment in which you create and change your
models through direct graphical manipulation. You drive the design process for your project
by selecting an object (geometry) and then choose a tool to invoke an action on that object.
This object-action workflow provides greater control over the design of your models while
allowing you to express your creativity. The user interface provides further support for this
design process
As you work with your model, the context sensitive user interface guides you through the
design process. After you choose an object and an action, Pro/ENGINEER interprets the
current modeling context and presents requirements and optional items to complete the task.
This information is displayed in a non obtrusive user interface called the dashboard that
enhances your ability to directly work with your models by assessing your actions and
guiding you through the design process.
The Pro/ENGINEER progressive modeling environment streamlines the design process
enabling you to concentrate on product development and drive your designs to new levels of
creativity.

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Design Concepts
You can design many different types of models in Pro/ENGINEER. However, before you
begin your design project, you need to understand a few basic design concepts:

Design IntentBefore you design your model, you need to identify the design intent.
Design intent defines the purpose and function of the finished product based on product
specifications or requirements. Capturing design intent builds value and longevity into
your products. This key concept is at the core of the Pro/ENGINEER feature-based
modeling process.

Feature-Based ModelingPro/ENGINEER part modeling begins with creating


individual geometric features one after another. These features become interrelated to other
features as you reference them during the design process.

Parametric DesignThe interrelationships between features allow the model to


become parametric. So, if you alter one feature and that change directly affects other
related (dependent) features, then Pro/ENGINEER dynamically changes those related
features. This parametric ability maintains the integrity of the part and preserves your
design intent.

AssociativityPro/ENGINEER maintains design intent outside of Part mode through


associativity. As you continue to design the model, you can add parts, assemblies,
drawings, and other associated objects, such as piping, sheet metal, or electrical wiring. All
of these functions are fully associative within Pro/ENGINEER. So, if you change your
design at any level, your project will dynamically reflect the changes at all levels,
preserving design intent
Features and Parts
All models that you build contain the following fundamental anatomical attributes:

FeaturesIndividual geometry created one at a time. Features include datums,


extrusions, holes, rounds, chamfers, surface features, cuts, patterns, sweeps, etc. You can
have multiple features in a part.

PartsCollection of geometric features that define the geometric entity called the
part. Parts are referred to as components in an assembly. You can have multiple
components in an assembly.

AssembliesCollection of components assembled together to create the model. You


can have multiple assemblies and subassemblies in a hierarchical order according their
relationships with other assemblies and the master assembly
Parent-Child Relationships
You can use various types of Pro/ENGINEER features as building blocks in the progressive
creation of solid parts. Certain features, by necessity, precede other more dependent features
in the design process. Those dependent features rely on the previously defined features for
dimensional and geometric references. This is known as a parent-child relationship.
The parent-child relationship is one of the most powerful aspects of Pro/ENGINEER and
parametric modeling in general. This relationship plays an important role in propagating
changes across the model to maintain the design intent. After a parent feature in a part is
changed, all children are dynamically altered to reflect the changes in the parent feature. If
you suppress or delete a parent feature, Pro/ENGINEER prompts you for an action pertaining

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to the related children. You can also minimize the cases of unnecessary or unintended parentchild relationships.
It is therefore essential to reference feature dimensions so that Pro/ENGINEER can correctly
propagate design changes throughout the model. When working with parent-child
relationships, it can be helpful to remember that parent features can exist without child
features. However, child features cannot exist without their parents.

Part modeling
Introduction
Extrusions are one of the most basic ways to design a part in Pro/E, and sketching is an
important part of the design process. In this section, you will learn basic operations by
creating a simple part using an extruded protrusion. You will then modify the part using a
cutting operation.
Starting Pro/E and Creating new Part
1. Start Pro/E Wildfire.
2. Select [File] -> [New] from the menu bar. The dialog shown in Figure 1.1 will pop up.

[Figure 1.1]
3. Type the part name [Example1] in Text Box.
4. Click [OK] button (or press Enter Key). You will see the screen shown in Figure 1.2.

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[Figure 1.2]
Sketching and Protrusion
1. Select the Extrude Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen, as shown in
Figure 1.2.
2. Select the Sketcher icon from the extrusion tool bar on the dashboard at the bottom of
the screen.
3. Select the plane labeled FRONT. This will allow you to sketch in the x y plane and
extrude in the z direction.
4. Click the Sketch button from the Section pop-up menu. Pro/E will switch to Sketch
Mode, and you will see the screen as shown in Figure 1.3.

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[Figure 1.3]
5. Now sketch the shape shown in Figure 1.4. Select [Line] from GEOMETRY menu of
the Menu Manager.
6. Use the left mouse button to click points A, B, C, D, E, F and A shown in Figure 1.4.
After clicking these points, press the mouse middle button.

[Figure 1.4]
7. Select [Regenerate] from SKETCHER menu of the Menu Manager.
8. Zoom in using the wheel on the mouse or by moving the mouse up and down while
holding CTRL and middle mouse button.
9. Move the sketch to the center of the screen by moving the mouse while holding the
middle mouse button and the Shift key.
10. Select [Modify] from SKETCHER menu.
11. Click the number that is circled by A shown in Figure. Then type the correct
dimension underneath the toolbar. In this case, type 200 in the text box, and click the
check button.
12. Similarly, change the number that is circled by B to 200, by C to 50, and by D to 50.
13. Select [Regenerate], and then Select [Done] from SKETCHER menu. Pro/E will exit
Sketcher Mode.
14. Type in 100 into the extrusion depth box on the dashboard and click check button.
15. Select [View] -> [Orientation] -> [Default Orientation] from menu bar. If you
followed the instructions correctly, you will see the three-dimensional image shown in
Figure 1.5.

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[Figure 1.5]
While there is no real undo option in Pro/E, the model tree can be used to modify
features you have already created. Right click on the part you wish to alter, and select
[Edit Definition] from the list of options. You can then alter the part.
16. Select [File] -> [Save] from menu bar and click the check button at the bottom of the
screen to save the part.
Extrude from a sketch plane by a specified depth value:
Eg: figure 1.12

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1.13 extrude on both sides of sketch plane by half the specified depth value in each
direction
Eg: figure 1.13

1.14 extrude up to the surface:


Eg: figure 1.14

Figure 1.14

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1.15: extrude with all the surface

Figure 1.15
1.16: extrude with the selected surface

Figure:1.16

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1.17 extrude to selected plane, point, curve or surface.

Figure 1.17
About the Revolved Feature
The Revolve tool
creates a feature by revolving a sketched section around a centerline.
Use the Revolve tool as one of the basic creation methods that allows you to create a
revolved geometry as a solid or surface, and to add or remove material.
You can create different types of revolved feature with the Revolve tool:

Revolved protrusionSolid, Thickened

Revolved cutSolid, Thickened

Revolved surface

Revolved surface trimRegular, Thickened


Typically, to create a revolved feature, you activate the Revolve tool and specify the feature
type, solid or surface. Then you select or create a sketch. A revolved section requires an axis
of revolution that can be created either with the section or defined by selecting model
geometry. After the Revolve tool shows you preview of the feature geometry, you can change
the angle of revolution, switch between a solid or surface, protrusion or cut, or assign a
thickness to the sketch to create a thickened feature.
Note: Legacy revolved features that were defined using the Constant angle option are
automatically converted to Variable.

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Creating a Two-Sided Feature


You can create a two-sided feature that is constructed on both sides of the sketching plane,
with a depth option defined for each side.
To create a two-sided feature, start creating a revolved feature with an angle option defined
for one side. Then select the Options slide-up panel and define the angle of revolution for the
second side.
Accessing the Revolve Tool
To access the Revolve tool, click

on the Base Features toolbar or click Insert > Revolve.

There are several ways to activate the Revolve tool:

(Preferred) Preselect a sectionCreate a section to use and then click


method is referred to as object-action.

. This

Click

and create a sketch to revolve. This method is referred to as action/object.

Preselect a datum planeSelect a datum plane or planar surface to use as the


sketching plane and then click
About the Revolve User Interface
The user interface for the Revolve tool includes:

Feature icon

Dialog bar

Slide-up panels

Shortcut menus
Feature Icon
To access the Revolve tool, click
Revolve.

on the Base Features toolbar, or click Insert >

Dialog Bar
The dialog bar consists of the following elements:
Common Revolve options

Creates a solid feature.

Creates a surface feature.

Angle optionsLists options to constrain the angle of revolution for the feature.
Choose one of these options:

Variable,

Symmetric, or

To Selected.

Angle box/Reference collectorSpecifies an angle value for the revolved feature. If a


reference is required, the text box acts as a collector and lists the reference summary.

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Flips the direction of feature creation with respect to the sketching plane.

Options used for creating a cut

Creates a cut using the revolved feature volume.

Changes the side to be removed when creating a cut.


Options used with the Thicken Sketch option

Creates a feature by assigning a thickness to the section outline.

Changes the side where a thickness is added or adds a thickness to both sides.
Thickness boxSpecifies a thickness value to apply to the section outline.

Options used for creating a Revolved Surface Trim

Trims a surface using a revolved section.

Changes the side of the quilt to be removed, or keeps both sides.

Quilt collectorIf both sides of the quilt are kept, select the side to retain the quilt id
of the original quilt.
Slide-up Panels
The Revolve tool provides the following slide-up panels:

PlacementUse this slide-up panel to redefine the feature section and specify the
axis of revolution. Click Define to create or change the section. Click inside the Axis
collector to define the axis of revolution. Click Unlink to make the section independent of
the sketched datum curve.
OptionsUse this slide-up panel to do the following:

Redefine the angle of revolution for one or both sides of the sketch.

Create a surface feature with capped ends by selecting the Capped Ends option.

PropertiesUse this slide-up panel to edit the feature name and open feature
information in the Pro/ENGINEER browser.
Shortcut Menus
When you right-click a revolved feature, the shortcut menu lists the following feature
options:

SurfaceSwitches from solid geometry to surface.

SolidSwitches from surface geometry to solid.

Remove MaterialSwitches the feature between protrusion and cut.

Thicken SketchApplies a thickness to the sketch.

Define Internal SketchCreate a feature section or select a different section.

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Flip Angle DirectionSwitches the direction of the feature creation with respect to
the sketching plane.

Flip Material SideSwitches the side of the sketch where material will be removed
when creating a cut, or adds material when creating a thickened feature.

ClearClears the active collector.


When you right-click an extruded feature, you can access the following collectors:

Placement collectorSelects another sketched datum curve to use as a section.

Angle side 1 collectorChanges a reference for the To Selected option for Side 1.

Angle side 2 collectorChanges a reference for the To Selected option for Side 2.

Trim Quilt collectorSelects another quilt to trim.

Intersection Components CollectorIn Assembly mode, defines the feature


visibility and select the components that the feature will intersect.
When you right-click a drag handle, the shortcut menu lists the following angle options:

Flip Angle DirectionSwitches the direction of the feature creation with respect to
the sketching plane.

VariableRevolves the section from the sketching plane by the specified angle
value. Type the angle value in the text box, or select one of predefined angles (90, 180,
270, and 360).

SymmetricRevolves the section on each side of the sketching plane by half of the
specified angle value.

To SelectedRevolves the section up to a selected point, curve, plane, or surface


About the Axis of Revolution
To define an axis of revolution for a revolved feature, you can use one of the following:

External referenceUse an existing part geometry of a valid type.

Internal centerlineUse a centerline created in Sketcher.


While defining a revolved feature, you can change the axis of revolution, for example, select
an external axis instead of the centerline.
Consider these rules for defining the axis of revolution:

Geometry must be sketched only on one side of the axis of revolution.


The axis of revolution (a geometric reference or a centerline) must lie in the sketching
plane of the section.

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Using Model Geometry as an Axis of Revolution


You can select an existing linear geometry as an axis of revolution. You can use the following
entities as a reference:

Datum axis

Straight edge

Straight curve

An axis of a coordinate system


Using a Sketcher Centerline as the Axis of Revolution
In Sketcher, you can draw a centerline to use as the axis of revolution. Consider the following
information about a centerline:

If a section contains one centerline, the centerline is used as the axis of revolution.

If a section contains more than one centerline, the system uses the first centerline as
the axis of revolution. You can declare any centerline as the axis of revolution
About the Angle of Revolution
In a revolved feature, a section is revolved around an axis of revolution to a specified angle.
You can define the angle of revolution by selecting one of the following angle options:
Variable Revolves a section from the sketching plane by the specified angle value.
Type the angle value in the text box, or select one of predefined angles (90, 180, 270, 360). If
you select one of the predefined angle values, the system creates an angle dimension.
SymmetricRevolves a section on each side of the sketching plane by half of the
specified angle value.
To SelectedRevolves a section up to a selected datum point, vertex, plane, or surface.
Note: The terminating plane or surface must contain the axis of revolution
About a Revolved Cut
You can use the Revolve tool to remove material by revolving a sketched section about a
centerline.
To create a cut, use the same angle options as for protrusions. For solid cuts, use closed
sections. For cuts created with Thicken Sketch, you can use both closed and open sections.
While defining a cut, you can switch between the following feature attributes:

Cut and protrusion by clicking

The side where material is removed by clicking

Solid and thin cut by clicking

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Remove Material
Flip Material Side

Thicken Sketch

Page 23

About a Revolved Surface


With the Revolve tool, you can create an extruded surface by revolving a sketched section
about a centerline.
To define the depth of the extruded surface, use one of these depth options:
BlindExtrude a section from the sketching plane by the specified depth value.
SymmetricExtrude a section on both sides of the sketching plane by half of the
specified depth value.
To SelectedExtrude a section to a selected point, curve, plane, or surface.
Creating an Extruded Surface with an Open or Closed Volume
An extruded surface can have open or closed ends. To create an extruded surface with a
closed volume, select the Capped Ends option in the Options slide-up panel. The system
creates an additional surface to close off the feature.
SELECTING DATUM PLANES
The visual boundaries of the datums sometimes get in the way of selecting surfaces or
edges of the model. If this happens, use Query Sel, or set the configuration file option
select_on_dtm_edges to sketcher_only so the visual edges of the datum are selectable only
when you dimension sketched sections.
Creating Datum Planes On-the-Fly
In the process of feature creation, the system lets you create a datum plane on-the-fly by
clicking the

button in the Datum toolbar or Insert > Model Datum >

planes are represented in the Model Tree by

Plane. Datum

To Create an Offset Datum Plane


1.

Click the

button in the Datum toolbar. The DATUM PLANE dialog box opens.

Alternatively, click Insert > Model Datum >

Plane.

2.

Select an existing datum plane or planar surface from which to offset the new datum
plane. The reference you select appears in the References collector along with its
constraint type.

3.

If Offset is not the default constraint for the selected reference, select Offset from the
constraints list in the References collector.

4.

To adjust the offset distance, you can:


o

In the graphics window, use the drag handle to manually translate the datum plane to
the required distance.

In the DATUM PLANE dialog box, type a distance value in the Offset Translation
value box or select a value from a list of the most recently used values.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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Click OK to create the offset datum plane

5.

To Create a Datum Plane with an Angular Offset


1.

Click the

button in the Datum toolbar. The DATUM PLANE dialog box opens.

Alternatively, click Insert > Model Datum >

Plane.

2.

Select an existing datum axis, straight edge, or straight curve. The reference you
select appears in the References collector in the DATUM PLANE dialog box.

3.

If Through is not the default constraint, select Through from the constraints list in
the References collector.

4.

Press CTRL and select a datum plane or planar surface that is normal to the selected
datum axis. By default Offset is selected as the constraint.
5. To adjust the angle of the datum plane:
o

In the graphics window, use the drag handle to manually rotate the datum plane to the
required angle.

In the DATUM PLANE dialog box, type an angular value in the Offset Rotation
value box or select a value from a list of the most recently used values.
Click OK to create the offset datum plane.

6.

To Create a Datum Plane Through a Datum Coordinate System


1.

Click the

button in the Datum toolbar. The DATUM PLANE dialog box opens.

Alternatively, click Insert > Model Datum >


2.

Plane.

Select a datum coordinate system as the placement reference. The selected datum
coordinate system appears in the References collector along with its constraint type.

3.

Change the constraint type to Through in the References collector.

4.

Select one of the following Plane options:


o

XYPlaces the datum plane through the XY plane and defined through the x- and yaxes of the datum coordinate axis.

YZPlaces the datum plane through the YZ plane and defined through the y- and zaxes of the datum coordinate axis. This is the default.

ZXPlaces the datum plane through the XZ plane and defined through the z- and xaxes of the datum coordinate axis.

5.
Click OK to create the offset datum plane offset in the specified direction along one
of the axes of the datum coordinate system or through one of the virtual planes of the datum
coordinate system.

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To Create a Datum Axis and Adjust Its Size


1.

Click the
button in the Datum toolbar. The DATUM AXIS dialog box.
Alternatively, click Insert > Model Datum > Axis.

2.

In the graphics window, select up to two placement references for the new datum axis.
You can select planes, surfaces, edges, vertices, curves, and datum points. The references
appear in the References collector in the DATUM AXIS dialog box. You can preview the
datum axis during creation, even though it is not fully defined.

3.
Select the required constraint option from constraint list in the References collector.
The constraints are Through, Normal, and Tangent.
3.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until you have established the necessary constraints. If the
references are incomplete, the system waits for additional references until the datum is fully
constrained.
3.

Click the Display tab.

3.
To change the size of the datum axis, select the Adjust Outline check box and then
click one of the following options from the Outline Type Options menu:

7.

SizeAdjusts the size of the datum axis to a specified length. Type a value in the
Length value box. The length of the datum axis is the distance between the two ends
of the previewed datum axis.

ReferenceAdjusts the size of the datum axis to the selected reference. Select an
edge, surface, datum axis, feature in the Part mode, or Part in the Assembly mode as
the reference. The References collector displays the selected reference type. You can
also set up the selection filter.
Click OK to create the datum axis and adjust its length

To Create a Datum Axis Normal to a Surface Using Two Offset References


1.

Click the
button in the Datum toolbar. The DATUM AXIS dialog box opens.
Alternatively, click Insert > Model Datum > Axis.

2.

Select a surface in the graphics window. The selected surface with the constraint type
set to Normal appears in the References collector. You can preview the datum axis
normal to the selected surface. A handle appears on the surface. Two offset reference
handles also appear.

3.

Drag the offset reference handles to select two references or graphically select two
references such as a plane and a planar surface or straight edges. The two selected offset
references appear in the Offset references collector.

4.

Click OK to create the datum axis normal to the selected surface.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 26

CREATING CUTS
1. Select the Extrude Tool icon from the tool bar on the right of the screen, as in Step 1
of the previous section.
2. Select the Remove Material icon from the extrusion tool bar on the dashboard, as
shown in Figure 1.12.
3. Select the Sketcher icon.

[Figure 1.12]
4. Locate the bottom face of the part by using View Manager as described in Step 21 of
the previous section. Select [View] -> [View Manager] from the menu bar, and then
double click [Bottom] from the pop-up window.
5. Click on the bottom face of the part near point A in to select it as the sketching plane.
6. Change the orientation to [Bottom] on the Section menu.
7. Click the Sketch button from the Section menu. Pro/E will switch to Sketch Mode.
8. Select [Sketch] -> [Intent Manager] from the menu bar.
9. Select [Line] from GEOMETRY menu.
10. Select [Regenerate] from SKETCHER menu.
1. Click the dimensions at points A and B, and then change them to 25

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 27

[Figure 1.16]
1. Rotate the part until you see an outline of what the cut will look like. If the cut is
outside the part as shown in Figure 1.18, click on the yellow cutting direction arrow
as shown. The outline should now be inside the part.

[Figure 1.18]
2. Type 100 into the Extrusion Depth box and click the check button.
3. Select [File] -> [Save] from menu bar to save the part.
4. Test the information you have learned in this tutorial by completing.

HOLES, ROUNDS, AND CHAMFERS


Introduction
A variety
including
including
creates a

of geometric shapes and constructions can be designed automatically with Pro/E,


holes, rounds, and chamfers. The Hole option creates many types of holes,
straight holes, sketched holes, and holes for standard fasteners. The Round option
fillet or a round on an edge that is a smooth transition with a circular profile

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 28

between two adjacent surfaces. The Chamfer option creates a beveled surface at the
intersection of edges.
About the Hole Feature
The Hole tool enables you to add simple, custom, and industry-standard holes to your
models. You add holes by defining a placement reference, setting secondary (offset)
references, and defining the specific characteristics of the hole. As you work,
Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry of the hole. Notice that a hole always begins at
the placement reference and extends to the specified depth. You can directly manipulate and
define the hole in the graphics window and in the dashboard.
You can create the following hole types:

StraightConsists of a revolved cut with a rectangular section. You can create the
following Straight holes types:
o

SimpleUses (straight) geometry predefined by Pro/ENGINEER. By default,


Pro/ENGINEER creates 1-sided Simple holes. However, you can create 2-sided Simple
Straight holes by using the Shape slide-up panel. 2-sided Simple holes are typically
used in assemblies and enable you to simultaneously format both hole sides.
SketchedUses a sketch profile that you create in Sketcher.

StandardConsists of an extruded cut based on industry-standard fastener tables.


Pro/ENGINEER provides industry-standard hole charts and tapped or clearance diameters
for the selected fastener. You can also create your own hole charts. Note that thread notes
are automatically created for Standard holes.
Hole Features vs Cut Features
Hole features are different from cut features in the following ways:

Hole features use a predefined placement scheme that can be more desirable than the
dimensioning scheme of the cut.
Simple Straight holes and Standard holes do not require a sketch unlike cut features
Hole Placement References
Placing hole features in your design requires that you select a primary placement reference to
place the hole, and secondary (offset) references to constrain the hole position with respect to
selected references. You can verify and modify the hole placement references at any time as
you create your hole.
Primary Placement Reference
The primary placement reference enables you to place the hole on the model. You can
relocate the hole by dragging the primary placement handle on the hole preview geometry, or
snapping the handle to a reference. You can also click the handle and then select the primary
placement reference. The hole preview geometry relocates.
Secondary Placement References
Secondary placement references enable you to utilize additional references to constrain the
hole position with respect to selected edges, datum planes, axes, points, or surfaces. You can
define the secondary (offset) references by snapping the secondary placement handles to

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 29

references. The secondary (offset) reference value appears in the graphics window as shown
below:
Verifying and Modifying Hole Placement References
You can verify your placement references using the preview geometry in the graphics
window or by using the Placement slide-up panel. This panel contains the primary and
secondary reference information. You can also change the placement type in the Placement
Type box.
While the Hole tool is open, you can select new placement references or modify the
secondary
(offset)
placement
reference
values.

CREATING HOLES
1. Select Hole Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen, as shown in Figure
2.5.

[Figure 2.5]
2. Input 50 in Diameter textbox on the hole tool bar on the dashboard.
3. Select the Through All icon from the depth menu, as shown in Figure 2.6.
4. Click point A shown in Figure 2.6 with the left mouse button to select the right plane.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 30

[Figure 2.6]
5. Select the bottom reference handle on the hole and drag it to Edge 1 shown in Figure
2.7. Select the other reference handle and drag it to Edge 2. Dimensions will be
displayed as in the figure. The other handles change the diameter of the hole and the
position of the hole. Do not modify these.

[Figure 2.7]
6. Double click on the dimension near Edge1, change the value to 120, and hit Enter.
7. Double click on the dimension near Edge2, change the value to 100, and hit Enter.
8. Click check button. The hole will be created as shown in Figure 2.8.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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[Figure 2.8]
About the Round Feature
Pro/ENGINEER enables you to create and modify rounds. Rounds are a type of edge
treatment feature in which a radius is added to an edge or edges, an edge chain, or between
surfaces. Surfaces can be solid model surfaces or traditional Pro/ENGINEER zero-thickness
quilts and surfaces.
To create rounds, you define one or more round sets. A round set is an organizational unit
containing one or more round pieces (round geometry). After you specify round placement
references, Pro/ENGINEER uses default attributes, radius values, and default transitions that
best fit the referenced geometry to create the round. Pro/ENGINEER displays preview
geometry of the round in the graphics window enabling you to create and modify both round
pieces and transitions before feature creation. Note that the default settings accommodate
most modeling cases. However, you can define the round sets or transitions to achieve the
preferred round geometry
About the Chamfer Feature
Pro/ENGINEER enables you to create and modify chamfers. Chamfers are a type of feature
where an edge or corner is beveled. Surfaces can be solid model surfaces or traditional
Pro/ENGINEER zero-thickness quilts and surfaces. You can create two types of chamfers:
corner chamfers and edge chamfers.
Corner Chamfers
You create corner chamfers using the CHAMFER dialog box (Insert > Chamfer > Corner
Chamfer) to define edge references and distance values for the corner chamfer. Refer to
Chamfer Types and References under See Also for more information.
Edge Chamfers
You create edge chamfers using the Chamfer tool. To create edge chamfers, you define one or
more chamfer sets. A chamfer set is an organizational unit containing one or more chamfer
pieces (chamfer geometry). After you specify chamfer placement references, Pro/ENGINEER
uses default attributes, distance values, and default transitions that best fit the referenced
geometry to create the chamfer. Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry of the chamfer

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 32

in the graphics window, enabling you to create and modify both chamfer pieces and
transitions before feature creation. Note that the default settings accommodate most modeling
cases. However, you can define the chamfer sets or transitions to achieve the preferred
chamfer geometry.
To Create a Constant Round
1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create the round. Notice
that the round propagates across tangent neighbors until it encounters a break in tangency.
However, if you use a One-by-One chain, the round does not propagate across tangent
neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Round. The Round tool opens and
Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected references are in the
References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

To define a radius, drag the radius handle to the preferred distance or snap it to a
reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays the distance value in the graphics window and
dynamically
updates
the
preview
geometry.
At this point the round is complete. If you need to define the round further, refer to the
topics under See Also for more information.

3.

Click
Round tool.

to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the round and closes the

To Create a Variable Round


1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create the round. Notice
that the round propagates across tangent neighbors until it encounters a break in tangency.
However, if you use a One-by-One chain, the round does not propagate across tangent
neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Round. The Round tool opens and
Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected references are in the
References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

Place your cursor over the radius anchor, right-click and select Add Radius from the
shortcut menu. Pro/ENGINEER copies the radius and its value and places each radius at
each
ends
of
the
round
pieces.
To add another radius, place your cursor over the handle of the radius that you want to
copy, right-click and select Add Radius from the shortcut menu. These additional radii
contain anchors. You can drag an anchor or snap it to a datum point reference to relocate
the
radius.

3.

To define a radius, drag the radius handle to the preferred distance or snap it to a
reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays the distance value in the graphics window and
dynamically
updates
the
preview
geometry.
At this point the round is complete. If you need to define the round further, refer to the
topics under See Also for more information.

4.

Click
Round tool.

to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the round and closes the

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 33

To Create a Surface-to-Surface Variable Round


In

1.

the

graphics

window,

select

two

surface

references.

Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Round. The Round tool opens and
Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected references are in the
References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.
2.

Right-click in the graphics window and select Make Variable from the shortcut
menu. You can also place your cursor over the handle of the radius, right-click and select
Add Radius from the shortcut menu to make the round set variable. Pro/ENGINEER
activates the Spine collector located on the Sets slide-up panel.

3.

Select an edge to define a spine for the round. Notice that the preview geometry is
hidden while you select the spine reference. Pro/ENGINEER copies the current radius
and its value and places each radius at each ends of the round pieces.
To add another radius, place your cursor over the handle of the radius that you want to
copy, right-click and select Add Radius from the shortcut menu. These additional radii
contain anchors. You can drag the anchor or snap it to a datum point reference to relocate
the
radius.
To define a radius, drag the radius handle to the preferred distance or snap it to a
reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays the distance value in the graphics window and
dynamically
updates
the
preview
geometry.
At this point the round is complete. If you need to define the round further, refer to the
topics under See Also for more information.

4.

Click
Round tool.

to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the round and closes the

To Define a Radius Using a Reference


In addition to dragging radius handles, or typing or selecting distance values,
Pro/ENGINEER enables you to define a radius by snapping to a vertex or datum point.
1.

Select the placement references for the round and click

. The Round tool opens.

2.

In the graphics window, select the radius handle of a Constant or Variable round that
you want to redefine.

3.

Press SHIFT and drag the radius handle to snap it to a vertex or to a datum point. As
you drag, notice that Pro/ENGINEER pre-highlights the reference as your cursor moves
over it. This enables you to target the correct reference. Pro/ENGINEER does the
following:
o

Replaces the default radius handle with a special handle in the graphics window that
contains the reference information.

Activates the Distance collector on the Dialog Bar to indicate that an item has been
selected.

Selects Reference from the Sets slide-up panel distance box and populates the Radius
table Distance collector with the reference information.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 34

4.
To redefine the radius, press SHIFT and drag the handle to unsnap it from the
reference. Notice that the default radius handle replaces the special handle. You can then snap
the radius handle another reference, drag the handle to a preferred location, or type or select a
new radius value using the value boxes from either the Dialog Bar (Constant rounds only) or
from the Radius table in the Sets slide-up panel.
The radius is defined. You can continue to work with rounds or click
Pro/ENGINEER to create the round and close the Round tool.
4.

enabling

To Create a Round Driven by a Curve


1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create a Constant or
Variable round. Notice that the round propagates across tangent neighbors until it
encounters a break in tangency. However, if you use a One-by-One chain, the round does
not
propagate
across
tangent
neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Round. The Round tool opens and
Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected references are in the
References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

In the graphics window, press SHIFT and drag a radius handle to snap it to a chain of
curves as the Driving Curve reference. As you drag, notice that Pro/ENGINEER prehighlights the reference as your cursor moves over it. This enables you to target the
correct reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry of the round.
At this point the round is complete. If you need to define the round further, refer to the
topics under See Also for more information.

3.

Click
Round tool.

to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the round and closes the

To Create a Full Round


1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create the round. If you
use only edge references, the edges must share a common surface. Notice that the round
propagates across tangent neighbors until it encounters a break in tangency. However, if
you use a One-by-One chain, the round does not propagate across tangent neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Round. The Round tool opens and
Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected references are in the
References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

In the graphics window, right-click and select Full Round from the shortcut menu.
Notice that a check mark appears next to this shortcut menu command indicating that this
round type has been selected. Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry of the Full
round. At this point the round is complete. If you need to define the round further, refer to
the topics under See Also for more information.

3.

Click
Round tool.

to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the round and closes the

To Create a Surface-to-Surface Full Round

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 35

1.

In the graphics window, select two surface references for the Full round.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Round. The Round tool opens and
Pro/ENGINEER displays the selected surface references. Notice that the selected
references are in the References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

Right-click in the graphics window and select Full Round from the shortcut menu.
Pro/ENGINEER activates the Driving Surface collector located on the Sets slide-up
panel. Notice that a check mark appears next to this shortcut menu command indicating
that
this
round
type
has
been
selected.
Select a third surface as the Driving Surface. Pro/ENGINEER populates the Driving
Surface collector with the surface reference, replaces the surface with a Full round, and
displays preview geometry of the round.

3.

At this point the round is complete. If you need to define the round further, refer to the
topics under See Also for more information.

4.

Click
Round tool.

to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the round and closes the

To remove a reference from within a collector, select the reference that you want
to remove, and with your cursor still in the collector right-click and select Remove
from the shortcut menu.
About Chamfer Dimension Schemes
Pro/ENGINEER uses various attributes to create the chamfer geometry (chamfer pieces).
These attributes include the chamfer dimension schemes. The dimension schemes enable you
to easily define the chamfer plane angle and distance. Different dimension schemes result in
different chamfer geometry. To simplify the chamfer creation process, Pro/ENGINEER uses a
default dimension scheme. You can change the default scheme at any time in your design
session to achieve the preferred chamfer geometry using the dimension scheme box on the
dialog bar.
Pro/ENGINEER provides dimension schemes based on the placement references that you
select and the chamfer creation method used. So, not all dimension schemes are available for
a given geometry. The following dimension schemes are provided:

D x DCreate a chamfer that is at a distance (D) from the edge along each surface.
Pro/ENGINEER
selects
this
by
default.
Note: This scheme is available using the Offset Surface creation method only if the
following conditions are met: For Edge chamfers, all members of the edge chain must be
formed by exactly two 90-degree planes or two 90-degree surfaces (for example, the ends
of a cylinder). For Surface to Surface chamfers constant angle planes or constant 90degree surfaces must be selected.

D1 x D2Create a chamfer at a distance (D1) from the selected edge along one
surface and a distance (D2) from the selected edge along the other surface.
Note: This scheme is available using the Offset Surface creation method only if the
following conditions are met: For Edge chamfers, all members of the edge chain must be
formed by exactly two 90-degree planes or two 90-degree surfaces (for example, the ends
of a cylinder). For Surface to Surface chamfers constant angle planes or constant 90degree surfaces must be selected.

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Angle x DCreate a chamfer at a distance (D) from the selected edge along one
adjacent
surface
at
a
specified
angle
(Angle)
to
that
surface.
Note: This scheme is available using the Offset Surface creation method only if the
following conditions are met: For Edge chamfers, all members of the edge chain must be
formed by exactly two 90-degree planes or two 90-degree surfaces (for example, the ends
of a cylinder). For Surface to Surface chamfers constant angle planes or constant 90degree surfaces must be selected.

45 x DCreate a chamfer that is at an angle of 45 degrees to both surfaces and a


distance
(D)
from
the
edge
along
each
surface.
Note: This scheme is available only for chamfers that use 90-degree surfaces and the
Tangent Distance creation method.

O x OCreate a chamfer that is at an offset distance (O) from the edge along each
surface. Pro/ENGINEER selects this by default only if D x D is not available.
Note: This scheme is only available if the Offset Surfaces creation method is used.

O1 x O2Create a chamfer at an offset distance (O1) from the selected edge along
one surface and an offset distance (O2) from the selected edge along the other surface.
Note: This scheme is only available if the Offset Surfaces creation method is used

Example: Chamfer Dimension Schemes


The following diagram illustrates different chamfer dimension schemes:

1 45 x D

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2DxD
3 D1 x D2
4 Angle x D
To Create a D x D Chamfer
1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create the chamfer.
Notice that the chamfer propagates across tangent neighbors until it encounters a break in
tangency. However, if you use a One-by-One chain, the chamfer does not propagate
across
tangent
neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Chamfer > Edge Chamfer. The Chamfer
tool opens and Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected
references are in the References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

Click Sets. On the Sets slide-up panel, select the chamfer creation method that you
want to use. The default chamfer creation method is Offset Surfaces.

3.

Select the D x D dimension scheme from the Dimension Scheme box on the dialog
bar. The default chamfer dimension scheme is D x D. You can also select this scheme
from the shortcut menu.

4.

To define the distance, drag the distance handle to the preferred distance or snap it to a
reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays the distance value in the graphics window and
dynamically
updates
the
preview
geometry.
At this point the chamfer is complete. If you need to define the chamfer further, refer to
the topics under See Also for more information.

5.

Click
to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the chamfer and closes the
Chamfer tool

To Create a 45 x D Chamfer
1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create the chamfer.
Notice that the chamfer propagates across tangent neighbors until it encounters a break in
tangency. However, if you use a One-by-One chain, the chamfer does not propagate
across
tangent
neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Chamfer > Edge Chamfer. The Chamfer
tool opens and Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected
references are in the References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.
Click Sets. On the Sets slide-up panel, select the chamfer creation method that you
want to use. The default chamfer creation method is Offset Surfaces.
2.
Select the 45 x D dimension scheme from the Dimension Scheme box on the dialog
bar. You can also select this scheme from the shortcut menu.
2.
To define the distance, drag the distance handle to the preferred distance or snap it to a
reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays the distance value in the graphics window and
dynamically
updates
the
preview
geometry.

