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UNIGRAPICS NX

Contents

Ø Chapter
- 1 Sketch & Part Modeling

ØChapter
- 2 Surface Modeling

ØChapter
- 3 Assembly

ØChapter
- 4 Drafting
PART DESIGN
Reference Guide

Introduction
Unigraphics NX is an interactive Computer-Added Design and Computer-Aided
Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system. The CAD functions automate the normal
engineering, design, and drafting capabilities found in today's manufacturing companies.
The CAM functions provide NC programming for modern machine tools using the
Unigraphics NX design model to describe the finished part.
Unigraphics NX functions are divided into "applications" of common capabilities. These
applications are supported by a prerequisite application called Unigraphics NX Gateway.
Every Unigraphics NX user must have Unigraphics NX Gateway; however, the other
applications are optional and may be configured to meet the needs of each individual
user.
Unigraphics NX is a fully three-dimensional, double precision system that allows you to
accurately describe almost any geometric shape. By combining these shapes, you can
design, analyze, and create drawings of your products.
Once the design is complete, the Manufacturing application allows you to select the
geometry describing the part, enter manufacturing information such as cutter diameter,
and automatically generate a cutter location source file (CLSF), which can be used to
drive most NC machines.
Design Input
Application Overview
System Conventions
Right Hand Rule
Associativity
Modality
Setting Registry Options

Design Input
You interact with Unigraphics NX by opening a part file and choosing an application
from the menu bar. Selecting an option from the menu bar and then responding to the
displayed dialog window(s) is the initial procedure. You create your designs within the
Unigraphics NX main application window.
Using Unigraphics NX, you may create, store, retrieve and manipulate design and
manufacturing information.
Work typically begins by creating geometry to describe a part. The Unigraphics NX
system allows you to create complete three-dimensional models of parts, which can be
stored permanently. Stored parts can subsequently be used to:
· Produce fully dimensioned engineering drawings.
· Generate instructions for NC machining.
· Generate input for analytical processes such as finite element analysis.
In this online help, the terms "model" and "part" are used interchangeably.
A part is composed of objects created during the design process. Objects are also referred
to as entities depending on the application you are working in. These objects are
classified as:
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· Geometric objects: Points, curves and sheet bodies


· Text objects: Notes, labels and dimensions
· Attributes: Color, font and width.
In Unigraphics NX, objects are created according to conventions of Euclidean geometry
(e.g., lines have no width; points are dimensionless, etc.).

Application Overview
Following are some of the main Unigraphics NX software applications.
Analysis
Assemblies
Drafting
Gateway
Geometric Tolerancing Module
High Quality Image
Knowledge Fusion
Manufacturing
Modeling
Open User Interface Styler
Programming Languages
Quality Control
Routing
Sheet Metal
Spreadsheet
Web Express
Wire Harness

System Conventions
This section describes several Unigraphics NX conventions that are used throughout the
system.

Coordinate Systems

Unigraphics NX allows planes and coordinate systems to be defined for


constructing other geometry. These planes and coordinate systems are completely
independent of the viewing direction. Geometry may be created on planes that are not
parallel to the screen.
The absolute coordinate system, or model space, is the coordinate system in use when a
new model is started. The viewing direction is along the positive Z-axis, towards the
origin. Other coordinate systems may be defined, but one particular coordinate system
called the work coordinate system (WCS) is used for construction.

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Angle Measurement

Unigraphics NX measures angles in a counterclockwise direction from the positive X (or


XC) axis to the positive Y (or YC) axis.

Angular measurements are entered as degrees and decimal fractions of a degree. When
you enter a positive value, the angle is measured counterclockwise from the positive X-
axis or a specified base line. When you enter a negative value, the system displays a
minus sign (-) to indicate movement in a clockwise direction.

Right-Hand Rule
The right-hand rule is used to determine the direction of rotation and the orientation
of coordinate systems. This rule also determines clockwise and counterclockwise
directions.
Conventional Right-Hand Rule
The conventional right-hand rule is, that if the origin of the coordinate system is in the
palm of the right fist, with the back of the hand lying on a table. The outward extension
of the thumb corresponds to the positive X-axis; the outward extension of the index
finger corresponds to the positive Y-axis, and the upward extension of the middle finger
corresponds to the positive Z-axis.

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Right-Hand Rule for Rotation


The right-hand rule for rotation is used to associate vectors with directions of
rotation.
When the thumb is extended and aligned with a given vector, the curled fingers determine
the associated direction of rotation. Conversely, when the curled fingers are held so as to
indicate a given direction of rotation, the extended thumb determines the associated
vector.
For example, to determine the counterclockwise direction of rotation for a given
coordinate system, the thumb is aligned with the ZC axis, pointing in the positive Z
direction.
Counterclockwise is defined as the direction the fingers would move from the positive X
to the positive Y-axis.

Overview of Solid Modeling


The Unigraphics NX Modeling application provides a solid modeling system to enable
rapid conceptual design. Engineers can incorporate their requirements and design
restrictions by defining mathematical relationships between different parts of the design.
Design engineers can quickly perform conceptual and detailed designs using the
Modeling feature and constraint based solid modeler. They can create and edit complex,
realistic, solid models interactively, and with far less effort than more traditional
wireframe and solid based systems. Feature Based solid modeling and editing capabilities
allow designers to change and update solid bodies by directly editing the dimensions of a
solid feature and/or by using other geometric editing and construction techniques.

Advantages of Solid Modeling


Solid Modeling raises the level of expression so that designs can be defined in terms of
engineering features, rather than lower-level CAD geometry. Features are parametrically
defined for dimension-driven editing based on size and position.
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Features
· Powerful built-in engineering-oriented form features-slots, holes, pads, bosses,
pockets-capture design intent and increase productivity
· Patterns of feature instances-rectangular and circular arrays-with displacement of
individual features; all features in the pattern are associated with the master
feature

Advanced Modeling Operations


· Profiles can be swept, extruded or revolved to form solids
· Extremely powerful hollow body command turns solids into thin-walled designs
in seconds; inner wall topology will differ from the outer wall, if necessary
· Tapering for modeling manufactured near-net shape parts
· User-defined features for common design elements (Unigraphics NX/User-
Defined Features is required to define them in advance)

Feature Modeling
The term "Feature" is used generally in Unigraphics NX to describe a class of objects that
have defining parents. A feature's parents enable it to recall the inputs and the operation
that were used in its creation. Features include all solids, bodies, primitives and certain
wireframe objects.
Features can be described by the following characteristics:
· The inputs of a feature are its "parents" and the resulting feature object is the
"child," which is Associative or "associated with" its parents.
· Parents can be geometric objects or numerical variables (known as Expressions).
In the case of numerical variables, the numbers are known as "parameters" of the
child object, and the child is said to be "parametric."
· If any object is modified, its associated children are updated (regenerated) to
reflect the change.
· The combination of parents and the creation operation is sometimes known as the
"history" of an object.
· The parent-child analogy can be extended further within Unigraphics NX, and it is
reasonable to speak of ancestors, descendents, siblings, orphans, reparenting and
so on.

Feature Creation Option Summaries

Form Feature
Feature Operation
Direct Modeling
Free Form Feature
Shape Studio

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Basic Terminology
Feature Refers to all solids, bodies, and primitives.
Body A collection of faces and edges. This includes both solid bodies and sheet bodies.
Solid body A collection of faces and edges that "close up" to enclose a volume.
Sheet A body with zero thickness, made up of a collection of faces and edges that do not
"close up" to enclose a volume.
Face A region on the outside of a body, separated from other faces by strings of edges.
Section Curves that you sweep to create a body.
curves
Guide Curves used to help define the path for the sweep operation.
curves

Basic Curves
When you choose the Basic Curves option, the Basic Curves dialog is
displayed. The portion of the Basic Curves dialog below the icons is
different for each of the curve creation options (line, arc, and circle). You
will find a complete picture of the dialog, including these unique options,

in the individual curve creation section

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The Basic Curves dialog is used to create lines, arcs, circles, and fillets. While you are
creating these curves, you also have quick access to the Trim Curve and Edit Curve
Parameters functions. As you go through the steps to create a line, arc, or circle, in most
cases you will see a "preview" of what the new curve will be, so that you know what the
curve will look like before you create it. You can also change some of the parameters of a
curve right after you create it.
Curve Creation Tools
The Basic Curves dialog provides you with several tools to make curve creation faster
and easier. They are:
· The dialog bar
· Preview of object creation
· Pre-highlighting
· Inferred point selection
· Application-specific MB3 pop-up menus
· Status line feedback

The Dialog Bar


The dialog bar is a series of text fields that appear at the bottom of the graphics window,
just to the right of the work layer input box, when you are in the Basic Curves dialog. The
text fields in the dialog bar vary depending on which type of curve you are creating, and
which options you have selected. For example, this is what the dialog bar looks like
when you are creating lines.

Line
When you are in line creation mode, there are several options on the Basic
Curves dialog that are unique to line creation.

In addition to the options on the dialog, you can also change the angle and/or length of a
line immediately after you create it, by keying new values into the dialog bar text fields
and pressing <Enter>.

Line Creation Methods


Below is a list of all available line creation methods. The following sections cover these
methods in detail. There is also a quick reference sheet of the most commonly used
methods.
Between two points
Through a point and horizontal or vertical
Through a point and parallel to the XC, YC, or ZC axis
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Through a point and at an angle to the XC axis


Through a point and parallel, perpendicular, or at an angle to a line
Through a point and tangent or perpendicular to a curve
Tangent to a curve and tangent or perpendicular to another curve
Tangent to a curve and parallel or perpendicular to a line
Tangent to a curve and at an angle to a line
A bisector of the angle between two lines
Midway between two parallel lines
Through a point and normal to a face
Parallel at a distance
Line Between Two Points

Line Through a Point and Horizontal or Vertical

Line Through a Point and Parallel to the XC, YC, or ZC Axis


To define a line through a point and parallel to the XC, YC, or ZC axis:
1. Define the start point.
2. Under Parallel to on the dialog, choose XC, YC, or ZC. The line rubberbands in
the graphics area.
3. Establish the length by specifying a cursor location, selecting geometry, or keying
a value into the Length field in the dialog bar and pressing <Enter>.
Line Through a Point and at an Angle to the XC Axis
To define a line through a point and at an angle to the XC axis:
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1. Define the start point.
2. Key in the desired angle into the Angle text field in the dialog bar and press the
<Tab key. A line at this angle rubberbands in the graphics area.
3. Establish the length by specifying a cursor location, selecting geometry, or
entering a length value in the dialog bar.
You can also create a line by any method, then change the newly created line to a specific
angle by entering the desired value in the Angle field
Angles are measured counterclockwise from the XC axis.
Line Through a Point and Parallel, Perpendicular, or at an Angle to an
Existing Line

Line Through a Point and Tangent or Perpendicular to a Curve

Line Tangent to a Curve and Tangent or Perpendicular to Another


Curve

Line Tangent to a Curve and Parallel or Perpendicular to a Line

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Line Tangent to a Curve and at an Angle to a Line

Line Parallel to Another Line at a Distance

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Creating Arcs
When you are in arc creation mode, there are several options on the Basic
Curves dialog that are unique to arc creation. These options are covered in
this section.

Full Circle
When this option is ON, any arc that you create, regardless of the creation
method, is created as a complete circle.

Creation Method
There are two basic methods for creating arcs:
· Start, end, point on arc
With this method, you can create an arc that passes through three points, or which passes
through two points and is tangent to a selected object.
The object selected for tangency to an arc cannot be a parabola, hyperbola, or spline.
(However, one of these objects can be selected for tangency to a complete circle.)
· Center, start, end
With this method, you define the center point, then the start and end of the arc.
The start and end points can be adjusted by entering angle values in the dialog bar

Start Point, End Point, Point on Arc or Tangent to an Object

To create an arc using this method:


1. Define two points. The points may be cursor locations, control points, or values
established by keying numbers into the dialog bar and pressing <Enter>.
An arc is displayed by dragging. Its endpoints are the two defined points.

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2. Define a third point or select a tangent object (other than a parabola, hyperbola, or
spline
Start Point, Tangent to an Object, End Point

This method is similar to the previous one, but is intended to let you define tangency at
the endpoints of an object. If the start point is an endpoint of the tangent object, the arc
will come off the end of the selected object and be tangent to it.

Center, Start Point, End Point

To create an arc using this method:


1. Choose the Center, Start, End button to turn the option ON.
2. Define the center point. This may be a cursor location, control points, or values
established by keying numbers into the dialog bar and pressing <Enter>.
3. Define the second point. This establishes the radius of the arc and the start angle.
An arc is rubberbanded, in a counterclockwise direction from the second point.
4. When the desired arc is displayed, specify a cursor location, select limiting
geometry, or enter an end angle in the dialog bar. (Remember that you can get the
complement of the previewed arc by pressing MB2 for Alternate Solution.)

Creating Circles
When you are in circle creation mode, the only option in the center of the
dialog that is unique to cirle creation is Multiple Positions.

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Circle Creation Methods

For all circle creation methods, you can establish precise values for the radius, diameter,
start angle, or end angle by keying the value into the text field in the dialog bar and
pressing <Enter> immediately after creating the circle (while it is still selected).
Center point, point on circle
Center point, radius or diameter
Center point, tangent object

To create a circle using these methods:


Define a point (by selecting it in the graphics area or by entering the XC, YC, and ZC
values in the dialog bar). This becomes the center of the circle.

Fillets
When you choose the Fillet option, the Curve Fillet dialog is displayed.
You can use the Fillet option to "round off" the intersection between two
or three selected curves. You can also specify how the curves are trimmed
when the fillet is created.

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Create Fillet Dialog Options

Simple Fillet
Creates a fillet between two coplanar nonparallel lines.
2 Curve Fillet
Constructs a fillet between two curves, including points, lines, circles, conics or splines.
A two curve fillet is generated in the counterclockwise direction from the first selected
curve to the second.
3 Curve Fillet
Creates a fillet between three curves, which can be any combination of points, lines, arcs,
conics, and splines.
Radius: Defines the radius of the fillet.
Inherit: Lets you define the values of the new fillet by selecting an existing fillet.
Trim Options
If you choose to create a two or three curve fillet, you need to choose a trimming option.
Trimming shortens or extends the selected curves to join with the fillet. (Depending on
the fillet option selected, some trimming options are changed or are not available.)
Point Constructor
Lets you use the Point Constructor to select some or all of the curves to fillet.