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2.
At this point the chamfer is complete. If you need to define the chamfer further, refer
to the topics under See Also for more information.
2. Click
to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the chamfer and closes the
Chamfer tool.
To Create an Angle x D Chamfer
1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create the chamfer.
Notice that the chamfer propagates across tangent neighbors until it encounters a break in
tangency. However, if you use a One-by-One chain, the chamfer does not propagate
across
tangent
neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Chamfer > Edge Chamfer. The Chamfer
tool opens and Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected
references are in the References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

Click Sets. On the Sets slide-up panel, select the chamfer creation method that you
want to use. The default chamfer creation method is Offset Surfaces.

3.

Select the Angle x D dimension scheme from the Dimension Scheme box on the
dialog bar. You can also select this scheme from the shortcut menu.

4.

To define the distance, drag the distance handle to the preferred distance or snap it to a
reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays the distance value in the graphics window and
dynamically
updates
the
preview
geometry.
To define the angle, drag the angle handle the preferred chamfer angle. Pro/ENGINEER
displays the angle value in the graphics window and dynamically updates the preview
geometry.

5.

At this point the chamfer is complete. If you need to define the chamfer further, refer
to the topics under See Also for more information.

6.

Click
to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the chamfer and closes the
Chamfer tool.

To Create a D1 x D2 Chamfer
D1 x D2 chamfers enable you to define the chamfer distance independently.
1.

In the graphics window, select the references from which to create the chamfer.
Notice that the chamfer propagates across tangent neighbors until it encounters a break in
tangency. However, if you use a One-by-One chain, the chamfer does not propagate
across
tangent
neighbors.
Click
on the Feature toolbar or Insert > Chamfer > Edge Chamfer. The Chamfer
tool opens and Pro/ENGINEER displays preview geometry. Notice that the selected
references are in the References collector on the Sets slide-up panel.

2.

Click Sets. On the Sets slide-up panel, select the chamfer creation method that you
want to use. The default chamfer creation method is Offset Surfaces.

3.

Select the D1 x D2 dimension scheme from the Dimension Scheme box on the dialog
bar. You can also select this scheme from the shortcut menu.

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4.

To define the distance, drag each distance handle to the preferred distance or snap
each to a reference. Pro/ENGINEER displays the distance values in the graphics window
and
dynamically
updates
the
preview
geometry.
To reverse the chamfer distances, click
on the Dialog Bar. Click it again to return to
the original distances. You can also place your cursor over the radius handle, right-click
and use Flip from the shortcut menu.

5.

At this point the chamfer is complete. If you need to define the chamfer further, refer
to the topics under See Also for more information.

6.

Click
to save your changes. Pro/ENGINEER creates the chamfer and closes the
Chamfer tool.

To Create a Corner Chamfer


A corner chamfer removes material from the corner of a part.
1.

Choose Insert > Chamfer > Corner Chamfer. The CHAMFER (CORNER):
Corner dialog box opens. Pro/ENGINEER selects the Corner element and indicates the
status as Defining.

2.

In the graphics window, select the edge reference for the corner to chamfer.
Pro/ENGINEER highlights the selected edge and confirms the Corner element status as
Defined. The PICK/ENTER menu appears.

3.

Do one of the following:


o

Click Pick Point and select a point on the highlighted edge to define the chamfer
length along that edge for the vertex. Pro/ENGINEER selects this command by default.

Click Enter-input, type a length dimension value in the dimension box and click
. This defines the chamfer length along the highlighted edge for the vertex.

4.
After you have defined the first vertex, Pro/ENGINEER highlights the other edges,
one at a time, so you can define the other two vertices. Repeat step 3 to define each vertex.
Notice that you can select different defining methods for each edge.
4.

Click OK in the dialog box. Pro/ENGINEER creates the corner chamfer.

EDGE ROUNDING AND CHAMFERING


1. Select Round Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen, as shown in Figure
2.9.

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[Figure 2.9]
2. Enter 10 into the textbox in the round tool bar on the dashboard.
3. Click Edge1, Edge2 and Edge3 from Figure 2.10 with the left mouse button.

[Figure 2.10]
Defining Simple Rounds
Simple rounds are composed of a single set of references, whereas advanced rounds can
contain multiple sets of references along with various transition options where the sets merge
together.

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Figure 8: Simple versus Advanced Rounds


To define a simple round, you can use various methods. Regardless of the method that you
select, you must define elements to determine the shape, radius, and location of the feature.
Selecting Round Feature References
You should select references for round features carefully for two reasons:
If you remove a single reference for the round, the system must resolve the entire
round feature.

The type of reference that you select influences the round shape and extent. You
should experiment with these selection options to fully develop the round geometry:

Figure 9: Selecting Surfaces Rounds


Defining Radius Values
After you define the references, you must specify the round radius.

Constant radius

Variable radius

Through a curve

Full round

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Figure 11: Constant and Variable Radius Options


Creating Round Sets
You can create a round set by making a rolling ball or a round surface
normal to a spine.
The rolling ball shape looks as if you rolled a ball between the two references.

The normal-to-spine shape looks as if you created the round surface by sweeping an
arc normal to the selected spine.

Using Transitions
By creating transitions between round sets, you can use a greater variety of geometry shapes
at the intersection of round sets without compromising the flexibility of the model. The
transition element also enables you to specify how Pro/ENGINEER should handle the
intersection of round sets with model geometry.
Setting the Default Transition
You can set up a transition between round sets to customize the shape of the round geometry
in the following ways:

Corner Sphere

Corner Sweep

Corner Patch

Figure 13: Corner Transitions


Setting Round Shape Cross-Sections
By default, the system creates a circular cross-section of the round defined with a true radius,
but you can drive the cross-section to use a conic section. A round with a conic section uses
two values to drive its shape: a radius value and a conic parameter (rho) value.

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As you create simple or advanced rounds, you can use surface techniques to develop specific
geometry. Instead of creating the round geometry using surface features entirely, you can
actually use a round feature to generate surfaces. When you create a round, you must choose
one of these options:

Make Solid

Make Surface

Figure 16: Developing Needed Geometry

SHELLS AND RIBS


Creating a Shell
1. Select Shell Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen, as shown in Figure
3.4.

[Figure 3.4]

2. Input 10 in Thickness textbox on the shell tool bar on the dashboard.


3. Use the left mouse button to select the front plane. It should become highlighted in
pink as shown in Figure 3.5.

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[Figure 3.5]
4. Click the check button. You should see the shelled part shown in Figure 3.6.

[Figure 3.6]
5. Select the Extrude Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen.
6. Select the Sketcher icon from the dashboard.
7. Select the inside bottom of the shape near point A in Figure 3.6.
8. Click the Sketch button from the Section menu. Pro/E will switch to Sketch Mode.
9. Select [Sketch] -> [Intent Manager] from the menu bar.
10. Select [Circle] from the GEOMETRY menu.
11. Click point A and point B shown in Figure 3.7.

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[Figure 3.7]
12. Select [Regenerate] from SKETCHER menu.
13. Now set dimensions as shown in Figure 3.8. Follow the steps below.

Click point A and Edge1 with the left mouse button, and click point B with the
middle mouse button.

Click point A and Edge2 with the left mouse button, and click point C with the
middle mouse button.

Click Circle with the left mouse button, and click point D with the middle
mouse button.

Select [Regenerate].

Modify dimensions to match those shown in Figure 3.8 if necessary, and


Select [Regenerate].

[Figure 3.8]

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14. Select [Done] from Menu Manager.


15. Enter extrusion depth as 90, and click check button.
16. Select [View] -> [Orientation] -> [Default Orientation] from menu bar. You will see
the image shown in Figure 3.9.

[Figure 3.9]
Using Datum Planes to Create a Rib
1. Select Datum Plane Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen, as shown in
Figure 3.10.

[Figure 3.10]
2. Select the center axis of the circular protrusion. Hold CTRL and select Edge1 shown
in Figure 3.11. This will define references for the datum plane so that the plane
passes through the axis and is normal to the edge.

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[Figure 3.11]
3. Select OK on the Datum Plane pop-up window.
4. Select Datum Plane Tool icon again.
5. Select the center axis of the circular protrusion. Hold CTRL and select Edge2 shown
in Figure 3.11.
6. Select OK on the Datum Plane pop-up window. You should see the two perpendicular
planes shown in Figure 3.12.

[Figure 3.12]
7. Select Rib Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen, as shown in Figure
3.13.

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[Figure 3.13]

8. Select the Sketcher icon from the dashboard.


9. Select the second datum plane (the longer one) to define the sketch plane.
10. Select the first datum plane (the shorter one) to define the reference.
11. Make sure the Orientation in the Section menu is set to Right. The Section menu
should look like Figure 3.14.

[Figure 3.14]
12. Select the Sketch button from the Section menu.
13. Do not close the References window once Pro/E enters Sketch Mode.
14. Select the Wireframe icon to change the view of the image to wireframe, as shown in
Figure 3.15.

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[Figure 3.15]
15. Click on Edge1, Edge2, Edge3, and Edge4 shown in Figure 3.16 to define these edges
as references.

[Figure 3.16]

16. Select [Sketch] -> [Intent Manager] from the menu bar.
17. Draw a line from point A to point B as shown in Figure 3.16.
18. Select [Regenerate].
19. Dimension the distance from point B to Edge4 as shown in Figure 3.17. Modify this
distance if necessary.

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[Figure 3.17]
20. Select Regenerate, and then select Done.
21. Enter 5 into the Thickness textbox in the rib tool bar on the dashboard.
22. If the yellow rib direction arrow is not facing towards the inside of the part, select it
with the left mouse button. An outline of a rib should be shown, as in Figure 3.18.

[Figure 3.18]
23. Click the check button.
24. Select the Shading icon on the tool bar at the top of the screen, as shown in Figure
3.19.

[Figure 3.19]

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PATTERNS AND COPIES


Example: Creating a Rotational Pattern of Holes
To create a rotational pattern of holes, place the hole using the Radial placement option. This
way, the hole has an angular dimension controlling its location, and you can use this
dimension for patterning, as shown in this example.
1.

Create the first hole. Select the top surface of the disk as the primary reference for
hole placement. Open the Placement slide-up panel, select Radial as the placement
option, click the Secondary references collector, and select the central axis and the
FRONT datum plane as secondary references, as shown in the following illustration.

Select the Hole feature and click


dimensions that control the Hole feature.
2.

in the Edit Features toolbar. The system displays

3.
Select the angular dimension (30.00 degrees) and type 60 for the dimension
increment.
3.
To specify the number of pattern members, type 6 in the text box in the dialog bar that
is located between the label 1 and the collector of dimensions for patterning in the first
direction.
3.
Click
illustration.

in the dialog bar. The system patterns the hole, as shown in the following

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Example: Creating a Direction Pattern


Use the Direction pattern to create the hole pattern shown in the next figure.

1.

When patterning the hole in the first direction, select the highlighted edge as the
pattern direction.

2.
Specify the number of members and adjust the distance between the members by
dragging the placement handle along the selected edge.

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To add members in the second direction, select another edge to use as the pattern
direction. Specify the number of edges and adjust the distance between members by dragging
4.

the handle along the second direction.


Example: Creating an Axis Pattern
Pattern Directions
The next figure shows an axis pattern created in the angular (first direction). The axis A-4
was selected as the central axis for the pattern.

The next figure shows how the previous pattern was modified to add holes in the radial
(second) direction.

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Two Methods for Locating Members in the Angular Direction


Method 1: Using the number of members and increment
The next figure shows how a hole is patterned by specifying the number of members (8) and
the angle between two members (increment of 30 degrees).

Method 2: Using the number of members and angular extent of the pattern
The next figure shows how a hole is patterned by specifying the number of members (8) and
the angular extent (270 degrees). The 8 pattern members are equally spaced within 270
degrees.

Example: Creating a Spiral Pattern


To create a spiral pattern, use the Axis pattern and vary the radial placement dimension of
each member (the distance between the member and the central axis of the pattern).
1.

Define the pattern as usual by specifying the number of members and the increment
between the members.

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2.

Click the Dimension slide-up panel.

3.

On the panel, click the cell under Dimension to activate the selection.

4.

On the model, select the radial placement dimension that you want to vary. In this
case, it is R100.09.

5.
Type the increment that will be used to increase the radial dimension for each
member. In this example, enter 15. The resulting pattern appears as in the next figure.

Example: Creating a Reference Pattern


This example shows chamfering the edges of a pattern of holes by creating a reference
pattern. The original part, containing a pattern of holes, is shown in the following illustration.

1.

Create a Chamfer feature and select one of the hole edges. The system chamfers the
selected hole, as shown in the next illustration.

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Select the Chamfer feature and click


in the Edit Features toolbar. The system
creates a reference pattern of the Chamfer feature based on the Hole pattern and, as a result,
chamfers all the holes in the pattern, as shown in the following illustration.
2.

Example: Creating a Fill Pattern


This example shows creating a fill pattern to drill a pattern of holes in a plate. The original
part is shown in the following illustration.

1.

Select the hole and click

2.

Select Fill from the drop-down list box of pattern types in the dialog bar.

3.

Click References > Define to sketch the fill area.

4.

Select the top surface of the part as the sketching plane.

5.

in the Edit Features toolbar.

Use the edges of the part to create the sketch. If you are using the Intent Manager in
Sketcher, click Sketch > Edge > Use > Loop and select an edge of the part. This way, the
fill area includes the whole part. When you exit Sketcher, the system displays the default
grid, as shown in the next illustration.

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6.
Select Diamond from the drop-down list box of grid types in the dialog bar. Modify
the value that sets the spacing between pattern member centers, if needed. Specify the
minimum distance between the pattern member centers and the sketch boundary, equal to the
distance of the original hole feature from the part edges. The system updates the pattern grid,
as shown in the following illustration.

Click
illustration.
7.

in the dialog bar. The system creates the pattern, as shown in the next

ADVANCED MODELING

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SWEEPS AND BLENDS


To Create a Swept Feature
1. Click Insert > Sweep > Protrusion. The PROTRUSION: Sweep dialog box opens and
the SWEEP TRAJ menu appears.
2.

Click Sketch Traj to sketch the directory or Select Traj to select the directory.
o
o

Sketch TrajSketch the sweep trajectory using Sketcher mode.


Select TrajSelect a chain of existing curves or edges as the sweep trajectory. The
CHAIN menu allows you to select the desired trajectory.

3.
If the trajectory lies in more than one surface, such as a trajectory defined by a datum
curve created using Intr. Surfs, the system prompts you to select a normal surface for the
sweep cross section. Pro/ENGINEER orients the Y-axis of the cross section to be normal to
this surface along the trajectory.
3. Create or retrieve the section to be swept along the trajectory and dimension it relative
to the crosshairs displayed on the trajectory. Click Done.
3.
If the trajectory is open (the start and end points of the trajectory do not touch and you
are creating a solid sweep, click one of the following ATTRIBUTES commands, then click
Done.
o
o

Merge EndsMerge the ends of the sweep, if possible, into the adjacent solid. To do
this, the sweep endpoint must be attached to part geometry.
Free EndsDo not attach the sweep end to adjacent geometry.

If the sweep trajectory is closed, click one of the following SWEEP OPT menu
commands and then click Done:
8.

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Add Inn FcsFor open sections, add top and bottom faces to close the swept solid
(planar, closed trajectory, and open section). The resulting feature consists of surfaces
created by sweeping the section and has two planar surfaces that cap the open ends.
No Inn FcsDo not add top and bottom faces.

9.
Click Flip, if desired, then OK from the DIRECTION menu to select the side from
which to remove material for swept cuts.
9.

Select OK in the dialog box to create the sweep.

Three-Dimensional Sweeps
You can create sweeps along a three-dimensional path with a three-dimensional spline for the
sweep trajectory. You can modify the Z-coordinates of spline points. All other Sketcher
entities must lie on a two-dimensional sketching plane.
In all other respects, three-dimensional sweeps are created in the same way as twodimensional sweeps. For such applications as creating springs, you can also create an
advanced feature helical sweep by sweeping a section along a helical trajectory
Example: Sweeps
Solid Sweeps with Closed Trajectories
Closed Trajectory, No Inn Fcs. Section must be closed.

Closed Trajectory, Add Inn Fcs. Section must be open.

Note: When creating a surface sweep with a closed trajectory, use No Inn Fcs with an open
or closed section. Add Inn Fcs requires only an open section.

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Constant Section Sweep


A constant section sweep can use either a trajectory sketched at the time of feature creation or
a trajectory made up of selected datum curves or edges. As a general rule, the trajectory must
have adjacent reference surfaces, or be planar.
The following figure illustrates a constant section sweep.

a. Sweep uses as a trajectory a datum curve created from the intersection of two surfaces.
A sweep may fail if
A trajectory crosses itself

You align or dimension a section to fixed entities, but the orientation of the section
changes when its is swept along the 3-dimensional trajectory

An arc or a spline radius is too small, relative to the section, and the feature intersects
itself traversing around the arc (see the following illustration)
Self-Intersecting Feature

a.

Trajectory (Radius 1.0)

b.

Section (Radius 1.5)

Free and Merged Ends

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a.

Merged ends

b.

Free ends

c.

The trajectory ends at intersection with solid geometry, but the sweep end is
unattached

To Create a Three-Dimensional Sweep


1.

Create a two-dimensional spline and dimension it to a Sketcher coordinate system.

2.

Modify the X-, Y-, and Z-coordinates for one or more spline points. You can modify
the spline coordinates manually, or by using a spline definition file.

Note: You cannot modify coordinates of the spline if its endpoints are attached to other
entities in the sketch.
Example: Three-Dimensional Sweep
Spring Created from a 3-D Spline

a.

3-D spline

b.

Cross section

BLENDS
To Create a Parallel Blend with a Regular Section
1.

Click Insert > Blend and then click the type of blend you want. The BLEND OPTS
menu appears.

2.

Click Parallel > Regular Sec > Done. The Protrusion: Blend, Parallel dialog box
and the ATTRIBUTES menu appear.

3.

1.
4.
5.
6.

From the ATTRIBUTES menu, choose one of these options followed by Done:
o

StraightConnect blend sections using straight lines.

SmoothConnect blend sections using smooth curves.


Define the sketching plane, direction of feature creation, and section orientation.

You are placed in Sketcher. Accept the default or select different dimension
references.
Create the first blend section.
To create the next sections, click Sketch > Feature Tools > Toggle Section. The first
section turns gray and becomes inactive.

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7.

Create the second section. If you want to continue creating sections, click Toggle
Section after each section.

8.

When you finish creating sections, click

to exit Sketcher.

9.

Choose the depth option from the DEPTH menu. Click Done.

10.

Define the feature depth as required.

11.

Click OK on the Protrusion: Blend, Parallel dialog box

To Create a Parallel Blend with a Projected Section


1.

Click Insert > Blend and then click the type of blend you want. The BLEND OPTS
menu appears.

2.

Click Parallel > Project Sec > Done. The Protrusion: Blend, Parallel dialog box
and the ATTRIBUTES menu appear.

4.

Define the sketching plane, direction of feature creation, and section orientation.

4.
You are placed in Sketcher. Accept the default or select different dimension
references.
4.

Create the first blend section.

4.
To create the second section, click Sketch > Feature Tools > Toggle Section. The
first section turns gray and becomes inactive.
4.

Sketch the second section.

4.

Click

to exit Sketcher.

4.
Select the intersecting surfaces. The first section is projected on the first selected
surface. The second blend section is projected on the second selected surface.
4.

Click OK on the Protrusion: Blend, Parallel dialog box

To Create a Swept Blend (basic)


To create a swept blend, you can define the trajectory by sketching a trajectory, or by
selecting existing curves and edges and extending or trimming the first and last entity in the
trajectory.
1.

Click Insert>Swept Blend and then click the type of swept blend you want. The
BLEND OPTS menu appears.

2.

Click Select Sec or Sketch Sec.


Select SecSelect existing curves or edges to define each section using the CRV
SKETCHER menu.
Sketch SecSketch new section entities to define each section.
3.

Click NrmToOriginTraj, Pivot Dir, or Norm To Traj.

NrmToOriginTrajSelect the Origin Trajectory.

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Pivot DirUse the GEN SEL DIR menu to specify the Pivot Direction. The options are
as follows:
o

PlaneSelect a plane or create a new datum plane to which the direction will be
normal.

Crv/Edg/AxisSelect as the direction an edge, curve, or axis. If you select a nonlinear edge or curve, the system prompts you to select an existing datum point on the
edge or curve to specify a tangent.

CsysSelect an axis of the coordinate system as the direction.

Norm To TrajSelect the Origin Trajectory and an additional trajectory to which the
section will remain normal.
Note: For a Norm To Traj swept blend, the system checks if the normal plane to the
selected trajectory has a defined intersection with the Origin Trajectory. If the intersection
cannot be found, the system issues a warning so you can redefine the normal trajectory.
Click Done. A Swept Blend dialog box appears with the following elements:

4.

Pivot Dir(If selected) Specify the Pivot Direction.


Normal Traj(If selected) Select the normal trajectory.
Origin TrajSpecify the trajectory that defines the section origin.
SectionsDefine the sections.
Blend Control(Optional) Define how to control the blend geometry along the Origin
Trajectory.
Tangency(Optional) Specify tangency conditions for the feature.
Define the type of Origin Trajectory by choosing an option from the SWEEP TRAJ

5.

menu:
Sketch TrajSketch the Origin Trajectory.
Select TrajDefine the Origin Trajectory using existing curves and edges. Choose Done
from the CHAIN menu when finished defining the chain.
Note: The Origin Trajectory can have sharp corners (a discontinuous tangent to the
curve), except at the endpoint of a closed curve. At non-tangent vertices, Pro/ENGINEER
mitres the geometry as in constant section sweeps.
If you selected the NrmToOriginTraj option, the system brings up the SEC
ORIENT menu. Select one of these options, followed by Done:
6.

Pick XVectorSelect an axis, straight edge/curve, or plane normal to determine the


sections positive X-axis. Use options in the GEN SEL DIR menu to select a horizontal
reference. The system displays a red arrow, indicating the positive direction for the Xvector. Choose Flip or Okay to determine the direction for the operation.
Note: The Pick XVector option is available only for the trajectories defined with the
Select Traj option.
AutomaticThe system automatically determines the sections orientation.

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If you select this option for the first section, then the X-axis is determined by the
curvature vector at the beginning of the Origin Trajectory.
When you select Automatic for a section other than the first, the system determines the
X-vector automatically based on the previous section orientation and the behavior of the
Origin Trajectory.
Norm to SurfUse the adjacent surface section normal to determine the section upward
direction. If you select this option for the first section, then all sections use the same
reference surfaces as the upward direction.
If the Origin Trajectory has only one adjacent surface, then the system automatically
selects this surface, highlighted in blue, as the reference for the section orientation. A red
arrow appears, indicating the upward direction. Choose Flip or Okay to specify the
upward direction.
If the Origin Trajectory has two adjacent surfaces, the system prompts you to select a
surface for the section orientation. The default surface is highlighted in blue. You can
accept the default surface or select the other one. A red arrow appears, indicating the
upward direction. Choose Flip or Okay to specify the upward direction.
The system highlights endpoints and vertices along the Origin Trajectory. Use options
in the CONFIRM menu to select points at which you want to specify additional sections.
7.

AcceptSketch or select a section at this highlighted location.


NextGo to the next point.
PreviousReturn to the previous point.
If you chose Norm To Traj in Step 6, select the trajectory to which the section will be
normal. Choose an option in the SEC ORIENT menu, followed by Done:
8.

Norm to SurfSelect a surface that determines the sections upward direction, then
select or sketch the trajectory that defines the section plane normal. Choose Flip an Okay
to select the upward direction. This option is available only if the Origin Trajectory
belongs to a surface.
Use Norm TrajSelect a trajectory that defines the section plane normal.
9.
For each vertex or datum point where you define a section, specify the sections
rotation angle about the Z-axis (with a value between 120 and +120 degrees).
9.
Select or sketch the entities for each section, depending on whether you chose Select
Sec or Sketch Sec, respectively. Choose Done to exit Sketcher.
9.
When all cross-sections are sketched or selected, unless you want to define optional
elements, select OK in the dialog box to generate the swept blend feature

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Example: Creating a Swept Blend


Completed Swept Blend

Section Definition
The sections must be sketched at the first and last Origin Trajectory points.

a.

This point was added using an Area Graph.

b.

Origin Trajectory

Note: Each section remains displayed as the next section is created


Example: Controlling the Perimeter of a Swept Blend
Using the Set Perimeter Option

a.

Section 1, Perimeter 1

a.

Section 2, Perimeter 2

b.

Perimeter 3. If Per. 1 = Per. 2, then Per. 3 = Per. 1 = Per. 2.

c.

Origin Trajectory

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CREATING SWEPT BLENDS


The swept blend and variable section sweep features enable you to capture
the design intent of your model by:
Following a specified path that you can control parametrically.
Varying the cross-section of the feature along the specified path.
Creating Spines
To create a swept blend feature, you blend several cross-sections along a
single trajectory, defined as the spine.

Spline

Cross section
Figure 1: Swept Blend
You define the cross-sections by sketching or selecting them at
specified segment vertices or datum points located on the curve. You
can sketch the spine trajectory as an open or closed loop.
You define additional elements when creating a swept blend feature
using Blend Control and Tangency.
ForUsing Swept Blends
To create a swept blend, all sections must intersect the trajectory.
To use a closed trajectory, you must create two sections: one sketched
at the start point, the other sketched at any other location.
To use an open trajectory, you create use a section at the start points
and end points.
To define sections of a swept blend, you use the underlying curve
segments or edges from which you constructed the composite curve

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CREATING HELICAL SWEEPS


To create a helical sweep feature, you sweep a single section along a
helical path that is defined by a profile and a pitch value.
You must first specify a sweep profile using a sketch. The following
figures illustrate a straight profile section and a resulting spring feature.

Figure 6: Straight Profile Section and Spring Feature


Variations of the profile can easily be created. The following profile has Three line segments.
After specifying a profile, you specify a pitch value to be used and sketch a cross section. The
section was simply a circle,centered on the provided crosshairs.

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Figure 7: Profile variation with Three Line Segments


Helical Sweep Options
1. Right or Left Handed

Figure 8: Right and Left Handed Helical Sweeps


2.Thru Axis or Normal to Traj

Figure 9: Thru Axis and Norm to Traj Sweeps


3.Constant or Variable Pitch

Figure 10: Constant and Variable Sweeps

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TOROIDAL BENDS
To Create a Toroidal Bend
1.

From the FEAT menu click Create > Solid > Tweak > ToroidalBend, or Insert >
Advanced > Toroidal Bend.

2.

The OPTIONS menu appears. Choose Variable, 90, 180, 270, or 360 to indicate the
angle of the bend.

3.

Choose One Side or Both Sides to indicate whether to create the feature on one side
or both sides of the sketching plane.

4.

Specify whether datum curves should be contracted during bending by choosing one
of the following options:
o

CrvBendContractDatum curves are contracted radially while bent.

CrvBendExpandDatum curves are not contracted radially while bent.

CrvFlatContractDatum curves remain planar and are contracted within the neutral
plane.

CrvFlatExpandDatum curves remain planar and are expanded within the neutral
plane.

Note: Toroidal bend features created with a Flat option require all curves included in the
bend to lie in the neutral plane.
The DEFINE BEND menu appears with the following commands:

5.
o

AddSelect objects to bend.

RemoveCancel the selection of objects from the bend feature.

Choose Add and select solid surfaces, quilts, or datum curves to include in the bend.
When you bend datum curves, they are displayed in both the bent fashion and in their original
locations.
6.

Note: The included objects must not exceed the boundaries specified by the end planes;
otherwise, the toroidal bend may fail.
7.

Choose Done to finish selecting the objects to bend.

7.
Pick a sketching plane and a sketcher reference plane to sketch the sectional bend
profile.
7.
Sketch a chain of entities (spline, arc, line, and so on) to define the shape of the cross
section of the toroid.
7.

Create a sketcher coordinate system.

7.
Select two parallel planes to bend toward each other at the specified angle. These
parallel planes define the radius of the toroid. For a 360-degree bend, these planes meet
Example: Creating a Toroidal Bend
The following figures illustrate the steps for creating a toroidal bend.
1. Base object

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2. Select the features to bend.

a.

Cuts added to base object (optional)

b.

Sketching plane (DTM3)

c.

Surface picked to bend (includes cuts)

3. Sketch the bend profile and the axis of revolution

a.

Sketched 3-point arc

b.

Sketcher coordinate system

The following figure shows the area of compression in a toroidal bend.

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a.

Neutral plane (no deformation)

b.

Region of elongation deformation

c.

Region of compressed deformation

To Create a Spinal Bend


The Spinal Bend option bends a solid or quilt about a curved spine by continuously
repositioning cross-sections along a curve. Planar cross-sections perpendicular to an axis are
repositioned perpendicular to the trajectory with no distortion. All compression or distortion
is done longitudinally along the trajectory.
1.

Click Feature > Create > Solid > Tweak > Spinal Bend, or Insert > Advanced >
Spinal Bend.

2.

Specify the feature attributes by choosing from the OPTIONS menu. The options are
as follows:
Sketch SpineSketch the spine trajectory.
Select SpineSelect an edge or chain of edges to define a spin trajectory.
No Prop CtrlDo not adjust the resulting geometry.
SecProp CtrlAdjust the resulting geometry to control the distribution of a varying
cross section mass property along the spine. This property is defined by relations. Choose
one of the following options:
o

LinearThe section property varies linearly between the values at the start and end
points.

GraphThe section property varies, per the graph values, between the values at the
start and end points.

The resulting spinal bend feature is defined by the same family of cross-sections,
regardless of whether you choose No Prop Ctrl, SecProp Ctrl and Linear, or SecProp
Ctrl and Graph. However, the distribution of the cross-sections in the spinal bend differs
for each of these choices.
3.
Select a solid or quilt feature to bend. You can bend only one quilt feature, or you can
bend all the solid features in the part. If you select a solid feature, the system makes the
original solid feature invisible after the spinal bend feature is created. However, the feature
and its geometry can still be selected. If you select a quilt feature, the original quilt feature
remains visible.

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3.
Sketch or select the spine, per the selection made in Step 2. The spine must be C1
continuous (tangent). If the spine is not also C2 continuous (curvature continuous), the
feature surfaces might not be tangent. If you chose SecProp Ctrl, the plane that passes
through the start point of the spine, and is normal to the spine, must intersect the original quilt
or solid feature.
3.

If you chose No Prop Ctrl, go to Step 8.


3. If you chose SecProp Ctrl, Pro/ENGINEER displays the SKETCHER menu. Sketch
the coordinate system to be used in the calculation of cross section properties. This
coordinate system will be projected onto the plane of each cross section.

3.
Enter feature relations that define the symbol SEC_PROP as a function of the mass
properties of the original quilt or solid cross-sections. The right side of the relations can
include the following:
o

AREA

CENTROID_X, CENTROID_YCoordinates, with respect to the sketched


coordinate system, of the center of area of the cross section

IXX, IXY, IYYPlanar moments of inertia of the cross section, with respect to the
sketched coordinate system

IXX_AT_CENTROID,
IXY_AT_CENTROID,
IYY_AT_CENTROIDPlanar moments of inertia of the cross section, with respect
to a coordinate system at the centroid and with axes parallel to the specified coordinate
system
PRINCIPAL1Greater planar principal moment of inertia

o
o

PRINCIPAL2Lesser planar principal moment of inertia

8.
Use the SETUP PLANE menu to specify a second plane, which must be parallel to
the first, to define the volume of the original quilt or solid to be bent. If you chose the
SecProp Ctrl option, both planes must intersect the original quilt or solid. The system creates
and displays the first plane, which defines the volume. It is normal to the spine, passes
through the start point of the spine, and can be referenced when you are creating the second
plane.
8.
If you chose Graph, select an existing graph feature. The graph must pass through the
points (0, 0) and (1, 1) and must be monotonically non-decreasing (that is, with no horizontal
tangent to the curve) in the interval 0 to 1.
8.
If you chose SecProp Ctrl, the system places each cross section of the original quilt
or solid at the trajectory parameter (trajpar) on the spine, according to the following formula:
G(Trajpar)=(F(p) - F(0)) / (F(p1) - F(p0))
The variables are as follows:
o
o
o

G()If you chose Graph, this is the function defined by the reference graph feature.
If you chose Linear, this is the function defined by trajpar itself (the identity function).
F()The cross section property function defined by feature relations.
pThe properties of the original quilt or solid cross section (AREA, CENTROID_X,
and so on).

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p0, p1The properties of the first and last cross sections defined by the two planes
specified in Step 8.
CREATING A SWEPT PART

1. Start Pro/E Wildfire.


2. Select [File] -> [New] and name the new part [Example6A].
3. Select [Insert] -> [Sweep] -> [Protrusion] from the menu bar.
4. Select [Sketch Traj] from the Menu Manager. This will allow you to sketch the
trajectory of the sweep.
5. Select the plane labeled FRONT, and select [Okay] from the DIRECTION menu in
the Menu Manager.
6. Select [Default] from SKET VIEW. Pro/E will switch to Sketcher Mode.
7. Select [Sketch] -> [Intent Manager] from the menu bar.
8. Draw the path shown in Figure 6.1 as follows:

Select [Line] from the GEOMETRY menu.

Click points A and B with the left mouse button, and click the middle mouse
button.

Click points C and D with the left mouse button, and click the middle mouse
button.

Select [Arc] from the GEOMETRY menu.

Select [Center/Ends] from the ARC TYPE menu.

Click points E, B, and D with the left mouse button.

[Figure 6.1]
9. Select [Regenerate] from the SKETCHER menu.
10. Dimension the path as shown in Figure 6.2. Modify the dimensions if necessary.

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[Figure 6.2]
11. Select [Done] from the SKETCHER menu.
12. Now you will sketch the cross-section of the part. Select [Sketch] -> [Intent
Manager] from the menu bar.
13. Draw the section shown in Figure 6.3 as follows:

Select [Line] from the GEOMETRY menu.

Click points A and B with the left mouse button, and then click the middle
mouse button.

Select [Arc] from the GEOMETRY menu.

Select [Center/Ends] from the ARC TYPE menu.

Click points C, A, and B with the left mouse button.

[Figure 6.3]

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14. Select [Regenerate] from the SKETCHER menu.


15. Add the dimensions shown in Figure 6.4 as follows:

Click Edge1 and the plane labeled RIGHT with the left mouse button, and
then click point A with the middle mouse button.

Click Arc with the left mouse button, and then click point B with the middle
mouse button.

Select [Regenerate] and modify dimensions if necessary.

[Figure 6.4]
16. Select [Regenerate] and then [Done] from the SKETCHER menu.
17. Select OK button from the PROTRUSION: Sweep pop-up menu.
18. Rotate the part to view it from all angles. You should see the image shown in Figure
6.5.

[Figure 6.5]
CREATING A BLENDED PART

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1. Select [File] -> [New] and name the new part [Example6B].
2. Select [Insert] -> [Blend] -> [Protrusion] from the menu bar.
3. Select [Done] from the Menu Manager pop-up.
4. Select [Smooth] and then [Done] from the Attributes menu.
5. Select the plane labeled FRONT, and select [Okay] from the DIRECTION menu in
the Menu Manager.
6. Select [Default] from SKET VIEW. Pro/E will switch to Sketcher Mode.
7. Select [Sketch] -> [Intent Manager] from the menu bar.
8. Select [Circle] from the GEOMETRY menu.
9. Draw a circle and dimension it as shown in Figure 6.6. This will define the crosssection of the beginning of the blend.

[Figure 6.6]
10. Select [Sec Tools] from the SKETCHER menu.
11. Select [Toggle] from the SEC TOOLS menu.
12. Select [Sketch] from the SKETCHER menu and [Circle] from the GEOMETRY
menu.
13. Define the second cross-section by drawing a circle concentric to the first as shown in
Figure 6.7. Dimension it as shown.

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[Figure 6.7]

14. Repeat steps 10 - 13 twice to add two more circular cross-sections. Dimension the
first one to have a diameter of 30 and the second to have a diameter of 50. You
should see the image shown in Figure 6.8.

[Figure 6.8]
15. Select [Done] from the SKETCHER menu.
16. Enter 75 as the depth for section 2 in the textbox at the bottom of the screen, and click
the check button.
17. Enter 75 as the depth for section 3, and click the check button.
18. Enter 25 as the depth for section 4, and click the check button.
19. Select the OK button from the PROTRUSION: Blend menu.

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20. Rotate vase to view it from all angles. You should see the image shown in Figure 6.9.

[Figure 6.9]
21. Select the Shell Tool icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen.
22. Enter 5 into the Thickness textbox at the shell tool bar on the dashboard.
23. Select [References] from the shell tool menu bar on the dashboard.
24. Select the top surface of the vase, as shown in Figure 6.10.

[Figure 6.10]
25. Click the check button. You should see the shelled vase shown in Figure 6.11.

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[Figure 6.11]
26. Select [File] from menu bar to save the part.
27. Test the information you have learned in this tutorial by completing
Shortcut Menu
In the graphics window, right-click to access the Move shortcut menu. The following options
are available on the Move shortcut menu in the Geometry mode:

Move ItemsActivates the Reference collector and specifies the selection of one or
more items as references to move or rotate.

Direction ReferenceActivates the Direction reference collector and specifies the


direction reference that is an edge, curve, surface, plane, axis, or axis of a datum
coordinate system.

ClearDeletes the references in the active Direction reference collector.

MoveTranslates the move item perpendicular or parallel to the direction reference.

RotateRotates the move item about the direction reference.

New MoveApplies another translation or rotation move to the move item.


The following options are available on the Move shortcut menu in the Features mode:

ClearDeletes the references in the active Direction reference collector.

MoveTranslates the move item perpendicular or parallel to the direction reference.

RotateRotates the move item about the direction reference.

New MoveApplies another translation or rotation move to the move item


To Move Geometry
1.

Set the selection filter to Geometry.

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2.

Select the following geometry:


o

Datum planes

Datum points

Datum axes

Datum coordinate systems

Datum curves

Quilts or surfaces

3.

Click Edit > Copy. The selected geometry is copied to the clipboard.

3.

Click Edit > Paste Special. The Move dashboard opens.

3.

Click

to translate the move item or click

to rotate the move item.

3. Select a direction reference:


o

Datum axis

Linear edge

Plane or flat surface

Straight curve

Datum plane

Axis of datum coordinate system

7.

To move the selected item:


o

In the graphics window, use the drag handle to manually translate/rotate the move
item to the desired distance.

In the Move dashboard, type a distance or angle value in the value box, or select a
value from a list of the most recently used values.
If you want to create additional translation or rotation transformations, see To Create

8.

Multiple Moves. Otherwise, click

to complete the move feature

To Create Multiple Moves


The Move tool allows you to create multiple translation and rotation transformations in a
single move feature. To create multiple moves:
1.

Click the Transformations tab on the Move dashboard. The Transformations slideup panel appears.

2.

Click New Move in the Move list. A new move is added to the Move list.

3.

Select a transformation type from the Type list, either Move (to translate) or Rotate.

4.

Select a direction reference:


o

Datum axis

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Edge

Plane or flat surface

Straight curve

Axis of datum coordinate system

5.
Use the drag handle in the graphics window to manually translate or rotate the move
item or enter a distance or angle value in the value box.
5.

Repeat steps 1-5 to create additional transformations

5.

Click

to complete the move feature

To Create a Merged Feature


Note: To access the Merge tool, you must first select two quilts to merge.
1.

Select two quilts and click


on the Edit Features toolbar. The first quilt selected
becomes the default primary quilt, which provides the quilt ID for the merged quilt.

2.

To select the method for merging, click the Options slide-up panel. Click Intersect or
Join.
Note: To be joined, the one-sided edges of one quilt must lie on the other quilt.
3. The arrows at the intersection of two quilts point to the sides of the quilts that will be
included in the merged quilt. You can change the sides of the quilts to include in the
resulting feature by doing the following:
o

When merging by intersectingFor each quilt, you can change the side of the quilt to
include by clicking

. Notice how the arrows flip as you change the sides to keep.

When merging by joining If one quilt extends beyond the other one, you can
specify which side of the quilt is included by clicking

4.
(Optional) To change the primary quilt, click the References slide-up panel and click
Swap. The two quilts under Quilts switch places. The top quilt is the primary quilt.
4.

To verify the feature, click


4.

Click

.
TO TRIM A CURVE OR QUILT
1.

Select the curve or quilt to trim.

2.

Click

3.

Select any curve, plane, or quilt to use as the trimming object.

or Edit > Trim. The Trim dashboard appears.

Note: You can trim a curve with a datum point sitting on that particular curve.

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4.
Click
or the direction arrow located in the graphics window to specify the side of
the trimmed surface to keep. You can keep a specific side or both sides of the trimmed
surface.
4.

Click

to preview the trim geometry or click

to accept and save changes.

To Trim Surfaces with a Quilt


1.

Select the surface to trim.

2.

Click

3.

Select the quilt to use as the trimming object. The Trim dashboard appears.

or Edit > Trim. The Trim dashboard appears.

Note: Thin Trim options are available only if you use a quilt as your trimming object.
4.

Click Options.

4.

Select the Thin Trim checkbox.

4.
Specify the trim thickness dimensions and controlled fitting requirements.
Alternatively, use the drag handles and the most recently used dimension box to specify the
trim thickness.
4.
Click
or in the graphics window, click the direction arrow to indicate which side
to apply the thickness value.
4.

Click

to preview the trim geometry or click

to accept and save changes

To Trim Surfaces with Thin Trim


1.

Right-click the feature to redefine in the Model Tree.

2.

Click Redefine.

3.

The Trim dashboard appears with the trimming object collector as the active collector.

4.

Select the quilt to use as the trimming object.

Note: You can click References in the Dashboard dialog bar to see the trimming object
change.
Example: Creating a Projected Datum Curve
The next figure shows a sketched datum curve and an extruded surface:

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1 Surface
2 Datum curve
In the next figure, the datum curve has been selected to be projected onto the extruded
surface:

1 Surface
2 Original datum curve
3 Preview of projected datum curve
The next figure shows the projected datum curve on the extruded surface:

1 Surface
2 Original datum curve
3 Projected datum curve
ABOUT THE WRAP FEATURE
You can use the Wrap tool to create formed datum curves on destinations. You can then use
the formed datum curves to simulate items such as labels or screw threads. The formed datum
curve preserves the length of the original sketched curve, when possible.

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Origin of Wrapped Datum Curve


The origin of a wrapped datum curve is the reference point around which the sketch is
wrapped onto a destination. This point must be able to be projected onto the destination.
Otherwise, the Wrap feature fails. You can select either the geometric center of the sketch or
any coordinate system in the sketch as the origin. When you select the origin, one of the
following symbols is displayed at the selected origin:
Yellow arrowIndicates that the Wrap feature can be created only in one direction.

HandleIndicates that the Wrap feature can be created in either the selected direction
or in the opposite direction.
The destination of the wrapped curve must be developable, that is, some type of ruled
surface. Pro/ENGINEER automatically selects the first available destination. You can select
another destination, if desired.
Options Slide-up Panel
When creating a new Wrap feature, you can define whether the wrapped curve should ignore
any intersection surface by clicking Ignore intersection surface in the Options panel. If you
do not select this option, separated curves will be wrapped on the intersecting surface.
Also when creating a new Wrap feature, you can trim the portion of the curve that cannot be
wrapped by clicking Trim at boundary in the Options panel.
To access the Wrap tool, click

or click Edit > Wrap

Feature Icon
All Wrap features are represented on the Model Tree by
Additionally,

identifies the Wrap tool in the Edit toolbar.

You can also click Edit > Wrap to start the Wrap tool.
Dialog Bar
The Wrap dialog bar consists of the following elements:

Specifies the destination of the wrap.

Sets the origin of the wrap.

Reverses the direction of the wrap.


Slide-up Panels
The Wrap dashboard displays the following slide-up panels:
In the References panel, you can:

Create or select a sketch to wrap.

Specify the destination of the wrap.

Break the association between the feature and a sketch.

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Use Edit to open the Sketch dialog box so you can edit an internal sketch. This is
available only if you first break (unlink) the association between the feature and the
external sketch. You can also use Edit Internal Sketch from the shortcut menu.
In the Options panel, you can specify the following characteristics:

Whether to ignore any intersection surface.

Whether to trim a curve when the curve is too large to wrap on the destination object.
Note: This panel is unavailable when you redefine features created in
Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire and earlier versions.

In the Properties panel, you can view information about the Wrap feature in the
Pro/ENGINEER browser and enter a user-defined name for the feature.

Shortcut Menus
In the graphics window, you can use the Wrap shortcut menu to access the following options.
Collectors
Select SketchActivates the sketch collector to select the sketch to wrap.

Select DestinationActivates the destination collector to select the surface on which


to wrap.

Edit Internal SketchOpens the Sketch dialog box so you can edit an internal
sketch.
Actions
ClearClears the active collector.

List of Possible Origins (Center is the default if there are no coordinate systems in the sketch.
Otherwise, a list of Sketcher coordinate systems is present.)
CenterSpecifies the center of the sketch as the origin.

In the graphics window, you can use the handle shortcut menu to access the following option:
FlipReverses the direction of the wrap.

In filled collectors on the dashboard, you can use the Wrap shortcut menu to access the
following options:
RemoveClears the active collector.

InformationDisplays a window with information about the item that you rightclicked

To Create a Wrapped Datum Curve


1.

Select the sketched datum curve that you want to wrap onto another surface.

2.

Click Edit > Wrap. The Wrap dashboard appears.

3.

Preview geometry shows the wrapped datum curve on the first solid or quilt the tool
finds in the default wrapping direction. Click Select Destination from the shortcut menu
and select a different surface, if desired. The Wrap feature is displayed in preview
geometry.

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4.

Click

. The sketched datum curve is wrapped on the surface that you selected.

Tip: If you click Unlink on the References slide-up panel, the association between the
feature and the sketch is broken, and an internal sketch is created. To modify the internal
sketch, click Edit and use the Sketch dialog box. You can also use Edit Internal Sketch
from the shortcut menu
Example: Creating a Wrapped Datum Curve
The next figure shows a sketched datum curve and a solid surface:

1 Datum curve
2 Solid surface
In the next figure, the datum curve has been selected to be wrapped onto the solid surface:

1 Original datum curve


2 Preview of wrapped datum curve
3 Solid surface

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ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCTION
Pro/E's assembly module allows parts to be grouped into assemblies or subassemblies to
model a complete part or mechanism. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create
assemblies, apply constraints between parts, change view properties of parts, and create
exploded views. These techniques will be applied to a pulley mechanism.

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About Assembly Mode Functionality


Just as you can combine features into parts, you can also combine parts into assemblies.
Assembly mode in Pro/ENGINEER enables you to place component parts and subassemblies
together to form assemblies, as well as to design parts based on how they should fit together.
You can then modify, analyze, or reorient the resulting assemblies.
Pro/ASSEMBLY allows you to work in Assembly mode and modifybut not
createskeleton models. Online Help documentation for Foundation Pro/ASSEMBLY
provides detailed information about basic Assembly functionality.
Assembly Functions
Pro/ENGINEER provides basic assembly tools, and various Pro/ENGINEER modules give
you additional functionality for assembly operations.
Pro/ASSEMBLY supports the design and management of large and complex assemblies
through the use of powerful tools such as simplified representations, interchange assemblies,
and the use of Top Down design procedures.
.

The Constraint Type list contains the following placement constraints:

Automatic

Mate

Align

Insert

Coord Sys (Coordinate System)

Tangent

Pnt on Line (Point On Line)

Pnt on Srf (Point On Surface)

Edge On Srf (Edge On Surface)

Angle with an Offset Value


To Place a Component
Note: If you have an MDX license, the Connections area of the Component Placement dialog
box is available. The Connections drop-down area is used in conjunction with the Mechanism
Design Extension. For detailed information about using Connections in your assembly
designs, see online Help documentation for the MDX package.
1.

Click
or Insert > Component > Assemble and then select the component to
redefine, or right-click the assembly name in the Model Tree and click Component >
Assemble from the pop-up menu. After selecting a component from the File Open dialog

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box, the Component Placement dialog box opens and the component appears in the
assembly window. If the component being assembled has previously defined interfaces,
the Interface dialog box opens to allow you to select an interface. Alternatively, you can
select a component from a browser window and drag it into the Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire
window. If there is an assembly in the window, the system will ask you if you want to
retrieve or assemble the component into the current assembly. If you chose to assemble
the component, either the Component Placement or the Select Interface dialogs will come
up as previously described.
2. Using icons in the toolbar at the top of the dialog box, specify the screen window in
which the component is displayed while you position it. You can change windows at any
time.
o

Separate WindowDisplays the component in its own window while you


specify its constraints. The Automatic placement constraint is not available when the
component is displayed only in a separate window.

Assembly WindowDisplays the component in the main assembly graphics


window and updates component placement as you specify constraints.

3.
The Automatic placement constraint is selected by default when a new component is
introduced into an assembly for placement in the assembly window. Do one of the following:
o

Select a reference on the component and a reference on the assembly, in either order,
to define a placement constraint. After you select a pair of valid references from the
assembly and the component, the system automatically selects a constraint type
appropriate to the specified references.

Before selecting references, change the type of constraint by selecting a type from the
Constraint Type list. The list is started by clicking the current constraint in the Type
box. You may also select an offset type from the Offset list. Coincident is the default
offset, but you may also choose Oriented or "0.0" from the list. If you choose "0.0",
type in the value of the offset in the cell and then click Enter.

4.
After you define a constraint, The add button (+ icon) is automatically selected, and
you can repeatedly define another constraint. You can define as many constraints as you want
(up to the system limit of 50 constraints). As you define constraints, each constraint is listed
under the Constraints area and the current status of the component is reported in the
Placement Status area as you select references.
You can select one of the constraints listed in the Constraints area at any time and change
the constraint type, flip between Mate and Align with the Flip button, modify the offset
value, reset an Align constraint to forced or unforced, or switch between allowing and
disallowing system assumptions.
Use the Default constraint button to align the default system-created coordinate system of
the component to the default system-created coordinate system of the assembly. The
system places the component at the assembly origin. Use the Fix constraint button to fix
the current location of the component that was moved or packaged.
5.

You can select the remove ( icon) or Preview buttons at any time.

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To delete a placement constraint for the component, select one of the constraints listed
in the Constraints area, and then click Remove.

Click Preview to show the location of the component as it would be with the current
placement constraints.

6.
Click OK when the status of the component is shown as "Fully Constrained,"
"Partially Constrained", or "No Constraints." The system places the component with the
current constraints. If the status is "Constraints Invalid," you should complete the constraint
definition.
If constraints are incomplete, you can leave the component as packaged. A packaged
component is one that is included in the assembly but not placed. Packaged components
follow the behavior dictated by the configuration file option package_constraints.
If constraints are conflicting, you can restart or continue placing the component.
Restarting erases all previously defined constraints for the component. You can also
uncheck a constraint in the constraint table to make it inactive.
Note: The Forced check box is available only when you create an Align constraint type, and
only when it is possible to choose to force the constraint or leave it unforced. Click Forced to
cause strict alignment for axes or points. An alignment that is forced is listed as Align
(Forced).
System constraint orientation assumptions are enabled by default. You can select or clear the
Allow Asumptions check box to enable or disable system placement assumptions
Using the Component Placement Dialog Box
A toolbar across the top of the dialog box contains eight buttons that allow access to the
following functions:

Show the component in a separate window while specifying its constraints.

Show the component in the assembly window while specifying its constraints.

Create an interface.

Retrieve references that are not available in the current simplified representation. This
option is available when you redefine a component in a simplified representation and that
component depends on components not available in the simplified representation.
The Constraints section of the dialog box contains a three-column layout as follows:

Constraint type.

Offset.

Checkbox indicating if the constraint is active or inactive.


Buttons below the constraints list allow you to Add, Remove and Flip the selected constraint.
Two buttons specify the
Default and
Fix constraints. These are considered special
constraint types because they do not require picking any component or assembly references.
The Component Reference section displays the selected component and assembly references
Placement Constraint Types

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The Automatic placement constraint is selected by default when a new component is


introduced into an assembly for placement. After you select a valid pair of references from
the assembly and from the component, the system automatically selects a constraint type
appropriate to the specified pair of references.
Automatic selection of a constraint type eliminates the need to select one manually from the
list of constraint types and increases workflow efficiency. However, in some cases of
ambiguity, you may want to change the automatic selection to another type of constraint. You
can also change the constraint type before selecting any references, thereby restricting the
allowed reference types.
The following placement constraints are available from the Constraint Type list in the
Component Placement dialog box:

Mate

Align

Insert

Coord Sys

Tangent

Pnt On Line

Pnt On Srf

Edge On Srf

Angle
About Assembling a Component to a Pattern
You can pattern a component in the following ways:

Reference PatternAssemble it to the leader of an existing component or feature


pattern; then pattern it using Ref Pattern. A pattern must exist in order to use this option.

Fill PatternAssemble the first component on a surface, and use a datum curve on
that surface to generate a fill pattern of the component.

Dimension-Driven Pattern (Nontable)Create the nontable pattern as a pattern by


itself using Dim Pattern with placement dimensions from the constraints applied. You can
create a nontable pattern using the same model for each member of the pattern.

Dimension-Driven Pattern (Table)Create the table pattern as a pattern by itself


using Dim Pattern with placement dimensions from the constraints applied.
o

Same modelYou can create a table pattern using the same model for each member
of the pattern.

Different modelYou can create a table pattern using different models for each
member of the pattern.

If a component was created in the context of an assembly with the Create First Feature
option, you cannot pattern it.
To Replace a Pattern Member by Family Table in a Pattern

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When you replace a pattern member by family table in a pattern, the entire pattern, including
the pattern leader, is replaced even though you selected only a single pattern member. When
you select a pattern or group member to add a new item into the family table, the system
warns you that the entire pattern will be replaced, not just the pattern member, and prompts
you to confirm the replacement. When you confirm, the pattern or group leader is added into
the family table

[Figure 8.3]
1. If you have trouble locating the coordinate systems, or if you have trouble locating a
datum at any point during this tutorial, you can use the icons at the tool bar at the top
of the screen to select what to display. These icons can be used to hide datum planes,
axes, points, and coordinate systems. The icons are shown in Figure 8.4.

[Figure 8.4]
2. Select Okay from the Component Placement window.
3. Now you will add the other support. Select the Add Component icon again, and select
the part from Problem 2 again.
4. Select [Align] from the Type category in the Component Placement window. Click
near points A and B in Figure 8.5 to select the bottom surfaces of each support.

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[Figure 8.5]
5. Make sure the offset of the constraint in the Component Placement window is set to
[Coincident], as shown in Figure 8.6. If it is not set to [Coincident], double click on it
and use the pull-down menu to select [Coincident].

[Figure 8.6]

6. Now select [Mate] from the second pull-down menu in the Type category. Click near
points C and D in Figure 8.7 to select the front faces of the supports. The second
support that you just added should rotate so that the two sides face each other.

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[Figure 8.7]
7. If the offset of the constraint is set to [Coincident] or [Oriented], double click on it
and change it to [0.0] as shown.
8. Type [340] into the textbox, as shown, and hit the Enter key. This will specify the
distance between the two supports. You should see the parts as shown.
9. Make sure the offset is set to [Coincident]. You should see the parts as shown in
Figure 8.11.

[Figure 8.11]
10. The Placement Status section in the Component Placement window should now say
Fully Constrained. Hit the OK button.
11. Now you will add the bearings. Select the Add Component icon again, and select the
part called bearing.prt.
12. Set the first constraint to be [Insert]. Select the outer surface of the bearing and the
inner surface of the hole in one of the supports, as shown in Figure 8.12.

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[Figure 8.12]
13. Set the second constraint to be [Align]. Select the front surface of the bearing and the
back surface of the support, as shown in Figure 8.13.

[Figure 8.13]
14. Set the offset to [-7.5]. This should place the bearing inside the hole, as shown in
Figure 8.14.

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[Figure 8.14]
Repeat steps 21-25 to add a bearing inside the other support.
15. Now you will add the pulley. Select the Add Component icon again, and select the
pulley you made in Tutorial 5.
16. Set the first constraint to be [Align]. Select the central axis of the pulley and the axis
through the hole in one of the supports. You may have a hard time locating the axis of
the hole in the support since the bearing has many axes. Run the cursor over the
location you think it should be until you see a description of an axis that mentions
Problem2, such as what is shown in Figure 8.15.

[Figure 8.15]
17. Set the second constraint to be [Align]. Select one face of the pulley and one face of
the left support, as shown in Figure 8.16.
18. Change the Offset to be [207.5]. This should place the pulley in the center of the two
supports.

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[Figure 8.16]
19. The Placement Status section in the Component Placement window should now say
Fully Constrained. Hit the OK button.
20. Now you will add the shaft. Select the Add Component icon again, and select the part
called shaft.prt.
21. Set the first constraint to be [Insert]. Select the surface of the shaft and the inner
surface of a bearing, as shown in Figure 8.17.

[Figure 8.17]
22. Set the second constraint to be [Align]. Select the end face of the shaft and the back
face of the support, as shown in Figure 8.18.
23. Change the offset to be [0.0].

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[Figure 8.18]
24. The Placement Status section in the Component Placement window should now say
Fully Constrained. Hit the OK button. You should see the assembly as shown in
Figure 8.19.

[Figure 8.19]
Modifying Appearances
1. In this section you will modify the appearance of the parts. Select [View] -> [Color
and Appearance] from the menu bar.
2. There is currently only one appearance available - the grey shaded coloring of the
parts in the assembly. To add more colors and textures, select the plus sign arrow in
the Appearance Editor window as shown in Figure 8.20.

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3. Select the Color icon to alter the color of the new appearance.

[Figure 8.20]
4. A Color Editor window will pop up, as shown in Figure 8.21. Use the R, G, and B
slide bars to change the amounts of red, green, and blue to define a new color.
Alternatively, you can select a color from the color wheel.

[Figure 8.21]
5. Select the Close button from the Color Editor window when you are satisfied with the
new color. You can use the other slide bars in the Appearance Editor window to
adjust other properties of the new appearance.
6. To set a part to this appearance, select [Components] from the Assignment category.

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7. Select a part from the assembly with the left mouse button, and then click the middle
mouse button somewhere on the screen.
8. Select the Apply button from the Appearance Editor window. The part should change
color, as shown in Figure 8.22.

[Figure 8.22]
9. You can repeat this process to allow different parts to have different appearances. An
example of this is shown in Figure 8.23.

[Figure 8.23]
Exploded Views
1. In this section you will create an exploded view of the assembly. Select [View] ->
[View Manager] from the menu bar.
2. Select the Explode tab in the View Manager window.
3. Right click on the Default view and select [Explode] from the menu, as shown in
Figure 8.24.

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[Figure 8.24]
4. You will see an exploded view of the assembly. However, this view is not very good
(some of the parts overlap, it is not clear where the bearings belong, etc), so you will
now define your own exploded view.
5. Right click on the Default view and select [Unexplode].
6. Select the New button under the Explode tab, type [Exploded1], and hit Enter.
7. Right click on the Exploded1 view and select [Redefine]. This will bring up the
Menu Manager.
8. Select [Position] on the Menu Manager.
9. Select [Plane Normal] as the Motion Reference in the Explode Position window.
Select a plane parallel to the support, such as the one shown in Figure 8.25.

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[Figure 8.25]
10. Click on the right support. You can now move the mouse back and forth to move the
part. Click again farther to the right to set the new location for the support, as shown
in Figure 8.26.

[Figure 8.26]
11. Now click on the bearing and move it to the right.
12. Select the OK button from the Explode Position window, and select [Done/Return]
from the Menu Manager

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DETAILING

The Pro/ENGINEER Drawing Modes


Pro/ENGINEER offers functionality for working with engineering drawings in two separate
components: Drawing mode and an optional add on module, Pro/DETAIL.
Using the Pro/ENGINEER Drawing mode, you can create drawings of all Pro/ENGINEER
models, or import drawing files from other systems. You can annotate the drawing with notes,
manipulate the dimensions, and use layers to manage the display of different items. All views
in the drawing are associative: if you change a dimensional value in one view, the system
updates other drawing views accordingly. Moreover, Pro/ENGINEER associates drawings
with their parent models- the model automatically reflects any dimensional changes that you
make to a drawing. In addition, corresponding drawings also reflect any changes that you
make to a model (such as the addition or deletion of features and dimensional changes) in
Part, Sheetmetal, Assembly, or Manufacturing modes.
Pro/DETAIL
Pro/DETAIL, the optional add-on module, extends the drawing capability offered by
Pro/ENGINEER. You can use it with basic Pro/ENGINEER or as a standalone module to
create, view, and annotate models and drawings.
Pro/DETAIL supports additional view types and multisheets, offers numerous commands for
manipulating items in a drawing, and lets you add and modify different kinds of textual and
symbolic information. In addition, you can use it to customize engineering drawings with
sketched geometry, create custom drawing formats, and make multiple cosmetic changes to
drawings.

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With Pro/DETAIL, you can also use a pop-up menu to modify any object in a drawing from
anywhere in the menu tree. At any time when a drawing window is active, you can interrupt
your current process and activate a drawing object for modification .
Drawing Interfaces
With a license for Pro/INTERFACE or Pro/DETAIL, you can access various interface
commands for exporting drawing files to other systems and importing files into Drawing
mode
Selecting Objects in Drawings
To perform operations within your drawings you must to select objects. You can use
preselection highlighting, drawing object filters, and several selection methods.
Preselection Highlighting
Preselection highlighting allows you to visually confirm the item that will be selected before
you select it. By default, as the pointer passes over an object in the graphics area, the object is
highlighted. The object's name is displayed in a tooltip on the drawing and on the status bar in
lower left-hand corner of the application. For example, d92: F9(HOLE) displays to indicate
that the pointer is over the diameter dimension for the ninth model feature, a hole.
Drawing Object Filters
You can limit which objects are prehighlighted and, ultimately, what is selectable using the
drawing filter. Filters allow you to change the type of entities you can select, which simplifies
graphic selection. So, when cleaning up the placement of dimensions, you can set the filter to
make only dimensions available for selection.
The filter is a drop down list on the right side of the status bar. While an object is designated
in the filter, all other object types are disallowed from selection.
To Create a Drawing
When you start a new drawing, you specify a 3D model file for which to place drafting
views.
1.

Click File > New.

2.

In the New dialog box, click Drawing and type a drawing name in the Name box (or
use the default); then click OK. The New Drawing dialog box opens.

3.

In the Default Model box, type the name of a model in the working directory. If you
started the new file from an open 3D file, the 3D filename is entered by default.

4.

Under Specify Template, do one of the following:

To use a Pro/ENGINEER drawing template, click Use Template, and then select a
template from the list.

To create a drawing without a template but with an existing format, click Empty with
format. Under Format, specify the format you want to use.

Specify the drawing size or retrieve a format. To specify the size, do one of the
following:

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Click Portrait or Landscape in the Orientation box and select a standard size from the
Standard Size list. Portrait makes the height larger than the width, and Landscape
makes the width larger than the height.
Or
Click Variable in the Orientation box to define both the height and width dimensions.
Select Inches or Millimeters and type values in the Width and Height boxes.
To retrieve a format, select Retrieve Format and select a name from the Name list in the
Format box. You can also type [?] or click Browse to select a name from the Open
dialog box.
5.

Click OK. The system displays the new drawing

To Add Models to the Drawing


Before you can place a view of a 3D model, you must associate the 3D model file with the
drawing. This is called adding the model to the drawing.
When you start a new drawing file you are prompted in the New File dialog box for a 3D
model file to reference. Once the drawing is in progress, to add other models to the drawing
file:
1.

Click File > Properties. The Menu Manager opens.

2.

In the Menu Manager click File Properties > Dwg Models > Add Model. A file
browser opens.

3.

Use the browser to select the model you want to add to the list of models associated
with the drawing.

Adding a model to the drawing does not place a view of the model on the sheet, but it lets the
drawing reference the model so that you can place a view.
To Set the Current Working Model
If a drawing has more than one model added to it, one of the models is always the current
working model. Use this procedure to switch current status from one model to another.
1.

Click File > Properties. The Menu Manager opens and displays the File Properties
menu.

2.

In the Menu Manager click Dwg Models > Set Model. The Draw Model menu opens.

3.

Select the model from the namelist menu. It contains only model names that you have
added to the drawing.
Alternately, you can set the active model using the Set Model
on the toolbar.

drop down list, found

To Replace Models from Family Tables


If a model that you use in a drawing is a member of a family table, you can replace that
model with other family table members. The system maintains dimensions, attached notes,
and other drawing annotations when one model replaces another.
Use the Select Instance dialog box to select an instance with which to replace the model.

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1.

Click File > Properties. The Menu Manager opens.

2.

In the Menu Manager click File Properties > Dwg Models > Replace.

3.

4.

Select the model that you want to replace as the active model. The Select Instance
dialog box opens when you are replacing the model of one family table instance with
another.
Select the name of another family member to replace it.

5.

The Select Instance dialog box displays a list of all instances of the currently selected
family table model. You can select one of these to use as the replacement model. You can
select an instance by name when the By Name page is visible (the default), or click the
By Parameter tab to select an instance by parameter.

6.

After selecting an instance to be the replacement, click Open. The current model is
replaced by the selected instance.
Note: When you are using automatic replacement, if the system shows dimensions in the
assembly drawing on a component that you have replaced with the new instance, it
displays equivalent dimensions. However, if you replace the component using manual
replacement, it does not preserve the dimensions.

If a model that you use in a drawing is a member of a family of parts or assemblies, you can
replace that model with other family members. The system maintains dimensions, attached
notes, and other drawing annotations when one model replaces another
To Open a Model from a Drawing
To open a model from within Drawing mode, you can use File > Open, or you can use the
Model Tree.
1.

Click File > Open. The File Open dialog box opens.

2.

Navigate to and select the model you want to open, and then click Open.

The model is retrieved into the current session in a separate Pro/ENGINEER window.
Using the Model Tree
1.
In the Model Tree, select the model you want to retrieve, and then right-click to
display the shortcut menu.
2.

Click Open from the shortcut menu. The model is retrieved into the current session

About Drawing Changes and Model Revision


As you detail your drawing, some drawing entities and information are parametrically
associated to the model that it documents. Therefore, changes made within the drawing could
result in design changes within the model.
For example, if you set a dimension as basic within a drawing, the dimension becomes
theoretically exact. Any dimensional or geometric tolerances are deleted from the drawing as
well as the from the 3D model.
The design changes in the model result from changes to drawing entities that are saved within
the model; including all dimensions, tolerances, cross-sections, and model datums. After
creating or modifying any of these drawing entities within a drawing, they are saved with the
model and increase the model revision number. You can designate how to create drawing

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dimensions and how the model is affected using the create_drawing_dims and
drawing_model_read_only configuration options.
The following drawing entities are considered cosmetic information and are saved within the
drawing:

All draft-only (non-associative) entities

The view in which an entity appears

The placement of an entity on the sheet

Jogs and breaks in leaders and dimension lines

The insertion of dimensions in notes

The font, height, width, and slant angle of text


The following drawing entities are saved within the model and result in a new model
iteration:
Geometric tolerances (you can also save them in the drawing)

Dimension information (also reference and driven dimensions), including the


following:
o

Additional text

Standard/ordinate dimension type

Attached geometric tolerance list

Attached set datum or axis reference

Value and tolerance information

The difference between the primary and secondary units, when you have explicitly set
them

Basic and inspection attributes

Set datum and axis information

Datum target point information

Surface finishes, including type and value

Simplifications (using By View and All Views)

Layer membership information for all entities in the model.

Creating a Drawing
1. Start Pro/E Wildfire.
2. Select [File] -> [New]. Select [Drawing] from the Type category of the pop-up
window, name the drawing Example7, and click OK.

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[Figure 7.1]
3. A New Drawing window will pop up, as shown in Figure 7.2. Use the Browse button
set the Default Model to the part [example1.prt] that you created in the first tutorial.
4. Select [Empty with format] from the Specify Template category.
5. Select the Browse button from the Format category. A Systems Formats folder should
open. Select a.frm from the list of formats. This will give you a size A paper
(standard 8 1/2 x 11) with a standard title block.

[Figure 7.2]
Click the OK button on the New Drawing window. You should see the view shown
in Figure 7.3.

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[Figure 7.3]
6. Select [Insert] -> [Drawing View] from the menu bar.
7. Select [Done] from the Menu Manager. This will allow you to create a typical view
of the part.
8. Left click on the screen near point A shown in Figure 7.3 to locate the center of the
view. You should see the outline of the part as shown in Figure 7.4.
9. You will now be prompted to select the front view of the part. Select plane A shown
in Figure 7.4.
10. You will now be prompted to select the top view of the part. Select plane B shown in
Figure 7.4.

[Figure 7.4]
Select the OK button from the Orientation window. You should see the front of the
part as shown in Figure 7.5.

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[Figure 7.5]
11. Select [Insert] -> [Drawing View] from the menu bar again.
12. Select [Done] from the Menu Manager and click near point B shown in Figure 7.5.
This will place a side view of the part to the right of the front view. Other views
could also be added to the drawing (top view, section view, orthogonal view, etc.), but
the front and side views are all that is necessary to show all the features for this part.
13. Right click on the Layers branch of the Layer Tree at the left of the screen, and select
[Blank Layer]. This will remove the coordinate axis and view plane data from the
drawing, and you should see the view shown in Figure 7.6.

[Figure 7.6]
Adding Dimensions and Tolerances
1. Double click on SCALE at the bottom of the screen, and change it to 0.01. This will
make the views of the part slightly larger.

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[Figure 7.7]
2. Select [View] -> [Show and Erase] from the menu bar.
3. Select the Dimension Icon from the Type category in Show/Erase window, as shown
in Figure 7.8.
4. Select Part and View from the Show By category.
5. Make sure Erase and Never Shown are checked in the Options category. This will
allow all dimensions which are not currently shown to be displayed.

[Figure 7.8]
6. Select the Show All button from the Show By category. Select Yes when prompted to
confirm. Select the Accept All button from the Preview category of the Show/Erase
window.
7. Select the Close button to close the Show/Erase window. You should see all the
dimensions of the part as shown in Figure 7.9.

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[Figure 7.9]
8. Click somewhere on the screen to deselect all the dimensions.
9. Now move the dimensions so that they are easier to read. Use the mouse to select a
dimension in the front view, and then use the mouse to drag it. Do this for all
dimensions, so that you see the view shown in Figure 7.10.
10. Repeat this process for the dimensions on the side view of the part.

[Figure 7.10]
11. Since the front view of the part is somewhat cluttered, you can move the some
dimensions to the side view. Left click on the dimension which labels the height of
the cut as 100.
12. Select [Edit] -> [Move Item to View] from the menu bar.
13. Click somewhere inside the side view of the part. The dimension should now be
shown in that view, as shown in Figure 7.11.

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[Figure 7.11]
14. Use the mouse to draw a selection box around both of the views to select all the
dimensions. The dimensions should be shown in red.
15. Select [Edit] -> [Cleanup] -> [Dimensions] from the menu bar.
16. Select the Apply button from the Clean Dimensions window. This will set the
location of the dimensions to be a consistent distance from the part.
17. Select the Close button from the Clean Dimensions window. You should see the
dimensions as shown in Figure 7.12.

[Figure 7.12]
18. To reposition the views so that they better fill the page, select [Tools] ->
[Environment] from the menu bar.
19. Uncheck the box that says Lock View Movement and click the OK button.