Simple Fillet
Creates a fillet between two coplanar nonparallel lines. You determine the size of the
fillet by entering a value for the radius. The lines are automatically trimmed to the points
of tangency with the arc.

The fillet that is created is directly related to where you select the lines. Both lines are
selected at the same time. You must position the selection ball in such a manner as to
include both lines.

2 Curve Fillet

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Constructs a fillet between two curves, including points, lines, circles, conics or splines.
A two curve fillet is an arc generated in the counterclockwise direction from the first
curve to the second. The fillet created by this method is tangent to both curves.

3 Curve Fillet
This option creates a fillet between three curves, which can be any combination of
points, lines, arcs, conics, and splines. The Radius option is not available.
A three curve fillet is a circular arc generated in a counterclockwise direction
from the first curve to the third curve. The fillet is constructed in such a way that the
center of the arc is equidistant to all three curves. The three curves do not have to lie in

the same plane.


Trimming Options
If you choose to create a two or three curve fillet, you need to choose a trimming
option. Trimming shortens or extends the selected curves to join with the fillet.
Depending on the fillet option selected, some trimming options are changed or not
available.
Choose one of the following trim options:
Trim First Curve
Delete Second Curve
Trim Third Curve
In 2 Curve Fillet, you can choose to trim the first, last, or both curves. The Delete
Second Curve and Trim Third Curve options are not available.
In 3 Curve Fillet, you can choose to trim the first, last, or both curves and delete
the second curve. [Note: If you do not select any of the trimming options, none of the
curves are trimmed.]
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Creating Splines
You can create splines using one of several methods. All splines created in
Unigraphics NX are Non Uniform Rational B-splines (NURBS). In this
section, the terms "B-spline" and "spline" are used interchangeably. There
are four creation methods for splines:
Note: The Spline option is available from both the Create Curve dialog and the Sketch
Tools dialog.
Options:
By Poles
Causes the spline to gravitate towards each data point (that is, pole), but not pass through
it, except at the endpoints.
Through Points
The spline passes through a set of data points.
Fit
A specified tolerance is used in "fitting" the spline to its data points; the spline does not
necessarily pass through the points.

Perpendicular to Planes
The spline passes through and is perpendicular to each plane in a set.

Fit
You can create a spline by "fitting" it to the construction points with a specified
tolerance. This method reduces the amount of data needed to define the spline. Since you
are not forcing the spline to pass exactly through the construction points, the definition is
simplified.
To create a spline using the Fit method:
1. Using one of the displayed point specification methods, select the data points for
the spline.

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2. Once you have the data points you can specify the creation parameters as needed
from the Create Spline By Fit dialog.
3. Choose OK.

EDIT CURVE PARAMETERS


This option lets you edit most types of curves. When this icon is active and
you select a curve, you are automatically put into edit mode for that type
of curve.

The following curve types are discussed in this section


Editing a Line
Editing an Arc or Circle
Editing an Ellipse
Editing a Spline
Editing a Line
You can edit a line by changing its endpoints or its parameters (length and angle).
To change a line's endpoint:
1. Select the line end to be modified. The line can now be rubberbanded from the
fixed end.
2. Specify a new position using any of the Point Method options on the dialog.
To change a line's parameters:
1. Select the line, avoiding its control points.
2. Key in new values for the length and/or angle in the dialog bar, then press
<Enter>.

Editing an Arc or Circle


You can change an arc or circle's parameters by entering new values in the dialog bar, or
you can change it by dragging. You can also change an arc to its complement.
You can move an arc or circle to a new location, regardless of the editing mode that is
active, as follows:
1. Select the center of the arc or circle.
2. Move the cursor to a new location and enter a new XC, YC, ZC location in the
dialog bar.

Trim Curve
Trim Curve adjusts the endpoints of curves based on bounding entities and
segment(s) of curves selected for trimming. You can trim or extend lines,
arcs, conics or splines. You can trim to (or extend to) curves, edges,
planes, faces, points, or cursor locations.

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You can use bodies, faces, points, curves, edges, datum planes and datum axes as
bounding objects when trimming a curve. You cannot trim bodies, sheet bodies or solid
bodies.
Basic Trim Curve Procedure
The basic procedure to trim (or extend) a curve is shown in the following steps.
1. Use the First Bounding Object selection step to specify the first bounding object.
If you want to trim or extend the bounding object, turn on Trim Bounding Objects
and set the Trim/Extend option to either Start or End.
2. Select the second bounding object (optional). If you have already turned on Trim
Bounding Objects for the first bounding object, the second bounding object is also
going to be trimmed. You can independently set the Trim/Extend option for the
second bounding object to Start or End.
3. Use the String to Trim selection step to specify one or more curves you wish to
trim or extend. The ends of the curves you select indicate the ends that will be
trimmed.
4. Set the Extend and Trim options for the selected curve.
5. Turn on the Associative Output option if you want the output trimmed curve to be
associative with its input parameters.
6. Click OK or Apply.

To trim the outer segments, select the curve to the outside of a bounding object

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Using the Same String for the First and Second Bounding Objects
If you select the same bounding string for the First Bounding Object and the
Second Bounding Object, and if the Trim Bounding Objects toggle button is on, the
bounding string is trimmed as though it were a single string being trimmed to two
locations.
Extending and Projecting Curves
Generally, an intersection of two curves is a point where the curves actually meet.
However, if the curves do not meet, the intersection point is determined by extending the
curves until they do meet.

When the two selected curves are not coplanar, the second selected curve is projected
along either the view normal, or a specified vector, direction until it intersects the first
selected curve, where the intersection is calculated.
If the curves still do not meet after extending them and/or projecting them, no trim is
possible.
When you attempt to intersect a curve with a face (from a sheet body or solid body), and
the extensions of the curve do not intersect the face, the face is not extended to meet the
curve.
Trimming Circles
When trimming circles using a single bounding object, they trim back from the endpoint
of the curve.
Trimming Two Portions of a Single Circle
Setting the Spline Extension option to None enables you to trim out two separate portions
of a single circle. Setting Spline Extension to any of its other options (that is, Natural,
Linear or Circular) treats arcs to be trimmed as though they are full circles. In order to
override this behavior, set the Spline Extension option to None.
To trim out the first side of the circle, position the cursor to select the bounding objects
near one set of intersections (make sure Use Inferred Intersection is on). Before you
attempt to trim out the other side you will have to set the Spline Extension option to
None.

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Create features:-
Feature Creation:

Some of the options on the create feature dialogue let you create solid Features,
which you can use to create and to add detail to Three-dimensional solid bodies.
This chapter is divided into sections, which pertain to similarly Grouped
functions, or feature types.

General information about features: -

Swept features (Extruded Body, Body of Revolution, Sweep along Guide)

Form features (Hole, Boss, Pocket, Pad, Groove)

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Reference Features (Datum Plane, Datum Axis)

Primitives (Block, Cylinder, Cone, Sphere, Tube)

Extruded Body:-

Lets you create a body by sweeping selected section curves a linear


distance in a specified direction

Option: -
Direction & Distance
Trim to Face/Plane
Trim Between Two Faces/Planes
Through Multiple Bodies

Procedure: -

STEP 1: Click Extrude Icon à From Tool Box à Feature

STEP 2: Select the Curves Continuously (Dashed lines)


After Finishing Selection clik à Ok

STEP 3: Select Direction & Distance à Ok

STEP 4: Accept Default Direction à Ok

STEP 5: Enter Value Start Distance =0


End Distance = 100

STEP 6: Create à Ok

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STEP 7: File à Save (or) Save as _ Part à Ok

Revolved Body
Lets you create a feature by revolving selected section curves about a
given axis through a nonzero angle.

String Selection Methods:-

1. Solid Face 2. Solid Edge


3. Curve 4. Chain Curves
5. Sheet Body

Procedure: -

STEP 1: Click Revolve Body Icon à From Tool Box à Feature

STEP 2: Select the Curves Continuously (Dashed lines)


After Finishing Selection clik à Ok

STEP 3: Select Axis & Angle à Ok

STEP 4: Select Line End point à Ok

STEP 5: Select Axis of Rotation line (center line) à Ok

STEP 6: Enter Parameters


Start Angle =0
End Angle = 360

STEP 7: File à Save (or) Save as _ Part à Ok

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Sweep Along Guide


This option allows you to create a single body by extruding an open or
closed boundary sketch, curve, edge or face along a guide (a path) formed
by one or a series of curves, edges or faces.

Procedure: -
After choosing this method you must
Select a section string
· Select a guide string
· Enter offset Values
· Choose a Boolean operation

The following section string selection methods are available to create a feature using
Sweep Along Guide.
· Solid Face
· Solid Edge
· Curve
· Chain Curves
· Sheet Body

Note: - The guide string can be a solid face, solid edge, curve, or chain of curves.
Sweep Along Guide allows to create solid bodies through guide strings as user specifies.

Procedure:

STEP 1: Click Sweep Along Guide Icon à From Tool Box à Feature

STEP 2: Select Section Strings (option – chain curves)à Ok à Ok

STEP 3: Select Guide Strings à Ok à Ok


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STEP 4: Offset1 = 0
Offset2 = 0 à Ok

STEP 5: File à Save (or) Save as _ Part à Ok

USING HOLE OPTION: -

The HOLE option is to create a simple, counterbored, or countersunk hole


in a solid body. For all hole creation options, the depth values must be
positive.

SIMPLE HOLE: -

To create a simple hole, you must specify the diameter, depth and Tip Angle.

Counterbored Hole: –
In addition to Hole diameter, Hole Depth, and Tip angle you must specify
counterbore diameter and counterbore depth values. Counterbore diameter must be
greater than the hole diameter, and hole depth must be greater than counterbore depth.

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Countersunk Hole: -
In addition to Hole diameter, Hole Depth, and Tip angle you must specify countersunk
diameter and countersunk angle values. Countersink diameter must be greater than the
hole diameter, and countersunk angle must be greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees.

Creating Holes: -
This function allows to create Simple Hole either through holes or to the specified depth
and positioning of holes through Positioning methods.
Procedure: -
STEP 1: Create à Block à using Block Creation
STEP 2: Select the Hole option
STEP 3: Choose simple and through hole à Ok
STEP 4: Select Planer faces à Ok
Select Through faces à Ok
STEP 5: Enter parameter àDiameter à Ok
STEP 6: Positioning Method
Click Perpendicular Dimension à select corner edge
Enter the perpendicular Dimension = 10 à Ok
Again click on to perpendicular Dimension, select corner edge
Enter the dimension àOk
STEP 7: File à Save (or) Save as _ Part à Ok

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Using Boss Option: -

To create a boss, follow these steps:

From the Boss dialog select a planar placement face or datum plane on
which to locate the boss. The system displays a preview in the graphics
window of the boss and its dimensions using the current parameters. If
you selected a datum plane, you can use the Reverse side button to switch
the direction of the vector. You can enter values for the parameters
discussed in the following steps before you select the planar placement
face.
When you can change a value in one of the parameter fields discussed below, pressing
the Return or Enter key updates the graphics window preview of the boss with the new
value.
Enter a value for the Diameter
Enter value for the Height
Enter a value for the Taper Angle
When you are ready to create the boss, Click Ok or Apply.

Using Pad Options: -


You can use the Pad option to create a pad on an existing solid body, using either of the
following methods.
Option:
· Rectangular
· General

Rectangular Pad:
For a rectangular pad, you must specify the following parameters: X, Y, Z
defines the length, width and height of the pad and directly relate to the
direction vector (Z) and the orientation vector (X).

Corner Radius: The rounded radius for the vertical edges of the pad. The radius
specified must be a positive or zero. (A zero radius results in a sharp edged pad.)
Taper Angle: The angle at which the four walls of the pad incline inward. This value

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cannot be negative. (A zero value results in vertical walls.)

RECTANGULAR POCKET:
This option lets you define a rectangular pocket, to a specific length,
width, and depth, with specific radii in the corners and on the floor, having
straight or tapered sides.
You must specify the following parameters: X, Y, Z defines the length, width and
depth of the pocket.
Corner Radius specifies the rounded radius (zero or greater) for the vertical edges of the

pocket.
Floor Radius specifies the rounded radius (zero or greater) for the bottom edges of the
pocket.

Corner Radius and Floor Radius must be positive or zero. A zero radius for both
results in a sharp edged pocket. Corner radius must be greater than or equal to the
Floor Radius.

Taper Angle specifies the angle at which the four walls of the pocket incline inward.
This value cannot be negative. A value of zero results in vertical walls.

Rectangular Slot: -
This option lets you create a slot with sharp edges along the bottom.

You must specify the following parameters.

Width represents the width of the tool, which forms the slot.

Depth is measured in the opposite direction of the slot axis and is the distance from the
origin point to the bottom of the slot. This value must be positive.
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Reference Guide

Length is measured in a direction parallel to the horizontal reference. This value must be
positive.

T-Slot: -

This option lets you create a slot whose cross-section is an inverted T.


You must specify the following parameters.

Top Width is the width o the narrower, upper portion of the slot.

Bottom Width is the width of the wider, lower part of the slot.

Top Depth is measured in the opposite direction of the slot axis and is the distance from
the slot origin to the top of the bottom depth value.

Bottom Depth is measured in the opposite direction of the tool axis and is the distance
from the bottom of the top depth value to the bottom of the slot.

Dove-Tail Slot: -
You can use this option to create a slot with a "dove-tail" shape. This type of slot leaves
sharp corners and angled walls. You must specify the following parameters:
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Reference Guide

Width of the slot opening on the face of the solid body, measured perpendicular to the
slot path direction and centered on the slot origin.

Depth is measured in the opposite direction of the tool axis and is the distance from the
origin point to the bottom of the slot

Angle is the angle between the slot floor and the side wall.