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20. You can now click on a view and drag it to a new location. Notice that the side view
always stays aligned with the front view.
21. To add tolerances to the dimensions, select [File] -> [Properties] from the menu bar.
Select [Drawing Options] from the Menu Manager.
22. An Options window will appear. This window is useful for changing many properties
of the drawing including text, view, and dimension properties.
23. Type [tol_display] into the Options text box and hit Enter. Use the pull-down menu
next to the text box to change the value to [Yes].
24. Click the Add/Change button, and then click the OK button.

[Figure 7.13]
25. Select [Done/Return] from the Menu Manager.
26. Select [Edit] -> [Regenerate] -> [Model] from the menu bar. You should see
tolerances as shown in Figure 7.14.

[Figure 7.14]
27. To change the type of tolerancing, left click on a dimension to select it. Select [Edit]
-> [Properties] from the menu bar.

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28. Change the Tolerance Mode to [+- Symmetric] and click the OK button. The
dimension will be shown as in Figure 7.15.

[Figure 7.15]
Creating Notes for Title Block
1. In this section you will fill in the title block of the drawing. Select [Insert] -> [Note]
from the menu bar.
2. Select [Make Note] from the Menu Manager and click near point A shown in Figure
7.16. Type [Carnegie Mellon University] into the text box at the bottom of the screen
and click the check button twice.

[Figure 7.16]
3. Select [Make Note] again and click near point B. Type the part name [Part 1] into the
text box, and click the check button twice.
4. Repeat this process to add [Drawing No. 001] at point C, [SCALE 0.01] at point D,
and your name at point E.
5. Select [Done/Return] from the Menu Manager.

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6. Use the mouse to click and drag the notes to position them at the center of the boxes
so that they look like those shown in Figure 1.17.

[Figure 7.17]
7. Now change the size of the text. Select the Scale note and select [Format] -> [Text
Style] from the menu bar.
8. In the Text Style window, uncheck the box labeled Default for the height of the text.
Change the value to 0.09, as shown in Figure 7.18. Click the OK button.

[Figure 7.18]

9. Click the OK button on the Text Style window. The note should now fit in the box as
shown in Figure 7.19.
10. Select [File] -> [Save] from the menu bar to save the drawing.
11. Test the information you have learned in this tutorial by completing

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SURFACE MODELING

About Surfaces
You can create the following types of surfaces using the Surface tool with one or more
defining curves or edges:
Boundary SurfaceHas a rectangular or triangular boundary. A set of primary curves with
optional internal curves defines the complete boundary of the surface.
Loft SurfaceIs created from a set of nonintersecting curves that flow in the same direction.
Blend SurfaceIs created from one or two primary curves and at least one cross curve. A
cross curve is a curve that intersects the primary curve or curves.
These surfaces can also be composite surfaces.
The defining curves of Style surfaces must either have soft-point connections, or share
vertices at the endpoints whenever two curves need to intersect. You need not trim curves
back to absolute corners, partial boundaries are supported
About Composite Surfaces
Surfaces with more than one curve as a single boundary or internal curve are composite
surfaces. The set of curves along a single boundary can consist of different types of curves,
but they must join at the ends with tangent or curvature continuity. Composite surfaces are
composed of a set of surfaces but are treated as a single entity. Outside Style, such surfaces
are treated as a single quilt. The surface normals of the component surfaces are oriented
consistently with each other.

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During creation or redefinition, you can convert any type of Style surface (boundary, loft, or
blend) to another type by selecting a different set of defining curves
To Create a Boundary Surface
1.
2.

Click

or Styling > Surface. The Style dashboard and the Select dialog box opens.

Select three or four boundary curves to create a triangular or rectangular boundary


surface, respectively.
Note:
o

Press CTRL and select multiple boundaries.

Press SHIFT and select multiple curves in a single boundary.

1.
1.

Click OK in the Select dialog box.


Click the Internal selection arrow on the Style dashboard if you want to select
internal curves. The Select dialog box opens.

2.

Select one or more internal curves.


Note:
o

Press CTRL and select multiple internal curves.

Press SHIFT and select multiple curves in a single internal curve.

6.

Click OK in the Select dialog box. The surface is created.

6.
Click on the arrows shown across the surface boundaries to modify connections
between the new surface and its neighbors, if required.
Note: To change the natural boundary of a triangular surface, click Options on the
dashboard, and then click the selection arrow and select the new boundary.
Click

8.

To Create a Loft Surface


1.
2.

Click

or Styling > Surface. The Style dashboard and the Select dialog box opens.

Select a set of nonintersecting curves that flow in the same direction to create a loft
surface.
Note:

3.

Press CTRL and select multiple defining curves.

Press SHIFT and select multiple curves in a single defining curve.


Click OK in the Select dialog box. The surface is created.

4.
Click on the arrows shown across the surface boundaries to modify connections
between the new surface and its neighbors, if required.
4.

Click

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To Create a Blend Surface


1. Click

or Styling > Surface. The Style dashboard and the Select dialog box opens.

2. Select one or two primary curves.


Note:
o

Press CTRL and select multiple defining curves.

Press SHIFT and select multiple curves in a single defining curve.


Click OK in the Select dialog box.

3.

Note: If you have selected two primary curves earlier, then a loft surface is created which
changes to a blend surface when you select cross curves.
4. Select one or more cross curves that intersect the primary curve or curves. The blend
surface is created and displayed.
Note:
o

If you have selected two primary curves earlier, then select cross curves using Cross
selection arrow.

Press CTRL and select multiple cross curves.

Press SHIFT and select multiple curves in a single cross curve.

5.

Click the Options tab.

5.

Under Blend, click the following:


o

RadialCreates a surface with a radial blend.

UniformCreates a surface with a uniform blend.

7.
Click on the arrows shown across the surface boundaries to modify connections
between the new surface and its neighbors, if required.
7.

Click

8.
9.
10.

Example: Creating Radial Blend Surfaces


This example shows how to create radial and parallel blend surfaces.
In Style, create a primary curve using the Curve tool as shown below.

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11.
12.
Set an active datum plane that is perpendicular to the plane on which the primary
curve lies and create a curve that intersects the primary curve as shown.

13.
14.
Create a blend surface using Styling > Surface. To create a blend surface, first select
the primary curve. Next, select the curve that intersects the primary curves using the Cross
selection arrow on the dashboard.
15.
The following figure shows a blend surface that is created when the Radial check box
is selected.

16.
The following figure shows a blend surface that is created when the Radial check box
is not selected.

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17.
18.
19.

Example: Creating Uniform Blend Surfaces


This example shows how to create uniform and nonuniform blend surfaces.
In Style, create two primary curves using the Curve tool as shown.

20.
21.
Set an active datum plane that is perpendicular to the plane on which the primary
curves lie. Create a curve that intersects the primary curves as shown.

22.
23.
Create a blend surface using Styling > Surface. To create a blend surface first select
two primary curves. A loft surface is created.

24.

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25.
Next, select a curve that intersects the primary curves using the Cross selection arrow
on the dashboard. The following figure shows a blend surface that is created when the
Uniform checkbox is selected.

26.
27.
The following figure shows a blend surface that is created when the Uniform
checkbox is not selected.

28.

About Creating a Surface


You can create surface features by using any of the following options on the Insert menu:

ExtrudeCreates a quilt by extruding the sketched section at a specified depth in the


direction normal to the sketching plane.
When you use Up To Surface as a depth option, the new surface can be extruded to
planar surfaces, a quilt, or a datum plane that is parallel to the sketching plane.

RevolveCreates a quilt by rotating the sketched section at a specified angle around


the first centerline sketched in the section. You can also specify the rotation angle.

SweepCreates a quilt by sweeping a sketched section along a specified trajectory.


You can sketch the trajectory, or use an existing datum curve.

BlendCreates a smooth quilt connecting several sketched sections. Parallel blends


can only be Blind. You can also create Rotational or General blends, or blends From
File.

Boundary BlendCreates a quilt by selecting boundaries in one or two directions.

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Variable Section SweepCreates a quilt using the variable section sweep geometry

Swept BlendCreates a quilt using swept blend geometry.

Helical SweepCreates a quilt using helical sweep geometry.

AdvancedOpens the Advanced menu, allowing you to create surfaces using


complex feature definitions.
You can also create surface feature by using any of the following options on the Edit menu:

CopyCreates a quilt by copying existing quilts or surfaces. Specify a selection


method, and select the surfaces to copy. Pro/ENGINEER creates the surface feature
directly on top of the selected surfaces.
FillCreates a planar quilt by sketching its boundaries.

MirrorCreates a mirrored copy of existing quilts or surfaces about the specified


plane.

ExtendCreates a quilt or surface by extending the existing quilts or surfaces.


Specify a chain of boundary edges of the existing surface to extend. You can also specify
the extend type, length, and direction of the extended surface or quilt.

OffsetCreates a quilt offset from a quilt or surface


About Creating Freeform Surfaces
You can create a freeform feature either as a solid tweak feature or as an advanced surface
feature.
Surface Free Form allows you to "push" or "pull" on a surface, interactively changing its
shape either to create a new surface feature, or to modify a solid or quilt. Whenever the
underlying surface changes shape, the freeform feature also changes shape proportionally.
The real-time surface definition feedback allows you to immediately evaluate and modify the
surface as required.
Display options for the surface include porcupine curvature, deviation, Gaussian curvature,
sectional curvature, slope, intersection curves, reflection curves, and cosmetic shading.
For a freeform surface, you can use the boundaries of the underlying base surface.
Alternatively, you can sketch the boundaries of the freeform surface; the system will then
project them on the underlying base surfaces.
The grid boundaries may extend beyond the underlying base surface. When creating a
freeform surface, you can trim or extend it to fit the underlying surface boundaries
Example: Sample Freeform Surface
In this figure, the underlying surface boundaries appear in dashed font. The base surface is
shown meshed.

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To Select an Entire Surface for the Freeform Surface.


1.

Click Insert > Advanced > Surface Free Form. The SURFACE: Free Form dialog
box opens.

2.

Select an existing surface. The system displays a grid of red isolines in the first
direction.

3.

Enter the number of control curves in the first direction. The system displays a grid of
red isolines in the second direction.

4.

Enter the number of control curves in the second direction. The Modify Surface
dialog box opens. You can select a point on the grid to drag, or optionally you can use the
Modify Surface dialog box to define the Poly Motion region, turn on the dynamic
diagnostics, or use sliders.

5.

When finished tweaking, click

in the Modify Surface dialog box.

6.

Click OK in the dialog box to create the freeform feature

To Sketch a Boundary Region


1.

Click Insert > Advanced > Surface Free Form.

2.

The SURFACE: Free Form dialog box opens.

3.

Click Sket On Pln and Done on the FORM OPTS menu.

4.

Select the sketching plane and specify model references. Sketch a circle or a
rectangle.

5.

The system displays a grid of red isolines in the first direction. Enter the number of
control curves in the direction of the arrow.

6.

The system displays another grid of isolines in the second direction. Enter the number
of control curves in the direction of the arrow.

7.

The Modify Surface dialog opens. You can select a point on the grid to drag, or
optionally you can use the Modify Surface dialog box to define the Poly Motion region,
turn on the dynamic diagnostics, or use sliders.

8.

When finished tweaking, click

9.

Click OK in the dialog box to create the freeform feature.

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in the Modify Surface dialog box.

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BEHAVIORAL MODELING EXTENSION

About Behavioral Modeling


Behavioral Modeling contains a set of tools for performing a wide variety of analyses on a
model and incorporating the analysis results into the model. Behavioral Modeling lets you
modify the model design to reflect the desired solution.
You use the Behavioral Modeling tools to:

Create feature parameters based on measurements and analyses of the model.

Create geometric entities based on measurements and analyses of the model.

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Create new types of measurements tailored to application-specific needs.

Analyze the behavior of measured parameters as variable dimensions and parameters


change.

Automatically find dimension and parameter values that achieve a desired behavior of
the model.
Analyze the behavior of measured parameters within a specified design space.

The basic building blocks of Behavioral Modeling are:

Field point

Analysis feature

Persistent analysis display

User-Defined Analysis (UDA)

Sensitivity, Feasibility, and Optimization Studies

Optimization feature

Multi-Objective Design studies

External Analysis

Motion Analysis
To Open the Saved Analysis
Click Analysis > Saved Analysis to open a saved analysis and use the Saved Analysis dialog
box to perform the following operations:

Hide or unhide any saved analysis

Redefine a selected analysis

Use the filter to select the type of analysis that you want to view

Delete a saved analysis


Persistent Display
Pro/ENGINEER supports the persistent display of any field type analysis (curve analysis,
surface analysis, or user-defined analysis based on a field point). If you define and save an
analysis, the display of this analysis remains on the screen. The analysis display updates with
all changes to model geometry.
You can turn the persistent display of any saved analysis off or on by clicking Analysis >
Saved Analysis.
Note: The persistence of display can be intermittent if the model is displayed in shaded mode
To Set Behavioral Modeling Configuration Options
1.
2.

Click Tools > Options. The Options dialog box opens.


Click the Show only options loaded from file check box to see currently loaded
configuration options or clear this check box to see all configuration options.

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3.
4.

Select the configuration option from the list or type the configuration option name in
the Option box.
In the Value box type or select a value.
Note: The default value is followed by an asterisk (*).

5.
Click Add/Change. The configuration option and its value appear in the list. A green
status icon confirms the change.
5.

Click Apply or OK

About an Analysis Feature


An analysis feature is a regular Pro/ENGINEER datum feature that is used to capture a
measurement. The analysis feature may contain a regular Pro/ENGINEER analysis, userdefined analysis, or feature relation.
An analysis feature is composed of:

A name

A type (measure, model analysis, surface analysis, curve analysis, relation, or UDA)
A definition (consisting of the measurement or analysis to be performed, the relations
to be evaluated, or a UDA)

Results of the analysis to be included in the feature

The results of an analysis feature can be one or more real or integer parameters containing the
value of the measurements made within that feature. You can also create datum points,
coordinate systems, or graphs as a result of analysis features. These parameters and datums
can be used the same way as all Pro/ENGINEER parameters and datums to drive subsequent
features.
For example, you can create a parameter controlling a measurement of the mass of a part at
the instance where the analysis feature occurs in the regeneration cycle. You can then place a
coordinate system of the center of mass as measured at this point in the regeneration cycle.
Note: You can use the configuration option clearance_triangulation to improve the quality of
the results of an Analysis feature. Setting this configuration option affects the quality of the
initial guess for Newton's method, used in distance, clearance, and interference computations.
Note that the improved quality of computations increases the analysis time.
You can capture results of an analysis in an analysis feature while still working with the
Analysis dialog box. After you compute the analysis, click Add Feature in the ANALYSIS
dialog box and specify the name for the feature. The analysis feature appears in the Model
Tree and updates whenever you regenerate the model.
To Create an Analysis Feature
1.

Click Insert > Model Datum > Analysis. The ANALYSIS dialog box opens.

2.

Under Name, specify a name for the analysis or use the default name.

3.

Under Type, select the analysis that you want to perform.

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Note: If you have registered an external application with Pro/TOOLKIT and your
Pro/TOOLKIT application is running, External Analysis is available as an additional
analysis type.
Under RegenRequest, specify the regeneration option by selecting one of the
following:
4.

AlwaysAlways regenerates the analysis feature during model regeneration.

Read OnlyExcludes the analysis feature from the model regeneration.

Only Design StudyRegenerates the analysis feature only when it is used by a


design study.

5.
Click Next. Depending on the type of analysis that you have selected, the appropriate
analysis dialog box opens.
5.

Specify the Type and Definition for the analyses that you want to perform.

5.

Click Compute. The results of the analyses appear in the Results box.

5.
Click Close. In the Result params section, the parameters associated with the
analyses appear in a table with their details under Create, Param name, and Description.
5.
To create a parameter, select the parameter in the Result params table and click YES
under Create. The selected parameter is created and NO changes to YES for that parameter
in the Result params table.
5.

Under Param name, specify a name for the parameter or accept the default name.

5.
For analyses that allow creation of a datum point, coordinate system, or datum
feature, click Next to open the Result datums section and define the resulting features.
5.

Click

. The analysis feature is created.

Note: To create a feature using curve and surface analysis, click Analysis > Geometry
and select the appropriate command
Example: Including Mass Properties in the Family Table
Summary: This example shows how to use the analysis feature in conjunction with Family
tables.
Problem: You want to select an instance from the Family table by its mass.
Solution: You can use the analysis feature to create a desired measurement (in this example mass properties) and include it in the Family table.
The following basic steps outline this example:
1.

Open a part file and select the generic part to retrieve.

2.

Create an analysis feature. In the ANALYSIS dialog box, do the following:


o

Enter the name of the analysis, bolt_mass.

Select Model Analysis as the type of the analysis.

Click Next to go to the next page to specify a parameter that you want to create.

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Select Model Mass Properties as the type of measure.

Click Compute to compute the mass.

Click Close.

o
o
o
o

Under Result params, select the parameter Mass and click Yes to create this
parameter.
Click Next to create a coordinate system as a result of the analysis feature.
Under Result datums, select the coordinate system, click Yes to create, and specify
the name for the coordinate system.
Click OK.

Example: Using a Measurement in a Relation


Summary: This example shows you how to use an analysis feature to create a dependency
between the geometry of a rotor blade and the rounds added at the edges where the blade is
attached to the rotor.
Problem: In this model, the geometry of a blade is controlled by three graphs, one for each
direction. A round is created along the edges of the blade where it is attached to the rotor.
When you change a graph, the geometry of the blade is updated. However, this change may
cause rounds created at the edges to fail due to a conflict in the radius values.
Solution: You can relate the geometry of the round to the angle between the blade and the
rotor. Do this by creating an analysis feature that measures the dihedral angle at several points
along the edge where the blade is attached to the rotor. Then you can create a round and
define the radius value at each point as a function of the measured dihedral value. The
resulting round is driven by the dihedral angle. Each time you modify the geometry of the
blade and the dihedral angle changes, the geometry of the round is updated to reflect new
radius values.
The following basic steps outline this example:
1.

Open a part BLADE and create datum points at the locations where you want to
specify different radius values for the round.

2.

Measure the dihedral angle between the rotor and the blade at the selected datum
points by creating an analysis feature at each point. In the Point dialog box, specify the
following:
a. Enter the name of the analysis, analysis1.
b. Under Type, select Feature and select a datum point.
c. Click Definition. The selected point appears in the Point box.
d. Click Feature. The Parameters table and the Datums table on the Point dialog box
display the associated parameters and datum points with their details under Create,
Name and Description.
e. Click NO against the name of the parameter in the Parameters table. The selected
parameter is created.
f. Click

. The analysis feature is created.

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3.
Create an advanced round at the attachment edge with variable radius values. When
specifying the radius value for each datum point, enter a relation in the following format:
4.
Finish creating the round. This round is driven by the current value of the dihedral
angle. When you change the graph that controls the blade, Pro/ENGINEER re computes the
values of the dihedral angles and rebuilds the round accordingly.
The next figure shows an example part.

The next figure illustrates datum points at which the dihedral angle is measured.
The next figure shows how a round is created.
To Create a Motion Analysis Feature
1.

Click Insert > Model Datum > Analysis. The ANALYSIS dialog box opens.

2.

Under Name, specify a name for the analysis or accept the default name.

3.

Under Type, click Motion Analysis.

4.

Under RegenRequest, specify the regeneration option by clicking one of the


following:
o

AlwaysAlways regenerate the analysis feature during the model regeneration.

Read OnlyExclude the analysis feature from the model regeneration.

Only Design StudyRegenerate the analysis feature only when it is used by a design
study.

5.
Click Next to create the Definition part of the analysis. The Motion Analysis dialog
box opens.
5. Under Parameters, select the parameters that you want to compute.
5.

Under Options, select from the following:


o

Use All Moving PartsCreate a motion envelope using all moving parts. If you do
not want to include all moving parts, clear this option and select the parts individually.

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Create Motion EnvelopeShow the motion envelope for all or selected moving
parts.

Envelope qualityEnter the number for accuracy of the display of the quilt that
represents the motion envelope.

Update IntervalEnter the number of frames between two update events. The
number of frames determines how often the system updates the graphical results of the
computation.

8.
Click Run to begin the analysis. The system shows the moving parts in motion,
computes the values of the parameters that you have included in the analysis, and shows the
graphs. The number of computation points for the analysis depends on the number of frames
in the motion definition.
The results of the computation appear in the Results box. For each parameter, the system
computes the minimum and maximum values, and the time when these values were
reached.
9.

To view the results in an Information Window, click Info.

9.

To change the display settings for the motion envelope, click Display.

9.
Click Close to return to the ANALYSIS dialog box. The Result params window
opens. The parameters associated with the measurement appear in a table under the headers
Create, Parameter name, and Description.
9.
To create a parameter, select it from the Result params list, and click YES under
Create.
9.

Under Parameter name, accept the default name or type a name for the parameter.

9.
If you selected the option Create Motion Envelope, click Next (otherwise go to the
last step). The Result datums window opens, listing the quilt.
9.

Click YES under Create to create a quilt feature.

9.

Under Datum name, accept the default name or type a name for the feature name.

9.

Click OK to finish

Motion Analysis Feature


The Motion Analysis feature enables you to create:

Top-level assembly feature parameters

A multifaceted quilt representing the motion envelope


To Create an External Analysis Feature
1.

Click Insert > Model Datum > Analysis. The ANALYSIS dialog box opens.

2.

Under Name, accept the default name or type the name for the analysis.

3.

Under Type, select External Analysis.

4.

Click Next to create the Definition part of the analysis. The External Analysis dialog
box opens.

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5.
6.

Specify the name of the analysis under Type.


Under RegenRequest, specify the regeneration option by clicking one of the
following options:
o

AlwaysAlways regenerate the analysis feature during the model regeneration.

Read OnlyExclude the analysis feature from the model regeneration.

Only Design StudyRegenerate the analysis feature only when it is used by a design
study.

7.
Click the Analysis UI button. This brings up the user interface defined by your
Pro/TOOLKIT application.
7.
Follow system prompts to make selections as specified in your Pro/TOOLKIT
application.
7.

Click Compute to perform the analysis.

7.

To view the results of the analysis in an Information window, click Info.

7.

To save the analysis, click Save and specify a name.

7.
Click Close to close the External Analysis dialog box. The ANALYSIS dialog box
becomes active.
7.
Continue to define the resulting datums and parameters as you do for a regular
analysis feat.

To Create a Field Point


1.

Click Insert > Model Datum > Point > Field. The Field Datum Point dialog box
opens.

2.

Select a point on the model. A field point is added to the selected domain.

3.

To change the name of the field point, click the Properties tab.

4.

Click OK.
5. Field Point
6. A field point is a type of datum point intended for use only in conjunction with userdefined analysis (UDA). A field point defines a domain from which it was selected
curve, surface, or quilt. To create a field point, select a point on an entity. The
field point does not require dimensions because it belongs to the entire domain.
7. You use field points with other features to apply a particular measurement to the
selected domain.
8. Note: A field point must be used only as a reference for features that define a UserDefined Analysis. Do not use a field point as a reference for regular modeling.
9. A field point is displayed at the location on the domain at which it was picked. Field
points have names in parts FPNT# and in assemblies AFPNT#. To change the
domain of the field point, you must redefine the feature.

To Define a Construction Group


1.

In part or assembly, click Edit > Feature Operations > Group.

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2.

Click CREATE GROUP > Local Group.

3.

Enter the name of the group.

4.

Select features from the Model Tree. The last item in the group must be an analysis
feature that you previously created.

5.

Click Done to create the group. Pro/ENGINEER informs you that the Construction
group is created successfully.

You can also create a Construction Group as follows:


1.

Select the features from the Model Tree. The last item in the group must be an
analysis feature that you previously created.

2.

Right-click on the features you selected. A shortcut menu appears.

3.

Click Group. A local construction group is created

Construction Group
A Construction group is a set of features that you create with the purpose of making a
particular measurement. A Construction group defines a UDA.
A Construction group can have features of any type. If a construction group includes a field
point, the analysis is defined over the domain of the field point.
Rules for creating a construction group:
Only one field point is allowed in a Construction group, and it must be the first
feature in the group.

The last feature in the group must be an Analysis feature

Example: Analyzing the Cross Section of a Pipe


Summary: This example shows how to create a UDA analysis to investigate how a model
parameter changes along a trajectory.
Problem: Need to analyze how the cross section of a solid pipe changes along its trajectory.
Solution: You can create an analysis feature to compute the cross section at a point on the
curve. Then you can create a UDA to analyze the cross section along the entire curve.
Follow these basic steps to create the UDA:
1.
Create a field point on the trajectory curve. Click Insert > Model Datum > Point >
Field.
2.
3.

Create a datum plane through the field point.


Create an analysis feature to measure the cross section of the pipe. Click Insert >
Model Datum > Analysis. In the ANALYSIS dialog box:
o

Enter the name of the analysis, pipe_area.

Select Model Analysis as the type of the analysis.

Click Next to go to the next page to select a parameter that you want to create.

Select X-Section Mass Properties as the type of measure.

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Place a checkmark in front of Use Plane and choose the name of the datum plane to
create the cross section.

Click Compute to the mass.

Click Close.

Under Result params, choose the parameter XSEC_AREA and select Yes to create
this parameter.

Click Next to go to the next page to create a coordinate system as a result of the
analysis feature.

Under Result datums, choose the coordinate system, choose Yes to create, and enter
the name for the coordinate system.

Click OK.

4.
Create a UDA Construction group by grouping all required features and parameters.
Click Edit > Feature Operations > Group > Local Group. Specify a name for the group.
From the Model tree, select the field point, the datum plane through the field point, and, the
analysis feature (the last item).
4.
Create a user-defined analysis using the Construction group you have just defined.
Click Analysis > User-Defined Analysis.
Example: Analyzing the Reflectivity of a Lamp Shade
Summary: This example shows how to use a UDA to analyze some reflection properties of a
lamp shade.
Problem: Need to analyze the angle at which the light is reflected from of the surfaces of a
lamp shade.
Solution: Measure the reflection angle using the analysis features. Then you can create a
UDA to apply the value of the reflection angle to the entire surface.
The next figure shows the lamp shade part.

The next illustration shows the geometrical construction that is required to measure the
reflectivity angle.
In this diagram:

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1 The angle between incident light and the central axis.


2 The angle between incident light and the surface normal at the field point.
3 The reflection angle.
4 The equal angle to angle 2.
Thick blue line Contour of a lamp shade.
Red line Incident light originating at the bulb point PNT0 and reflected off the surface
at the field point FPNT1.
Follow these basic steps to create the UDA:
1.

Create all necessary geometry to make the measurement:


o

Create a central axis A_1 through the bulb point PNT0 in a vertical downward
direction.

Create a field point FPNT1 on the surface whose reflectivity you want to analyze.

Create an axis SURF_NORM through this field point normal to the surface.

Create an axis from the bulb PNT0 to the field point.

2.
Create an analysis feature to measure angle1 (the angle between incident light and the
central axis).
2.
Create an analysis feature to measure angle2 (the angle between incident light and the
surface normal at the field point).
2.
Create an analysis feature of the relation type to measure the reflectivity angle using
the following relation:
ref_angle = angle3 = 2 * angle2 - angle1
5.
Create a UDA Construction group by grouping features starting from the field point
and concluding with the last analysis feature (reflection angle measurement).
5.
Create a UDA to measure the reflection angle on a selected surface. Select the
parameter to calculate ref_angle and click Compute. The next figure shows the results of the
computation: the portion of the surface highlighted in blue indicates the smallest reflection
angles.
5.
To analyze another surface for reflectivity, clear the Default option in the UDA dialog
box. To specify new references, select a surface, select the bulb point PNT0, and the central
axis A_1.
The next figure shows the graphical results of the UDA.

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PRO-MECHANISM

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ABOUT MECHANISM DESIGN KINEMATICS


If you do not have a Mechanism Dynamics Option license, only the kinematics menus are
available when you start Mechanism Design. In a kinematics study, you can define your
mechanism, make it move with servo motors, and analyze the motion without reference to
forces acting on the system. Use kinematics to observe the movement of your mechanism,
and to measure the change in position, velocity, and acceleration of the bodies. See the
workflow illustration for a summary of the process you can use to study your model with
Mechanism Design kinematics.
There are two kinematics tutorials to help you become familiar with Mechanism Design. The
first tutorial leads you through a study of a single piston assembly, including building the
model, applying a servo motor, checking the motion of the model with the drag functionality,
running an analysis, and viewing the results. The second tutorial creates a four-bar linkage,
then sets joint axis limits, uses time-conditional servo motors, and demonstrates trace curves.

Mechanism Design Kinematics Workflow


Select one of the links in the left column for more information.

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Creating your model

Checking your model

Adding modeling entities

Define bodies.

Make connections.

Define joint axis settings.

Make special connections.

Drag your assembly.

Apply servo motors.

Define initial position snapshot.

Preparing for analysis

Create measures.

Run a kinematic analysis.

Analyzing your model

Run a repeated assembly


analysis.

Getting results

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Play back results.

Check for interference.

View measures.

Create trace curves.

Create motion envelopes.

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Creating a Model for Mechanism Design.


Creating a model for a Mechanism Design analysis includes these tasks:

Define the bodies in your modelA body is a group of parts that are rigidly
controlled, with no degrees of freedom within the group. If two parts have a
Pro/ENGINEER constraint between them, they are part of the same body. You can only
place Mechanism Design connections between two distinct bodies. If a mechanism is not
moving the way you expect, or if you are not able to create connections because two parts
are in the same body, you may need to redefine the bodies in your mechanism. When you
redefine bodies in Mechanism Design, you remove the Pro/ENGINEER constraints so that
you can replace them with connections.
Mechanism Design connections include joints, cam-follower connections, and slotfollower connections.

Assemble your model with joint connectionsYou assemble a mechanism by


adding components to an assembly using joint connections in the same way you add
components to an assembly using placement constraints. Connections define how the
components move with respect to each other. Use the Pro/ENGINEER command Insert >
Component > Assemble to add connections to your mechanism.
Note: A component in Pro/ENGINEER Assembly mode refer s to parts and
subassemblies. A body is a Mechanism Design term that refers to a single part or two or
more parts joined by a Pro/ENGINEER non-joint-type constraint.

Specify parameters for the connections after you add joints, you can use the
Joint Axis Settings dialog box to define zero references, a regeneration value for the
software to use when it assembles the model, and limits on the allowed motion of the
connections.

Create special connectionsYou can use Mechanism Design to create cam-follower


and slot-follower connections. You can create a cam-follower connection or slot-follower
connection simply by selecting geometric entities on your model. You do not need to first
create special cam geometry.
You can also use Mechanism Design to create kinematic gear pair connections. You create
gear pairs by selecting joint axes, and the gear pair connections constrain the relative
velocity of the joint axes. You do not need to create special gear geometry
Joint Connections in Mechanism Design
Adding a component with joints is similar to traditionally assembling a component in the
following ways:

Both methods use Pro/ENGINEER constraints for placement.

The relationship between assemblies and subassemblies is the same.

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Adding a component with joints is different from traditionally assembling a component in the
following ways:

Components placed by connection are underconstrained by design. They retain one or


more degrees of freedom.

When you place a component with Pro/ENGINEER constraints, your goal is to


remove all degrees of freedom. You must select the correct constraints to do this. When
you add a component with Mechanism Design connections, you want to achieve a
particular type of motion. After you decide which connection allows the type of motion
you want, the software prompts you to make the constraints needed for that connection.

To reverse the orientation of a component, you can use


to turn one component 180
with respect to the other. If you want to reverse a fixed component, you must change the
type of constraint, for example from mate to align constraint.
Pro/ENGINEER saves joint connection information in the assembly file, which means that
the parent assembly inherits the joint connection definitions in a subassembly
Checking Your Model
After you create your model, you should verify its motion. This tells you whether the
connections you defined will produce the motion you envision. You can make your model
move in these ways:

Run an assembly analysis with the Mechanism > Connect command. This process is
also known as connecting the assembly. If your assembly is already connected, running an
assembly analysis does not move your mechanism.

Drag a body interactively. Use dragging to study the general nature of how your
mechanism can move and the extent to which bodies can be positioned. Use the options in
the Drag dialog box to disable connections, glue bodies, and apply geometry constraints to
obtain a specific configuration. You can then record these configurations as snapshots for
later reference.
Adding Modeling Entities for Mechanism Design Kinematics

Add servo motorsAfter you create your model and make sure the connections
allow it to move correctly, you can add servo motors. Use servo motors to define the
mechanism's desired absolute motion. In Mechanism Design, you can apply servo motors
to joint axes or geometric entities.
Note: Servo motors were called Drivers in previous releases of Mechanism Design.
Use servo motors in a kinematics-type study to specify position, velocity, or acceleration.
A servo motor moves your model to satisfy the specified position, velocity, or
acceleration requirements without regard for the forces needed or for interference
between bodies.
Because a servo motor defines the absolute rotational or translational motion of a joint
axis, the joint axis loses the degree of freedom (DOF) associated with that motion.

Create measuresIf you want to measure position, velocity, or acceleration using


the evaluation methods Maximum, Minimum, Integral, Average, Root Mean Square,
or At Time, you must create the measure before you run the analysis

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Preparing for a Repeated Assembly or Kinematic Analysis


Here are a few things to do before you run a repeated assembly or kinematic analysis.

Define initial position snapshotIf you want the kinematic analysis to begin with
the parts in specific locations, use the Drag dialog box to record snapshots to use.

Create measuresIf you want to measure the position using the evaluation methods
Maximum, Minimum, Integral, Average, Root Mean Square, or At Time, you must
create the measure before you run the analysis.
Running a Repeated Assembly or Kinematic Analysis
You can run kinematic or repeated assembly analysis in Mechanism Design. When you run a
kinematic or repeated assembly analysis, Mechanism Design simulates the motion of your
mechanism. You can choose which servo motors to use in these types of analyses, and specify
their start and end times during the analysis.
A kinematic or repeated assembly analysis is a series of assembly analyses. However, if
Mechanism Design reaches a point during the analysis where it cannot successfully assemble
the mechanism, it stops and asks if you want to continue. Depending on the settings you
choose in the Settings dialog box, you can pause or continue an analysis upon failure while
running.
Use a kinematic or repeated assembly analysis to follow the motion of your model as
imposed by servo motors. You can choose which servo motors to use during an analysis, and
specify their start and end times during the analysis. If you are only interested in the motion
of a portion of your model, you can use the body-locking or connection-locking options on
the Preferences tab of the Analysis Definition dialog box to eliminate some of the allowed
degrees of freedom.
Kinematic and repeated assembly analyses are similar in their definition. However, there is
one important difference. You can use a kinematic analysis to evaluate position, velocity, and
acceleration of points or joint axes in your mechanism, whereas you are limited to position
measurements with repeated assembly analyses. Because of this feature, any servo motor
profiles that you define for a kinematic analysis must be differentiable.
Saving and Viewing Repeated Assembly or Kinematic Analysis Results
After you run a repeated assembly or kinematic analysis, there are several ways that you can
use the results:

Save the results and check for interferenceYou must save your analysis results as
a playback file if you want to retrieve them in another session. Use the Mechanism >
Playback command to open the Playbacks dialog box. Use the options to save, restore,
remove, and export your analysis results. You can also play back the analysis on the
Playbacks dialog box and check for interference.

View the dataUse the Mechanism > Measures command to create and graph
measures:
o

You can monitor the position of points and joint axes during a repeated assembly
analysis by creating a position measure or separation measure using the Mechanism >
Measures command. If you run a kinematic analysis, you can also measure the
velocity or acceleration of points and joint axes. If the position measure is evaluated at
each time step of the analysis, you can create and plot its change in value after running

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one or more analyses. If you want to use any of the other evaluation methods,
including Maximum, Minimum, Integral, Average, Root Mean Square, or At
Time, you must create the measure before you run the analysis.
o

You can plot the values of Pro/ENGINEER analysis features during the analysis.

You can save the graph of measures to a table file.

You can learn the DOF and number of redundancies in your model.

Create a trace curveAfter you run a kinematic analysis, you can use the results to
generate a trace curve. Trace curves are a graphical representation of the motion of your
mechanism, and can be used to create cam profiles, slot profiles, or Pro/ENGINEER
datum curves.

Create a motion envelopeYou can save a motion envelope file that represents the
volume swept by parts on your mechanism during a motion analysis. You can use the
motion envelope file as a part in Pro/ENGINEER.

About Settings
Use the Settings command to specify the tolerance that Mechanism Design uses to assemble
your mechanism, and to specify the action that Mechanism Design takes when an analysis
run fails.
You can also use the tolerance setting to help fix a failed assembly, or when running a
dynamic analysis.
When you select the Edit > Settings command, the Settings dialog box appears. This dialog
box includes the following areas:

Relative ToleranceSelect Default, or enter a value. The relative tolerance is the


multiplier that Mechanism Design uses to scale the characteristic length to derive the
absolute tolerance. The default value is 0.001, which represents 0.1% of the characteristic
length of your model.

Characteristic LengthSelect Default, or enter a value. The characteristic length is


the sum of all the part lengths divided by the number of parts. A part's length (or size) is
the length of the diagonal of the bounding box that contains the part completely.
The absolute assembly tolerance is the maximum amount that any mechanism position
constraint can deviate from a perfectly assembled state. The absolute tolerance is derived
from the product of the relative tolerance and the characteristic length.
The formula for absolute tolerance is:
absolute tolerance = relative tolerance x characteristic length
If you have a mechanism with significant variance in the parts' sizes, or have results that
seem incorrect, you may need to change at least one of the settings. If the characteristic
length is not representative of the mechanism's moving parts, consider changing the
characteristic length. For example, if you are interested in the motion of a small body in a
large assembly, change the characteristic length to be closer to that of the smaller body.
Otherwise, adjust the relative tolerance.

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Assembly FailureSelect the Issue Warning Upon Failure check box to receive a
warning message whenever the mechanism fails to connect.

Run PreferencesSelect Graphical Display During Run to have your mechanism


display an update as you run an analysis. If you clear this check box, the display does not
change, and the calculation is faster relative to the calculation with the graphical display
on.

Failure ActionSelect Pause or Continue to choose the action that Mechanism


Design takes when an analysis fails. If you select Pause, and your mechanism fails to
assemble during a run, a dialog box appears that allows you to terminate or continue the
analysis, and to choose whether to view further warnings if the analysis fails again. You
cannot continue a dynamic run when it fails
To Define Settings
You can change the absolute tolerance by changing the relative tolerance or the characteristic
length, or both.
1.

Click Edit > Settings or . The Settings dialog box appears.

2.

If you want to change the Relative Tolerance setting for your assembly, clear the
check box and enter a value between 1e10 and 0.1. The default value of 0.001 is usually
satisfactory.

3.

If you want to change the Characteristic Length setting, clear the check box and
enter a different value. You should consider changing this setting when the largest part is
much larger than the smallest part.

4.

Clear the Assembly Failure check box if you do not want Mechanism Design to warn
you should the assembly fail.

5.

Clear the Graphical display during run check box in the Run Preferences area to
improve run performance by turning off the graphical display during the analysis run.

6.

Select one of the options under Failure Action:


o
o

7.

Click Continue to continue your analysis upon failure while running.


Click Pause if you want Mechanism Design to stop when your analysis fails, and to
offer you the opportunity to terminate or continue.
Click OK.

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About Icon Visibilities


You can use View > Display Settings > Mechanism Display to open the Display Entities
dialog box. The Display Entities dialog box has the following selections that you can turn on
and off. The display setting you use persists while switching between Assembly and
Mechanism modes with the same model.
Servo Motors
Force Motors
Joints
Slots
Cams
Gears
Springs
Dampers
Forces/Torques
LCS
All icons except LCS are visible by default. After you turn a visibility off, that icon is still
visible under the following conditions:

If any of the entities, such as servo motors, force motors, slots, cams, gears, springs,
dampers, or forces/torques is active, its icon becomes visible when you open the
corresponding dialog box.
All joint icons are visible:

while the Joint Axis Settings dialog box is open

when you select Joint Axis as a Driven Entity on the Servo Motor Definition dialog
box

when you click


dialog box

to set the initial velocity for a joint on the Initial Conditions

while you are setting the connection status during a dragging operation

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when you select Joint Axis as a Reference Type for dampers, springs, or force
motors
when you click

to lock a joint on the Analysis Definition dialog box

All slot icons are visible:

o
o

when you select Slot as a Reference Type for dampers.


when you click
to set the initial velocity for a slot-follower connection on the
Initial Conditions dialog box
The current local coordinate system (LCS) is visible:

o
o
o

while you perform a dragging operation


while you create or edit a force/torque or initial conditions with direction of typed
vector
while defining a loadcell constraint for a force balance analysis

To Set Icon Visibilities


The following steps outline the process of turning the Mechanism Design icons on and off for
viewing.
1.

Use View > Display Settings > Mechanism Display or click


Entities dialog box.

2.

to open the Display

Turn on the icons that you want to be visible. Your choices are the following:
o

Servo Motors

Force Motors

Joints

Slots

Cams

Gears

Springs

Dampers

Forces/Torques

LCS

3.
If you do not want icons to be visible, you can turn off icon visibilities that are on by
default or that have been turned on previously.
3.

If you want all the icons to be visible, click

3.

If you do not want any of the icons to be visible, click

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About Initial Conditions


Use the Mechanism > Initial Conditions command to define initial conditions. You can
define initial conditions for your mechanism if you have a Mechanism Dynamics Option
license.
Initial conditions are position and velocity settings you assign the mechanism to use for a
dynamic analysis.
You can specify that an initial condition does the following:

Position Initial ConditionMakes sure an analysis starts from a specific position.


By default, each analysis starts with the mechanism displayed as the current screen
positionthe current orientation of the bodies as you see them on the screen. You can use
initial conditions to establish a consistent starting configuration for each analysis.
To reference initial position, Mechanism Design uses a snapshot. The snapshot captures
the configuration of existing locked bodies and geometric constraints to define position
constraints.

Velocity Initial ConditionStarts the analysis at a particular velocity. Mechanism


Design allows you to define point, joint axis, angular, and tangential slot velocity settings.
For example, if you are modeling a car, you might wantat the start of the analysisto
analyze it moving at 65 mph. Another example of velocity initial condition would be the
body angular velocity in deg/sec of a door closing.
The Mechanism > Initial Conditions command opens a finder dialog box, which you can
use to create, edit, copy, or delete your initial conditions. The dialog box also displays the
names of previously created initial conditions.
Before defining your initial conditions, you may want to review some tips on how to use
initial conditions effectively. You can also refer to information on position initial conditions
for joint axis in drag.
Return to previous.
About the Initial Condition Definition Dialog Box
Use this dialog box to create a new initial condition or edit an existing one. To access this
dialog box, click Mechanism > Initial Conditions. When the Initial Conditions dialog box
appears, click New or Edit.
The Initial Condition Definition dialog box includes the following items:

SnapshotA snapshot defines the positions of all bodies in your assembly for an
initial condition. Make a selection from Current Screenthe orientation of the bodies on
the screen at the time the analysis run startsor previously created snapshots.

VelocityUse the appropriate option to define the type of velocity initial condition
you are interested in and to select a reference entity:
o

Click
to define the linear velocity at a point or vertex. Select a point or vertex as a
reference entity, and define the magnitude (in unit length/sec) and direction of the
vector.

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Click
to define the rotational or translational velocity of a joint axis. Select a joint
axis as a reference analyses and enter the magnitude (in unit length/sec or deg/sec).

Click
to define the angular displacement of the body along the defined vector.
Select a body as a reference entity. Enter the magnitude (in deg/sec) and direction of
the vector.

Click
to define the initial tangential velocity of the follower point relative to the
slot curve. Select a slot-follower connection as a reference entity, and enter a
magnitude (in unit length/sec). Use Flip to point the vector in the correct direction.

The velocity icon area displays two additional buttons. With these, you can do the
following:
o

Click

to evaluate the model with velocity constraints.

Click

to delete highlighted constraints.

You can enable and disable the velocity initial condition using the check box to the left of the
condition.
After you select the reference entity, the dialog box expands to display Magnitude and
Direction. Use these to define the vector:

MagnitudeUse this area to enter the magnitude for the velocity vector.

DirectionUse this area to choose a direction for the velocity vector.


Return to About Initial Conditions or To Create an Initial Condition
To Create an Initial Condition
1.

Click Mechanism > Initial Conditions or


appears.

2.

. The Initial Conditions dialog box

Click New. The Initial Condition Definition dialog box appears.

3.

Enter a new name for the initial condition in the entry box or use the default name
(InitCondn).

4.

Accept the Current Screen default in the Snapshot area or choose a previously
created snapshot from the drop-down menu.

5.

Define the velocity by clicking one of the following buttons:


o

Click

to specify point velocity.

Click

to specify joint axis velocity.

Click

to specify angular velocity.

Click

to specify tangential slot velocity.

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6.
Use the normal selection methods to select a reference entity from the model. Choose
a point, joint axis, vertex, part, or slot-follower connection, depending on the icon selected. If
valid, the list area displays the velocity type.
6.

Specify the Magnitude in the current unit for the velocity vector.

6.

For Point Velocity and Angular Velocity, specify the Direction of the velocity vector.

6.

Use the check box to the left of the velocity type to enable or disable it.

6.

Click

6.

Click OK.

to determine the compatibility and validity of the initial conditions.

To Edit an Initial Condition


1.

To edit an initial condition, click Mechanism > Initial Conditions or


toolbar. The Initial Conditions dialog box appears.

2.

Select an initial condition set from the list.

3.

Click Edit. The Initial Condition Definition dialog box appears.

4.

on the

Select a velocity initial condition in the list box. Mechanism Design highlights the
corresponding reference entities on the body.

5.

Add or remove a velocity initial condition or change any of the following items:
o

Snapshot

Magnitude

Direction

2 If you want to disable an initial condition, clear the check box to the left of the
velocity condition.
1

Click OK to save the modified initial condition specifications.

2 To revert to the previously saved initial conditions definition, click Cancel while
editing the initial condition.
Specifying the Direction of the Velocity Vector
Use the Direction field on the Initial Conditions Definition dialog box to specify the
direction for the velocity vector you are applying. Select one of these options:

Typed VectorA typed vector is a vector defining direction in three dimensions that
you can specify with a Cartesian set of axes x, y, and z. Choose a body and enter
coordinates to indicate the direction of the vector. The direction is relative to the origin of
the selected body coordinate system. You can select the WCS or a body coordinate system.

Straight Edge, Curve, or AxisSelect a straight edge, a curve, or a datum axis in


the assembly to define the direction of the velocity vector.

Point-to-PointSelect two body points or vertices, one for the origin of the vector
and another to indicate the direction. If one of the two selected points is not a point, to

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which you are applying the initial condition, then the velocity vector is parallel to the line
between the two points.
A direction arrow displays the direction of the velocity vector. Use the Flip button if you
want to reverse the direction of the vector for Point-to-Point or Straight Edge, Curve, or
Axis
Joint Axis Position in Drag
A dynamic analysis allows you to specify initial positions, using snapshots. You can specify
an exact value for a joint axis initial configuration by using joint axis position constraints in
the drag environment. The joint axis constraint defines the starting position of the bodies
connected by the joint for a dynamic analysis. You can assign multiple constraints on the
same joint axis. However, only one can be enabled at any given time.
To specify joint axis positions, click
on the Constraints tab of the Drag dialog box When
you select a joint axis, the constraint is added to the Type list with a Status of Enabled. The
Value box displays the current value of the joint axis in the current screen configuration. You
can edit the value by highlighting the constraint in the list, entering the desired position value,
and pressing the ENTER key. You can specify a positive or negative value.
If you want to save a constraint, take a snapshot to save the configuration of the mechanism
with specified constraints. The snapshot lists the constraints associated with it. Constraints
are defined in the context of the snapshot. If a snapshot is not saved, the constraints are not
saved.
When changing the name or updating a snapshot to the current configuration, remember to
update by clicking

To Specify Joint Axis Position for Initial Conditions Using the Drag Dialog Box
1.

Click Mechanism > Drag or

2.

On the Snapshots tab, choose one of the following:

3.

. The Drag dialog box opens to the Snapshots tab.

Select a previously created snapshot from the list.

Use the current screen configuration.

Drag the bodies to the desired configuration.


Click the Constraints tab.

3. Click
. Use the normal selection methods to select a joint axis. The Status column
now indicates that the condition is enabled.
5.

To change the position, do the following:


a. Select and highlight the constraint in the Type list window.
b. Select and highlight the value in the Value entry box and enter a positive or negative
numerical value.
c. Press ENTER. The position of the joint axis changes to the value you entered.

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6.
If you want to save the configuration with this joint axis constraint, click
.
Mechanism Design creates a new snapshot with an incremented number on the Snapshots
tab. You can modify or accept the default name.
6.
If the mechanism constraint cannot be satisfied, an Error Assembly Failed message
appears. Click Undo to retry or Continue to continue making changes with the mechanism
unassembled.

About Mass Properties


To be able to run dynamic and static analyses in Mechanism Dynamics, you need to assign
mass properties for your mechanism. You can specify mass properties in either
Pro/ENGINEER or Mechanism Dynamics. If you have not assigned the mass properties in
Pro/ENGINEER, you can do it in Mechanism Dynamics by using the Mechanism > Mass
Properties command.
Mass properties determine how your mechanism resists any change in its speed or position
upon the application of a force. The mass properties of a mechanism consist of its density,
volume, mass, center of gravity, and moment of inertia. When you select the Mechanism >
Mass Properties command, the Mass Properties dialog box appears, which enables you to
select a part, an assembly, or a body to specify or review its mass properties.

For a part, you can specify its mass, center of gravity, and inertia. If the part has nonzero volume, you can specify its density, and Mechanism Dynamics calculates the mass
accordingly.
For an assembly, you can only specify its density for the mass to be calculated.

If you select a body, you are only able to review its mass properties, but you cannot
edit them.
Mass property information that you define in Mechanism Dynamics is valid only in
Mechanism Dynamics and overrides Pro/ENGINEER mass definitions within any
Mechanism Dynamics session.
You can view your mechanism's mass property information by clicking Info > Mechanism >
Mass Properties. The Pro/ENGINEER embedded browser opens with a file containing the
information.
Mass Properties Dialog Box
Use this dialog box to specify mass properties for your mechanism or to review mass
properties assigned in Pro/ENGINEER. To access this dialog box, click Mechanism > Mass
Properties.
The following fields on the dialog box allow you to select the type of mechanism for which
you specify or review mass properties. They also allow you to select the method that you use
to specify them.

Reference TypeUse to select one of the following entities from the drop-down
menu:
o

PartYou can select any part in the assembly, including component parts of
subassemblies, to specify or review its mass properties.

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AssemblyYou can select a component subassembly or a top-level assembly from


the model window or from the Model Tree. Mechanism Dynamics allows you to assign
mass properties or edit existing ones.

BodyMechanism Dynamics does not allow you to edit mass properties of the
selected body. You can only review them.

Define Properties byUse to select a method to define the mass properties. Based
on the previous selection of the reference type, your options change.
o

DefaultThis option is available to all three of the reference types. If you select this
option, all input fields remain inactive. The dialog box displays mass property values
based on the density or mass properties file defined in Pro/ENGINEER. If neither
density nor mass properties have been assigned to the model in Pro/ENGINEER,
Mechanism Dynamics displays the default values.

DensityThis option is available if you have selected a part or an assembly as the


reference type. Use this option to define mass properties by density. Because density is
the ratio of the mechanism's mass to its volume, you can only select a part or an
assembly with a volume greater than zero. When you select this option, all input fields
except Density remain inactive.

Mass PropertiesThis option is only available if you have selected a part as the
reference type. Using this option, you can define mass, center of gravity, and moment
of inertia.

Coordinate SystemUse to select a coordinate system for the part or body. This
option is not available if you select an assembly as the reference type.
Depending on your previous selections, the aspect of the dialog box changes. If you have
selected a body as the reference type, the following items remain inactive and you can only
review them. If your selection is an assembly, you can only see the Density field on the
dialog box. When you change the entries in any of the following fields, Mechanism
Dynamics automatically updates the values that are dependent on the value you have
changed.

DensityUse this field to enter a density value for the selected part or assembly
when you define mass by the density.

VolumeThis field displays the volume of the selected mechanism. You cannot edit
the entry.

MassUse this field to enter a mass value for the selected part when defining its
mass by the mass properties.

Center of GravityUse this field to define the location of the center of gravity with
respect to a specified coordinate system. Center of gravity is an imaginary point in the
mechanism where, for convenience in certain calculations, the total mass of the
mechanism may be thought to be concentrated.

InertiaUse this area to calculate the moment of inertia. Moment of inertia is a


quantitative measure of the rotational inertia of the mechanism in other words, the
tendency of a body rotating about a fixed axis to resist a change in this rotating motion.
You can select one of the following locations for the axis about which the selected
mechanism rotates:

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At Coordinate System OriginMeasures the moment of inertia relative to the


current coordinate system.

At Center of GravityMeasures the moment of inertia relative to the principal


inertial axis of the mechanism.

To Specify Mass Properties of a Part


1.

Click Mechanism > Mass Properties or


appears.

2.

Select Part from the drop-down menu.

3.

. The Mass Properties dialog box

Click
and select a part on the model. For information on the Pro/ENGINEER
selection methods, search the PTC Help system.

4.

From the Define Properties by menu, select one of the following methods:
o

Default

Density

Mass Properties

5. Select a coordinate system.


5.

If you are defining mass properties by the density, follow these steps:
a. Enter a value in the Density field.
b. In the Inertia field, select the moment of inertia relative to either the current
coordinate system or the center of gravity.
c. Click Apply. Mechanism Design updates the mass and the moment of inertia values.

7.
If you have selected Mass Properties from the Define Properties by menu, follow
these steps:
a. Enter a value in the Mass field.
b. In the Center of Gravity field, enter the coordinates for the location of the center of
gravity.
c. Modify moment of inertia values in the Inertia field.
d. Click Apply.
8.

Click OK to close the dialog box.

To Specify Mass Properties of an Assembly


1.

Click Mechanism > Mass Properties or


appears.

2.

Select Assembly from the drop-down menu.

3.

. The Mass Properties dialog box

Click
and select an assembly on the model. For information on the
Pro/ENGINEER selection methods, search the PTC Help system.

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4.

From the Define Properties by menu, select one of the following methods:
o

Default

Density

5.

Click

and select a coordinate system on the model.

5.
If you are defining the mass properties by the density, enter a value in the Density
field.
5.

Click OK to close the dialog box

Inertia
In Mechanism Dynamics, a moment of inertia is one of the mass properties of a mechanism,
describing its resistance to changes in rotational acceleration. The moment of inertia is
expressed as the integral over the body's volume of its density, multiplied by the square of the
distance to the axis. The axis could be located at either coordinate system origin or at the
mechanism's center of gravity. The Inertia area of the Mass Properties dialog box has six
fields, in which you can enter values for the various possible moments of inertia.

IxxEnter the value for the moment of inertia aligned with the local X axis.

IyyEnter the value for the moment of inertia aligned with the local Y axis.

IzzEnter the value for the moment of inertia aligned with the local Z axis.

IxyEnter the value for the moment of inertia aligned with the local X and Y axes.

IxzEnter the value for the moment of inertia aligned with the local X and Z axes.

IyzEnter the value for the moment of inertia aligned with the local Y and Z axes
About Joint Connections
You use the Connect tab on the Component Placement dialog box to specify the joint
connection type that Mechanism Design uses to place a component in an assembly.
Joint connections serve three purposes:

To define which placement constraints Mechanism Design uses to place the


component in the model

To restrict the motion of bodies relative to each other, reducing the total possible
degrees of freedom (DOF) of the system

To define the kind of motion a component can have within the mechanism
The main assembly inherits all connection, motor, spring, damper, slot, and cam definitions
from the new subassembly, except for ground body and motion definitions.
Before selecting a joint, you should understand how Mechanism Design uses placement
constraints and degrees of freedom in defining movement. Use this information to select the
right joints for the way you want your mechanism to move.
Each joint type is associated with a unique set of geometric constraints, such as points and
datum axes. These constraints are based on existing constraints used in Pro/ENGINEER
Assembly mode. If you convert your Assembly model into a Mechanism model, the software

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applies implied connections determined by the constraints you placed. Conversely, after you
define a model in Mechanism Design, it behaves the same way as any other model in
Pro/ENGINEER Assembly mode, except that the components are not fully constrained.
These components are connected and not considered packaged.
The set of constraints for each joint type is associated with specific DOF. DOF define the
allowed motion of a mechanical system in terms of translation and rotation.
Joint connections differ from the traditional Pro/ASSEMBLY approach. The primary
differences are summarized below:

The types of allowable placement constraints depend on the type of joint being
created. For example, a pin joint allows rotation about the axis you select in the joint
definition.

Multiple placement constraints are grouped together to define single connections. For
example, rigid joints enable you to group a valid set of placement constraints in a single
joint.

The placement constraints defined do not fully constrain the model except in the case
of rigid connections. Based on the type of joint, the component is allowed to move in
specific ways.

Multiple connections can be added to a component. This is how you could close a
loop in your system. The first connection is used to place the component and the second
connection is referred to as the loop connection.
To Add a Component with Joint Connections
When you add a component to the current assembly using connections, you define the type of
movement you are allowing the assembled parts to make.
1.

Click Insert > Component > Assemble. The Open dialog box appears.

2.

Select or enter the name of the component you want to add to the assembly.

3.

Click Open. The Component Placement dialog box appears. The component appears
in the assembly window.

4.

If you want the component to appear in a separate window, click

5.

Click the Connections tab.

6.

A default name, Connection_n, appears in the Connections list. If you want to change
the name, highlight the connection name and edit it.

7.

Under Type, double-click and select the type of joint you want to use to connect the
component to the assembly.

8.

If you chose Rigid, General, or Weld, perform the following steps:


a. Choose how you want the joint constrained by selecting a Constraint Type. If you
chose Weld, you can only constrain a coordinate system to a coordinate system.
b. Select a reference on the component and a reference on the assembly, in either order, to
define the placement constraint.

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For additional information about the constraint types, see the information for the
Component Placement dialog box in the PTC Help system.
9.
If you chose any other type of joint, Pro/ENGINEER displays the appropriate
constraints for you to define. As you do so, Pro/ENGINEER automatically updates the status
column in the Constraints box corresponding to the constraint. If you have chosen Assembly
from the Display Component In box, the component moves within the model window to
reflect the constraint.
As you add constraints to the joint, the Placement Status window is updated to indicate
whether the joint is completely constrained.
10.

Add as many joints as necessary to place the component in the assembly.

10.
box.

Click OK to accept the joint connection and close the Component Placement dialog

When you accept the joint connections and close the dialog box, the software runs a connect
analysis verifying that the connections are valid.
Return to About Joint Connections.
To Add a Component with Joint Connections
When you add a component to the current assembly using connections, you define the type of
movement you are allowing the assembled parts to make.
1.

Click Insert > Component > Assemble. The Open dialog box appears.

2.

Select or enter the name of the component you want to add to the assembly.

3.

Click Open. The Component Placement dialog box appears. The component appears
in the assembly window.

4.

If you want the component to appear in a separate window, click

5.

Click the Connections tab.

6.

A default name, Connection, appears in the Connections list. If you want to change
the name, highlight the connection name and edit it.

7.

Under Type, double-click and select the type of joint you want to use to connect the
component to the assembly.

8.

If you chose Rigid, General, or Weld, perform the following steps:


a. Choose how you want the joint constrained by selecting a Constraint Type. If you
chose Weld, you can only constrain a coordinate system to a coordinate system.
b. Select a reference on the component and a reference on the assembly, in either order, to
define the placement constraint.
For additional information about the constraint types, see the information for the
Component Placement dialog box in the PTC Help system.

9.
If you chose any other type of joint, Pro/ENGINEER displays the appropriate
constraints for you to define. As you do so, Pro/ENGINEER automatically updates the status
column in the Constraints box corresponding to the constraint. If you have chosen Assembly

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from the Display Component In box, the component moves within the model window to
reflect the constraint.
As you add constraints to the joint, the Placement Status window is updated to indicate
whether the joint is completely constrained.
10.

Add as many joints as necessary to place the component in the assembly.

10.
box.

Click OK to accept the joint connection and close the Component Placement dialog

When you accept the joint connections and close the dialog box, the software runs a connect
analysis verifying that the connections are valid.
To Assemble a Mechanism
When you have added or changed servo motors or changed the connection definitions, you
should check that the resulting mechanism can be assembled with the constraints and DOF
provided by the connections.
1.
2.

Click Mechanism > Connect or

. The Connect Assembly dialog box appears.

Lock or unlock any bodies or connections as desired. Locked bodies do not move, and
locked connections do not change their current position. These settings are valid only for
the assembly analysis run from this dialog box.

3.

Click Run.

If all the connections are valid, the mechanism repositions itself into its completely
assembled state.
Return to
To Edit Cam-Follower Connections
1.

Click Mechanism > Cams. The Cam-Follower Connections dialog box appears.

2.

Select an existing cam from the list.

3.

Click Edit. The Cam-Follower Definition dialog box appears.

4.

Make any of the following changes on either cam:


o

Add surfaces.

Remove surfaces

Using Cam-Follower Connections in Drag Operations


You can use cam-follower pairs in the Mechanism Design or Design Animation drag
operation. Keep the following in mind when using cam-followers:

You can select either cam body in the follower connection to drag.

You can choose to have Mechanism Design maintain the connection and co-tangency
between the two cams, or you can allow them to separate and collide.

You can enable or disable the cam-follower connection during the drag operation, but
you cannot lock it. You can, however, lock the bodies used to define the cams

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Cam-Follower and Slot-Follower Friction


Friction occurs when two surfaces move against each other, or relative to one another, and
results in a loss of energy. You can add friction to simulate this loss. Friction, once added,
will resist the motion of your cam-follower or your slot-follower. You define coefficients to
simulate friction on the Properties tab of the Cam-Follower Connection Definition dialog
box or the Slot-Follower Connection Definition dialog box. Friction is available for cams
with liftoff and for all slots.
Creating an Oscillating Cam
This tutorial shows you how to model a cam-follower connection with a spring and damper to
achieve an oscillating motion. You will run a dynamics analysis, and measure the force on the
spring and damper during the analysis. You must have a Mechanism Dynamics Option
license to do this tutorial.
This tutorial describes how to do the following tasks:

3ACreate a cam-follower connection, a spring, and a damper.

3BCreate a servo motor.

3CCreate and run a dynamic analysis.

3DCreate and graph measures.

3ESave the analysis and review results.


This tutorial assumes you have the following part and assembly files, which are located in the
Demo area of the installation CD-ROM. The part colors correspond to those in the figure
below.

cam_follower.asman assembly comprised of a cam and a roller follower

base.prtthe ground body, comprised of two parts (blue)

cam.prta rounded, elongated solid with flat faces (purple)

roller.prta wheel with flat faces with that serves as the second cam (green)

follower.prta holder for the roller (brown)

follower.asma subassembly connecting roller.prt and follower.prt with a pin joint

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About Slot-Follower Connections


A slot-follower is a point-curve constraint between two bodies. Body 1 has a 3D curve (the
slot) bound to it and Body 2 has a point (the follower) bound to it. The follower point follows
the slot in all three dimensions. You can use an open or closed curve to define the slot. The
slot-follower constrains the follower point to the interior of the defining curve. If you want
the slot curve to be shorter than the size defined by the default endpoints, you can define slot
endpoints.
Mechanism Design does not check for interference on the geometry containing the follower
point and the slot curve. You do not have to ensure that the geometry of the slot and the slotfollower fit together precisely.
Use the Mechanism > Slots command to create, edit, or delete a slot-follower connection. If
you have a license for Mechanism Dynamics Option, you can simulate the impact force when
the slot-follower hits the end of the slot by defining a coefficient of restitution. You can also
define friction coefficients.
When defining slot-follower connections in Mechanism Design, keep the following points in
mind:
If you delete the geometry used to define the follower point, slot, or slot endpoint, the
slot-follower is deleted.

To Create a Slot-Follower Connection


1.
2.

Click Mechanism > Slots or


appears.

. The Slot-Follower Connections dialog box

Click New. The Slot-Follower Connection Definition dialog box appears.

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3.
4.

Either accept the default name (SlotConnection1) for the slot-follower or enter a new
name in the entry box.
Select the Entities tab.

5.

Click
under Follower Point and select a datum point or vertex on one body. The
body name and point name appear.

6.

Click
under Slot Curves to select one or more continuous curves for the slot on a
different body. The body name and entity name appear. The curve is highlighted in blue.

7.

If you want to have endpoints on your curve, click


under Slot Endpoints and
select two datum points or vertices on the curve. If you do not select endpoints, the
default curve endpoints are the extreme ends of the first and last curves you select.

8.

If you want to interchange the first and second endpoints, click Flip.

9.

If you want to remove the endpoint selection, click Clear.

10.

Fill out the information on the Properties tab.

11.

Click OK.
The slot-follower icon appears with a dotted line connecting the slot and the follower
point

Coefficient of Restitution
If you want to simulate impact forces for your cam-follower connection, slot-follower
connection, or joint, specify a value for the coefficient of restitution. The coefficient of
restitution is defined as the ratio of the velocity of two entities after and before a collision.
Typical coefficients of restitution can be found in engineering textbooks, or from empirical
studies. Coefficients of restitution depend upon factors including material properties, body
geometry, and impact velocity. Applying a coefficient of restitution to your mechanism is a
way to simulate non-rigid properties in a rigid body calculation.
For example, a perfectly elastic collision has a coefficient of restitution of 1. A perfectly
inelastic collision has a coefficient of restitution of 0. A rubber ball has a relatively high
coefficient of restitution. A wet lump of clay has a value very close to 0
Curves in Slot-Follower Connections
You can select any of these types of curves to define the slot:

Planar or non-planar curves

Edges

Datum curves

Open

Closed
The selected curves must be adjacent, but do not have to be smooth. You can select multiple
curves that are not continuous.
Follower Points in Slot-Follower Connections

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Keep the following in mind when selecting follower points:

The follower point must be on a different body from the slot curve.

You can select a datum point or a vertex.

Your datum point must belong to a single bodyassembly-level datum points cannot
be used for follower points.

To create a part-level datum point, you do not have to close or regenerate your
assembly. Open the part and define the point. When you close the part, the body in the
assembly contains the point you just created.

Slot Endpoints in Slot-Follower Connections


You can select datum points, vertices, curves/edges, and surfaces for slot endpoints. If
you select a curve, edge, or surface, the slot endpoint is at the intersection of the
selected entity with the slot curve.
If you do not select endpoints, the default endpoints for a slot-follower are the
extreme ends of the first and last curves selected for the slot.
If you select a closed curve, or a series of curves that form a closed loop, for your
slot-follower, you do not need to specify endpoints. However, if you choose to define
endpoints on a closed curve, the resulting slot will be an open slot. Click Flip to
specify which portion of the original closed curve will become the open slot. Click
Clear if you want to delete the endpoint selection.

Cam-Follower and Slot-Follower Friction


Friction occurs when two surfaces move against each other, or relative to one another, and
results in a loss of energy. You can add friction to simulate this loss. Friction, once added,
will resist the motion of your cam-follower or your slot-follower. You define coefficients to
simulate friction on the Properties tab of the Cam-Follower Connection Definition dialog
box or the Slot-Follower Connection Definition dialog box. Friction is available for cams
with liftoff and for all slots.
To Define Properties for Slot-Follower Connections
This procedure assumes that you have opened the Slot-Follower Connection Definition
dialog box, and have selected the Properties tab.
1.

Enter a value for the coefficient of restitution in the entry box.

2.

If you want to simulate friction, select the Enable Friction check box.

3.

Enter a value for the coefficient of static friction in the

4.

Enter a value for the coefficient of kinetic friction in the

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

entry box.
entry box

Page 161

To Edit Slot-Follower Connections


1.

Click Mechanism > Slots. The Slot-Follower Connections dialog box appears.

2.

Select a slot-follower from the list.

3.

Click Edit. The Slot-Follower Connection Definition dialog box appears.

4.

Change any of the following items:


o

Slot curve

Follower point

Slot endpoints

To Delete Slot-Follower Connections


1.

Click Mechanism > Slots. The Slot-Follower Connections dialog box appears.

2.

Select a slot-follower from the list.

3.

Click Remove.

Using Slot-Follower Connections in Drag Operations


After you define a slot-follower, you can use it in drag operations. Keep the following in
mind when using slot-followers:

You can move the body with the follower point, and the follower will move from one
endpoint of the slot to the other.

You can enable or disable the slot-follower during a drag operation, but you cannot
lock it
About Dragging
Dragging is a powerful way to move your mechanism through an allowable range of motion.
This feature enables you to gain insight into how your assembly behaves or to place it in a
particular configuration. You can use a snapshot to create a starting point for an analysis or
place an assembly in a particular configuration. You can use joint-disabling and body locking
capabilities to study the motion of either the entire mechanism or a portion of it.
Using the Drag command in Mechanism Design, you can select either a body that is not
defined as ground or a point on a part and drag it with the mouse. The entity that you grab
will be positioned as close as possible to the current cursor location while keeping the rest of
the mechanism assembled. As you drag the entity, Mechanism Design displays the X, Y, and
Z coordinates of the drag point location in real time.
When you select the Mechanism > Drag command, the Drag dialog box appears.
You can control how the mechanism behaves during the drag operation by specifying
geometric constraints, locking and unlocking bodies, enabling and disabling connections, and
selecting a specific drag mode. The constraints are valid only during the drag operation.
After you have moved your mechanism to the desired configuration, use the items on the
Drag dialog box to save snapshots of your mechanism in different positions and orientations.
Snapshots capture the existing locked bodies, disabled connections, and geometric
constraints. You can also use the Drag dialog box to specify that your snapshots are available

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as Pro/ENGINEER exploded view in drawing mode, and to edit or delete previously saved
snapshots
To Drag a Point
1.

Click Mechanism > Drag or

2.

Click

3.

. The Drag dialog box appears.

Select a location on a body within the current model and left-click on this location. A
circle appears. This is the exact location on the body that you will drag.

4.

Move the cursor, and the selected point follows the location of the cursor.

5.

To complete the operation, click one of the following mouse buttons:


o
o
o

Left mouse buttonto accept the current body positions and begin dragging another
body
Middle mouse buttonto cancel the drag just performed
Right mouse buttonto terminate the drag operation, leaving the bodies where you
have just dragged them

To Drag a Body
When you drag a body, its position onscreen changes but its orientation remains fixed. If the
mechanism requires the body to be reoriented in conjunction with a change in position, then
the body does not move at all since the mechanism would not be able to be reassembled in
the new position. Should this happen, try using point dragging instead.
1.

Click Mechanism > Drag or

2.

Click

3.

Select a body within the current model.

4.

Move the cursor, and the selected body follows the location of the cursor.

5.

To complete the operation, click one of the following mouse buttons:


o
o
o

. The Drag dialog box appears.

Left mouse buttonto accept the current body positions and begin dragging another
body
Middle mouse buttonto cancel the drag just performed
Right mouse buttonto terminate the drag operation, leaving the bodies where you
have just dragged them

About the Drag Dialog Box


Use this dialog box to move components of the mechanism and take snapshots. You can also
use this dialog box to apply or remove constraints and to turn the constraints on and off. To
access this dialog box, click Mechanism > Drag.
The dialog box displays the following buttons and fields at the top:

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Click
to take a picture of your mechanism. The Snapshots list updates. The
snapshot includes the relative orientation and location of all parts and bodies, the
connection status, and any body locks that were defined at the time you took the snapshot.

Click
to select a point to drag. The point highlights and follows the cursor
movement while maintaining connections.