DATUM PLANE: -

Datum Plane option is to create reference planes that serve as aids when
existing planes are not available. Datum planes can assist you in creating
features on cylinders, cones, spheres, revolved solid bodies, and other
objects. Datum planes can also help you in creating features at angles
other than normal to the faces of the target solid.

Relative Datum Planes


When you create a relative datum, you create it "relative" to other objects in the model.
You can select curves, faces, edges, points, and other datums for the reference objects.

Fixed Datum Planes


Fixed datum planes do not reference, and are not constrained by, other geometric objects,
except when used in a user defined feature. They are created along the lines of the WCS.

Opening Datum Planes first displays the icon options in the upper left corner of the
graphics window. The icon options use the Inferred method to let you quickly create a
datum plane based on your object and optional constraint selections.

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Reference Guide

Relative datum plane used in construction

Select the edges, faces or wireframe geometry needed to specify the datum, and then
choose the Datum Plane option.

The system attempts to infer the best mode to use with the selected objects to successfully
define a datum, and presents a preview of the datum in the graphics window. If a datum
plane cannot be created based on the selected objects, use the Datum Plane icon options
to change the mode, add additional objects or change the constraints.

Alternate Solution - Cycles through different solutions when more than one
type of datum plane can be created, based on the object selections and constraints.

OK - Creates the previewed datum plane. Unlike the Apply button on the
Datum Plane dialog, dismisses the Datum Plane option.

Cancel - Discards all datum plane constraints and exits the Datum Plane option

BASIC PROCEDURE: -

STEP 1: Create a cylinder with parameters, Diameter=50, Height=100.

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STEP 2: Open the full Datum Plane dialog by clicking its icon button on the Datum Plane
dynamic input box.

STEP 3: Select the edges, faces or wireframe geometry needed to specify the datum

STEP 4: Use the Point Constructor from the Point Submenu to define a point, then apply.

STEP 5: Select Datum planeàEnter Offset Value=10àApply

STEP 6: File à Save (or) Save as _ Part à Ok

Creating Datum Plane < Angle Plane >: -

Angle constrains the datum so it is at an angle to planar geometries, and its axis of
rotation is through a line, linear edge, datum axis, or the axis of a cylindrical, conical
face.

STEP 1: Select an edge


STEP 2: Select a coincident face. A preview of a datum displays at 90 degrees to the
face
STEP 3: Drag the angle handle to the desired value, or enter a value in the data field.
Click OK or Apply to create the datum plane at the specified angle. (The constraints used
for this example are Angle and Coincident.)

STEP 4: Select Datum planeàEnter Offset Value=10àApply


STEP 5: File à Save (or) Save as _ Part à Ok

Primitives
Primitive features are basic analytic shapes - Blocks, Cylinders, Cones and Spheres.
Primitives are nonassociative, meaning they are not associated to geometry used to create
them. However, you can edit certain parameters.

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Block - Lets you create a block primitive by specifying its


orientation, size, and location.

Cylinder - Lets you create a cylinder primitive by specifying its


orientation, size, and location.

Cone - Lets you create a cone primitive by specifying its


orientation, size, and location.

Sphere - Lets you create a sphere primitive by specifying its


orientation, size, and location.

This option creates a single solid body by sweeping a user-


specified circular cross section along one or more curve objects.
The circular cross section consists of user-defined outer and inner
diameter values. You can use this option to create wire bundles,
harnesses, tubing, cabling, or piping applications.

If a Solid body already exists, you need to specify how the new primitive will be
used with the existing solid body. Once you have specified the necessary parameters for
the creation of the primitive, the following options are displayed.

· Create – to create a new solid body.


· Unite – to add the primitive to the current target solid.
· Subtract – to subtract the primitive from the current target solid.
· Intersect – to intersect the primitive with the current target solid.

Positioning Primitives

You cannot position solid primitives using positioning dimensions as yhou can most
other features. During the creation of the primitive, you supply its location either using
the Point subfunction, or by selecting geometry.

Using Block Option: -

You can create block primitives by specifying an orientation, size and location using the
following options:
Option: -

· Edge Lengths, Corner


· Height, Two Points
· Two Diagonal Points

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Edge Lengths, Corner

To create a block using the Origin, Edge Lengths method, follow these steps:
1. Use the Point 1 selection step to specify the corner point. Use the Point Method
options if necessary to refine where you locate it.
2. If necessary, use the Target Solid selection step to specify the target solid.
3. Enter values in the respective fields for the Length (XC), Width (YC) and Height
(ZC), or accept the default values. All values must be positive.
4. If necessary, specify the Boolean Operation.
5. Click OK or Apply.

Cylinder
You can create cylinder primitives by specifying an orientation, size and location, using
the following options:

Option:
· Diameter, Height
· Height, Arc

Note: The height value must be positive


· Diameter, Height
This option creates a solid body cylinder by defining diameter and height values.
Procedure
To create a cylinder using this method you must:
1. Define the cylinder direction vector.
2. Enter the diameter and height values.
3. Define the cylinder origin.
Define the cylinder direction using the Vector Constructor. The direction you specify
also determines the cylinder orientation.
The cylinder is created along the axis with one circular face passing through the axis
origin and the other circular face at a distance of the input height value.

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· Height, Arc
This option creates a cylinder by selecting an arc and entering a height value.
Procedure
To create a cylinder using this method you must:
1. Enter the height value (must be a postive value).
2. Select an arc.
3. Confirm the cylinder axis direction.
The system derives the orientation of the cylinder from the arc you select. The axis of
the cylinder is normal to the plane of the arc and passes through the arc center. A vector
indicates this orientation.
The arc you select does not have to be a complete circle. The system creates a
complete cylinder based on any arc objects.

Sphere
You can create sphere primitives by specifying an orientation, size and location, using the
following options:
Option:
· Diameter, Height
· Select Arc

Diameter, Center: -
This option creates a sphere by defining a diameter value and a center.
To create a sphere using this method you must:
1. Enter the diameter value.
2. Define the sphere center.
The center of the sphere is defined using the Point Constructor.
Select Arc
This option creates a sphere by selecting an arc.

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The arc you select does not have to be a complete circle. The system creates a complete
sphere based on any arc objects. The selected arc defines the sphere's center and
diameter.

NOTE:-

The sphere is not associative with the arc; meaning that if you edit the size of the
arc, the sphere does not update to match the change in the arc.

Using the Sketcher


Overview

Creating a New Sketch

The sketch Tools Dialog

Constraint Management

Editing a Sketch

Using the Assembler


Assemblies Concepts

Adding Parts to an Assembly

Mating Conditions

Reference Sets

Component Arrays

Free Form Modelling


Through Curves

Through Curve Mesh


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Ruled

Swept

Extension, Offset

Overview: -

The Sketcher is a tool that lets you create two-dimensional representations of profiles
associated with your part. You can create a rough outline of curves, then you can specify
conditions called constraints to degfine the shapes more precisely and capture your
design intent. Each curve is referred to as a sketch object.

In most cases, a sketch I sextruded or revolved to create a solid body or sheet body.
Then, after you have changed the sketch, the associated body is evaluated accordingly.

Locating a Sketch: -

A Sketch must reside on a datum plane or planar face. If you specify that a sketch be on
one of the WCS planes (XC-YC, YC-ZC, ZC-XC), a fixed datum plane and two datum
axes are created for you.

Degree-Of-Freedom Arrows

Degree of freedom arrows indicate that more information is required to completely locate
a point on the sketch. For example, if a degree of freedom arrow is displayed in the Y-
direction on a point, you need to constrain that point in the Y-direction.

As you add constraints and evaluate the sketch, the appropriate degree of freedom arrows
are removed.

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Constraints: -

A Constraint lets you precisely control the size of a sketch object, or other geometric
conditions, so that the sketch reflects your design intent. As you apply constraints, you
eliminate degree of freedom arrows. There are two types of constraints – dimensional
constraints( or sketch dimensions) and geometric constraints.

Updating the model: -


You can choose Update Model at any time to update the model to reflect changes made to
all of the sketches you have edited. The model I salso updated automatically if you leave
the Sketch Tools Dialog.

Sketch Preferences: -

You can change the values of sketch defaults and control display of certain sketch objects
by choosing Preference Sketch. For a detailed description of the Sketch preferences
options.

Creating a New Sketch


To create a sketch, use any one of these methods:

· Click the Sketch icon .


· Choose Insert-> Sketch.
· Select a datum plane or planar face. Choose Sketch to begin
sketching on that plane.

If you do not select a datum or face, the sketcher defaults to an XC-YC plane and creates
two datum axes. You can reverse the direction of a reference axis by double-clicking a
green axis. You can accept the default by choosing a curve function, clicking the OK
option.

Sketch Plane: -

The sketch plane is the plane that the sketch is located on. The sketch plane menu
has the following options.

Face/Plane – With this option, you use the Attachment Face/plane icon to select a
planar face or existing datum plane. If you select a datum plane, you can use the Reverse
Direction button to reverse the direction of the normal to the plane.

XC-YC, YC-ZC, ZC-XC – With these options, you can create a sketch on one of the
WCS planes. However , if you use this method, a datum plane and two datum axes are
created for you. The datum axes can be used to locate the sketch.
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Sketch Name
Enter the name of the new sketch in this field. The default name that is suplied by the
system begins with the Sketch value from the Default Name Prefixes section of the
sketch preferences dialog followed by three digits, beginning with “000” and
incrementing by one.

The first character of the sketch name must be alphabetic. If you start the sketch name
with a numeric character, you will receive the following error message:

Invalid sketch name

Sketcher Toolbar Overview


After you define the sketch plane, Sketcher toolbar options become available. These
options provide access to major sketch functions.

Deactivates the sketch and exits.

Finish Sketch

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This drop-down list displays all of the sketches in the work part.
You can:
Sketch Name Rename a sketch.
Edit a sketch.

Orients the view so that you are looking directly down on


the plane of the sketch.
Orient View to Sketch

Lets you attach a sketch to a different planar face or datum


plane. You can also use this option to change the
orientation reference of the sketch.
Reattach

Lets you update the model to reflect changes you have


made to your sketch. The model updates automatically if an update
is pending and you leave the Sketch Task Environment.
Update Model

Sketch Curve Tool bar Overview


Sketch curve toolbar options let you dynamically create curves with inferred constraints,
trim or extend curves, fillet curves, and derive construction lines directly in the graphics
window. If an option does not appear on your toolbar, you can customize the toolbar to
include the option. All curve options are available from the Insert menu option.

Sketch Curve Options

Profile
Creates a string of lines and arcs, or single curves.

Line
Creates a single, unchained line.

Arc
Creates an arc using one of the following methods:
· Arc by 3 Points
· Arc by Center and Endpoints

Circle
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Creates a circle using either one of two methods:


· Circle by Three Points
· Circle by Center and Radius

Quick Trim
Trims one or more curves.

Quick Extend
Extends geometry to curve intersections.

Sketch Constraints Toolbar Overview


The Sketch Constraints toolbar provides the options that let you:
· Create dimensional and geometric constraints. These constraints are rules that
control sketch objects.
· Control the visibility of constraint symbols.
· Select constraint management options.
All constraint icon options do not display on the toolbar. You can customize the toolbar
to display all options. All constraint options are available from Tools-> Create
Constraints.

Sketch Constraint Options

You use the Sketch Dimensions dialog to define


Dimensions
dimensional constraints for sketch curves.

Lets you define on-screen geometric rules for


Create Constraints
sketch curves.
The system analyzes the geometry in the active
Automatic Constraint Creation sketch and applies selected constraint types
where possible.
Displays all of the constraints on the screen
Show All Constraints
with constraint symbols.
Removes the display of on-screen constraint
Show No Constraints
symbols.
Opens the Show/Remove Constraints dialog.
This dialog displays the geometric constraints
Show/Remove Constraints associated with selected sketch geometry. You
can also remove specified constraints, or list
information about all geometric constraints.
Dynamically displays the effect of varying a
Animate Dimension
given dimension over a specified range.
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Lets you convert curves or sketch dimensions to


Convert To/From Reference
or from active to reference.
Lets you change from one solution to another
Alternate Solution where more than one solution is possible when
a constraint is applied.
Lets you control which constraint types to infer
Infer Constraint Settings
during curve creation.

Sketch Operations Toolbar Overview


The Sketch Operations toolbar provides a set of tools that let you perform various
operations on sketch objects.

Sketch Operations Options


Lets you mirror sketch geometry through any
Mirror
existing line in your sketch.
Lets you associatively offset curves you have
Offset Extracted Curves extracted with the Add Extracted Curves
options.

Edit Curve Lets you modify existing curves.

Lets you add or remove curves from a sweep or


Edit Defining String
guide string.
Lets you add most existing curves to your
Add Existing Curves
sketch.
Lets you add external, extracted curves to the
Add Extracted Curves
sketch.

Add Existing Curves


You can add most existing curves and points, as well as conic curves such as ellipses,
parabolas and hyperbolas, to your active sketch. To use this option choose the icon and
select the curves or points you wish to add.

No constraints are applied to the added curves, and gaps between geometry are not closed
- the curves are simply added to the sketch. To let the system apply some geometric
constraints, use the Automatic Constraint Creation function.
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"Developed," or "associative," curves cannot be added to a sketch with this option. These
include curves created using the Law Subfunction (splines and helixes) and those created
using Project Points/Curves. Use the Add Extracted Curve to Sketch option instead.
Add Extracted Curves

This option lets you create extracted curves or strings by selecting objects that are
external to the sketch. Objects available for extraction include:

· Curves, associative and nonassociative


· Edges
· Faces
· Other sketches or curves within them
· Points
Snap Point Tool
The Snap Point Tool lets you designate one or more specific types of point inferencing
methods to use when specifying points and point locations during the creation and editing
of geometric objects. It works with a number of functions, including Datum Plane, Datum
Axis, Spline by Points, Spline by Poles, Sketcher, the Dynamic WCS and X-Form.

Snap Point Toolbar


Starting an option that supports the Snap Point tool automatically enables the Edit-> Snap
Point pull-down menu and opens the Snap Point Toolbar. If an option does not allow the
use of the Snap Point Tool, it is disabled.

The Snap Point toolbar and the Edit-> Snap Point pull-down menu act like a panel of
toggle switches, and consist of point methods that you can enable or disable. This lets you
turn on or off the desired Snap Point methods that you want concurrently active during a
creation or edit process.