Click
to select a body to drag. The body highlights and follows the cursor
movement while maintaining connections. The current orientation of the body with respect
to the assembly coordinate system is held fixed.

When you left-click to accept a dragged configuration, the configuration is saved to a


buffer. Click
to display the previous configuration from the buffer. This button acts as
an undo command, displaying the part positions as of the start of the last drag sequence.
Mechanism Design adds configurations to the buffer until you terminate the drag operation
by right-clicking.
Click
command.

to display the next configuration in the buffer. The button acts as a redo

Current SnapshotUse this field to rename the displayed snapshot

Snapshots Tab on the Drag Dialog Box


Use the Snapshots tab on the Drag dialog box to display the list of saved snapshots. To work
with a snapshot, select its name from the list and then click one of the following buttons on
the left:
Click

to display the selected snapshot.

Click
to open the Snapshot Construction dialog box, from which you can select
part positions from other snapshots to use in a new snapshot.

Click
to change the name of the selected snapshot to that in the Current
Snapshot entry box. This item also updates the snapshot with the current onscreen
configuration.

Click
to make the selected snapshots available as Pro/ENGINEER explode states.
The explode states can then be used in a Pro/ENGINEER drawing view. When you click
this button, Mechanism Design places an icon next to the snapshot on the list.
Click

to delete the selected snapshot(s) from the list

To Apply Constraints During a Drag Operation


This procedure assumes you are on the Drag dialog box and have selected the Constraints
tab.
1.

Select the snapshot. The name appears in the Current Snapshot entry box.

2.

Select one of these options to create a temporary constraint:

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Click
and select two points, two lines, or two planes. The entities remain aligned
during the drag operation.

Click

and select two planes. The planes remain mated during the drag operation.

Click

to orient two planes at an angle to each other.

Click

and select a joint axis to specify joint axis position.

Click

and select a body to lock or unlock in its current position.

Click

and select a connection. The connection is disabled.

3.

Use the check boxes beside a constraint to enable or disable it.

3.

Click

to assemble the model using the temporary constraints you applied.

3.
If you want to copy a constraint to a snapshot other than the current snapshot, see
Copying Constraints From One Snapshot to Another.
To Orient Planes During a Drag Operation
This procedure assumes you are in the Drag dialog box and have selected the Constraints
tab.
1.

Click

2.

Use the normal selection methods to select two planes or surfaces on your
mechanism.

3.

If you want to change the angle between the two planes, enter a value in Offset. If
Mechanism Design cannot assemble the mechanism with the offset value, an error
message appears

Constraints Tab on the Drag Dialog Box


Use the Constraints tab on the Drag dialog box to apply or remove constraints. After you
apply a constraint, Mechanism Design places its name on the list of constraints. You can turn
the constraints on and off by selecting and clearing the box next to the constraint selected
from the list. You can right-click to copy, cut, paste, or delete the constraint.
You can also choose from the following options:

Click
to align two entities. Select points, lines, and planes to create a temporary
constraint to align the entities. This constraint is valid only during the drag operation, but
is associated to a snapshot and is enforced when the snapshot is shown or updated.

Click
to mate two entities. Select planes to create a temporary constraint to mate
them. This constraint is valid only during the drag operation, but is associated to a
snapshot and is enforced when the snapshot is shown or updated.

Click
to orient two surfaces. Select planes to orient two surfaces at an angle or
parallel to each other. You can also enter an offset.

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Click

to specify an exact value for a joint axis initial configuration.

Click
to lock one body relative to another body. Lock or unlock a body in its
current position. The selected bodies will be locked relative to ground or another selected
body.

Click
to disable a connection. Select connections to temporarily disable from the
mechanism. This status is saved with the snapshot. If you use this setting on the last
snapshot in the list and do not change the status later, the rest of the snapshots will have
the connection disabled.
Click

to delete the selected constraints from the list.

Click
to assemble your model. Re-apply the selected mate or align constraint to
regenerate a snapshot.

OffsetEnter the value for an offset if you are creating a mate or align constraint. If
you are creating an orientation constraint, you can enter a value for angle or distance.
Advanced Drag Options
You can expand the Drag dialog box by clicking the arrow on Advanced Drag Options.
The advanced options include the following buttons:

Click
to open the Move dialog box, allowing you to perform a package move.
Mechanism Design does not honor drag constraints in package move. For more
information, search for package move in the PTC Help system.

Click
to specify the current coordinate system for advanced drag operations.
Select a coordinate system by choosing the body whose default coordinate system is the
one you want to use. X, Y, or Z translation or rotation will be in this coordinate system.

To specify X, Y, and Z translation, click one of the following buttons to select a


coordinate direction, then select a body on your model. Your selection reduces the
movement of the body to the selected direction for drag operations. Translation in other
directions, as well as rotation of the body, is locked.

Click

to specify translation in the X direction of the current coordinate system.

Click

to specify translation in the Y direction of the current coordinate system.

Click

to specify translation in the Z direction of the current coordinate system.

To specify X, Y, and Z rotation, click one of the following buttons to select a


coordinate direction, then select a body on your model. Your selection reduces the
movement of the body to rotation about the selected axis for drag operations.
o

Click

to specify rotation around the X axis of the current coordinate system.

Click

to specify rotation around the Y axis of the current coordinate system.

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Click

to specify rotation around the Z axis of the current coordinate system.

The dialog box also displays these fields:

Reference Coordinate SystemUse the selector arrow to select a coordinate system


in the model.

Drag Point LocationDisplays X, Y, and Z coordinates of the drag point in real time
with respect to the selected coordinate system.
Using Assembly States
You can use the Drag dialog box to make snapshots available as explode states in Assembly
and Detail.
To make the snapshots available, select one or more snapshots, then click
. The Explode
State column on the Drag dialog box displays an "X" next to the snapshot's name, indicating
it is available. If you want to turn off the availability of a snapshot state later, you can
highlight the snapshot and click

to turn the availability off.

These assembly states (snapshots) will be available in Assembly and Detail as explode states.
Note: The snapshot and the explode state are linked together. If you change the snapshot, the
explode state changes. When modifying or deleting a snapshot in which the explode state is
in use, be aware of the following:
Any changes you make to the snapshot will be reflected in the explode state.

Deleting the snapshot causes the explode state to become unlinked. The explode state
is still available, but is independent of any snapshot. If you then create a snapshot with the
same name as the deleted snapshot, the explode state associates itself with the new
snapshot.

Consult the PTC Help system for more information on explode states
Copying Constraints from One Snapshot to Another
You can use the Copy and Paste commands to copy constraints from one snapshot and paste
them into a different snapshot. You can access these commands by right-clicking the selected
constraint on the Constraints tab of the Drag dialog box.
Note: You should have the snapshot you want to copy from and the snapshot you want to
paste into available from the Drag dialog box's Snapshot list.
1.

On the Snapshots tab, select the snapshot (for example, snapshot A) where the
constraints are defined.

2.

On the Constraints tab, select the constraints that you would like to copy, and click
the Copy command on the right mouse button pop-up menu.

3.

On the Snapshots tab, select the snapshot (snapshot B) where the constraints need to
be restored.

4.

On the Constraints tab, click Paste to copy the constraints from the original snapshot
(snapshot A).

Mechanism Design ignores duplicate constraints from the paste operation. Therefore, if you
pasted the constraints from snapshot A to snapshot A, nothing should change

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To Lock a Body Prior to a Dragging Operation


Lock bodies to fix bodies relative to one lead body. The bodies will act as if they are glued
together, allowing no movement between them. The bodies do not need to be touching or
adjacent to be locked together.
1.
2.

From the Drag dialog box, click

Select the lead body, then a set of follower bodies to be locked during the dragging
operation. The follower bodies stay fixed relative to the lead body.
Note: Clicking Close from the Drag dialog box removes all locks. When you begin a
new dragging session, no bodies or connections will be locked

To Capture a Snapshot
1.

Click Mechanism > Drag or

2.

Position the mechanism in the desired configuration using one of these methods:
o

dragging points

dragging bodies

. The Drag dialog box opens to the Snapshots tab.

3.
If you want to move the mechanism by translating or rotating with respect to
coordinate system axes, or use Pro/ENGINEER package move, click the arrow beside
Advanced Drag Options.
3.

If you want to constrain the mechanism, click the Constraints tab.

3.

Click

to save the current mechanism configuration to the list of snapshots.

3.
If you want to use the configuration of parts from another snapshot, you can borrow
part positions.
3.
If you want to change the name from the default Snapshotn, select the name you want
to replace, then type a new name in the Current Snapshot text field

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS TIPS


Creating a Slider-Crank Mechanism Using Joint Connections
As you follow the steps in this tutorial, keep these points in mind:

Use normal Pro/ENGINEER selection methods to select hidden geometry and datum
entities. As you move the cursor over the various entities on your model, each selectable
entity is highlighted and its name displayed in the message area. Right-click to
sequentially select other entities close to the cursor location. You can also use query mode
and the selection dialog box to help you select hidden entities. For information on
Pro/ENGINEER selection, search the Fundamentals functional area of the PTC Help
system.

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Datum planes, axes, and points are stored in layers for each of these parts. On the
Model Tree, select the Show > Layer Tree command. Use the Layer Tree to control the
display of these entities.

Always select placement references from the component parts, not from the assembly.
This tutorial includes the following topics:

Placing the first part

Creating the first pin joint

Creating the second pin joint

Adding a fixed part

Closing the loop on the slider-crank mechanism

Adding a fixed part to ground


Placing the First Part
1.
Create a new assembly. Assume that the units are inches.
2.

Click Insert > Component > Assemble or

3.

Select block.prt. The Component Placement dialog box appears.

4.
5.

. The Open dialog box appears.

Click
to assemble the part at the default location. This defines the block as the
ground body.
Click OK to accept the definition.

Creating the First Pin Joint


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble. The Open dialog box appears.
2.

Choose crank_shaft.prt. The Component Placement dialog box appears.

3.

Select the Connect tab to display Mechanism Design joint connection definitions.

4.

Under Type, accept the default connection, which is Pin (if necessary, double-click
the connection type to display the option menu).

5.

For Axis Alignment, choose axis A-3 on block.prt and A-1 on crank_shaft.prt.

6.

For the translation constraint, select Pnt0 on both parts.

7.

Click OK to accept the connection.

Creating the Second Pin Joint


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble and choose con_rod.prt. The Component
Placement dialog box appears.
2.

Select the Connect tab.

3.

Under Type, accept or select Pin.

4.

Select the A-2 axis on both crank_shaft.prt and con_rod.prt.

5.

Select Pnt1 on crank_shaft.prt and Pnt2 on con_rod.prt as translation references.

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6.

Click OK to accept the connection.

Adding a Fixed Part to the Assembly


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble, and select end_cap.prt. The Component
Placement dialog box appears.
2.

Select axis A-4 on both end_cap.prt and con_rod.prt. The figure below shows the end
cap beside the mechanism. (Accept the default type Automatic.) An Align constraint
appears in the constraint list.

3.

Select axis A-5 on both end_cap.prt and con_rod.prt. A second Align constraint
appears in the constraint list.

4.

Select the flat surface on both end_cap.prt and con_rod.prt. A coincident mate
constraint appears in the constraint list. The component is fully constrained.

5.

Click OK to accept the orientation.

Closing the Loop on the Slider-Crank Mechanism


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble and select piston_head.prt. The Component
Placement dialog box appears.
2.

Select the Connect tab.

3.

Select Cylinder as the connection type. Select axis A-2 on piston_head.prt and axis
A-1 on con_rod.prt.

4.

Click
and leave the type as Cylinder. Choose axis A-1 on both piston_head.prt
and block.prt.

5.

Click OK to accept the connections.


If all the connections have been correctly created, Mechanism Design will be able to
assemble by completing the loop connection.

6.
Click Applications > Mechanism. When the Mechanism menu appears, click
Mechanism > Connect. The Connect Assembly dialog box appears.

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6.
Click Run on the Connect Assembly dialog box. A message box appears with
information on whether the mechanism assembled successfully.
6. Click Applications > Standard to exit Mechanism Design.
Adding a Fixed Part to Ground
1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble, and select base.prt. The Component
Placement dialog box appears.
2.
3.

Select the surfaces of base.prt and block.prt as shown in red in the figure below. A
coincident mate constraint appears in the constraint list.
Click

and select Align as the constraint type.

4.

Select the RIGHT datum plane on both base.prt and block.prt. Enter zero for the
offset when the software prompts you.

5.

Click
and select the FRONT datum plane on both base.prt and block.prt. An
Align constraint appears in the constraint list. The placement is now fully constrained.

6.

Click OK to accept the orientation.

Identifying Ground and Dragging the Mechanism


This tutorial shows you how to enter Mechanism Design, identify the ground body in your
model, and use the drag dialog box to test the movement of the mechanism. This is the
second part of the first Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start, see Creating a SliderCrank Mechanism.

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1.

Click Applications > Mechanism. Mechanism Design begins.

2.

Click View > Highlight Bodies.


Mechanism Design displays the ground body in green. This body remains stationary
during drag and servo motor operations.

3.
Click
orientation.
3.

and choose FRONT from the saved view list to move the model to the front

Click Mechanism > Drag, or

3.
Click
on the Drag dialog box and select a point on con_rod.prt by left-clicking. To
drag the mechanism easily, choose a point near the bottom away from the center vertical axis.
Without clicking the mouse again, drag the point to confirm that it moves as you expect.
3.

Right-click when you are finished dragging, and click Close to exit the dialog box.

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Creating a Servo Motor


This tutorial shows you how to create a velocity servo motor (called a driver in previous
releases). This is the third part of the first Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start, see Creating a SliderCrank Mechanism.
1.

Click Mechanism > Servo Motors. The Servo Motors dialog box appears.

2.

Click New. The Servo Motor Definition dialog box appears.

3.

On the Type tab, for the Driven Entity, select Joint Axis, and choose the pin joint
connecting crank_shaft.prt to block.prt (connection_1._axis_1).

4.

On the Profile tab, change the Specification to Velocity.

5.

The Magnitude should be Constant. Enter the value 72 for A.

6.
7.

Select the Position check box, clear the Velocity check box, and click
shows that the servo motor will go through two full rotations in 10 seconds.

. The plot

Click OK.

Creating and Running a Kinematic Analysis


This tutorial shows you how to define and run a kinematic analysis for a slider-crank
mechanism. This is the fourth part of the first Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start, see Creating a SliderCrank Mechanism.
1.

Select Mechanism > Analyses. The Analyses dialog box appears.

2.

Click New. The Analysis Definition dialog box appears.

3.

Under Type, select Kinematic. Accept the default name, AnalysisDefinition1.

4.

On the Preferences tab, accept the default values.

5.

On the Motors tab, be sure ServoMotor1 is listed. If it is not, click

6.

Click Run. The progress of the analysis is shown at the bottom of the model window,
and the model moves through the specified motion.

To view the analysis results in later sessions of Mechanism Design, you must save them as a
playback file.
Saving and Reviewing Results
This tutorial shows you how to save a kinematics analysis as a playback file and review the
results for a slider-crank mechanism. This is the fifth part of the first Mechanism Design
tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start, see Creating a SliderCrank Mechanism.
1.

Replay results. Click Mechanism > Playback. The Playbacks dialog box appears
with AnalysisDefinition1 in the Result Set field.

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2.

Click

. The Animate dialog box appears.

3.

Click

. Click Close to quit.

4.

On the Playbacks dialog box, click


to save your results as a .pbk file. In the Save
Analysis Results dialog box, accept the default name or specify another name. The
default directory is the current working directory. You can also browse to find another
directory to save your file. You can open the .pbk file in future sessions by clicking
and selecting the playback file. Click Close to quit.

5.
6.

Click Mechanism > Measures. The Measure Results dialog box appears.
Click
name.

. The Measure Definition dialog box appears. Accept measure1 as the

7.

Under Type, select Position.

8.

Select a vertex on the piston head.

9.

10.
11.

12.

Select Y-component in the Component area, and accept the WCS for the
Coordinate System. Under Evaluation Method, accept Each Time Step. Mechanism
Design displays a magenta arrow showing the Y direction.
Click OK.
On the Measure Results dialog box, select measure1 under Measures, and
AnalysisDefinition1 under Result Set. (If you changed the result set name, select the
appropriate name.) The Graph Type should be Measure vs. Time.
Click

to see the plot of the measure. The plot should be a cosine curve

Creating a Four-Bar Linkage


This tutorial describes how to do the following tasks:

2ACreate a four-bar linkage.

2BCreate a servo motor, apply joint zeros, and create limits.

2CDrag your mechanism and take snapshots.

2DCreate and run a kinematic analysis with time-conditional servo motors.

2EView results, create and view measures, and create a trace curve.
This tutorial assumes you have the following five parts, which are located in the Demo area
of the installation CD-ROM.

block.prta rectangular solid used as one of the ground parts for the linkage

block2.prta rectangular solid used as the other ground part for the linkage

crank.prta rectangular solid used as the linkage crank

triangle_abc.prta triangular solid used as one of the linkage arms

triangle_bde.prta triangular solid used as the other linkage arm

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Creating a Four-Bar Linkage Using Joint Connections


This tutorial shows you how to create a four-bar linkage using Mechanism Design
connections. It is the first part of the second Mechanism Design tutorial.
This tutorial is broken into the following topics:

Placing the first part

Creating the first pin joint

Creating the second pin joint

Redefining the second pin joint

Adding a fixed part to ground, and redefining ground

Closing the loop on the four-bar linkage


For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start them, see Creating a
Four-Bar Linkage.
Placing the First Part
1.
Create a new assembly. Accept the default template, and assume that the units are
inches.
2.

Click Insert > Component > Assemble. The Open dialog box appears.

3.

Select block.prt. The Component Placement dialog box appears.

4.

Click
body.

, and click OK to exit the dialog box. This defines the block as the ground

Creating the First Pin Joint


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble.
2.

Choose crank.prt. The Component Placement dialog box appears.

3.

Click Connections to expand the dialog box.

4.
5.

Under Connection Type, select Pin (if necessary, double-click the default connection
type to display the option menu).
For Axis Alignment, choose axis A-1 on block.prt and axis A-1 on crank.prt.
Note: Datum planes, axes, and points are stored in layers for each of the parts. You
will need to display the appropriate layer to see these entities.

6.

For the translation constraint, select Datum3 on both parts.

7.

Look at the model configuration. Crank.prt should rest on top of block.prt.

8.

If the configuration is incorrect, highlight the axis alignment constraint, and click
Flip, so that crank.prt rests on block.prt.

9.

Select the Move tab.

10.

Choose Rotate as the Motion Type.

11.

Select Entity/Edge as the Motion Reference.

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12.

Select the A_1 axis on the crank.prt.

13.

Drag the crank until it lies at about 75 relative to block.prt.

14.

Click OK to accept the position and the connection.

Your model should look similar to the following graphic:

Creating the Second Pin Joint


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble and choose triangle_abc.prt. The
Component Placement dialog box appears.
2.

Click Connections to expand the dialog box.

3.

Under Connection Type, select Pin.

4.

Select the long edge on top of crank.prt, which contains PNT2.

5.

Select the edge on triangle_abc.prt that contains PNT2 and PNT3.

6.

Select PNT2 on crank.prt and PNT2 on triangle_abc.prt as translation references.

7.

Click OK to accept the connection.

Your model should look similar to the following graphic:

Redefining the Second Pin Joint


1.
Select triangle_abc.prt, then click Edit > Definition. The Component Placement
dialog box appears.
2.

Modify the translation constraint. Highlight Translation, and change the component
reference from PNT2 to PNT3 on triangle_abc.prt.

3.

Highlight the Axis alignment and click Flip to realign the part.

4.

Select the Move tab.

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5.
6.

Accept View Plane as the Motion Reference. Under Motion Type, click Rotate.
Drag the triangle until it lies at about 90 relative to the end of the crank.
Click OK to accept the connection.

Your model should look similar to the following graphic:

Adding a Fixed Part to Ground


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble and select block2.prt. The Component
Placement dialog box appears.
2.
3.

In the Constraint area, select Align. Be sure the Offset check box is selected.
Select DTM1 on block.prt and DTM1 on block2.prt as the references. Enter 4 for the
offset when prompted.

4.

Align DTM2 to DTM2, and DTM3 to DTM3.

5.

Click OK to accept the orientation.

Closing the Loop on the Four-bar Linkage


1.
Click Insert > Component > Assemble and select triangle_bde.prt. The Component
Placement dialog box appears.
2.

Click Connections to expand the dialog box.

3.

Select Ball as the connection type. Select PNT1 on triangle_abc.prt and PNT3 on
triangle_bde.prt.

4.

Click
under Connections to add a loop joint. Change the connection type from
Ball to Cylinder.

5.

Choose the edge defined by PNT2 and PNT4 on triangle_bde.prt as the component
reference. Choose axis A-1 on block2.prt as the assembly reference.

6.

Click OK to accept the connections. If all of the connections have been correctly
created, the mechanism assembles by completing the loop connection.

Entering Mechanism and Identifying Ground


1.
Click Applications > Mechanism. Mechanism Design opens.
2.
3.
4.

Click View > Highlight Bodies. Mechanism Design displays the ground body in
green. This body is stationary during drag and servo motor operations.
Click Mechanism > Drag.
Pick any part and drag the mechanism to see if it moves as you expected. To place the
mechanism in the dragged configuration, pick with the left mouse button.

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Your model should look similar to the following graphic:

Return to Creating a Four-Bar Linkage


Creating Motors, Applying Joint Zeros, and Creating Limits
This tutorial shows you how to create and edit servo motors for a four-bar linkage. It is the
second part of the second Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start them, see Creating a
Four-Bar Linkage.
1.
2.
3.

Create a velocity servo motor. Click Mechanism > Servo Motors. The Servo Motors
dialog box appears.
Click New. The Servo Motor Definition dialog box appears.
For the Driven Entity, select Joint Axis, and choose connection_1.axis_1 (created
between block.prt and crank.prt).

4.

On the Profile tab, change the Specification to Velocity.

5.

Clear the Current check box under Initial Position.

6.

Change the Magnitude from Constant to Cosine. Enter the following values: A=100,
B=0, C=0, and T=5.

7.

Clear the Velocity check box and select the Position check box. Click
graph of the servo motor function over 10 seconds.

8.

Close the graph window, Servo Motor Definition dialog box, and Servo Motors
dialog box.

9.

Select Mechanism > Jt Axis Settings to specify the zero reference. The Joint Axis
Settings dialog box appears.

10.

On the Zero Refs tab, select the joint axis with the servo motor, and select Specify
References.

11.

Select DTM2 on crank.prt as the Orange Body Reference.

12.

Select DTM2 on block.prt as the Green Body Reference.

13.

to see a

On the Regen Value tab, select Specify Regeneration Value, and enter 0 for the
Regeneration Value.

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14.

15.
16.

On the Limits tab, select Enable Limits and enter 0 for Minimum and 180 for
Maximum. All connection limits have to be between 180 and 180. These limits are
measured from the connection's current zero position.
Click OK to accept the joint axis settings.
Run the connection analysis by clicking Mechanism > Connect and then Run. You
do not need to lock any of the bodies or connections. Mechanism Design uses the
regeneration value you entered to assemble the mechanism.

Dragging and Creating Snapshots


This tutorial shows you how to use the drag functionality to position your model and how to
create snapshots. You can use snapshots as the starting point for kinematic analyses. It is the
third part of the second Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start them, see Creating a
Four-Bar Linkage.
1.

Click Mechanism > Drag or click

. In the Drag dialog box, create a snapshot by

clicking
. Mechanism Design includes the snapshot in the list with the default name
Snapshot1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Click

and select crank.prt by clicking the part with the left mouse button.

Drag the mouse, and observe how the linkage moves. Note how the connection limits
restrict the drag movement.
Middle-click when you are finished.
Drag the mechanism again, this time choosing triangle_abc.prt. Drag the mechanism
to a new position, and right-click to accept the position. If the mechanism enters a
kinematic lock-up state, you can exit this state by middle-clicking to return to the original
starting configuration.

6.

Create a snapshot in the new position by clicking

7.

Review Snapshot1 and Snapshot2 by highlighting each name and clicking

8.

Click Close to exit the Drag dialog box

Creating and Running a Kinematic Analysis


This tutorial shows you how to create and run a motion analysis for a four-bar linkage. It is
the fourth part of the second Mechanism Design tutorial.

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For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start them, see Creating a
Four-Bar Linkage.
1.

Create a kinematic motion analysis. Click Mechanism > Analyses. The Analyses
dialog box appears.

2.

Click New. The Analysis Definition dialog box appears.

3.

Under Type, select Kinematic.

4.
5.

Change the End Time to 5 seconds on the Preferences tab, and click OK to accept
the analysis definition.
Click Run.
Note: If your mechanism is overconstrained or incorrect, the analysis will stop. In this
case, the analysis fails because a joint axis limit is reached and the servo motor is trying
to force the connection beyond its limit.

Reviewing Results
This tutorial shows you how to review the results of a motion analysis for a four-bar linkage.
It is the fifth and final part of the second Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start them, see Creating a
Four-Bar Linkage.
1.

Replay results. Click Mechanism > Playback. On the Playbacks dialog box, click
. The Animate dialog box appears. Click
and click Close to quit.

2.

to begin. Click

to stop the playback,

On the Interference tab of the Playbacks dialog box, select the Global Interference
option, then click

. The Animate dialog box appears.

3.

Click
quit.

to begin. Note that any interference is highlighted in red. Click Close to

4.

Click
in the Playbacks dialog box to save your results as a .pbk file. In the Save
dialog box, accept the default name or change to another name. The default directory is
the current working directory. You can also browse to find another directory to save your
file. You can open the .pbk file in future sessions by clicking
box and selecting the playback file. Click Close to quit.

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5.

Click Analysis > Measure. The Measure dialog box appears.

6.

Change Type to Angle. Change First Entity to Plane. Select DTM2 on block.prt.

7.

Change Second Entity to Plane. Select DTM2 on crank.prt.

8.

Click Compute to calculate the current angle. The value appears under Results.

9.

Click Add Feature. Accept the default name for the measure or enter a new name.
Close the dialog box.

10.

Click Mechanism > Measures. Highlight the angle measure and the result set from
the kinematic analysis.

11.

Click

. When the calculation is complete, the graph window opens.

12.

Click File > Export on the graphtool window to create a text file of the measure data.
Enter a file name for the text file, which will be saved with the extension .grt. Close the
dialog box.

13.

Click Mechanism > Trace Curve. Select block.prt as the Paper Part. Use the
selector arrow under Point, Vertex, or Curve Endpoint to select pnt0 on triangle_abc.prt
as the trace point.

14.

Make sure 2D is the Curve Type, and that Trace Curve is selected under Trace.

15.

Highlight Analysis1 as the Result Set and click OK to close the dialog box. The trace
curve appears on your model.

16.

Expand block.prt in the Model Tree and notice the last feature is the trace curve. The
trace curve is created in the paper body.
Note: If features are not visible in the Model Tree, select Settings > Tree Filters, and
then select the Features check box on the Model Tree Items dialog box

Creating an Oscillating Cam


This tutorial shows you how to model a cam-follower connection with a spring and damper to
achieve an oscillating motion. You will run a dynamics analysis, and measure the force on the
spring and damper during the analysis. You must have a Mechanism Dynamics Option
license to do this tutorial.
This tutorial describes how to do the following tasks:

3ACreate a cam-follower connection, a spring, and a damper.

3BCreate a servo motor.

3CCreate and run a dynamic analysis.

3DCreate and graph measures.

3ESave the analysis and review results.


This tutorial assumes you have the following part and assembly files, which are located in the
Demo area of the installation CD-ROM. The part colors correspond to those in the figure
below.

cam_follower.asman assembly comprised of a cam and a roller follower

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base.prtthe ground body, comprised of two parts (blue)

cam.prta rounded, elongated solid with flat faces (purple)

roller.prta wheel with flat faces with that serves as the second cam (green)

follower.prta holder for the roller (brown)

follower.asma subassembly connecting roller.prt and follower.prt with a pin joint

Creating a Cam-Follower Connection, Spring, and Damper


This tutorial shows you how to add three modeling entities to your mechanism. This is the
first part of the third Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the files you need before you start them, see Creating an
Oscillating Cam.
Creating a Cam-Follower Connection
1.

Click File > Open. Select cam-follower.asm.

2.

Click Applications > Mechanism. Mechanism Design begins.

3.

Click Mechanism > Drag or

. The Drag dialog box appears.

4.

Click
and use the normal selection methods to select the narrow end of cam.prt.
When an open circle appears on the model, move the cursor to rotate the cam. Notice that
the cam's motion does not affect the position of the follower subassembly. Middle-click to
stop dragging, and click Close to exit the Drag dialog box.

5.

Click Mechanism > Cams. The Cam-Follower Connections dialog box appears.

6.

Click New. The Cam-Follower Connection Definition dialog box appears.

7.

On the Cam1 tab, select the Autoselect check box. This instructs Mechanism Design
to complete the selection of a set of surfaces after you select enough surfaces to define a
cam.

8.

Use the selector arrow in the Surfaces/Curves area to select the curved surface on
cam.prt.

9.

Select the Cam2 tab.

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10.

Select the Autoselect check box.

11.

Use the selector arrow to select the curved surface on roller.prt.

12.
13.
14.

Click OK to accept the definition, and Close to exit the Cam-Follower Connections
dialog box. Mechanism Design adds a cam-follower icon to your mechanism.
Click Mechanism > Drag. The Drag dialog box appears.
Click
and rotate cam.prt. Note that the motion of the follower subassembly is now
linked to the motion of the cam.

Creating a Spring
There is a cylinder joint connecting follower.prt to the top portion of base.prt. In the
following sections you add a point-to-point spring and a point-to-point damper between the
follower and the base.
1.

Click Mechanism > Springs or

. The Springs dialog box appears.

2.

Click New. The Spring Definition dialog box appears.

3.

Select Point-to-Point under Reference Type, and use the selector arrow to select
BASE_PNT0 on base.prt and FOLLOWER_PNT on follower.prt.

4.

In the Properties area enter 100 for k, the spring stiffness constant, and 60 for U, the
unstretched spring length.

5.
6.

Clear the Default check box and enter 15 in the Icon Diameter area.
Click OK to accept the definition, and Close to exit the Springs dialog box.
Mechanism Design adds a spring icon to your mechanism.

Creating a Damper
1.

Click Mechanism > Dampers or

2.

Click New. The Damper Definition dialog box appears.

3.
4.
5.

. The Dampers dialog box appears.

Select Point-to-Point in the Reference Type area, and use the selector arrow to select
BASE_PNT on base.prt and FOLLOWER_PNT on follower.prt.
Enter 100 for C, the damping coefficient, in the Properties area.
Click OK to accept the definition, and Close to exit the Dampers dialog box.
Mechanism Design adds a damper icon to your mechanism

Creating a Servo Motor


This tutorial shows you how to add a servo motor to your mechanism. This is the second part
of the third Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the files you need before you start them, see Creating an
Oscillating Cam.
1.

On the Model Tree, under Connections > Joints, expand Joint_2 (cam-follower) by
clicking the plus sign (see figure below). Highlight Rotation Axis, right-click, and select
Servo Motor. The Servo Motor Definition dialog box appears. On the Type tab, for the
Driven Entity, the joint axis you selected is listed.

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2.

On the Profile tab, under Specification, select Velocity.

3.

Accept the default Magnitude, which is Constant. Enter the value 72 for A.

4.
5.

Select the Position check box and click


time for your servo motor.

to see a graph plotting position versus

Close the graph and click OK to accept your servo motor definition.

Creating and Running a Dynamic Analysis


This tutorial shows you how to create and run a dynamic analysis for your mechanism. This
is the third part of the third Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the files you need before you start them, see Creating an
Oscillating Cam.

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1.

Click Mechanism > Analyses. The Analyses dialog box appears.

2.

Click New. The Analysis Definition dialog box appears.

3.

Under Name, enter Dynamic Oscillation. Under Type, select Dynamic.

4.

On the Preferences tab, accept the default values.

5.

On the Motors tab, be sure ServoMotor1 is listed. If it is not, click

6.

Click Run. The model moves through the specified motion, Mechanism Design
displays the progress of the analysis and the time elapsed at the bottom of the model
window.
Tip: If you do not see the model move as the analysis runs, click Edit > Settings. In the
Run Preferences area of the Settings dialog box, be sure the Graphical display during
run check box is selected.

To view the analysis results in later sessions of Mechanism Design, you must save them as a
playback file. You will do this in part 3E of this tutorial
Creating and Graphing Measures
This tutorial shows you how to create and graph measures results for your dynamic analysis.
You will create five measures. This is the fourth part of the third Mechanism Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the files you need before you start them, see Creating an
Oscillating Cam.
1.

Click Mechanism > Measures. The Measure Results dialog box appears. Note that
Dynamic Oscillations is listed under Result Set.

2.

Accept Measure vs. Time as the Graph Type.

3.

Click

4.

Enter Follower Position under Name, and select Position under Type.

. The Measure Definition dialog box appears.

5.

Use the selector arrow to select FOLLOWER_PNT on follower.prt. Accept the WCS
as the Coordinate System.

6.

Select Y-component under Component, and Each Time Step under Evaluation
Method. A shaded arrow appears with its tip on the selected point showing the Y
direction.

7.

Click OK to accept the definition and return to the Measure Results dialog box.

8.

On the Measure Results dialog box, select Follower Position in the Measures list
and make a copy by clicking
. Select copy of Follower Position, and click
the definition. The Measure Definition dialog box appears.

9.

Change the Name entry to Follower Velocity, and select Velocity for the Type.

10.

Click OK to accept the definition.

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11.

On the Measure Results dialog box, select Follower Position in the Measures list
and click

12.

to make a copy. Select copy of Follower Position, and click

On the Measure Definition dialog box, change the Name entry to Follower
Acceleration, and select Acceleration for the Type.

13.

Click OK to accept the definition and return to the Measure Results dialog box.

14.

Click

15.

16.

On the Measure Definition dialog box, enter Spring Load under Name, and select
Load Reaction under Type. Use the selector arrow to select the spring on your
mechanism, and accept Each Time Step as the Evaluation Method.
Click OK to accept the definition and return to the Measure Results dialog box.

17.

Use Steps 1416 as a guide to create a load reaction measure on the damper. Name
the measure Damper Load.

18.

Create a load reaction measure on the servo motor. Name the measure Servo Load.

19.

On the Measure Results dialog box, select Follower Position, Follower Velocity,
and Follower Acceleration under Measures. Select Dynamic Oscillation under Result
Set. Click

to see a graph that compares the three measures

Saving and Reviewing Results


This tutorial shows you how to save a dynamics analysis as a playback file and review the
results. You must save your analysis results as a playback file if you want to review them in
future sessions of Mechanism Design. This is the fifth and final part of the third Mechanism
Design tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the files you need before you start them, see Creating an
Oscillating Cam.
1.

Replay results. Click Mechanism > Playback. The Playbacks dialog box appears,
with Dynamic Oscillations listed under Result Set.

2.

Click

. The Animate dialog box appears.

3.

Click

to begin the animation. Click Close to quit.

4.

On the Playbacks dialog box, click


to save the result set to a file. Accept the
default name, which is based on the analysis name, or change it. The default directory is
the current working directory. You can accept it, or browse to find another directory to
save the file. When you click OK, Mechanism Design saves the file with the
extension .pbk. You can retrieve this file in future sessions by clicking
Playbacks or Measure Results dialog box.

5.
6.

on the

On the Display Arrows tab, select Spring Load, Damper Load, and Servo Load
under Measures. Under Scale, select Force and change the value to 150%.
Accept the defaults on the Movie Schedule and Interference tabs.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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7.