Overview of constraints

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A constraint lets you precisely control the objects in a sketch. There are two types of
constraints- dimensional constraints (also called sketch dimensions) and geomteric
constraints.

Dimensional constraints:
A dimensional constraints establishes the size of a sketch object (such as the length of a
line, the redius of an arc, etc.) or the relationship between two objects (such as the

distance between two points). A dimensional constraint looks much like a dimension on
a drawing.

When you are in dimensional mode in the constraints dialog, you can apply
dimensional constraints to sketch objects. You can choose from the following dimension
options:

In creating dimensional constraints, you may select points on sketch curves, edges, datum
planes or datum axes in creating horizontal, vertical, parallel, perpendicular and angular
dimensions. You can also use inferred mode and the system will make its “best guess”
about the dimension to create, based on what you have selected.
Geometric Constraints:

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A geometric constraint establishes a geometric characteristic of a sketch object


(for example, requiring that a line be a fixed length) or the type of relationship between

two or more sketch objects (for examle, requiring that two line be perpendicular or
parallel, or that several arcs have the same radius). Geometric constraints are usually not
visible in the graphics area, but you can use Show/Remove Constraints to display
information about them, and to display visual markers representing them.

Automatic Constraint Creation:


When you choose the Automatic Constraint Creation icon or choose Tools-> Create
Constraints-> Automatic Constraint Creation. This option lets you select types of
geometric constraints that you can automatically apply to your sketch.
Turn the button on for each type of constraint you want the system to add, then choose
OK or Apply (You can also use the Set or Clear buttons to turn all constraint types ON or
OFF). The system analyzes the geometry in the active sketch and applies the selected
constraints where possible.
Mirror:
The options on this dialog let you make a mirrored copy of sketch
geometry through an existing sketch line. The system applies a mirror
geometric constraint to all the geometry associated with the mirror
operation - the originally selected geometry and the new copies.

Mirror Dialog Options


This selection step lets you choose the mirror
Mirror Centerline centerline. The mirror line becomes a reference
line upon completion of the mirror operation.
This selection step lets you choose the sketch
Mirror Geometry
geometry to mirror.
Confirm Upon Apply Turn this option ON to bring up the Confirm
44
Upon Apply dialog. This dialog provides
analysis options.

Alternate Solution:

This option lets you change from one solution to another where
more than one solution is possible when a constraint is applied.

The figure shows how this function can be used with a dimensional constraint to change
from one possible solution to the other. The dimensional constraint p4 can be a valid
constraint for either solution.

Show/Remove Constraints:

You can use the Show/Remove Constraints option to display the ge0metric constraints
that are associated with selected sketch geometry. You can also remove specified
constraints, and a list information about all geometric constraints.
When you first choose Show/Remove Constraints, you are in inferred mode. When you
place the cursor over a curve in the sketch, the curves and all others associated with it are
highlighted, and markers are displayed to indicate which geometric constraints have been
applied to the highlighted geometry.

Animate Dimension:

This option lets you dynamically displays the effect of varying a given dimension over a
specified range. Any geometry affected by the selected dimension is also animated.

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Procedure
To animate a dimension, follow this procedure:
1. Choose the Animate icon. The Animate dialog is displayed.
2. Select the dimension you want to animate, either by choosing its name from the
dialog or by selecting the dimensional constraint in the graphics area.
3. Enter the lower and upper limits. The dimension will vary between these two
values during the animation.
4. Enter the number of steps in the cycle.
5. Optional: Turn the Display Dimensions option ON. This will display the original
sketch dimensions during the animation.
6. Choose Apply to start the animation.
7. Choose OK in the Question dialog, which appears when the animation begins, to
stop the animation.

Feature Modelling: -
The term "Feature" is used generally in Unigraphics NX to describe a class of objects that
have defining parents. A feature's parents enable it to recall the inputs and the operation
that were used in its creation. Features include all solids, bodies, primitives and certain
wireframe objects.

FEATURE OPERATION OPTIONS

Taper - Lets you apply a taper to faces or edges, relative to a specified vector.

Edge Blend - Lets you modify a solid body by rounding selected edges.

Face Blend - Lets you create a blend tangent to specified sets of faces.

Soft Blend - Lets you create blends that are more "aesthetic" and less "mechanical" than
standard Unigraphics NX blends.

Chamfer - Lets you bevel edges of a solid body by defining the desired chamfer
dimensions.

Hollow - Lets you hollow out or create a shell around a single solid body based on a user
specified thickness value.

Thread - Lets you create symbolic or detailed threads on features with cylindrical faces.

Instance - Lets you create a rectangular or circular, instance array from existing features.
You can also mirror a body about a datum plane.

Sew - Lets you join together two or more sheet bodies, or two solid bodies that share at
least one common face.
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Reference Guide

Patch - Lets you use a sheet body to replace some of the faces of a solid body. You can
also patch a sheet to another sheet.

Simplify Body - Lets you remove connected sets of faces from a solid body, useful when
you want to alter a complex model to emphasize key features, but retain the ability to
recover the details.

Wrap Geometry - Lets you simplify a detailed model by computing a solid envelope that
surrounds it, effectively "shrink wrapping" the model with a convex polyhedron of planar
faces.

Offset Face - Lets you offset one or more faces of a body along the face normals.

Scale - Lets you scale solid and sheet bodies about the Work Coordinate System (WCS).
You can use uniform scaling, or you can scale independently in the XC, YC, and ZC
directions.

Trim Body - Lets you trim one or more target bodies using a face, datum plane, or other
geometry. You select which portion of the bodies you want to keep, and the trimmed
bodies take the shape of the trimming geometry.

Split Body - Lets you divide one or more target bodies using a face, datum plane, or other
geometry.

Unite - Lets you combine the volume of two or more bodies.

Subtract - Lets you subtract one or more tool bodies from a target body, leaving empty
space where the subtracted target body existed.

Intersect - Lets you create a body which contains the volume shared by two different
bodies. You can intersect solids with solids, sheets with sheets, and a sheet with a solid,
but not a solid with a sheet.

Promotion of Bodies - Lets you promote a body from a loaded assembly component to
the level of the assembly (the work part). The promoted body is associative to the original
body

Unite
The Unite boolean function let you combine the volume of two or more
bodies into a single body. You have the option to save and retain
unmodified copies of the target and tool bodies. This option creates a
UNITE feature.

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You can unite solids with solids. You cannot unite a solid body and a sheet body, or a
sheet body and a sheet body.

Subtract
The Subtract option creates SUBTRACT features that let you use tool bodies to
remove volume from a target body. This operation can leave empty space where
the subtracted target body existed. You have the option to save and retain
unmodified copies of the target and tool bodies.

Intersect
This option lets you create a body containing the volume shared by two
different bodies. You can intersect solids with solids, sheets with sheets, and a
sheet with a solid, but not a solid with a sheet. An INTERSECT feature is created
by this option. Intersect can leave empty space where the intersected target and

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Reference Guide

tool bodies existed. You have the option to save and retain unmodified copies of
the target and tool bodies.

Hollow
This option lets you hollow out a solid body, or create a shell around it,
using specified thickness values. You can assign individual thicknesses for
faces, and select regions of faces for piercing during hollowing.

Procedure

STEP 1: Select à Hollow icon

STEP 2: Enter parameters <Thickness>> à Ok

STEP 3: Select Faces to be pierced à Ok

STEP 4: File – Save – Part


Blend: -
This option lets you modify a solid body by rounding selected edges.
When you choose the Blend icon, the Edge Blend dialog is displayed.

Choosing Edge Blend with an edge selected automatically displays its icon options in the
upper left corner of the graphics window. If the edge blends you are constructing are
simple, you can easily create them from the icon options without opening the full dialog.
Edge Blend Icon Options
Edge Blend Dialog - Use the full dialog to set options and parameters, and to
create edge blends that are more specific than those using the icon options.

OK - Creates the previewed edge blend. Using this option dismisses the Edge
Blend
option.
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Cancel - Discards all edge blend parameters and exits the Edge Blend option.

Constructing Edge Blends


There are two basic ways to construct edge blends:
· Select the edges for the edge blend, and then either choose the Edge Blend option
with the cursor over one of the selected edges and choose Blend. For additional
options, use the Blend Dialog button on the icon options to open the full dialog.
· Choose the Edge Blend option and then select the edges for the blend from the
graphics window.
In either case, if the Enable Blend Preview button is selected, the system previews the
blend. To change the previewed edge blends, select different edges.
Editing Edge Blends
To edit the parameters of an edge blend, use any of the following methods:
· Select an edge blend, and with the cursor over the selection, choose Edit
Parameters.
· Double-click an edge blend.
· Use Edit-> Feature-> Parameters, and select the edge blend.

All methods open either the Edge Blend icon options or the full dialog, depending on if
there is setback or variable radius data present. Edit the parameters as needed.

Blend Type – lets you create two diferent types of blends.

Edge Blend applies a constant or variable radius blendusing a selected edge and tangent
to the adjoining faces.

Cliff Edge applies a constant radius blend through an edge and non-tangent to the cliff
edge and tangent to the face opposite the cliff edge.

Edge Blend:
Suppose for a moment that we are blending a single edge. We call this the blended edge.

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The two faces that meet at the blended edge, along which the sphere rolls, are called the
blended faces.

As the sphere rolls along the blended edge, it traces out two contact curves, one on each
of the blended faces. These contact curves eventually form the edges of the blend sheet.

Procedure
1. Open the Edge Blend dialog.
2. Verify that the Blend Type is set to Edge.
3. Select one or more edges from the graphics window to blend. You can use the
Filter options to aid the selection. If you select a face or a body, all of its edges
will be blended. The default radius will be applied to all the edges.
Edge Blend - Cliff Edge Type
The Cliff Edge Blend Type option lets you apply a constant radius blend starting at the
cliff edge, through a blend edge and tangent to the face opposite the cliff edge.

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Procedure

1. Open the Edge Blend dialog.


2. Select Cliff for the Blend Type.
3. Select the blend edge.
4. Select the desired cliff edge. The cliff edge defines the start of the blend and
should be somewhat parallel to the blend edge.

Chamfer
This option lets you bevel edges of a solid body by defining the desired
chamfer dimensions. The chamfer function operates very similarly to the
blend function.
You can create a chamfer using the following options:
· SingleOffset
· Double Offset
· Offset Angle
· Freeform Single Offset
· Freeform Double Offset
Single Offset
This option lets you create a simple chamfer whose offset is the same along both faces.
You must enter a single positive offset value.

Double Offset
For this option, you must enter values for First Offset and Second Offset. These offsets
are measured along the faces from the selected edge. Both of these values must be
positive, and are applied as illustrated in the figure below.

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After creating the chamfer, you can choose Flip Last Chamfer if the chamfer's offsets
were applied opposite to what you want.
Offset Angle
You can use an angle to define a simple chamfer. For this option, you must enter values
for the Offset and the Angle.
After creating the chamfer, you can choose Flip Last Chamfer if the chamfer's offsets
were applied opposite to what you want.

Instance
This option lets you create an instance array from existing features. You
can define a rectangular or circular array, mirror a body about a datum
plane and mirror a feature through a datum plane or planar face.
An instance is a shape-linked feature, similar to a copy. You can create one or more
instances of a feature, or group of features. Since all instances of a feature are associated,
you can edit the parameters of the feature and those changes are reflected in every

instance of the feature.

Rectangular Array
This option lets you create a linear array of instances from one or more selected features.
Rectangular instance arrays can be either two-dimensional in XC and YC (several rows
of features) or one-dimensional in XC or YC (one row of features). These instance arrays
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are generated parallel to the XC and/or YC axes based on the number and offset distance
you enter.

NOTE:- The orientation of the WCS (the XC and YC directions) can be changed using
the Origin, Rotate or Orient options located under the main menu option WCS.
Instance – Rectangular Array

Number Along XC defines the total number of instances to be generated parallel to the
XC axis of the WCS. This number includes the existing feature you are instancing. To
create a one-dimensional array in the XC direction, set this value to one.

XC Offset defines the spacing for the instances along the XC axis. This spacing is
measured from a point on one instance to the same point on the next instance along the
XC axis. Negative values position the instances in a negative direction along the axis.

Number Along YC defines the number of instances to be generated parallel to the YC


axis of the WCS. This number includes the existing feature you are instancing. To create
a one-dimensional array in the YC direction, set this value to one.

YC Offset defines the spacing for the instances along the YC axis. This spacing is
measured from one instance to the next along the YC axis. Negative values position the
instances in a negative direction along the axis.

Circular Array
This option lets you create a circular array of instances from one or more selected
features. You specify:
· The array method
· The rotation axis about which the instances are generated
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· The total number of instances in the array (including the original feature)
· The angle between the instances

Circular Array Parameters


After specifying the rotation axis, the following options are displayed on the Enter
Parameters dialog:
General, Simple, Identical – The type of instance array

Number --The total number of instances created in the circular array, including the
existing feature you are instancing.

Angle – The angle between the instances.

Circular Array Procedure


1. Select the features you want to instance.
2. In the Enter Parameters dialog, specify the array method (General, Simple, or
Identical), the total Number of instances and the Angle between instances. Then,
choose OK.
3. Choose Point & Direction or Datum Axis to establish the rotation axis.
If you choose Point & Direction, use the Vector Constructor to establish a
direction and the Point Constructor to establish a reference point. If you define the
axis using the Vector Constructor, you can change it to a datum axis later using
Edit -> Feature -> Parameters and selecting the instance.
If you choose Datum Axis, select a datum axis. The radius of the array is
calculated as the distance from the rotation axis to the local origin of the first
feature you selected. A highlighted representation of the array is displayed. If you
use a datum axis, the rotation axis of the array will be associative to the geometry
used to define the datum axis.
4. Choose Yes to create the instance array, or No to return to the Enter Parameters
dialog.
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The Rotation Axis:-

You can use a datum axis as the center of the circular instance array, or you can specify
the axis using the vector subfunction and point subfunction. If you use a datum axis, the
rotation ais of the array will be associtive to the geometry used to define the datum axis.

If you define the axis using the Vector subfunction, you can change it to a datum axis
later using
Edit – Feature –Edit Parameters – Instance Array Dialog
Multiple Features
When you select multiple features for a circular instance array, it is important to
remember that the local origin of the feature you select first is used to calculate the radius
of the circular array. (This value can later be edited using Edit -> Feature ->
Parameters – Instance Array Dialog.)

Limitations of Instance Creations :-


You cannot instance the following objects:

· Hollows
· Blends
· Chamfers
· Offset sheets
· Datums
· Trimmed sheet bodies
· Instance sets
· Taper features
· Free form features

Note:- If you create a blend or chamfer on an instance after the instance set is created, the
blend all instances or chamfer all instances options allow you to add the blend or chamfer
to all the current instances in that set. These options have no effect on instances created
after the blend or chamfer.
Mirror Body
Mirror Body lets you mirror an entire body about a datum plane. You can use this, for
example, to form the other hand of a lefthand or righthand part. When you use this
option, the system creates a feature whose name is Mirror. This feature is time stamped
and listed in the when you use Information-> Feature, just like other features.
When you mirror a body, the Mirror feature is associative to the original body - it has no
editable parameters of its own.
The following statements describe the Mirror feature and its relationship to the original
body and the datum plane:

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· If you change the parameters of a feature in the original (master) body, causing
the original body to change, those changes are reflected in the mirrored body.
· If you edit the parameters of the associated datum plane, the mirrored body
changes accordingly. In fact, if you choose a Mirror feature when using Edit ->
Feature -> Parameters, you are automatically taken into the edit dialog for datum
planes.
· If you delete the original body or datum plane, the mirrored body is also deleted.
· If you move the original body, the mirrored body also moves.
· You can add features to the mirrored body. However, be sure that you do not
reorder these features, such that they would occur before the Mirror feature.
· You can combine the original and mirrored bodies using the Unite option to create
a symmetrical model, as shown in the figure below. Note that when using Unite to
do this, you must select the master body as the target body, and the mirror body as
the tool body. Otherwise the Unite operation will fail. This is true for all such
boolean operations.
Mirror Body Procedure
To create a mirrored body, follow these steps:
1. Select one or more bodies to mirror.
2. Select a datum plane. On selecting the datum plane, the body is then mirrored.

Mirror Feature
This option lets you create symmetrical models by mirroring selected features through a
datum plane or planar face. To create a simple mirrored body you would normally use the
Mirror Body option. Mirror Feature, however, lets you mirror features within a body.
Output from this option is a feature named MIRROR_SET. During edit of a
MIRROR_SET feature, you can redefine the mirror plane and add and remove features to
it.
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Mirror Feature Dialog

· Selection Steps à Feature to Mirror - Lets you select the features in the part that you
wish to mirror. To specify a feature to be mirrored, highlight it in the Features in Part
listing and use the Add button to add it to the Features in Mirror listing.
Mirror Plane - Lets you specify the planar face or datum plane through which to
mirror the selected features.
· Filter à Lets you limit the number of entries displayed in the Features in Part listing,
which can be useful in parts with many features. The standard wildcard character,
asterisk (*), can be used to limit the contents of the listing. For example, entering
EX* would result in only those features starting with the characters EX to display in
the list. The default for this field is the asterisk wildcard character (*), which
automatically displays all features present in the part.
· Add Dependencies àWhen ON, specifies that feature dependencies for those
features you add to the Features in Mirror listing be included in the output
MIRROR_SET feature. Only effective when you are adding features to the Features
in Mirror list. Turning this option on after you have finished adding features to the
Features in Mirror list has no effect.
· All in Body à When ON, specifies that all features in the body be included in the
MIRROR_SET feature. Only effective when you add one or more features to the
Features in Mirror list. Turning this option on after you have added features to the
Features in Mirror list has no effect.
· Features in Part à Displays the names of features in the part in a scrollable listing,
letting you select those to be added to the set that is to be mirrored. To control the
contents of the list, use the Filter field. To specify a feature to be mirrored, highlight it
in the listing and click the Add button. The feature is then added to the Features in
Mirror listing. Multiple selections are allowed. All of the part's features are listed
when the default wildcard asterisk (*) is present in the Filter field.
· Features in Mirror à Displays the names of all features that you have selected from
the Features in Part listing. Entries in this listing are part of the feature set currently
selected to be mirrored. Multiple selections are allowed.
· Add à A right arrow icon that lets you add the highlighted feature in the Features in
Part listing to the Features in Mirror listing.
· Remove àA left arrow that lets you remove the highlighted feature from the
Features in Mirror listing.

Mirror Feature Procedure


1. From the Mirror Feature dialog, click the Feature to Mirror selection step option.
2. If necessary, use the Filter field to limit the features shown in the Features in Part
listing.
3. Highlight the features in the Features in Part listing that you wish to mirror, and
use the Add button to add them to the Features in Mirror listing. You can make
multiple selections by highlighting multiple items in the Features in Part listing

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and clicking the Add button once. You can remove features in the Features in
Mirror listing by highlighting them and clicking the Remove button. (Note that
you can also add features to the Features in Mirror list by clicking on them in the
graphics window with the mouse cursor. Similarly, you can remove features from
the Features in Mirror list by Shift/clicking <Shift><MB1> on them in the
graphics window.)
4. If desired, turn on the Add Dependencies option, to include feature dependencies
of the selected features that are to be mirrored.
5. If desired, turn on the All in Body option, to mirror all features present in the
body.
6. Click the Mirror Plane selection step option. Move the cursor to the graphics
window and select the datum plane or planar face to be used to reflect the feature
during the mirror operation.
7. Click OK or Apply. The features in the Features in Mirror listing are mirrored
across the mirror plane. The result is a separate body composed of a single
FEATURE_SET feature. If desired, you can use Unite to join the new body with
the other solid body in the part file.

Pattern Face
Pattern Face lets you make copies of a face set. It is similar to the Instance function, but
is easier to use, and you do not have to have a feature-based model to use it. It is also
faster and more straightforward.
Use this function when you have a set of faces and you want to make a rectangular or
circular pattern of them. The figures below show two sample patterns, each based on a
single seed face (highlighted).

Rectangular Pattern Face

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Partial Circular Pattern Face


This option lets you make copies of a face set. It is similar to the Instance function, but is
easier to use and you do not have to have a feature-based model to use it.
Basic Procedure to use Pattern Face
To copy a set of faces in a pattern onto a face using this option, follow these steps:
1. Choose the Type of Pattern Face you wish to create, Rectangular, Circular or
Reflection.
2. Use the Seed selection step to select one or more connected faces to copy to the
pattern.
3. (Optional) Use the Boundary selection to select faces that define a boundary for
the region of faces to be copied to the pattern.
4. For the Rectangular type:
· Use the X-Axis selection step to specify a direction for the x-axis. Select
an object from the graphics window or, if necessary, use the Vector
Method option menu to define the direction.
· Use the Y-Axis selection step to specify the y-axis. Select an object from
the graphics window or, if necessary, use the Vector Method option menu
to define the direction.
· Enter a value for Number Along XC. The face set you are copying should
be part of the total value.
· Enter a value for Number Along YC. The face set you are copying should
be part of the total value.
· Enter a value for XC Offset.
· Enter a value for YC Offset.
For the Circular type:
· Use the X-Axis selection step to specify the central axis of the circular
pattern. If necessary, use the Vector Method option menu to define the
axis.
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· Enter a value for Number. The face set you are copying should be part of
the total value.
· Enter a value for Angle.
For the Reflection type:
· Use the Planar Reference selection step to specify a planar object or a
datum plane to act as the plane through which the face set is copied.
5. Click OK or Apply. The selected face set is copied to a pattern on the face.

Pattern Face - Dialog Options


See the Pattern Face Basic Procedure for simple instructions on how to use this option.
See Some Examples of Pattern Face for some simple samples.
Pattern Face Dialog Options
Type Rectangular - Lets you copy a face or set of faces to create a linear pattern of those
faces.
Circular - Lets you copy a face or face set to create a circular pattern of those faces.
Reflection - Lets you copy a face or face set to create a mirrored pattern of those
faces.
Selection Seed - Lets you specify one or more faces, as seed or target faces.
Steps If you wish to pattern a region, select only one face to act as the seed face, and then
use the Boundary selection step to specify the region. (Pattern Face uses the same
seed and boundary technique as that of Extract Region under the Extract Geometry
option, except that you can select more than one seed face, and selection of
boundaries is optional.)
Selecting more than one seed face in this step means they will all be treated as target
faces by the system, and the pattern copy is applied equally across all of the faces.
Boundary - Lets you select a set of faces to serve as a region boundary. If you wish
to copy an extracted region, you would use this selection step. (Optional.)
X-Axis - Lets you define the X-Axis for the Rectangular and Circular Types. You can
use the Vector Method option menu to define the X-Axis, or select a reference for it
from the graphics window.
For the Rectangular Pattern Type, the X-Axis also defines the direction for the XC-
Offset.
For the Circular Pattern Type, the X-Axis defines the location for the central axis of
the circular pattern.
Y-Axis - Lets you define the Y-Axis for the Rectangular Type. You can use the
Vector Method option menu to define the Y-Axis, or select a reference for it from the
graphics window. The Y-Axis is used only with the Rectangular Pattern Type, and
also defines the direction for the YC-Offset.
Planar Reference - Lets you define a plane through which to mirror a pattern of
faces. You can select a datum plane or planar face.
Number Defines the total number of instances of the face set to be generated parallel to the X-
Along XC Axis. This number includes the existing face set that you are copying. Used only with
the Rectangular Type.
Number Defines the total number of instances of the face set to be generated parallel to the Y-
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Along YC Axis. This number includes the existing face set that you are copying. Used only with
the Rectangular Type.
XC Offset Defines the spacing for the copies along the XC axis. This spacing is measured from
a point on one copy to the same point on the next copy along the XC axis. Negative
values position the copies in a negative direction along the axis. Used only with the
Rectangular Type.
YC Offset Defines the spacing for the copies along the YC axis. This spacing is measured from
a point on one copy to the same point on the next copy along the YC axis. Negative
values position the copies in a negative direction along the axis. Used only with the
Rectangular Type.
Number The total number of copies created in the circular pattern, including the existing face
or face set that you are copying. Used only with the Circular Type.
Angle The angle between the copies in a circular pattern. Used only with the Circular Type.
Preview Lets you view the region to be copied by highlighting it before committing to the
Pattern operation. For an extracted region this would show what is to be extracted, from the
Region seed to the boundary. For target faces, this would show the faces to be copied. This
special preview mode acts as a toggle, and is very useful in allowing you to
experiment with the selection steps before initiating the operation.
Reset Cancels all face selections and restores the dialog settings to their initial state.
Confirm Opens the Confirm Upon Apply dialog after you choose Apply, letting you preview
Upon the results, and accept, reject or analyze them. This option is common to Selection
Apply Steps dialogs.

Pattern Face - Examples


Following are two examples of the use of Pattern Face, one for a Rectangular type and
one for Circular.
Rectangular
The following example shows how a series of faces are used to create a rectangular
pattern face copy.

Three Faces Selected for the Pattern


In the figure above, three faces are selected for the pattern face copy (highlighted in red).
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An Edge is Selected for the X-Axis


The above figure shows the X-Axis selection step being used to specify an edge to define
the
direction of the x-axis for the rectangular face pattern. A vector displays the x-axis.

The above figure shows the Y-Axis selection step being used to specify an edge to define
the direction of the y-axis for the rectangular face pattern. A vector displays the y-axis.

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Result with Number Along XC of 5, and Number Along YC of 2

The pattern face shown in the above figure is created when using a value of 5 for the
Number Along XC, and 2 for the Number Along YC.

TIP: For a rectangular pattern, the YC does not have to be perpendicular to the XC.

Circular
The following example shows how a series of faces are used to create a circular pattern
face copy.

Three Faces Selected for the Pattern

In the figure above, three faces are selected for the pattern face copy (highlighted in red).
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Central Axis for the Circular Pattern


The above figure shows the X-Axis selection step being used to define the location for
the central axis of the circular pattern. A vector displays the central axis (in this case, the
Z-axis of the WCS).

Result using 4 for Number and 90 for Angle

The pattern face shown in the above figure is created when using a value of 4 for the
Number, and 90 for the Angle.

Edit Parameters:-

This option lets you edit a feature or free form feature based on the
method and parameter values used when it was
created. The user interaction depends on what type of feature or free form
feature you select.

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Changing Feature Parameters :-


The parameters of most features created from the Create Feature dialog can be edited
using the Edit Parameters option. This selection discusses editing the following types of
features:

· Primitive features – blocks, cylinders, cones, spheres and tubes


· Form features – holes, slots, grooves, pockets, bosses and pads
· User defined features (UDFs)
· Hollow, chamfer and taper
· Instances and instance arrays
· Thread features

Procedure
To edit parameters, follow these steps:
· Select the feature to be edited, either from the graphics area or from the Feature
Selection dialog. The values of the feature's parameters are displayed in the
graphics area. A dialog with the appropriate Edit Parameters options also appears.
· Select a dimension in the graphics area, then enter a new value in the Enter New
Expression dialog.(OR)
· Choose an option from the dialog with the Edit Parameters options, enter new
values, and choose OK.
Edit Positioning

This option lets you move a feature by editing its positioning dimensions.
You can edit a dimension value, add a dimension, or delete a dimension.
Procedure
To edit a feature's positioning dimensions:
1. Choose the Edit Positioning icon.
2. Select the feature to be edited.
3. Choose the type of dimension edit (add, edit, or delete).
4. Select the dimension.
5. Complete the edit, then choose OK.

Dimension Editing Options

Add Dimension Lets you add a positioning dimension to a feature.


Edit Dimension Value Lets you move a feature by changing the values of the feature's
selected positioning dimension.
Delete Dimension Lets you delete a selected positioning dimension from a feature.

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NOTE: - If the selected feature has no positioning dimensions of features, however, the
display does not update until you choose either Back or Cancel.

Move Feature: -
This option lets you move a nonassociative feature to a desired location.
Note: - You may not use this option to move features whose location has been
constrained using positioning dimensions. If you wish to move such a feature, use the
Edit Positioning Dimension option.