Click
to display the Animate dialog box, and click
again to begin the analysis
playback. As the dynamic analysis runs, the size of the arrows changes to reflect the size
of the measures. Click here to see an example of the dynamic analysis with three display
arrows

Creating a User-Defined Measure


This tutorial shows you how to create a measure that calculates the volume displacement of
the piston from Tutorial 1. You must have a license for Mechanism Dynamics Option to do
this tutorial.
For information on the tutorials and the parts you need before you start, see Creating a SliderCrank Mechanism.
This tutorial is divided into four parts:

Create a Pro/ENGINEER parameter.

Create simple measures.

Create user-defined measures.

Rerun the analysis and graph the measures


Create a Pro/ENGINEER Parameter
1.
Select Analysis > Measure. The Measure dialog box appears.
2.
3.

Select Area under Type and Surface under Entity.


Click
and select the top surface on piston_head.prt. Mechanism Design displays
the surface area, 3.14159, under Results. Make a note of the value and close the dialog
box.
Note: To select the top, it may be helpful to use the Drag dialog box to raise the piston.

4.

Go to Pro/ENGINEER by selecting Applications > Standard.

4.

Select Tools > Parameters. The Relations dialog box appears.

4.
Add a row to the table by clicking
Click OK to close the dialog box.

, and change the default name to AREA_TOP.

4. Close the dialog box and return to Mechanism Design by selecting Application >
Mechanism.
Create a Standard Measure
1.
Click Mechanism > Measures. The Measure Results dialog box appears.
2.

Click
name.

. The Measure Definition dialog box appears. Enter length_max as the

3.

Under Type, select Separation.

4.

Select the two points BLOCK_TOP1 and PISTON_TOP1.

5.

Select Distance under Separation Type and Maximum under Evaluation Method.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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6.

Click OK to return to the Measure Results dialog box.

Create a User-Defined Measure


1.

Click
name.

2.

Select User Defined under Type and Volume under Quantity. The dialog box
changes to display several buttons that you use to create an expression for your measure.

3.

Click

. The Measure Definition dialog box appears. Enter volume_max as the

. The Constants dialog box appears.

4.

Click
and select AREA_TOP from the list of Pro/ENGINEER parameters in the
Select Parameter dialog box. The name appears on the Constants dialog box. Doubleclick it to add it to your expression on the Measure Definition dialog box.

5.

Click
expression.

6.

Click
. The Variables dialog box appears. Double-click length_max to add it to
your expression.

. The Operators dialog box appears. Double-click * to add it to your

7.

Accept Each Time Step as the Evaluation Method.

8.

Click OK to return to the Measure Results dialog box, and Close again to exit.

Rerun the Analysis and Graph the Measures


Because one of your measures used an evaluation method other than Each Time Step, you
must rerun the analysis.
1.
2.

Select Mechanism > Analyses or

. The Analyses dialog box appears.

Highlight AnalysisDefinition1 and click Run. When the run is complete, close the
dialog box.

3.

Select Mechanism > Measures or

. The Measure Results dialog box appears.

4.

Highlight volume_max and length_max in the Measures list, and AnalysisDefinition1


in the Result Set list and click
to open the Graphtool window with a plot of both
measures. The maximum volume displacement is in the Value column beside volume
max

Example: Oscillating Cam


The animation shows a wireframe representation of the cam-follower assembly as the
dynamic analysis runs. The double-headed display arrow represents a load reaction measure
on the servo motor. Display arrows are double-headed for rotational motion. The vertical
arrow pointing up at the beginning of the animation represents the spring load reaction
measure, and the vertical arrow pointing down represents the damper load reaction measure.
To start and stop the animation, use the controls on your browser, or use the right mouse
button.

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SHEET METAL DESIGN


Introduction to Pro/SHEETMETAL
Pro/SHEETMETAL is an optional module of Pro/Engineer. It enables you to design basic and
complex parts in sheet metal. You can:

Design sheet metal parts defining the volume and support structures for the
components of an assembly.

Add sheet metal-specific features like walls, bends, cuts, punches, notches, and forms
in either the formed or flat condition.

Create Bend Order tables that specify the order, bend radius and bend angle used for
manufacturing.

Calculate the developed length of material needed. Pro/SHEETMETAL accounts for


bends of different radii and material thickness.

Flatten out the part to visualize design and manufacturing needs.


Make Drawings of the sheet metal part, incorporating Dimensions, Bend Order tables,
Flat Patterns and fully designed parts.
Pro/SHEETMETAL, like Pro/Engineer, allows flexibility in design. Changes are made and
updated parametrically throughout the entire design process.
About Sheet Metal Parts
Sheet metal parts are created in one of three fashions:

Sheet Metal ModeCreate the part individually.

Assembly ModeCreate with a top-down approach.

ConversionConvert from a solid part.


Sheet metal parts are solid models that can be represented in either the sheet metal form or a
flat model.
The parts have a constant thickness and can be modified with features. A sampling of features
includes walls, cuts, rips, bends, and corner relief. You can also get information about the
part, calculate its mass and analyze the engineering.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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The sheet metal parts have driving and offset surfaces. The side (depth) surfaces are formed
only after successful regeneration. To aid viewing, the driving side is highlighted in green by
default and the offset side is white (indicates thickness).
Because of the general thinness of a sheet metal part, it is recommended to select flat surfaces
as references when placing a feature. If a flat surface is not applicable, edges are more
convenient than side surfaces.
About Sheet Metal Features
Pro/SHEETMETAL offers specialized sheet metal environment features. You can create:
Datum and cosmetic features

Walls, cuts, rips, notches, punches, bends, unbends, bend backs, forms, and corner
relief.

Selected solid-class features applicable to sheet metal (chamfer, hole, round) are also
available.
A sheet metal unattached wall must be the first feature in your design. After you create the
wall you can add any other features to your design. You do not have to create them in
manufacturing order, rather, you should create them with your design intent in mind.
When creating features it is recommended to select flat surfaces as references when placing a
feature. If a flat surface is not applicable, edges are more convenient than side surfaces.
Note: You can utilize solid features, including patterns, copy/mirror, chamfers, holes, rounds,
and solid cuts when creating your sheet metal designs.
Suppressing and Resuming Sheet Metal Features
You can suppress sheet metal features to temporarily remove them from your design. You can
"unsuppress" (resume) suppressed them at any time.
You can suppress features on your sheet metal part to simplify the part model and decrease
regeneration time. For example, while you work on one end of a shaft, it may be desirable to
suppress features on the other end of the shaft.
Similarly, while working on a complex sheet metal assembly, you can suppress some of the
features and components for which the detail is not essential to the current assembly process
To Create a New Sheet Metal Part
1.

Click

. The New dialog box opens.

2.

Under Type click Part.

3.

Under Sub-type click Sheetmetal.

4.

In the Name box, type a name for your new sheet metal part.

5.
If you want to use the default template, click OK. Pro/ENGINEER opens a new sheet
metal part.
Else, if you want to use a custom template:
a.

Clear Use default template and click OK. The New File Options dialog box opens.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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b.
Browse to the desired template. Click OK. The template file is assigned and
Pro/ENGINEER opens a new sheet metal part.
Note: If an object type is not supported by a template the Use default template option is
not available. For template-supported file types, if you always want to see the New File
Options dialog box, set the force_new_file_options_dialog configuration option to Yes.
Remember, this configuration setting may be overridden by your system administrator in
the config.sup file
To Thicken the Sheet Metal Wall:
1.
Select the type of sheet metal wall to create. Note: The Thicken command is not used
with flat walls.
2.
3.

4.

Once you are in sketch mode, create the sketch of the wall section.
Click Sketch > Feature Tools > Thicken. Offset edges automatically add to your
sheet metal wall sketch. At this point, consider converting the system dimensions to
strong dimensions to insure that your dimensioning scheme is correct.
When the sketch is complete, click

Button

on the sketcher toolbar

Function

Corresponding Menu Path

Conversion

Insert > Conversion

Flat Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Flat

Flange Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Flange

Unattached Flat Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached >


Flat

Unattached Extruded Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached >


Extrude

Revolve Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached >


Revolve

Blended Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached >


Blend

Offset Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached >


Offset

SMT-Class Cut

Insert > Sheetmetal Cut

Extended Wall

Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Extend

Bend

Insert > Bend Operation > Bend

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Edge Bend

Insert > Edge Bend

Unbend

Insert > Bend Operation > Unbend

Bend Back

Insert > Bend Operation > Bend Back

Corner Relief

Insert > Corner Relief

Punch

Insert > Shape > Punch

Notch

Insert > Shape > Notch

Rip

Insert > Shape > Rip

Merge Walls

Insert > Merge Walls

Form

Insert > Shape > Form

Flatten Form

Insert > Shape > Flatten Form

Deform Area

Insert > Bend Operation > Deform Area

Flat Pattern

Insert > Bend Operation > Flat Pattern

Using the Model Tree


The Model Tree provides a feature-level visual representation of your welding project. Each
feature you create in your welding project is chronologically represented in the Model Tree.
Highlights of the Model Tree follow, however, refer to the Fundamentals documentation for
more details about the Pro/ENGINEER user interface:

Highlight sheet metal features in the graphics window, making the features more
visible.

Reorder features, and ultimately change the dynamic of your sheet metal design by
dragging features to various locations.

Access shortcut menus that enable you to easily create and modify your design. The
shortcut menu may include commands to:
o

Redefine and modify sheet metal features

Suppress sheet metal features to simplify or accentuate areas of your design

Pattern sheet metal features to quickly meet your design intent

Obtain information and create notes for sheet metal features

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Convert light-weight welding geometry to solid geometry (and vice versa)

You can customize what and how features display in the Model Tree by clicking the Show
and Settings tabs.
About Designing in Sheet Metal
Your sheet metal design can involve both solid and sheet metal application features. Be sure
to keep your design intent and feature creation order in mind throughout the entire design
process.
You can utilize the following sheet metal features:

Notch and PunchCreate templates used to cut and relieve sheet metal walls.

WallCreate the sheet metal material that is the base of your design.
Bend, Unbend, Bend BackEnable you to interchange between bent and unbent
conditions.

Flat PatternFlatten your entire sheet metal part for manufacturing.

Form, Flatten FormEnable you complexly shape the sheet metal and flatten it for
manufacture.

RipCreate rips to relieve and control the sheet metal.

CutRemove material from the sheet metal wall.

Deform AreaControl sheet metal stretching.

ConversionConvert a solid part into a sheet metal part, capable of manufacture.

Edge BendBend box-edges into rounds.

Corner ReliefRelieve corners to prevent unwanted deformation.


You can also:
Utilize solid features, including patterns, copy, mirror, chamfers, holes, rounds, and
solid cuts.

Support multiple manufacturing requirements by creating inheritance features

To Convert to Sheet Metal


1.
2.

Open the existing solid part in Standard mode.


Click Applications > Sheetmetal. The SMT CONVERT menu appears in the Menu
Manager.

3.

Define how to convert the solid part to sheet metal:


Driving SrfSelect the wall to carry the parts geometry (driving side of the part).

Click Driving Srf.

Select the desired driving surface on the part. You are prompted for the wall thickness.

Type the wall thickness and click


part opens in sheet metal mode.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

. The FIRST WALL feature is created and the

Page 193

ShellSelect wall(s) to remove to create a shell part.

Click Shell. The FEATURE REFS menu appears.

Select one or more surfaces to remove and then click Done Refs. You are prompted
for the wall thickness.

Type the wall thickness and click


part opens in sheet metal mode.

. The FIRST WALL feature is created and the

If your part needs to be adjusted for manufacture, continue with step 4.


4. Click
on the sheet metal toolbar or click Insert > Conversion. The SMT
CONVERSION dialog box opens.
4. Highlight a conversion element (described below) and click Define. The appropriate
menu appears in the Menu Manager.
Repeat Step 5 for any of the conversion elements below:
Point Reliefs:

Click Add to create a new point relief.

Select an existing datum point or an edge to place the new datum point on.

Place the datum point by using:


OffsetSet the point a specified distance from a plane.
Length RatioSet the point location as a decimal fraction of the edge length (range
0.0 through 1.0).
Actual LenEnter a value for the actual distance along the edge.

Click Done Sel > Done after defining all point reliefs. You return to the SMT
CONVERSION dialog box.
Edge Rip:

o
o
o

Click Add to create an edge rip.


Select the desired edges to rip using the RIP PIECES menu. If you created point
reliefs, select the edge pieces to rip.
Click Done Sets. You return to the SMT CONVERSION dialog box.

You can customize the corner type for each edge rip at any time:
o

Click Redefine from the RIP PIECES menu. The PIECE SEL menu appears.

Select the edge piece to redefine. The RIP PIECES dialog box opens.

Highlight Corner Type and click Define. The CORNER DEF menu appears.

Select the desired corner type (Open, Blind, or Overlap) and then click Done.

Click Ok in RIP PIECES dialog box.

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Rip Connect:

Click Add to create a new rip piece connection.

Select the first endpoint for the rip piece. A series of dashed lines radiates from the
rip's first endpoint to possible second endpoints.

Select the second endpoint of the rip piece from the possible endpoints identified by a
dashed line. The extraneous dashed lines clear and the new connecting rip line
displays.

o
o

Click OK on the RIP CONNECT dialog box.


Click Done Sets on the RIP CONNECT menu. You return to the SMT
CONVERSION dialog box.
Bends:

Click Add to create a new bend.

Select the edges to bend.

Click Done Sel > Done Sets after selecting all edges to bend. You return to the SMT
CONVERSION dialog box.
Corner Reliefs:

Click Add to create new corner relief.

Select the 3D note for each corner needing similar relief. Click Done Sel.

Select the type of corner relief:


No ReliefNo relief is added. The corner retains the rip characteristic.
NoneGenerate a square corner. The default V-notch characteristic is removed.
CircularAdd a circular relief. The corner has a circular section removed.
ObroundAdd an obround relief. The corner has an obround section removed.

Define the relief dimensions:


ThicknessUse a default radius that is equal to the thickness of the sheet metal wall.
Thickness * 2Use a default radius that is twice the thickness of the sheet metal
wall.
Enter ValueUse the absolute value that you type in the Enter dimension value
box.

o
6.

Click Done Sets after applying all corner relief. You return to the SMT
CONVERSION dialog box.
Click OK on the SMT CONVERSION dialog box. The conversion feature is created

7.
Working with Rip Connects
8.
Rip connects join existing rips with planar, straight-line rips. The rip connects are
sketched with point-to-point connections, which require you to define rip endpoints. The rip

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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endpoints can be datum points or vertices and must either be at the end of a rip or on the part
border. The rip connects cannot be collinear with existing edges.
Selecting the
Endpoint

First

Rip

1 Two existing edge rips.

Connecting the Rips

4 The two existing edge rips.

2 The first endpoint defined


for the rip connect.

The completed
rip connect.

3 The series of possible


second endpoints, based on
the first rip connect
endpoint.
Example: Sheet Metal Conversion
The following examples depict the two types of sheet metal conversions; driving surface and
shell. Block-like parts typically use the shell option to convert to sheet metal while thin
protrusions with constant thickness typically use the driving surface option.
Original Solid Part

Driving Surface Conversion

Original solid part maintains a constant


thickness.

1 Driving surface of FIRST WALL sheet


metal feature.

Original Solid Part

Shell Conversion

Original box-like solid part.

2 Sheet metal surface to remove before


creating the FIRST WALL sheet metal
feature.

About Wall Relief

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Wall relief helps control the sheet metal material and prevents unwanted deformation.
For example, an unrelieved secondary wall might not represent the accurate, real life model
you need due to material stretching. By adding the appropriate relief, like StrtchRelief, your
sheet metal wall will meet your design intent and enable you to create an accurate flat model.
You can create five types of wall relief:

No ReliefAttach the wall using no relief.

StrtchReliefStretch the material for bend relief at wall attachment points.

Rip ReliefRip the existing material at each attachment point.

RectReliefAdd a rectangular relief at each attachment point.

ObrndReliefAdd an obround relief at each attachment point.


No Relief

StrtchRelief

Rip Relief

RectRelief

ObrndRelief

Types of Walls
The following is a quick-reference to guide you in selecting the wall type that most
accurately meets your design intent.
The following type of walls are used in actual designs:

FlatYou can attach a flat wall to a twisted wall, revolve wall, or a planar surface.
The attachment edge must be straight or defined by the driving or offset surface. If you
want a new wall in the same plane as adjacent wall, insert a flat wall without a bend. You
can also insert a flat wall with a bend at a sharp edge using flat.

ExtrudedYou can attach an extruded wall to any edge that is straight and defined by
the driving or offset surface. You can insert an extruded wall with or without a bend.

SweptYou can attach a swept wall to any surface, includes straight or nonlinear
edges of the driving or offset surface. Select the edges in any order. You can define a chain
by selecting an edge, which includes all the edges tangent to the edge. You can also select
a predefined collection of edges in the mode or select an opposite chain that is offset with
thickness or a chain that cannot be transformed by a bend or unbend operation.

About Flat Walls


A flat wall is a planar/even/unbent section of sheet metal. It can either be a primary
wall, the first wall in your design, or a secondary wall, dependent on the primary wall.
Flat walls can take any flat shape.
If the flat wall is a primary wall you only have the unattached option available. Using
the unattached flat wall tool, you can create a primary unattached flat wall.
Unattached walls require closed loop sketches.

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If the flat wall is a secondary wall, you must sketch the wall as an open loop aligned
with the highlighted vertices of the attachment edge. The surface adjacent to the
attach edge must be planar. You can create an attached flat wall using Insert >
Sheetmetal Wall > Flat.
The following is an example of an attached flat wall use radius:

Note: You can also create a flat wall with angle but without a bend, or without an
angle and bend.

To Create a Flat Wall Without a Bend With Flat Angle Specified


1.
2.

Click

or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Flat to open the SMT dashboard.

Select a valid attachment edge for the wall. A valid edge is an edge that is straight or
defined by the driving or offset surface.
The selected edge is displayed in the Placement collector on the SMT dashboard. A
rectangular section (wall) is created by default.
Note: Options available on the dashboard are also available through the shortcut menus
when you right-click on the handle or the flat wall.

3.

From the list on the dashboard,

a.
Select one of the predefined wall profiles such as, Rectangle, Trapezoid, L, T, or
User Defined.
b.

Select Flat in the bend angle box.

4.

Click Shape to change the dimensions of the section, if required.

a.
Click Sketch to define a sketch with user-defined values or change the geometry of
the pre-defined section. The Sketch dialog box opens.
b.
Flip the sketch view direction, change the reference, or view orientation and click
Sketch.
c.

Click

5.

Click Properties on the SMT dashboard.

a.

Accept the default feature name or rename it as required.

b.
Click
browser.

on the sketcher toolbar to complete defining the sketch.

to view the information of the feature element data in the embedded

The default thickness is displayed.


6.

Click

to apply and save the changes made to the feature.

To Create a Flat Wall Without a Bend With Bend Angle Specified


1.

Click

or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Flat to open the SMT dashboard.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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2.

Select a valid attachment edge for the wall. A valid edge is an edge that is straight or
defined by the driving or offset surface.
The selected edge is displayed in the Placement collector on the SMT dashboard. A
rectangular section (wall) is created by default.
Note: Options available on the dashboard are also available through the shortcut menus
when you right-click on the handle or the flat wall.

3.

From the list on the dashboard,

a.
Select one of the predefined wall profiles such as, Rectangle, Trapezoid, L, T, or
User Defined.
b.

Specify the required bend angle in the bend angle box or select the default bend angle

and click
4.

. The bend thickness and dimension values become unavailable.

Click Shape to change the dimensions of the section, if required.

a.
Click Sketch to define a sketch with user-defined values or change the geometry of
the pre-defined section. The Sketch dialog box opens.
b.
Flip the sketch view direction, change the reference, or view orientation and click
Sketch.
c.

Click

on the sketcher toolbar to complete defining the sketch.

5.

Click Offset on the SMT dashboard.

5.

Click Offset wall with respect to attachment edge and select one of the following:
o

AutomaticOffsets the wall and maintains the original height of the attachment
wall.

By ValueOffsets the wall at a specific distance. You can also drag the graphic
handle to adjust the offset value.

7.

Click Properties on the SMT dashboard.

a.

Accept the default feature name or rename it as required.

b.
Click
browser.

to view the information of the feature element data in the embedded

The default thickness is displayed.


8.

Click

to apply and save the changes made to the feature

To Create a Flat Wall With a Bend


1.
2.

Click

or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Flat to open the SMT dashboard.

Select a valid attachment edge for the wall. A valid edge is an edge that is straight or
defined by the driving or offset surface.
The selected edge is displayed in the Placement collector on the SMT dashboard. A
rectangular section (wall) is created by default.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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Note: Options available on the dashboard are also available through the shortcut menus
when you right-click on the handle or the flat wall.
3.

From the list on the dashboard,

a.
Select one of the predefined wall profiles such as, Rectangle, Trapezoid, L, T, or
User Defined.
b.

Specify the required bend angle or drag the graphic handle to set the wall angle.

4.

Click Shape to change the dimensions of the section, if required.

a.
Click Sketch to define a sketch with user-defined values or change the geometry of
the predefined section. The Sketch dialog box opens.
b.
Flip the sketch view direction, change the reference, or view orientation and click
Sketch.
c.

Click

5.

Click Offset on the SMT dashboard.


6.

on the sketcher toolbar to complete defining the sketch.

Click Offset wall with respect to attachment edge and select one of the following:

AutomaticOffsets the wall and maintains the original height of the attachment
wall.

By ValueOffsets the wall at a specific distance. You can also drag the graphic
handle to adjust the offset value.

7.
Click
plane.

to change the thickness of the flat wall to the opposite side of the sketch

8. Click Bend Allowance on the dashboard.


To determine the bend deformation calculation source, click Developed
Length calculation and specify one of the following:
a.
o

By K FactorComputes the developed length using the K-factor. K-factor is the


distance ratio between the inside radius of the bend, the neutral material layer, and the
sheet metal thickness.

By Y FactorComputes the developed length using the Y-factor. Y-factor is the ratio
based on the neutral bend line with respect to the thickness of the material.

By Bend TableControls calculations for the length of flat material (developed


length) needed to make a bend.
b. Click By Bend Table to select one of the three system bend tables or Browse to select
a user-defined bend table.

9.
Type the required bend radius value or select a predefined radius value: Thickness,
Thickness * 2, or By Parameter from the list on the dashboard. You can also change the
bend radius using the handle on the flat wall.
10.
Click
to dimension the outer surface of the part or
surface of the part.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

to dimension the inner

Page 200

11.
Click Relief and define one of the following types of bend relief to use. Rip relief is
the default.
a.
Click Define each side separately to specify the wall relief type for each side of the
wall, where, Side 1 indicates the start point of the attachment edge and Side 2 indicates the
endpoint of the attachment edge.
b.

Specify the type of bend relief to apply.


o

No Relief-Maintains the existing material shape and does not control the bend
behavior

Rip-Rips the existing material

Stretch-Stretches the existing material

Rectangular-Adds a rectangular relief

Obround-Adds an obround relief


Note: You can also define a bend relief for each side of the section separately.
c. Define the relief's width:

ThicknessUses a default radius that is equal to the thickness of the sheet metal
wall.

Thickness * 2Uses a default radius that is twice the thickness of the sheet metal
wall.

By ParameterUses the default bend relief type specified in the Sheetmetal


Parameters dialog box.

Enter ValueUses the absolute value that you type in the Enter dimension value
box.
d. Specify a relief depth for the Rectangular and Obround type of relief's or drag the
graphic handle to adjust the relief depth.

12.

Click Properties.

a.

Accept the default feature name or rename it as required.

b.
Click
browser.
13.

Click

to view the information of the feature element data in the embedded


to apply and save the changes made to the feature

To Create an Unattached Flat Wall


1.

Click
or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Flat. The SETUP PLANE
menu appears.

2.

Select the reference plane and click Flip or Okay in the DIRECTION menu. The
SKET VIEW menu appears.

3.

Select the default view orientation or select a new view reference to sketch the wall.
You must sketch a closed loop.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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4.

When the sketch is complete, click

on the sketcher toolbar.

5.

Type the wall's thickness value and click

Note: If a sheet metal wall already exists in the design, the unattached flat wall
automatically adopts its thickness.
6.

Click OK on the Unattached Wall: Flat dialog box. An unattached wall is created

About Flange Walls


You can perform the following operations with the flange wall functionality:

Redefine extruded walls to swept walls and vice versa, if required

Use predefined internal profiles (predefined profiles also include the hem profiles)

Specify the material direction for the attached wall

Specify a bend for an extrude or sweep

Modify developed length for swept walls

Redefine extruded walls

Modify the predefined internal profiles

Specify the view reference and orientation before activating the sketch

Obtain the developed length information for swept walls

Add bends on sharp edges for extruded and swept walls

Sketch nontangent sections for swept walls


Define a wall trimming by using the offset dimension or maintain the attachment wall
height

Pro/ENGINEER cannot create extruded walls in the following conditions:

The Placement collector contains a non-linear attachment edge

The Placement collector contains more than one edge


To Create a Parallel Blend With a Regular Section
1.
2.

Click
or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend. The BLEND OPTS
menu appears.
Click Parallel to define the blend type.

2.
Click Regular Sec to define the sketch type and then Done. Sketch Sec is selected by
default.
The Unattached Wall: Blend, Parallel, Regular Sections dialog box and the
ATTRIBUTES menu appears.
4.
Define the blend attributes, Smooth or Straight, to connect the sections with smooth
curves or straight lines, respectively.

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4.

Click Done. the SETUP SK PLN and SETUP PLANE menus appear.

6.
Select or create a sketching plane, or use the sketching plane of the last feature with
the 3D section. The DIRECTION menu appears.
6.
Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to select the direction of viewing the
sketching plane. The SKET VIEW menu appears.
6.

Select or create a horizontal or vertical reference for sketching.

6.
Select a perpendicular surface, an edge, or vertex relative to which the section is
dimensioned and constrained.
6.
Sketch the first section of the blend wall. Change the sketch for the next section:
Sketch > Feature Tools > Toggle Section.
6.
Sketch the next section. When the sketch is complete, click
toolbar.

on the sketcher

6.
Specify whether to add or remove material (material side). The DIRECTION menu
appears.
6.

Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to define the direction of feature creation

14.

Type the depth or depths for the additional sections and click

14.
Click OK on the Unattached Wall: Blend, Parallel, Regular Sections dialog box.
The wall is created.
To Create a Parallel Blend With a Projected Section
1.
2.

Click
or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend. The BLEND OPTS
menu appears.
Click Parallel to define the blend type.

2.
Click Project Sec to define the sketch type and then Done. Sketch Sec is selected by
default.
The Unattached Wall: Blend, Parallel, Projected Sections dialog box and the SETUP
SK PLN and SETUP PLANE menus appear.
4.
Select or create a sketching plane, or use the sketching plane of the last feature with
the 3D section. The DIRECTION menu appears.
5.
Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to select the direction of viewing the
sketching plane. The SKET VIEW menu appears.
5.

Select or create a horizontal or vertical reference for sketching.

5.
Select a perpendicular surface, an edge, or vertex relative to which the section is
dimensioned and constrained.
5.
Sketch the first section of the blend wall. Change the sketch for the next section:
Sketch > Feature Tools > Toggle Section.

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5.
Sketch the next section. When the sketch is complete, click
toolbar.

on the sketcher

5.
Specify whether to add or remove material (material side). The DIRECTION menu
appears.
5.

Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to define the direction of feature creation.

12.

Type the depth or depths for the additional sections and click

12.
Click OK in the Unattached Wall: Blend, Parallel, Projected Sections dialog box
to create a parallel blend.
Note: When creating the first wall, after sketching the section, specify material thickness and
click OK to complete the feature creation.
To Create a General Blend
1.

Click
or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend. The Unattached
Wall: Blend, General, Sketched Sections dialog box opens and the BLEND OPTS
menu appears.

2.
3.

Click General to define the blend type. Regular Sketch is selected by default.
Click Select Sec to select the section entities or Sketch Sec to define the sketch to
use, and then Done.
If you select Select Sec, the Unattached Wall: Blend, General, Selected Sections
dialog box and the ATTRIBUTES menu appears.
a.
Define the blend attributes (Straight or Smooth) and then click Done. The
CRV SKETCHER and PICK CURVE menus appear.
b.
o

Use the CRV SKETCHER to select one of the following:

Pick CurveSelect 3D curves or edges to create section entities and select a loop or
chain of entities using the PICK CURVE menu.

Blend VertexCreate a placeholder entity for blend section.

Start PointModify section start point.

Sec InfoGet information about section entities and dimensions using the
DELETION menu.

DeleteDelete or undelete section entities and dimensions using the DELETION


menu.

UndoUndo a sketcher command.

RedoUndo a sketcher command.


c. Click Done/Return. You are prompted to define the next section. Click Yes to
continue or No to abort.

c.
When finished, click Done from the CRV SKETCHER menu. The DIRECTION
menu appears.

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If you select Sketch Sec, the Unattached Wall: Blend, General, Sketched Sections
dialog box and the ATTRIBUTES menu appears.

a.
Define the blend attributes (Straight or Smooth) and then click Done. The SETUP
SK PLN and SETUP PLANE menus appear.
b.
Select or create a sketching plane, or use the sketching plane of the last feature with
3D section. The DIRECTION menu appears.
c.
Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to select the direction of feature creation.
The SKET VIEW menu appears.
d.

Select or create a horizontal or vertical reference for sketching.

e.
Select a perpendicular surface, an edge, or vertex relative to which the section will be
dimensioned and constrained.
f.

Sketch the first section of the blend wall. Make sure you include a coordinate system

in the sketch. When the sketch is complete, click

on the sketcher toolbar.

g.
Type the appropriate rotating angle for the second blend section. You must enter
values for the x, y, and z-axes.
h.

Sketch the next section. Make sure you include a coordinate system in the sketch.

When the sketch is complete, click

on the sketcher toolbar.

i.
If you want to add more sections to the blend wall, type Yes and repeat steps 4 to 6 for
each additional section. Else, type No. The DIRECTION menu appears.
4.
Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to select the direction to thicken the wall.
The material side from where to remove or add material is defined.
4.

Optionally, you can swap the driving surface.

4.

Click OK to close the dialog box. A general blend wall is created

To Create a Rotational Blend


1.

Click
or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend. The BLEND OPTS
menu appears.

2.

Click Rotational to define the blend type. Regular Sketch is selected by default.

3.

Click Select Sec to select the section entities or Sketch Sec to define the sketch to
use, and then Done.
If you select Select Sec, the Unattached Wall: Blend, Rotational, Selected Sections
dialog box and the ATTRIBUTES menu appears.

Define the blend attributes (Straight or Smooth, and Open or Closed) and
then click Done. The CRV SKETCHER and PICK CURVE menus appear.
a.

Note: You can create a Open or Closed type of blend if you select the Select Sec
option.
b.

Use the CRV SKETCHER to select one of the following:

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Pick CurveSelect 3D curves or edges to create section entities and select a loop or
chain of entities using the PICK CURVE menu.

Blend VertexCreate a placeholder entity for blend section.

Start PointModify section start point.

Sec InfoGet information about section entities and dimensions using the
DELETION menu.

DeleteDelete or undelete section entities and dimensions using the DELETION


menu.

UndoUndo a sketcher command.

RedoUndo a sketcher command.


c.
Click Done/Return. You are prompted to define the next section. Click Yes to
continue or No to abort.

c.
When finished, click Done from the CRV SKETCHER menu. The DIRECTION
menu appears.
If you select Sketch Sec to define the sketch to use, the Unattached Wall: Blend,
Rotational, Sketched Sections dialog box and the ATTRIBUTES menu appears.

a. Define the blend attributes (Straight or Smooth, and Open or Closed) and then click
Done. The SETUP SK PLN and SETUP PLANE menus appear.
b. Select or create a sketching plane, or use the sketching plane of the last feature with
3D section. The DIRECTION menu appears.
c. Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to select the direction of viewing the
sketching plane. The SKET VIEW menu appears.
d. Select or create a horizontal or vertical reference for sketching.
e. Select a perpendicular surface, an edge, or vertex relative to which the section will be
dimensioned and constrained.
f. Reference and sketch the first section of the blend wall. When the section sketch is
complete, click

on the sketcher toolbar.

g. Type a rotation angle for the section and click


window.

. You return to a blank sketching

h. Sketch the next section of the blend wall. Be sure to include a coordinate system.
When the section sketch is complete, click
4.

on the sketcher toolbar.

If you want to add more sections to the blend wall, type Yes else, type No. The
DIRECTION menu appears.

4.
Click Flip to reverse the direction or Okay to select the direction to thicken the wall.
The material side from where to remove or add material is defined.
4.

Optionally, you can swap the driving surface.

4.

Click OK to close the dialog box. A rotational blend wall is created

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About Offset Walls


An offset wall is a reflection, of a quilt or surface, set a specified distance from the original.
You can select an existing surface or sketch a new surface to offset. Unless you convert a
solid part, an offset wall cannot be the first feature created in your design.
You can create three types of offset walls: Normal to Surf, Controlled Fit, and Auto Fit.
To Create an Offset Wall
1.

Click
or click Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Offset. The
Unattached Wall: Offset dialog box opens.

2.

Select the quilt or surface to offset the wall from.

3.

Type the offset distance and click

4.

Select the direction to thicken the wall: Okay or Flip - to change the direction.

5.

Define the type of offset wall you need. Highlight Offset Type and click Define.
Select the appropriate type:
o

Normal to SurfCreate the offset normal to the quilt or surface.

Controlled FitCreate the offset at a controlled distance.

Auto FitAutomatically fit the offset from the quilt or surface.

You can further customize the offset wall with the Leave Out, MaterialSide, and Swap
Side options.
6.

Click OK in the Unattached Wall: Offset dialog box. The wall is created

About Advanced Walls


Advanced walls create contoured walls. The type of advanced walls available are;

Section to surface

Surface to surface

Tangent to surface

Variable section sweeps

Helical sweeps

Boundary blends

Swept blends

Blend from file


Advanced walls are contours that are difficult to unbend and are not used frequently used
To Create an Advanced Wall
1.

Click Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached.

2.

Select one of the following types of advanced walls:

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Variable Section SweepCreates a swept feature by sweeping a section along the


selected trajectories and by controlling the sections orientation, rotation, and geometry
along the trajectory.

Swept BlendCreates a swept blend using the origin trajectory and a chain of datum
curves or edges.

Helical SweepCreates a helical sweep by sweeping a section along a helical


trajectory.

From BoundariesCreates a boundary blend from the surface boundaries.

Blend Section to SurfacesCreates an advanced wall as a blend from a surface to


the tangent surfaces.

Blend Between SurfacesCreates a smooth surface or a solid transition between


two surfaces.

Blend From FileImports a blend from file.

Blend Tangent to SurfacesCreates a blend tangent to the surface

To Create a Section-to-Surface Blend


1.

2.
3.

Click Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend Section to Surfaces. The
Unattached Wall: Section to Surfaces Blend dialog box opens and the SELECT menu
appears.
Select surfaces to define a tangent boundary.
Click OK. The surfaces must be tangent to each other. The SETUP SK PLN,
SAME/NEW, and SETUP PLANE menu appears.

4.
Select or create a sketching plane, or use the sketching plane of the last feature with
3D section for the section boundary. The DIRECTION menu appears.
5.
Click Okay to accept the default direction for feature creation, or Flip to reverse the
direction. The SKET VIEW menu appears.
5.

Select or create a horizontal or vertical reference for sketching.

5.
Select a perpendicular surface, an edge, or vertex relative to which the section is
dimensioned and constrained.
5.

Sketch the section boundary. The section must be closed.

5.
When the section sketch is complete, click
DIRECTION menu appears.

on the sketcher toolbar. The

5.
Define the MaterialSide to specify the direction from which to add or remove
material.
5.

Accept the default direction or reverse the direction for feature creation.

5.

Optionally, swap the driving surface, if required.

5.

Click OK to close the Unattached Wall: Section to Surfaces Blend dialog box.

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Note: When creating the first wall, after sketching the section, specify the material thickness
and click OK to complete the feature creation.
To Create a Surface-to-Surface Blend
1.