Options: -

· Delta DXC, DYC, DZC


Lets you move a feature by specifying a distance and direction using rectangular (delta
XC, delta YC, delta ZC) coordinates. The feature is moved relative to the work
coordinate system.
· To a Point
Lets you move a feature from a reference point to a destination point.
· Rotate Between Two Axes
Lets you move a feature by rotating the feature between a reference axis and a destination
axis.
· CSYS to CSYS
Lets you reposition a feature from its position in a reference coordinate system, to a
destination coordinate system.

Reorder Feature: -
This option lets you change the order in which a feature is applied to a
body. The desired feature can be reordered before or after a selected
reference feature.
As you create features, the system assigns a time stamp to each one. When
you modify a body, the update is controlled by the ordering of the time
stamps.

Procedure: -

When you choose Reorder, you must:

· Select the reference feature.


· Select the feature to be repositioned.
· Choose the reorder method.
· Choose Ok

Here is an example to show the use of the reorder option:

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1. Create a block.
2. Create a hollow feature on the block.
3. Create a boss on the block.

In this example, the boss does not contain the hollow. If you wish to hollow the block
and the boss, you can simply reorder the boss before the hollow.

Delete Feature
This option lets you delete features. When you delete a feature from a
body, the space it occupied or voided is filled in exactly with the condition
the target body was in before the feature was created.

Suppress Feature
This option lets you temporarily remove one or more features from the
target body and the display

A suppressed feature still actually exists within the database but it is removed from the
model. Since the features still exist, they can be retrieved using Unsuppressed Feature.

Unsuppress Feature: -

This option let you retrieve previously suppressed features. Not available
if Delayed Update on Edit is active.

After you choose the Unsuppress Feature icon, a list of all suppressed features is
displayed in the Feature Selection dialog, and you are prompted to select the feature(s)
you want to unsuppress.

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SURFACE
Reference Guide

Surface Modeling
INTRODUCTION TO SURFACE MODELING
Surfaces are three dimensional (3D) bodies that possess a zero thickness. They are used
extensively for modeling complex features. The model or assembly created using the
surface body type possesses a surface area but not the volume or mass properties. In NX,
surfaces are created in the form of single or multiple patches. Depending on the increase
in the patches, the control over the shape of the surface also increases. In NX, surfaces
are known as sheets and surface modeling is known as sheet modeling.

Most of the real world models are created using the solid modeling techniques. Only
models that are complex in shape and have a non-uniform surface area are created using
the surface modeling technique. The tools that are used to create the solid models can
also be used to create the surface models. It becomes easy for the readers to learn surface
modeling if they are familiar with the solid modeling tools. In NX, there is no separate
application for surfaces. You need to create the surface model in the Modeling
application. Before creating the surface model, you need to change the body type to sheet.

INVOKING THE SHEET MODELING ENVIRONMENT


To invoke the Sheet Modeling environment, invoke the Modeling environment
and then choose Preferences > Modeling from the menu bar; the Modeling Preferences
dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-1. Choose the General tab and select
the Sheet radio button from the Body Type area. Choose the OK button to exit the dialog
box. All the models created henceforth in the Modeling application will be sheet models.

Figure 2-1 The Modeling Preferences dialog box

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Creating an Extruded Surface


Menu: Insert > Design Feature > Extrude

Toolbar: Form Feature > Extrude

As mentioned earlier, there is no separate tool for creating the surface extrude.

After invoking the Sheet Modeling environment, you can use the Extrude tool to
create the extruded sheets. The sketch drawn for creating the extruded surface may be an
open or a closed entity. After creating the sketch, choose the Extrude button; you will be
prompted to select the section geometry to extrude and the Extrude dialog box will be
displayed. Select the sketch and enter the extrusion value in the End edit box. Next,
choose the More Options button from the Extrude dialog box; the Extrude dialog box will
expand and show more options. Select the Sheet radio button and choose the OK button;
the sheet will be created. The options in the Extrude dialog box are the same as discussed
in Chapter 1. The surface extrude operations performed on open and closed sketches are
displayed in Figures 2-2 and 2-3. In case of sheet bodies, you cannot use the Until Next
and Until Selected options from the End drop-down list of the Extrude dialog box.

Figure 2-2 Surface extrude created on an open Figure 2-3 Surface extrude created on a closed
Sketch sketch

Note
You can use only the Create option from the Boolean drop-down list in the sheet
modeling environment. The other options in this drop-down list are not available in this
environment.

Creating a Revolved Surface


Menu: Insert > Design Feature > Revolve
Toolbar: Form Feature > Revolve

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` The Revolve tool is used to create the revolved surface. Choose the Revolve
button from the Form Feature toolbar; you will be prompted to select a section string for
the revolved body. Also the Revolve dialog box will be displayed. Select the sketch and
choose the Inferred Vector button. Specify the axis of revolution using the same.

Specify the start and end angles in the Start Angle and the End Angle edit boxes,
respectively. Next, choose the More Options button from the Revolve dialog box; the
Revolve dialog box will expand and show more options. Select the Sheet radio button and
choose the OK button; the revolved sheet will be created. The revolved surface model
created using an open sketch and a closed sketch is shown in Figures 2-4 and 2-5,
respectively.

Figure 2-4 Revolved surface created using an Figure 2-5 Revolved surface created using a
open sketch closed sketch

Creating a Ruled Surface


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > Ruled
Toolbar: Surface > Ruled (Customize to add)

The Ruled tool is used to create the ruled surfaces. These surfaces are always created
between two similar or dissimilar cross-sections created on different parallel planes. The
sketches for this feature may be open or closed. Initially, isoparametric lines are formed
to create patches, which are then converted to surfaces. The options for creating
isoparametric curves are discussed later in this chapter. For creating the ruled surface,
create two cross-sections on two different planes. Choose the Ruled button from the
Surface toolbar; the Ruled Surface dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-6.
By default, the Section String 1 button will be chosen and you will be prompted to select
the first section string. Select the first cross-section; an arrow will be displayed on the
first cross-section indicating the direction of the surface formation. Next, choose the
Section String 2 button; you will be prompted to select section string 2. Select the second

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cross-section; an arrow will be displayed from the second cross-section also. The arrows
on the first and second cross-sections should point in the same direction.

Figure 2-6 The Ruled Surface dialog box

In the Alignment drop-down list, you have different methods of distributing the points for
creating the isoparametric lines that form the patches. If you select the Parameter option,
the points will be distributed such that the isoparametric lines are formed at equal
parameter intervals. If you select the Arc length option, after option the entire curve will
be divided into equal segments with respect to the arc length. Also the isoparametric
curve will pass through the dividing points. The By Points option will be selected when
the cross-sections are of different shapes and have sharp corners. If you select the
Distance option, equally spaced isoparametric lines will be created perpendicular to the
direction vector selected. If you select the Angles option, the isoparametric curves with
angles at equal intervals will be created with respect to the common axis line. If you
select the Spine Curve option, the isoparametric curves will be formed at the intersection
points created on the selected curves by the perpendicular planes.

Accept the default tolerance value. After selecting both the section strings, as shown in
Figure 2-7, choose the OK button. The resulting ruled surface created is shown in Figure
2-8.

Figure 2-7 The section strings selected for Figure 2-8 The resulting ruled surface created
creating the ruled surface from the selected section strings

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Note
The maximum allowed and the minimum required number of cross-sections for creating
the Ruled surface is two.

Creating Surfaces Using the Through Curves Tool


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > Through Curves
Toolbar: Surface > Through Curves

You can create surfaces with the multiple section strings using the Through Curves tool.
This method of creating the surface allows you to select any number of section strings.
For creating surfaces using the Through Curves tool, choose the Through Curves button
from the Surface toolbar; the Through Curves dialog box will be displayed, as shown in
Figure 2-9, and you will be prompted to select the section string. Select the section string
and press the middle mouse button; you will again be prompted to select the section
string. Likewise, you can select any number of section strings. After selecting the section
strings, make sure the arrow point in the same direction.

Figure 2-9 The Through Curves dialog box

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Patch Type Drop-down List


In the Patch Type drop-down list, you have three options: Single, Multiple, and Match
String. If you select the Single option, the surface will be created with a single patch. If
you select the Multiple option, the surface will be created with multiple patches. The
number of patches formed depends on the Alignment option selected from the Alignment
drop-down list. The Closed in V check box and the V Degree edit box will be enabled
only when you select the Multiple option from the Patch Type drop-down list. If you
select the Closed in V check box, the surface body will be closed in the V direction. The
value entered in the V Degree edit box determines the curvature of the isoparametric lines
between the selected section strings formed for the creation of the surface. If there are n
section strings, the value entered in the V Degree edit box should be between 1 to n-1.
Figure 2-10 shows the section strings selected for creating the surfaces through curves
and Figure 2-11 shows the resulting surface.

Figure 2-10 Section strings selected for creating a Figure 2-11 The resulting surface formed from
Through Curves surface the selected through curves

Creating a Surface Using the Through Curve Mesh Tool


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > Through Curve Mesh

Toolbar: Surface > Through Curve Mesh

You can create surfaces by defining the section strings and the guide strings using the
Through Curve Mesh tool. You can have any number of section strings and guide strings.
If you want to select multiple guide strings, they should be tangentially related to each
other. For creating the surface using the Through Curve Mesh method, invoke the
Through Curve Mesh tool from the Surface toolbar; the Through Curve Mesh dialog box
will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-12, and you will be prompted to select the

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primary strings. You need a collection of control strings such as the primary strings and
cross strings. Here, the guide strings are called the cross strings.
After selecting the first primary string, press middle mouse button to proceed to the next
step. Likewise, you can select any number of primary strings. Next, choose the Cross
String button; you are prompted to select the cross strings. Select the first cross string and
press the middle mouse button to proceed to the next step. Likewise, you can select any
number of cross strings. Next, choose the Spine String button; you will be prompted to
select the spine. The selection of the spine curve is optional. The selected spine curve
must be normal to all the primary strings. If you want to skip this step, do not choose this
button.

Figure 2-12 The Through Curve Mesh dialog box

Emphasis Drop-down List


The options in the Emphasis drop-down list allow you to define the set of curves that
effect the shape of the surface to be created. If the primary strings and cross strings have
an equal effect, select the Both option from the Emphasis drop-down list. The

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Intersection Tolerance edit box defines for the minimum distance available between the
two strings. If you select the Normal option from the Construction Options drop-down
list, the resulting surfaces will have more number of patches. If you select the Spline
Points option, the resulting surface will have less number of patches. The surface is
formed by reparameterizing the curves into temporary curves. The options in the Rebuild
area will only be enabled by selecting the Normal option from the Construction Options
drop-down list. You can use the options in the Rebuild area to join the surface smoothly
with the surrounding surfaces. You can rebuild the surface by choosing the Manual
button and entering the value in the Degree spinner. If you choose the Automatic button,
the Max Degree and Max Segments spinners will be enabled. You can set the values in
the Max Degree and Max Segments spinners to rebuild the surface automatically.
Figure 2-13 shows the control strings selected for creating the through curve mesh
surface and Figure 2-14 shows the resulting surface. You can enter the distance tolerance
value between the curves in the G0 edit box and the angle tolerance value in the G1 edit
box. The relative tolerance value can be entered in the G2 edit box.

Figure 2-13 The control strings selected for Figure 2-14 The resulting surface
creating the through curve mesh surface

Creating a Surface by 4 Points


Menu: Insert > Surface > Surface by 4 Points

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Four Point Surface

The Surface by 4 Points tool will be used to create a planar (2D) or nonplanar (3D)
surface. For creating the surface by using this method, choose the Four Point Surface
button from the Free Form Shape toolbar; the Surface by 4 Points Icon Options will be
displayed and you will be prompted to specify the first surface corner. Specify the point
for the first corner. Similarly, you will be prompted to specify the other three corners.
Specify the other three corners and choose the OK button; the surface will be created. At
the time of specifying the point for the corners, you can also reselect the previously
selected corner point. To do so, choose the Delete Last Point button from the Surface by
4 Points Icon Options and specify the point for the corner again. Figure 2-15 shows the
imaginary layout for the surface to be formed after specifying the corner points. Figure 2-
16 shows the resulting planar surface formed by enclosing the corner points specified.

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Reference Guide

Creating a Swoop Surface


Menu: Insert > Surface > Swoop

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Swoop

Figure 12-15 The imaginary layout of the surface Figure 2-16 The resulting surface
formed after specifying the four points for
corners

The swoop surfaces will be created as rectangular or square shaped planar (2D) surfaces
and later modified to 3D surfaces by using the options in the tool. For creating a swoop
surface, choose the Swoop button from the Free Form Shape toolbar; the Point
Constructor dialog box will be displayed and you will be prompted to define the first
rectangle corner by specifying the inferred point. Specify the point for the first corner of
the rectangle; you will be prompted to define the second rectangle corner by specifying
the inferred point. Specify the second point and the planar surface will be created. The
Swoop Shape Control dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-17. The vertical
and horizontal axes will be displayed in red over the planar surface. The Swoop Shape
Control dialog box will be used to modify the shape of the default surface formed. In the
Select Control area, you have all the possible reference positions of the surface. At a
time, the shape of the surface can be modified only at one reference position. You can
select any one option and the shape of the surface will be altered in the selected reference
position by using the shape modification sliders. If you select the Cubic radio button from
the Degree area, the final surface formed will be of degree 3. Also, it will be
comparatively harder. If you select the Quintic radio button, the resulting surface will be
comparatively smoother.

Sliding Bars
Using the Stretch sliding bar, you can stretch the surface in a positive or negative
direction, along the reference position selected from the Select Control area. The neutral
value is 50 for all the sliders. Using the Bend sliding bar, you can bend the surface in a
positive or negative direction, along the reference position selected from the Select

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Reference Guide

Control area. Using the Skew sliding bar, you can create a skewness factor for the surface
in the positive or negative direction, along the reference position selected from the Select
Control area. Using the Twist sliding bar, you can provide a twisting effect to the surface
in the positive or negative direction along the reference position selected from the Select
Control area. Using the Shift sliding bar, you can shift the other edge of the surface in the
positive or negative direction, along the reference position selected from the Select
Control area. Figure 2-18 shows the planar surface created after specifying both the
corners of the rectangle. Figure 2-19 shows the 3D surface modified from the planar
surface using the shape modification sliding bars.

Figure 2-17 The Swoop Shape Control dialog box

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Figure 2-18 The planar surface created after Figure 2-19 The resulting 3D surface modified
specifying both the corners of the rectangle from the planar surface created

Creating the Planar Surfaces from 2D Sketches and Solid Edges


Menu: Insert > Surface > Bounded Plane

Toolbar: Form Feature > Bounded Plane (Customize to add)

The Bounded Plane tool can be used to create a surface from the 2D sketches or closed
coplanar edges. If you need to enclose a 2D sketch or a closed coplanar edges with a
surface, choose the Bounded Plane button from the Form Feature toolbar; the Bounded
Plane dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-20, and you will be prompted to
select the bounding string. Select an entity from the Bounded Plane dialog box. For
example, on choosing the Solid Edge button, the Bounded Plane dialog box will be
displayed and you will be prompted to select a bounding string or a solid edge. Select the
solid edge and choose the OK button; the Bounded Plane surface will be created. Figure
2-21 shows the bounded plane surface enclosing a 2D sketch and Figure 2-22 shows the
bounded plane surface created from a circular edge. You can also create the bounded
plane surface by selecting a solid face. You can only select 2D faces. The resulting
surface, after selecting the solid face, will remain on the same surface itself.

Figure 2-20 The Bounded Plane dialog box

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Figure 2-21 Bounded plane surface formed from Figure 2-22 Bounded plane surface
formed from a 2D sketch a circular edge

Creating a Transition Surface Using the Transition Tool


Menu: Insert > Surface > Transition

Toolbar: Surface > Transition

Generally, the creation of the transition surface involves selecting the required cross-
sections and mapping the intersected surface formed between the selected cross-sections
automatically. You can also define the shape constraint to the connecting (intersecting)
surface. For creating the Transition surface, you need to create a minimum of two cross-
sections. Generally, three cross-sections are formed. After creating the cross-sections,
choose the Transition button from the Surface toolbar; the Transition dialog box will be
displayed, and you will be prompted to select the section. Choose the More button to
enlarge the dialog box, as shown in Figure 2-23. The Section button will be chosen by
default. Select the sections and choose the OK button after selecting individual sections.

Figure 2-23 The Transition dialog box

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Constraint Face, Reverse Normal, and Surface Preview Buttons
After selecting the first cross-section, the Constraint Face button will be enabled. To
maintain the shape constraint of the intersecting surface with an existing surface, choose
the Constraint Face button and select the reference face; the selected cross-sections will
be listed in the list box. By default, G0 is selected from the continuity drop-down list,
which implies that there is no shape constraint in the continuity of the intersected surface.
If you select the G1 option, the tangential continuity is maintained. If you select the G2
option, the curvature continuity is maintained. To reverse the direction of the intersected
surface, choose the Reverse Normal button. The Surface Preview button is used to
display the preview of the intersected surface that will be created. The Transition surface
will be formed only if the Create Surface check box is selected. Else, only the bridge
curves will be formed between the selected cross-sections.

Bridge Curves Drop-down List


The bridge curves formed after selecting the cross-sections are listed as individual curves
and also separate groups in the Bridge Curves drop-down list. By selecting the required
curve from the Bridge Curves drop-down list and adjusting the sliding bar, you can
control the shape of the selected curve. You can maintain the shape from the endpoint or
the peak point. If you select the End Point radio button, the Start and End sliding bars will
be available for controlling the shape of the bridge curve selected from the Bridge Curves
drop-down list.

Peak Point Radio Button


If you select the Peak Point radio button, the Depth and Skew sliding bars will be
available for controlling the shape of the selected bridge curve from the Bridge Curves
drop-down list. The cross-sections for creating the Transition surface,along with the
bridge curves, is shown in Figure 2-24. The resulting Transition surface is formed, as
shown in Figure 2-25.

Figure 2-24 The bridge curves generated after Figure 2-25 The resulting transition surface
selecting the cross-section curves created from the cross-sections

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Creating an N-Sided Surface


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > N-Sided Surface

Toolbar: Surface > N-Sided Surface

The N-Sided Surface tool is used to create a single patch surface or multipatch triangular
surfaces that enclose a closed 2D sketch or a closed 3D curve. While doing so, an
existing surface can be optionally selected as the reference for maintaining the shape of
the surface to be created. For creating the N-Sided surface, choose the N-Sided Surface
button from the Surface toolbar; the N-Sided Surface dialog box will be displayed, as
shown in Figure 2-26, and you will be prompted to select a closed loop of curves or
edges. By default, the Trimmed Single Sheet button will be chosen from the Type area.
This selection will create a surface with a single patch.

Figure 2-26 The N-Sided Surface dialog box

Multiple Triangular Patches Button


To create a surface with multiple triangular patches, choose the Multiple Triangular
Patches button from the Type area. By default, the Boundary Curves button will be
chosen from the Selection Steps area. After you select a closed boundary of a 2D sketch
or a 3D curve, choose the Boundary Faces button from the Selection Steps area; you will
be prompted to select the face for the boundary constraint. After selecting the face or set
of faces, choose the OK button; the surface will be formed. If the Trim to Boundary
check box is selected, the surface formed will be automatically trimmed with respect to
the closed loop of the curve or the sketch selected. The orientation of the surface formed
can be specified along the U and V directions by using the options in the UV Orientation
area. If you select the Spine radio button and choose the UV Orientation - Spine button
from the Selection Steps area, you will be prompted to define the V orientation. Select the

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Reference Guide

spine and choose the OK button. Likewise, if you select the Vector radio button, you will
be prompted to select an object to infer a vector. If you select the Area radio button and
choose the UV Orientation-vector button from the Selection Steps area, the Vector
Method drop-down list will be enabled to define the vector direction.

Figure 2-27 The Shape Control dialog box

You can also create the surface by choosing the Multiple Triangular Patches button from
the Type area. In the above case, after choosing the OK button, the Shape Control dialog
box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-27. If you select the Position radio button,
then the position of the surface can be varied in respective directions by sliding the X, Y,
and Z sliding bars. If you select the Tilting radio button, you can tilt the surface along the
X, Y, and Z directions by using the corresponding sliding bars. Also, you can control the
center flatness of the surface by sliding the Center Flat sliding bar. The Flow Direction on
Outside Wall drop-down list contains the options for controlling the flow direction of the
newly formed surface with the existing reference surface selected. The Drag button will
be enabled only for the surfaces with multiple triangular patches. By choosing the Drag
button, you can interact with the Shape Control dialog box at any time. Figure 2-28
shows the single patch N-sided surface created for the selected boundary curve and
Figure 2-29 shows the multitriangular patch N-sided surface created for the selected
boundary curve.

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-28 Single patch N-sided surface created Figure 2-29 Multitriangular patch N-sided
for the selected boundary curve surface created for the selected boundary curve

Creating a Silhouette Flange Surface


Menu: Insert > Flange Surface > Silhouette Flange

Toolbar: Surface > Silhouette Flange

The silhouette flange surfaces will be created with respect to an existing surface such that
the aesthetic shape, quality, and the slope continuity of the existing surface are
maintained. The flange surface is formed with a full round surface or a fillet at the start
point. The flange created can be dynamically modified in shape and size. The silhouette
flange surface can be created by using any of the three methods discussed next.

Creating a Silhouette Flange Surface Using the Basic Method


The Silhouette Flange tool will be used to create flange surfaces on an edge or a curve by
taking any of the adjacent surfaces as the reference. For creating the flange surface,
choose the Silhouette Flange tool from the Surface toolbar; the Silhouette Flange dialog
box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-30, and you will be prompted to select the
curves or edges. By default, the Basic button is chosen from the Type area and the Base
Curves or Edges button is chosen from the Selection Steps area. By selecting the Basic
button, you can create the flange without the help of the other existing flange surfaces.
Select the edge or a curve for creating the Silhouette Flange surface and choose the Base
Faces button from the Selection Steps area; you will be prompted to select the faces.
After selecting the reference face, choose the Reference Direction button from the
Selection Steps area; the Reference Direction area will be enabled.

Direction Drop-down List


If you select the Face Normal option from the Direction drop-down list, the face that is
normal to the reference face will be selected for specifying the direction. If you select the
Vector option, the Vector drop-down list will be enabled through which you can specify
the reference direction. On doing so, you will be prompted to specify the reference

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Reference Guide

direction. Specify the direction for the surface formation by selecting an edge or a curve.
You can select only a straight curve or edge for specifying the reference direction.
After specifying the reference direction, choose the Shape Silhouette Flange button from
the Selection Steps area. If you have selected the Show Preview check box, the preview
of the flange surface, along with the rotational and linear handles, will be displayed after
selecting the Shape Silhouette Flange button. If you have selected the Show Pipe check
box, the circular pipe will be displayed at the point of formation of the flange surface. If
you clear the Show Pipe check box, only the fillet will be displayed at the point of
creation of the flange surface. The radius of the fillet created at the start point of the
surface will depend on the value entered in the Radius edit box. By choosing the Reverse
Direction button, you can flip the direction of the flange surface. By choosing the
Reverse Side button, you can reverse the side of the surface. In the Output drop-down
list, you have the options for displaying the required output. If you select the Blend and
Flange option, both the fillet and the flange surfaces will be displayed as the output. If
you select the Pipe Only option, only the round pipe that controls the fillet will be
displayed as the output. If you select the Flange Only option, the flange surface will be
displayed as the output. Figure 2-31 shows the pipe displayed along with the flange
surface created using the Basic method and Figure 2-32 shows the resulting flange
surface with the fillet.

Figure 2-30 The Silhouette Flange dialog box

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Figure 2-31 The silhouette flange surface displayed Figure 2-32 The resulting silhouette flange
along with the handles and pipe surface created using the Basic method

Creating a Silhouette Flange Surface Using the Absolute Gap Method


By choosing the Absolute Gap button from the Type area, you can create a silhouette
flange surface relative to the existing silhouette flange surface by maintaining a
predefined gap. The minimum gap is calculated by taking the radius of the two pipes and
the nearest tangential distance between them. You can also maintain a predefined gap
between the two silhouette flange surfaces by entering the gap value in the Gap edit box.
If you choose the Absolute Gap button from the Type area, the Gap edit box will be
enabled in the Silhouette Flange dialog box. By default, the Existing Silhouette Flange
button will be chosen from the Selection Steps area and you will be prompted to select an
existing silhouette flange feature. Select the existing silhouette flange surface and choose
the Base Faces button from the Selection Steps area. Select the reference face and choose
the Reference Direction button from the Selection Steps area. Specify the reference
direction and choose the Shape Silhouette Flange button to display the surface created.
Figure 2-33 shows the pipe displayed, along with the preview of the flange surface
created using the Absolute Gap method and Figure 2-34 shows the resulting flange
surface with the fillet.

Creating a Silhouette Flange Surface Using the Visual Gap Method


The Visual Gap button from the Type area can be chosen to create the flange surface in
Figure 2-33. The newly created silhouette flange Figure 2-34 The resulting silhouette
flange surface displayed along with handles and pipe surface created using the Absolute
Gap method accordance with an existing flange surface by specifying a visual gap
attribute between the two flange surfaces. For creating the silhouette flange surface using
the visual gap method, choose the Visual Gap button from the Silhouette Flange dialog
box. The selection procedure for reference objects is the same as discussed in the
previous two methods. Enter the gap value in the Gap edit box and choose the OK button
for creating the surface.

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-33 The newly created silhouette flange Figure 2-34 The resulting silhouette flange
surface displayed along with handles and pipe surface created using the Absolute Gap method

Extending a Surface Using the Law Extension Tool


Menu: Insert > Flange Surface > Law Extension

Toolbar: Surface > Law Extension

The Law Extension tool can be used to extend a surface either dynamically or by defining
different type of laws for an extension. The extension of the surface can be carried out in
both the directions of the edge or the curve selected. The process of extending the surface
by using both the methods is discussed next.

Extending a Surface Dynamically Using the Dynamic Option


As discussed earlier, you can also extend a surface dynamically by choosing the Law
Extension button from the Surface toolbar. The Law Extension dialog box will be
displayed, as shown in Figure 2-35, and you will be prompted to select the base curve
string. By default, the Faces button is selected from the Reference Method area. Using
this method, you can extend the surface by taking an existing face as the reference. Select
the curve string to be extended from the surface that is to be extended and choose the
Reference Face button from the Selection Steps area; you will be prompted to select the
reference faces. Select the required face as the reference face and choose the Define Law
button from the Selection Steps area. The preview of the surface will be displayed, if you
have selected the Show Preview check box. If you have selected the Extend on Both
Sides check box, the surface will be created on both sides of the edge selected. If you
have selected the Merge Faces if Possible check box, then the newly created surface will
merge with the reference face selected, if possible. The preview of the created surface
will be displayed, along with the rotational and translation handles on both the end points
of the edge selected. You can modify the surface by dynamically dragging the rotational
and the translational handles. After modifying the surface, choose the OK button to
reflect the changes. Figure 2-36 shows the preview of the extended surface along with the
rotational and translational handles. Figure 2-37 shows the resulting surfacecreated after
dynamically modifying it using the handles.

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-35 The Law Extension dialog box

Extending a Surface Driven by Laws Using the General Option


As discussed earlier, you can also extend a surface by defining different types of laws. To
do so, choose the Law Extension button from the Surface toolbar. Select the General
radio button from the Law Specification Method area; the Length and Angle buttons will
be enabled in the Law Extension dialog box. Select the base curve and the reference face
from the surface to be extended, after choosing the respective buttons from the Selection
Steps area. Choose the Length button from the Law Specification Method area; the Law
Function dialog box will be displayed. By using the options in the dialog box, you can
specify the length law for the surface. For example, choose the Linear button from the
dialog box; the Law Controlled dialog box will be displayed. Enter the start and end
values in the Start Value and End Value edit boxes, respectively, and choose the OK
button. Next, choose the Angle button from the Law Specification Method area; the Law
Function dialog box will be displayed. Choose any method for defining the angle law for
the surface. For example, choose the Linear button; the Law Controlled dialog box will
be displayed. Enter the start and end angle values in the Start Value and End Value edit
boxes, respectively, and choose the OK button twice; the extended surface will be
displayed.