Click Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend Between Surfaces. The
Unattached Wall: Surface to Surface Blend dialog box opens and the SELECT menu
appears.

2.

Select the datum surface to which the blend is tangent at the first end.

3.

Select the second surface.

4.

Define the MaterialSide to specify the direction from where to add or remove
material.

5.

Accept the default direction or reverse the direction for feature creation. The direction
of thickening is defined.

6.

At the prompt, type the material thickness.

7.

Click OK to close the Unattached Wall: Surface to Surface Blend dialog box

To Import a Blend
1.

Click Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend From File. The Unattached
Wall: Blend from File dialog box opens, and the GET COORD S and SEL COORD S
menus appear.
The coordinate systems used in the model are displayed in the SEL COORD S menu.

2.
Select or create a coordinate system from the SEL COORD S menu to locate the
imported blend data. The Open dialog box opens.
2.
Specify the file name. The file extension must be .ibl. The DIRECTION menu
appears.
2.
Define the MaterialSide to specify the direction from where to add or remove
material.
2.
Accept the default direction or reverse the direction for feature creation. The direction
of thickening is defined.
2.

At the prompt, type the material thickness.

2.

Click OK to close the Unattached Wall: Blend from File dialog box

To Create a Tangent-to-Surface Blend


1.

2.
3.

Click Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Unattached > Blend Tangent to Surfaces. The
Unattached Wall: Tangent Surface dialog box opens, and the GEN SEL DIR and
SELECT menu appears. The Results tab is selected by default.
Specify the pull direction: One Sided or Two Sided.
Select a plane to which the direction will be perpendicular to. The DIRECTION
menu appears.

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4.

To select the direction for feature creation, click Okay to accept the default direction
or Flip to reverse the direction.

5.

Click the References tab. The CHAIN and SELECT menu appears.

a.

Under Draft Line, select a line or curve.

b.

Under References, select a surface tangent to the draft line.

6.

Click the Options tab.

a.

Optionally, under Closing Surfaces, select a surface that will be a closing surface.

b.

Optionally, under Spine Curves, select a curve.

c.

Under Cap Angle, specify the required cap angle value.

7.
Optionally, click the Curves tab to include or exclude curves from the tangent draft
geometry creation.
7.

Click

to apply and save the changes made to the feature

About Variable Section Sweeps


A variable section sweep enables you to create a feature by sweeping a section along the
selected trajectories by controlling the sections orientation, rotation, and geometry along the
trajectory.
A variable section sweep allows you to create a swept feature by controlling the following
characteristics:
NrmToOriginTrajThe section plane remains normal to the origin of trajectory throughout
its length. You can specify the section orientation and rotation. For this method, you must
select the origin of the trajectory and the X-Trajectory. The X-Trajectory defines the sections
horizontal vector. The origin of the section (crosshairs) is always located on the Origin
Trajectory with the X-axis pointing towards the X-Trajectory.
Pivot DirectionThe section plane remains normal to the Origin Trajectory as it is viewed
along the Pivot Direction. The upward direction of the section remains parallel to the Pivot
Direction. The Y-axis of the section is always normal to the selected direction. The section
normal trajectory is determined by projecting the Origin Trajectory in the Pivot Direction
onto a plane normal to the Pivot Direction. For this method, you must select the Origin
Trajectory and define the Pivot Direction.
Norm To TrajTwo trajectories must be selected to determine the location and orientation
of the section. The Origin Trajectory determines the origin of the section along the length of
the feature. The section plane remains normal to the Normal Trajectory along the length of
the feature. For this method, you must select the Origin Trajectory and the trajectory to which
the section will be normal.
You can define multiple additional trajectories to which the vertices of the section can be
aligned. As the section plane is swept along the Origin Trajectory, its intersections with the
longitudinal curves represent the known points for section alignment and dimensioning.
You can specify whether you want to vary the section as it moves along the sweep trajectories
by defining the Section Type element in the Variable Section Sweep dialog box. Choose
Constant from the SECTION TYPE menu to maintain the same section, or Variable from the
SECTION TYPE menu to adjust the section size as it sweeps along the trajectory.

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About Twist Walls


A twist wall is a spiraling or coiling section of sheet metal. The twist forms around an axis
running through the wall's center, as if by turning the wall ends in opposite directions by a
relatively small, specified angle. You can attach the twist to a straight edge on an existing
planar wall.
The twist wall typically serves as a transition between two areas of sheet metal because it can
change the plane of a sheet metal part. The twist can be rectangular or trapezoidal.
Twist Wall

Twist Wall Dimension


Start Width: (75 )Width of the twist wall at the attachment
edge.
End Width:(5 )Width at the end of the twist wall.
Twist Length: (100 )Length of the twist wall, measured from
the attachment edge to the end of the twist axis.
Twist Angle: (120 )Angle of twist.
Developed Length: (100 )Length of the twist wall, when
untwisted.

To Create a Twist Wall


1.

Click Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Twist. The TWIST dialog box opens and the
FEATURE REFS menu appears.

2.

Select the attachment edge for the twist wall. The TWIST AXIS PNT and
FEATURE REFS menus appear.

3.

Select a datum point on the attachment edge to locate the twist axis, which is the
centerline of the twist wall. It is perpendicular to the start edge and coplanar with the
existing wall:
o

Select PointChoose an existing datum point.

Create PointCreate a new datum point.

Use MiddleCreate a new datum point at the midpoint of the attachment edge.

4. Define the twist wall dimensions:


o

Start WidthWidth of the twist wall at the attachment edge. Type a value and click
.

End WidthWidth at the end of the twist wall. Type a value and click

Twist LengthLength of the twist wall, measured from the attachment edge to the
end of the twist axis. Type a value and click

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Twist AngleAngle/rotation of the twist wall. Type a value and click

Developed LengthLength of the twist wall, when untwisted. Type a value and click
.
Click OK on the TWIST dialog box. The wall is created

5.

6.
About Extend Walls
7.
An extend wall lengthens an existing wall. You can extend the wall from a straight
edge on existing wall to either a planar surface or a specified distance. You can close gaps
between walls and model various overlap conditions.
8.
The extend wall is typically utilized at corners.
To Create an Extend Wall
1.

Click
or Insert > Sheetmetal Wall > Extend. The WALL Options: Extend
dialog box opens.

2.

Select the straight edge to extend. The EXT DIST and SETUP PLANE menus
appear.

3.

Define how to extend the wall:


o

Up To PlaneExtends the wall up to a plane.


Select an existing datum plane or make a new datum plane.

Use ValueExtends the wall at a specified distance.


Select a default value from the menu or click Enter, and type the exact distance
value.

4.

Click OK on the WALL Options: Extend dialog box. The wall is created

About Merge Walls


A merge wall combines at least two unattached walls into one part. The merger requires that:

The walls butt against each other (tangent).


The driving sides of each wall match. If the colors of the walls do not match you can
use the Swap Sides command in Unattached Wall dialog box.
Unattached Tangent Walls

Merge Wall

1. Unattached wall.
2. Base wall to which the unattached wall is
merged.

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Note: The walls have matching driving


sides.
To create the merge you must define the following elements in the WALL Options dialog
box:

Basic RefsSelect surfaces of the base wall.

Merge GeomsSurfaces of the wall to be merged.

Merge Edges(optional) Add or remove edges deleted by the merge.

Keep Lines(optional) Control the visibility of merged edges on surface joints.


Note: Only unattached walls can merge with the base wall.
To Create a Merge Wall
1.

Click
or Insert > Merge Walls. The WALL Options: Merge dialog box opens
and the FEATURE REFS menu appears.
Note: You can merge only flat walls including the unattached walls.

2.

Select the base wall surfaces you want the unattached wall to be merged with.

2.

Select the unattached wall surfaces you want to merge to the base wall.

2.

Click OK on the WALL Options: Merge dialog box. The walls are merged.

About Rips
A rip shears or tears your sheet metal walls, especially along seams. If your part is a
continuous piece of material it cannot be unbent without ripping the sheet metal. Create a rip
feature before unbending. When you unbend that area of the model, the material will break
along the rip section. In general, a rip is a zero-volume cut.
There are three types of sheet metal rips available:

RegularCreates a sawcut along a sketched rip line. You select a surface and sketch
the rip line. You can select boundary surfaces to protect certain surfaces from the rip.

SurfaceCuts and exclude an entire surface patch from the model. You select a
surface to rip out. Surface rips remove model volume.

EdgeCreates a sawcut along an edge. You select the edge to rip. The resulting
corner edges can be open, blind, or overlapping.
Regular Rip

Surface Rip

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Page 213

While edge rips are intended for unbending your part, you can customize the corner type to
be open, overlapping, or cut/extended to a specific depth. You can create rips with open or
overlapping corners.
You can create multiple versions of a regular rip by setting bounding surfacesa surface that
will not be ripped. The rip extends around the model until it meets the edges of the bounding
surface. If your rip design requires most of the surfaces not to be ripped, you can exclude all
the surfaces (as bounding surfaces) and select/remove the desired surfaces that need to be
ripped.
No
Surfaces

Bounding

No
surfaces

bounding

One Bounding Surface

1 Bounding surface

Bounding Surfaces

2 Multiple
surfaces

bounding

To Create a Regular Rip


1.

Click

2.

Click Regular Rip. Click Done. The Rip: (Regular Type) dialog box opens.

3.

or Insert > Shape > Rip. The OPTIONS menu appears.

Reference and sketch the rip. All entities must form one continuous open chain with
endpoints that align to surface edges or silhouettes. When the sketch is complete, click
on the sketcher toolbar.
To define the boundary surface, highlight Bound Surf in the Rip dialog box and click
Define. The FEATURE REFS menu appears. Select the surfaces to exclude from the rip
feature and then click Done Refs and Done/Return.

4.

Click OK on the Rip dialog box. The rip is created

To Create a Surface Rip


1.
2.
3.

Click

or Insert > Shape > Rip. The OPTIONS menu appears.

Click Surface Rip and then Done. The RIP:(Surface Type) dialog box opens and the
FEATURE REFS menu appears.
Select the surface(s) to rip out. The selected surfaces highlight in the active window.
You can add and remove rip surfaces by highlighting Surface in the Rip:(Surface Type)
dialog box and clicking Define. After you modfiy the surface selections click Done Refs.

4.

Click OK on the Rip:(Surface Type) dialog box. The rip is created

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To Create an Edge Rip


1.
2.

Click

or click Insert > Shape > Rip. The OPTIONS menu appears.

Click Edge Rip. Click Done. The Rip :(Edge Type) dialog box opens and the RIP
PIECES menu appears. By default, Add is selected.

3.

Select an edge or edges to rip.


You can also customize the corner type for each edge rip as follows:
o

Click Redefine from the RIP PIECES menu. The PIECE SEL menu appears.

Select the edge piece to redefine. The RIP PIECES dialog box opens.

Highlight Corner Type and click Define. The CORNER DEF menu appears.

Select the desired corner type and click Done:


OpenCreate standard open corner edges.
BlindCustomize the open corner using a specific dimension.
OverlapCreate standard overlapping corner edges.

Click Ok in the RIP PIECES dialog box.

4.
Click Done Sets after selecting and defining all desired edges. The selected edges
highlight in the active window.
4.

Click OK on the Rip :(Edge Type) dialog box. The edge rip is created

Working with Edge Rips


An edge rip is a sawcut along an edge. Like all rips, edge rips are intended to help unbend
your part. Depending on your design needs you can customize the corner type of the edge rip
to be open, cut/extended to a specific depth, or overlapping.
As you customize the corner type edge rip drag-handles appear. The handles snap to the
corner edges. The following explains how the edges and system behave when you customize
the edge:

Open edge ripThe edge rip remains open, however, drag-handles appear for each
edge. If you click on the handles the edge is defined as blind (see Blind edge rip below).
Open Edge Rip with Drag-handles

Open Edge Rip

Blind edge ripDrag-handles and dimensions appear for each edge coming into the
corner.
To set the depth of the edge, you can double-click the edge dimension and then type or
select a new dimension or you can use the drag handle and drag the corner edge to its new

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location (which can be within the confines of the edge or extend beyond the intersecting
edges).
You can also establish relations by selecting Thickness or Thickness*2 from the
dimension box. The relation is set using the smt_thickness parameter. It is removed if you
type a value or define the edge as open or overlapping.
Blind Edge Rip with Drag-handles and Dimension
Box

Blind Edge Rip

Overlap edge ripDrag-handles appear for each edge and an arrow indicates the
overlap direction. One edge automatically overlaps the other. You can reverse the
overlapping edge by clicking Flip on the CORNER DEF menu.
Overlapping Edge Rip with Drag-handles and
Direction Arrow

Overlapping Edge Rip

About Sheet Metal Cuts


A sheet metal cut removes material from your part. The cut is made normal to the sheet metal
surface, as if the part were completely flat, even if it is in a bent state. The cut adopts the
sheet metal material's natural behavior, like bending and warping, when the part is bent.
You sketch cuts on a plane and project them onto the sheet metal wall. Either the driving or
offset side of the sheet metal wall can drive the cut direction.
Sheet
Metal
Behavior

Cut

Solid Cut Behavior

You can create three types of cuts:

Sheet Metal Cut (solid)Removes solid sections of the sheet metal wall.

Sheet Metal Cut (thin)Removes only a thin section of material, like a thin cut
made with a laser.

Solid-Class CutRemoves solid sections of the sheet metal wall. You can extrude,
revolve, sweep, blend, use quilts and make advanced solid-class cuts. To make a defined-

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angle cut, you must use the solid-class cut. Solid-class cuts can be made on an edge. See
the Part Modeling Functional Area for information about solid-class cuts.
Note: Always use the sheet metal-class cut, unless you need tapered edges.
About Cuts and Datum Axes
Individual datum axes are automatically created for each circular cut that intersects more than
one sheet metal wall.
The created axes behave like all other axes; they have an ID, can be referenced, can be turned
on/off on the main toolbar, and follow the cut during any bending and unbending.
Sketch

Sheet Metal Part With Circular Unbent Sheet Metal Part With
Cuts
Cuts

Projecting Datum Curves


When you develop geometry in the formed (bent) state you can project datum curves to
communicate information from the bent state to the flat state. You sketch and project a curve
onto the surface of the sheet metal part.
You place the curve by either following a surface when the model is bent or unbent, or by
following a surface during a bend back operation (if the part is in the unbent state).
Original Part

Projected Curve

Formed Part with Cut Following


Curve

To Create a Sheet Metal Cut (Solid)


1.

Click
or Insert > Sheetmetal Cut > Solid. The CUT: Smt Cut dialog box opens
and the SETUP SK PLN and SETUP PLANE menu appears.

2.

Select or create a sketching plane, or use the sketching plane of the last feature with
the 3D section. The DIRECTION menu appears.

3.

Click Okay to accept the current direction to remove the material or Flip to change
the direction. The SKET VIEW menu appears.

4.

Select or create a horizontal or vertical reference for sketching.

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5.

Select a perpendicular surface, an edge, or vertex relative to which the section is


dimensioned and constrained.

6.

Sketch the section. When the section sketch is complete, click


toolbar. The DIRECTION menu appears.

7.

Select the direction to remove material to create a feature relative to the sketching
plane.

8.

Click Okay to accept the current direction or Flip to reverse the direction. The SPEC
TO menu appears.

9.

Select one of the following to define the extrusion depth of the cut and click Done:
o

on the sketcher

BlindRemoves the depth you specify.

Thru NextRemoves material only from the first sheet metal surface under the
sketched cut.

Thru AllRemoves material from all the sheet metal surfaces under the sketched
cut.

The DRIVE SIDE menu appears.


To define the side on which to create the cut, select the driving or offset surface as the
driving surface and click Done.
10.

Click OK on the CUT: Smt Cut dialog box. The cut is created

10.

To Create a Sheet Metal Cut (Thin)


1.

Click Insert > Sheetmetal Cut. The CUT: Smt Cut, Thin dialog box opens and the
SETUP SK PLN and SETUP PLANE menu appears.

2.

Select or create a sketching plane, or use the sketching plane of the last feature with
the 3D section. The DIRECTION menu appears.

3.

Click Okay to accept the current direction or Flip to change the direction. The SKET
VIEW menu appears.

4.

Select or create a horizontal or vertical reference for sketching.

5.

Select a perpendicular surface, an edge, or vertex relative to which the section is


dimensioned and constrained.

6.

Reference and sketch the cut. When the sketch is complete, click
toolbar. The THIN OPT menu appears.

7.

on the sketcher

Select the direction to remove material:


o

OkayAccepts the default direction.

FlipChanges the direction.

BothRemoves material from both sides of the sketch line.

8. At the prompt, type the width of the cut and click

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

. The SPEC TO menu appears.

Page 218

8.

Select one of the following to define the depth of the cut:


o

BlindRemoves the depth you specify.

Thru NextRemoves material only from the first sheet metal surface under the
sketched cut.

Thru AllRemoves material from all the sheet metal surfaces under the sketched
cut.

The DRIVE SIDE menu appears.


To define the side on which to create the cut, select the driving or offset surface as the
driving surface and click Done.
10.
11.

Click OK on the CUT: Smt Cut, Thin dialog box. The cut is created

About Forms
A form is a sheet metal wall molded by a template (reference part). Merging the geometry of
a reference part to the sheet metal part creates the form feature. You use assembly type
constraints to determine the location of the form in your model. When doing so, be mindful
of placement references and references to other features in the model.
You can create two types of sheet metal form features, punch and die. Each form type can
create the same geometry:
Punch

Punch Form Reference Part

Molds the sheet metal wall using only the reference


part geometry. Punch forms use the entire form
reference part to create the correct geometry.

Die

Die Form Reference Part

Molds the sheet metal using the reference part to


form the geometry (convex or concave) surrounded
by a bounding plane. Die forms need a plane
surface/boundary plane (2) surrounding the entire die
shape to apply the correct geometry. The seed surface
(1.) gathers the surrounding geometry to create the
appropriate form shape.
To simulate real manufacturing needs, create your form reference part in the standard
application. If you use a sheet metal reference part, the sheet metal to be formed should
conform to the driving side of the component part. When creating a form model, keep the
following in mind:

Convex surfacesMust have a radius that is larger than the thickness of the sheet
metal or equal to zero if the form is mated to the sheet metal geometry.

Concave surfacesMust have a radius that is larger than the thickness of the sheet
metal or equal to zero if the form is aligned to the sheet metal geometry.

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Combination surfacesThe form can contain a combination of convex and concave


geometry, creating hollows. The hollows in the form must not drop below the base plane or
mating surface.

Coordinate systemsYou can create a coordinate system reference within the form
to define where to strike the part during the manufacturing process.
You can create multiple form placement scenarios by turning specific constraints on or off
with the forced check box . For example, you might place a louver form with constraints
that force the opening to face the outside edge of the wall while also having a constraint that
forces the opening towards the center of the wall. By turning either constraint on or off you
can quickly change your sheet metal design.
To Create a Die Form
1.

Click

2.

Click Die.

3.

Define how to use the punch reference part and click Done:
o

or Insert > Shape > Form. The OPTIONS menu appears.

ReferenceThe form is dependent on a saved punch part. Any changes made to the
saved part parametrically update when you regenerate the sheet metal part. If the saved
part cannot be located the sheet metal form geometry freezes.
CopyThe form uses copied geometry and is independent of the saved form part.

4.
Open the punch reference part. The punch reference part opens in a separate window.
The FORM and Form Placement dialog box opens.
4. In the Type box, select the type of constraint to use for the reference:
o

AutomaticConstrains the form references using a constraint type chosen by the


system.

MateConstrains two surfaces to touch, either coincident and facing each other or
parallel and facing each other.

AlignConstrains two planes to be coplanar, either coincident and facing in the same
direction or parallel and facing in the same direction..This option also aligns revolved
surfaces or axes to be coaxial.

InsertInserts a male revolved surface into a female revolved surface, making their
respective axes coincident.

Coord SysConstrains the coordinate system of the form reference part to the
coordinate system of the sheet metal part. Both coordinate systems must exist before
starting the assembly process.

TangentConstrains two surface to be tangent.

Pnt On LineConstrains a point to be in contact with a line.

Pnt On SrfConstrains a point to be in contact with a surface.

Edge On SrfConstrains an edge to be in contact with a surface.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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In the Offset box, select how to offset the references:

6.
o

OffsetDetermines the distance between the two references.

OrientedConstrains two surfaces to be parallel. An offset value is not specified.

CoincidentConstrains two surfaces to be touching. An offset value is not specified.

7.
part.

Under Form Reference, click

7.
Under Part Reference, click
metal part.

and select the desired constraint on the reference


and select the corresponding constraint on the sheet

7. Type the appropriate value for the reference position and click

Repeat steps 7-11 until the form is Fully Constrained.


o

To preview the form positioning, select the constraint type and click Preview.

To create additional constraints click

To delete constraints, select the constraint and click

To change the orientation of the constraint, click

To fix the current location of the form, click

To align the default coordinate system of the form reference part to the default

. You can add up to 50 constraints.

coordinate system of the part reference, click


o

.
.

To modify an existing constraint, select the constraint element and make the desired
change.
To turn a constraint off, clear

. Click

to turn the constraint on.

10.
Select a boundary plane from the reference part. The boundary plane is the surface
surrounding the die geometry.
10.
Select a seed surface from the reference part. The seed surface can be any section of
the actual die geometry.
o

To exclude surfaces, highlight Exclude Surf on the FORM dialog box and click
Define. Select the form feature surface(s) to exclude and click Done Refs.

To designate a coordinate system, highlight Csys in the FORM dialog box and click
Define.

To change the tool name, highlight Tool Name in the FORM dialog box and click
Define.

12.

Click OK on the FORM dialog box. The die form is created

To Create a Punch Form

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 221

1.

Click

2.

Click Punch.

3.

Define how to use the punch reference part and click Done:
o

or Insert > Shape > Form. The OPTIONS menu appears.

ReferenceThe form is dependent on a saved punch part. Any changes made to the
saved part parametrically update when you regenerate the sheet metal part. If the saved
part cannot be located the sheet metal form geometry freezes.
CopyThe form uses copied geometry and is independent of the saved form part.

4. Open the punch reference part. The punch reference part opens in a separate window.
The FORM and Form Placement dialog box opens.
4.

In the Type box, select the type of constraint for the form reference:
o

AutomaticConstrain the form references using a constraint type chosen by the


system.

MateConstrain two surfaces to touch; either coincident and facing each other or
parallel and facing each other.

AlignConstrain two planes to be coplanar; either coincident and facing in the same
direction or parallel and facing in the same direction.. This option also aligns revolved
surfaces or axes to be coaxial.

InsertInsert a male revolved surface into a female revolved surface, making their
respective axes coincident.

Coord SysConstrain the coordinate system of the form reference part to the
coordinate system of the sheet metal part. Both coordinate systems must exist before
starting the assembly process.

TangentConstrain two surface to be tangent.

Pnt On LineConstrain a point to be in contact with a line.

Pnt On SrfConstrain a point to be in contact with a surface.

Edge On SrfConstrain an edge to be in contact with a surface.


In the Offset box, select how to offset the references:

6.
o

OffsetDetermine the distance between the two references.

OrientedConstrain two surfaces to be parallel. An offset value is not specified.

CoincidentConstrain two surfaces to be touching. An offset value is not specified.

7. Under Form Reference, click


part.
7. Under Part Reference, click
metal part.

and select the desired constraint on the reference


and select the corresponding constraint on the sheet

7. Type the appropriate value for the reference position and click

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 222

Repeat steps 7-11 until the form is Fully Constrained.


o

To preview the form positioning select the constraint type and click Preview.

To create additional constraints click

To delete constraints select the constraint and click

To change the orientation of the constraint click

To fix the current location of the form click

To align the default coordinate system of the form reference part to the default

. You can add up to 50 constraints.

coordinate system of the part reference click


o

.
.

To modify an existing constraint, select the constraint element and make the desired
change.
To turn a constraint off clear

. Click

to turn the constraint on.

10.
Select the surface to use for the punch geometry: Okay or Flip - to change the
direction.
o

To exclude surfaces, highlight Exclude Surf on the FORM dialog box and click
Define. Select the form feature surface(s) to exclude and click Done Refs.

To designate a coordinate system, highlight Csys in the FORM dialog box and click
Define.

To change the tool name, highlight Tool Name in the FORM dialog box and click
Define.

11.

Click OK on the FORM dialog box. The punch form is created

To Create a Flatten Form


1.

Click

or Insert > Shape > Flat Form. The FLATTEN dialog box opens.

2.

Highlight Form and click Define. The FEATURE REFS menu appears.

3.

Select the form feature from the model tree or select each individual section to flatten.
Note: All form sections must be selected.

4.

Click Done Refs after all the form sections are selected.

4.

Click OK on the FLATTEN dialog box. The flatten form is created

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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To Place a Notch
1.

Click

2.

Browse to the appropriate UDF file (.gph).

3.

or click Insert > Shape > Notch. The Open dialog box opens.

If a reference part is available and you want to retrieve it, click Yes; otherwise click
No. The DISP OPTION menu appears.

4.

Set the display options for invariable dimensions:


o

NormalCreates normal dimensions. You can modify the values to create a unique
version of the UDF notch or punch.

Read OnlyCreates read-only dimensions. You can display them, but you cannot
modify them.

BlankBlanks the dimensions so they cannot be displayed or modified in any mode.


Use this option carefully. The only way to retrieve the dimensions is to delete the group
features and replace the UDF notch or punch.

5.

Reference and place the UDF using the prompts defined during the UDF creation:
Select the Alternate reference on the base part that matches your UDF prompt. If you are
unsure of a reference, click Skip and move on to the next prompt. You can redefine the
reference as appropriate.
Click Done after defining all the references. The notch or punch is placed

6.

To Place a Punch
1.

Click

2.

Browse to the appropriate UDF file (.gph).

3.

If a reference part is available and you want to retrieve it, click Yes; otherwise click
No. The DISP OPTION menu appears.

4.

5.

or click Insert > Shape > Punch. The Open dialog box opens.

Set the display options for invariable dimensions:


o

NormalCreate normal dimensions. You can modify the values to create a unique
version of the UDF notch or punch.

Read OnlyCreate read-only dimensions. You can display them, but you cannot
modify them.

BlankBlank the dimensions so they cannot be displayed or modified in any mode.


Use this option carefully. The only way to retrieve the dimensions is to delete the group
features and replace the UDF notch or punch.
Reference and place the UDF using the prompts defined during the UDF creation:

Select the Alternate reference on the base part that matches your UDF prompt. If you are
unsure of a reference, Click Skip, and move on to the next prompt. You can redefine it as
appropriate.
6.

Click Done after defining all the references. The notch or punch is placed

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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7.
About Bends
8.
A bend forms the sheet metal wall into an angular or roll shape. You sketch a bend
line and determine the bend's direction with direction arrows or your sketching view. The
bend line is a reference point for calculating the developed length and creating the bend
geometry.
9.
Bends can be added at any time during the design process, as long as a wall feature
exists. You can add bends across form features, but you cannot add them where they cross
another bend. Depending on where you place the bend in your sheet metal design, you may
need to add bend relief.
10.
There are two main types of bends:
AngleBend a specific radius and angle. Direction arrows determine
the bend location. The angle bend either forms on one side of the
bend line or equally on both sides.
RollBend a specific radius and angle, which is determined by both
the radius and the amount of flat material to bend. Sketching view
affects the bend location. The roll bend forms in the direction you
view your sketch.
If you intend to roll the material in a spiral, be conscious of the
material length. Your roll bend will fail if the material bends through
itself.
11.

There are three bend options available for each angle or roll bend:

Regular Bend

w/Transition Bend

Planar Bend

Create a normal bend


with
no
transition
surfaces.

Deform
the
surface
between the bend and an
area you want to keep flat.

Create a bend around an


axis that is perpendicular to
the driving surface and the
sketching plane.

About Bend Radius


The bend radius determines the angle of the bend. Bends are made along the axis of the
radius. You can dimension bends in the following ways:
Specified Surface

Inside of Bend

Outside of Bend

(Offset Side or Driving

(Inside Rad) Sheet metal

(Outside Rad)

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 225

Side)

parts typically dimension to


the inside radius.

Make sure you add material thickness to the desired radius. If you create the bend when
adding an extruded wall, you can thicken the sketch section and re-dimension to the inside of
the bend. For extruded or swept walls, you can specify No Radius and manually sketch the
radius in the section.
Zero-Radius Bends
You can enter zero for the bend radius. The resulting geometry shows a sharp edge on the
side to which the bend is dimensioned. If you want the geometry to show a radius, enter a
very small value (0.0001). For sheet metal thickness this should not matter.
You can generally unbend zero-radius bends. If you want to unbend the sheet metal part make
sure the bend has a small radius. You cannot unbend bends with slanted cuts across them.
Zero-bend Radius (outside
radius)

Zero-bend
radius)

Radius

(inside

About Bend Relief


Bend relief helps control the sheet metal material behavior and prevents unwanted
deformation.
For example, an unrelieved bend might not represent the accurate, real life model you need
due to material stretching. By adding the appropriate bend relief, like RipRelief, your sheet
metal bend will meet your design intent and enable you to create an accurate flat model.
After you sketch and regenerate the bend, the RELIEF menu appears with the following
relief options:

No ReliefCreate the bend without any relief.

StrtchReliefStretch the material to provide relief where the bend crosses an


existing edge of the fixed material.

RipReliefCut the material at each bend endpoint. The cuts are made normal to the
bend line.

RectReliefAdd a rectangular relief at each bend endpoint.

ObrndReliefAdd an obround relief at each bend endpoint.


No Relief

StrtchRelief

Rip Relief

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

RectRelief

ObrndRelief

Page 226

About Bend Lines


Bend lines determine the location and shape for the bend geometry in your sheet metal parts.
You sketch a bend line and determine the bend's direction with direction arrows or your
sketching view.
The bend line is a reference point for calculating the developed length and creating the bend
geometry. The behavior of the bend geometry is determined by the bend line location, the
bend angle, and the fixed geometry.
Bend Line Sketch

1. Bend line
2. Fixed geometry
Bend One

Bend Two

Bend Three

You can adjust the bend line to make the resulting bend geometry coplanar with the side of
the sheet metal. Make sure any added bend relief does not exceed the developed length of the
bend.
Non-coplanar Surfaces

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Coplanar Surfaces

Page 227

1. Original bend line

3. Adjusted bend line

2. Fixed geometry and bend side

4. Fixed geometry and bend side

BLA = L - ( R + T )
Where:
BLA = Bend line adjustment
L = Developed length of the bend (determined from a bend table or formula)
R = Inside radius of the bend
T = Thickness of the sheet metal
RL = Relief length ( = cutback length in rip relief)
To Create a Punch Axis Point
Make sure the punch_axis_points configuration option is set to yes (Utilities > Options).
Begin creating the desired cut, punch, or notch in your sheet metal design. Complete the
following steps while defining the feature:
1.

Click Insert > Datum > Point. You are prompted for two placement points. One
placement point is for the punch axis point, the second is for the corresponding datum
point.

2.

Select the point placements and then click Done/Select. You are prompted for plane
and edge references.

3.
4.

Select the plane or edge references and then click Done/Select.


Type the desired distances/coordinates for the punch axis points and click
. The
punch axis points are created. Continue defining the cut, punch, or notch feature.

Practices: Unbend and Bend Back


Remember, the proper use of the unbend and bend back features is very important for robust
design. Consider these best practices when utilizing the unbend and bend back features:

Do not add unnecessary pairs of unbend/bend back features; they inflate the part size
and might cause problems at regeneration.

If you add an unbend feature (or bend back) feature just to see how your model looks
flattened (unbent), delete the sample unbend feature before proceeding with your design.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

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If you specifically want to create features in a flattened state you should add an
unbend feature. Create the features you need in the flattened state and then add a bend
back feature. Do not delete the unbend feature in this case, features that reference the
unbend feature might fail regeneration.

If you want a projected datum curve to follow a sheet metal bend, project the curve
after creating an unbend feature. The curve will follow the sheet metal surface when you
bend back the sheet metal wall.
About Bend Back
The bend back feature enables you to return unbent surfaces to their formed position. As a
rule you should only bend back a fully unbent area.
Bent Part

Bend Back All

Bend Back Select

Note:

If you partially bend back a regular unbend containing a deform area the original bent
condition might not be obtainable.

Pro/SHEETMETAL examines the contours of each bend back section. Contours


partially intersecting a bend area are highlighted. You are prompted to confirm whether the
section bend back or remain flat.
You can not bend back a cross section (Xsec-Driven) unbend

To Create a Bend Back


1.

Click
or click Insert > Bend Operation > Bend Back. The BEND BACK
dialog box appears.

2.

Select the plane or edge to remain fixed while you unbend the part. The
BENDBACKSEL menu appears.

3.

Define the section to bend back:

Bend Back SelBend back selected sections.

Bend Back AllBend back all sections.


If you chose to bend back selected sections:
o

Select the surface or edge to bend back. Be sure to select an UNBEND feature.

Click Done Sel. The FEATURE REFS menu appears.

Click Done Refs.

If you chose to bend back all sections:


o

Click Done.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 229

Click OK on the BEND BACK dialog box. The part bends back

4.

To Create Corner Relief (Feature)


1.

Click

or click Insert > Corner Relief. The GET SELECT menu appears.

2.

Select the 3D Note(s) needing similar corner relief. Click Done Sets.

3.

Define the corner relief to apply:


o

No ReliefNo relief is added. The corner retains the rip characteristic.

NoneGenerates a square corner. The default V-notch characteristic is removed.

CircularAdds a circular relief. The corner has a circlular section removed.

ObroundAdds an obround relief. The corner has an obround section removed.

4.

Define the dimensions for the relief:


o

ThicknessUses a default radius that is equal to the thickness of the sheet metal
wall.

Thickness * 2Uses a default radius that is twice the thickness of the sheet metal
wall.

Enter ValueUses the absolute value that you type in the Enter dimension value
box.

To relieve another corner, click Add. Click Done Sets after selecting all desired corners.
Click OK on the CORNER RELIEF dialog box. The corner relief is created

5.

To Set Corner Relief (Default)


1.

Click PART > Set Up. The PART SETUP menu appears.

2.

Click Sheet Metal. The SMT SETUP menu appears.

3.

Click Corner Relief. The CRNR TYPE menu appears.

4.

Define the type of relief to use as the default:


o

No ReliefNo relief is added. The corner retains the rip characteristic.

NoneGenerate a square corner. The default V-notch characteristic is removed.

CircularAdd a circular relief. The corner has a circlular section removed.

ObroundAdd an obround relief. The corner has an obround section removed.

5.

Define the dimensions for the relief:


o

ThicknessUse a default radius that is equal to the thickness of the sheet metal wall.

Thickness * 2Use a default radius that is twice the thickness of the sheet metal
wall.

Enter ValueUse the absolute value that you type in the Enter dimension value
box.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 230

Click Done/Return. The default corner relief is set.

6.

To Create a Sheet Metal Drawing


Before proceeding, close all working windows.
1.

Click File > New. The New dialog box opens.

2.

Under Type, click Drawing.

3.

In the Name box, type a name for your new sheet metal drawing.
o
o

If you want to use the default template, click OK. Pro/ENGINEER opens a new
drawing.
If you want to use a custom template:
Clear Use default template and click OK. The New File Options dialog box opens.
Browse to the desired template. Click OK. The template file is assigned and
Pro/ENGINEER opens a new drawing.
Note: If an object type is not supported by a template the Use default template
option is not available. For template-supported file types, if you always want to see
the New File Options dialog box, set the force_new_file_options_dialog
configuration option to Yes. Remember, this configuration setting may be overridden
by your system administrator in the config.sup file.

You can now add views of your sheet metal parts, display dimensions, bend line notes, bend
order tables, and other detailing information. See the Detailing module for information on
creating and customizing your sheet metal drawings.

CADDCAMM SOLUTIONS

Page 231

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