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-36 The preview of the law extension Figure 2-37 The resulting law extension surface
surface created created and circularly arrayed

Note
The curve selected from the surface for extension should lie on the reference face
selected. If you choose the Vector button from the Reference Method area, the Vector
Method drop-down list will be available. By using this drop-down list, you can specify
the vector direction for extending the surface.

Creating a Surface Offset Using the Offset Surface Tool


Menu: Insert > Offset / Scale > Offset Surface

Toolbar: Surface > Offset Surface

The Offset Surface tool can be used to offset a surface in the direction normal to the
selected surface. For offsetting a surface, choose the Offset Surface button from the
Surface toolbar; the Offset Surface dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-38.
By default, the Faces to offset button will be chosen from the Selection

Figure 2-38 The Offset Surface dialog box Figure 2-39 The offset surface created

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Reference Guide

Steps area and you will be prompted to select the faces for the new set. Select the face, as
shown in Figure 2-39. Next, enter the offset value in the Set1D edit box. If you want
create a new set, choose the Complete set and start the next set button from the Selection
Steps area. Choose the OK button. The resulting surface offset is shown in Figure 2-39.
Figure 2-38 The Offset Surface dialog box Figure 2-39 the offset surface created

Trimming and Extending a Surface Using the Trim and Extend Tool
Menu: Insert > Trim > Trim and Extend

Toolbar: Surface > Trim and Extend

The Trim and Extend tool can be used to trim or extend an open or a closed surface.
To trim or extend a surface, choose the Trim and Extend button from the Surface toolbar;
the Trim and Extend dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-40, and you will
be prompted to select the target edges to extend. Select a single edge or multiple edges
from the surface that is to be extended. When you select multiple edges for extending,
ensure that the selected edges should have a continuity. If you have selected the Enable
Preview check box, the preview of the extended surface will be displayed. If you select
the Distance option from the Limit drop-down list, you can define the length of the
surface extension by specifying a distance value in the edit box provided. If you select the
Percentage option, the extension length can be specified in terms of the percentage of the
original surface. If you select the Until Selected option, the surface will be extended up to
the reference object selected. This option is also used to trim the selected surface. The
options in the Extend Method drop-down list will be used to define the continuity of the
extended surface with the existing surface. If you select the Natural Curvature option, the
surface will be extended normally to the selected edge. If you select the Natural Tangent
option, the surface will be extended by maintaining an angular curvature of degree 3 at
the start point of the selected edge. If you select the Mirrored option, the surface will be
extended along the curvature of the existing surface.
If you select the Until Selected option from the Limit drop-down list, you will have to
select the tool body that will serve as the boundary object, after you select the edge for
extension. Choose the Tool Selection button and select the boundary object. Next, choose
the Apply button and then the OK button to extend the surface up to the boundary object
selected. After you select the tool body, the Region drop-down list will be enabled. The
options in the Region drop-down list will be used to retain or discard the selected tool
body. If you select the Keep option, the selected tool body will be retained after
trimming. If you select the Remove option, then the material from the tool body is
removed in the direction of the arrow displayed while selecting the tool body. If you
select the Make Corner check box, a corner will be created at the intersection of the
extended surface with the tool body and the tool body will be trimmed. If you choose the
More button, the Trim and Extend dialog box will expand and the Keep Original Edges
check box will be enabled. If you select the Keep Original Edges check box, then the
edge selected for extension of the surface will be unaffected and will remain in the same
state. Figure 2-41 shows the preview of the extension surface after selecting the edges.
Figure 2-42 shows the surface extended using the Until Selected option from the Limit

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drop-down list.

Figure 2-40 The Trim and Extend dialog box

Trimming a Sheet by Using the Trimmed Sheet Tool


Menu: Insert > Trim > Trimmed Sheet

Toolbar: Surface > Trimmed Sheet

The Trimmed Sheet tool can be used to trim a sheet by defining the trim boundary. You
can also trim a sheet by projecting a curve and defining it as a trim boundary. If the trim
boundary is a surface, then the surface to be trimmed must intersect fully with the
trimming surface. Choose the Trimmed Sheet tool from the Surface toolbar; the Trimmed
Sheet dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-43, and you will be prompted to
select a target sheet body. By default, the Target Sheet Body button will be chosen from
the Selection Steps area; select the sheet to be trimmed. Next, you will be prompted to
select the trimming objects; select the trimming objects. Choose the Region button; you
will see a point on the region. The point indicate whether this region is selected to be kept
or discarded. The regions selected to kept or discarded is based on the radio button
selected from the Regions will be area. If you select the Kept option from this area, the
regions selected will be retained and the unselected regions will be removed. If you select
the Discarded radio button, the regions selected will be removed (trimmed) and the
unselected regions will be retained. Figure 2-44 shows the parameters selected when the
trim boundary selected is a surface. Figure 2-45 shows the resulting trimmed surface after
selecting the Discarded radio button from the Regions will be area.

Figure 2-41 The preview of the extended Figure 2-42 The resulting surface extended using
surface from the selected edges the Until Selected option

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Reference Guide

The Projection Along drop-down list contains the options for projecting (imprinting) a
curve or a sketch on the surface to be trimmed. The projection curve or sketch can be
defined as the trimming boundary. Select the surface to be trimmed and the curve or the
sketch as the trim boundary. The selected curve or the sketch gets automatically
imprinted on the surface to be trimmed and forms the trim boundary. The curve projected
as the trim boundary should intersect the surface to be trimmed fully. Figure 2-46 shows
the parameters selected when the trim boundary is created by imprinting a curve on the
surface to be trimmed. Figure 2-47 shows the resulting trimmed surface after selecting
the Discarded radio button from the Regions will be area.

Figure 2-43 The Trimmed Sheet dialog box

Figure 2-44 The parameters selected for Figure 2-45 The resulting trimmed sheet after
trimming a sheet selecting the Discarded radio button

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-46 The sketch selected for trimming a Figure 2-47 The resulting trimmed sheet after
Sheet selecting the Discarded radio button

Creating a Surface Using the Studio Surface Tools


The studio surface tools can be used to create a surface by sweeping a single section or
multiple sections, along single or multiple guide curves. The guide curves and the section
curves selected can be open or closed. The studio surface tools for creating various type
of surfaces are discussed next.

Creating a Surface Using the Studio Surface 1x1 Tool


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > 1x1

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Studio Surface 1x1

The name of this tool indicate the number of sections that can be selected and the
number of guide curves that can be selected for creating the surface. This means that
using the Studio Surface 1x1 tool, you can create a surface by selecting a single
section and a single guide curve. Choose the Studio Surface 1x1 button from the
Free Form Shape toolbar; the Studio Surface 1x1 dialog box will be displayed, as shown
in Figure 2-48, and you will be prompted to select a section string.

Figure 2-48 The Studio Surface 1x1 dialog box

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Reference Guide

By default, the Section button from the Selection Steps area will be chosen. Select the
section curve and choose the Guide button. Select the guide curve and choose the Face
button; the preview of the surface will be displayed. Choose the Apply button and then
the Cancel button to accept the surface. Note that the arrow directions must be as shown
in Figure 2-49. If you choose the More button, the dialog box will be expanded. You can
enter the intersection value in the respective edit boxes. You can also specify the shape
control for the surface to be created using an existing surface as a reference surface by
using the Section and Guide drop-down lists. If you select the G0 option, the shape
control will not be maintained. If you select the G1 option, the tangential relation will be
maintained with the surface selected after choosing the Constraint Face button. If you
select the G2 option, a curvature relation will be maintained with the surface selected,
after choosing the Constraint Face button. The options in the Rebuild area have been
explained earlier. Figure 2-49 shows the section and guide curve selected. Figure 2-50
shows the preview of the resulting studio surface created when you choose the Face
button.

Creating a Surface Using the Studio Surface 1x2 Tool


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > 1x2

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Studio

The Studio Surface 1x2 tool can be used to create a surface by selecting a single section
and two guide curves. For creating the surface using this tool, choose the Studio Surface
1x2 button from the Free Form Shape toolbar; the Studio Surface 1x2 dialog box will be
displayed, as shown in Figure 2-51, and you will be prompted to select the section string.
By default, the Section button from the Selection Steps area is chosen. Select the section
curve and choose the Guide1 button. Select the first guide curve and choose the Guide 2
button. Select the second guide curve and choose the Face button; the preview of the
resulting surface will be displayed. Choose the Apply button and then the Cancel button
to accept the surface. If you choose the More button, the dialog box will expand. You can
enter the intersection value in the respective edit boxes. You can also specify the shape
control for the surface to be created using an existing surface as a reference surface by
using the Section, Guide 1, and Guide 2 drop-down lists. If you select the G0 option, the
shape control will not be maintained. If you select the G1 option, the tangential relation
will be maintained with the surface selected after choosing the Constraint Face button. If
you select the G2 option, a curvature relation will be maintained with the surface
selected, after choosing the Constraint Face button. The options in the Rebuild area are
explained earlier. Figure 2-52 shows the single section and two guide curves selected and
Figure 2-53 shows the resulting studio surface.

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-49 The section curve and the guide Figure 2-50 The preview of the studio surface
curve selected for creating the studio surface created using the Studio Surface 1x1 tool

Figure 2-51 The Studio Surface 1x2 dialog box

Figure 2-52 The section curve and the guide curves Figure 2-53 The resulting studio surface
selected for creating the studio surface

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Reference Guide

Creating a Surface Using the Studio Surface 2x0 Tool


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > 2x0

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Studio Surface 2x0

The Studio Surface 2x0 tool can be used to create a surface by selecting two section
curves. You cannot select a guide curve. For creating the surface using this tool, choose
the Studio Surface 2x0 button from the Free Form Shape toolbar; the Studio Surface 2x0
dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-54, and you will be prompted to select
the first section string. By default, the Start Section button from the Selection Steps area
will be chosen. Select the first section curve and choose the End Section button. Select
the second section curve and choose the Face button; the preview of the surface created
will be displayed. Choose the Apply button and then the Cancel button to accept the
surface. Figure 2-55 shows the start and end section curves selected and Figure 2-56
shows the resulting studio surface created.

Figure 2-54 The Studio Surface 2x0 dialog box

Figure 2-55 The section curves selected for Figure 2-56 The resulting studio surface created
creating a studio surface using the Studio Surface 2x0 tool

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Reference Guide

Creating a Surface Using the Studio Surface 2x2 Tool


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > 2x2

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Studio

The Studio Surface 2x2 tool can be used to create a surface by selecting two section
curves and two guide curves. For creating the surface using this tool, choose the Studio
Surface 2x2 button from the Free Form Shape toolbar; the Studio Surface 2x2 dialog box
will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-57, and you will be prompted to select the first
section string.

Figure 2-57 The Studio Surface 2x2 dialog box

Figure 2-58 The section curves and the guide Figure 2-59 The resulting studio surface created
curves selected for creating the studio surface using the Studio Surface 2x2 tool

By default, the Section 1 button from the Selection Steps area is chosen. Select the first
section curve and choose the Section 2 button. Select the second section curve and choose
the Guide 1 button. Select the first guide curve and choose the Guide 2 button. After
selecting the two guide curves, choose the Face button; the preview of the surface created
will be displayed. Choose Apply and then Cancel to accept the surface. Figure 2-58

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Reference Guide

shows the two section and two guide curves selected. Figure 2-59 shows the resulting
studio surface created.

Creating a Surface Using the Studio Surface nxn Tool


Menu: Insert > Mesh Surface > nxn

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Studio

The Studio Surface nxn tool can be used to create surfaces by selecting any number of
section curves and any number of guide curves. For creating the surface using this tool,
choose the Studio Surface nxn button from the Free Form Shape toolbar; the Studio
Surface- NxN dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-60, and you will be
prompted to select a curve, edge, or a curve feature for a section string. By default, the
Add to Sections button will be chosen from the Selection Steps area. Select the section
curve and choose the OK button. After selecting each section curve, choose the OK
button. You can select any number of section curves. After you select the section curves,
choose the Add to Guides button from the Selection Steps area. Select the guide curves
and choose the OK button; the preview of the created surface will be displayed, if you
have selected the Preview Body check box from the expanded area of the dialog box.
Choose the Apply button and then the Cancel button to accept the surface. You can also
control the shape of the surface created by selecting the option from the Start and End
drop-down lists of the Continuity area. Before selecting the reference surface to maintain
the shape control, choose the Face button. Next, select the reference surface. Figure 2-61
shows the section curves and guide curves selected. Figure 2-62 shows the resulting
studio surface created.

Figure 2-60 The Studio Surface N x N dialog box

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-61 The section curves and the guide Figure 2-62 The resulting surface created by
curves selected to create a studio surface using the Studio Surface nxn tool

Creating a Surface Between Two Walls Using the Styled Blend Tool
Menu: Insert > Detail Feature > Styled Blend

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Styled Blend

The Styled Blend tool can be used to create a fillet surface between two intersecting
walls. The tangent holding lines are created first at the intersection point of the surfaces
with respect to the pipe radius specified. For creating the fillet surface using this tool,
choose the Styled Blend button from the Free Form Shape toolbar; the Styled Blend
dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2-63, and you will be prompted to select
the faces for wall 1.

Figure 2-63 The Styled Blend dialog box

The option selected from the Type area decides the method of formation of the blend
surface. If you select the Law radio button, the tangent holding lines will be automatically
created with respect to the pipe radius specified for the fillet. If you select the Curve radio
button, you will have to select the tangent holding curves for creating the fillet. If you
select the Profile radio button, the tangent holding lines will be created by imprinting a
curve or a sketch on the both surfaces between which the surface is to be created.

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Creating a Styled Blend Surface Using the Law Option
By default, the Law radio button is selected in the Type area and the Wall 1 button is
selected from the Selection Steps area. Select the first wall and choose the Wall 2 button
from the Selection Steps area. While selecting both the walls, ensure that the arrow
displayed from the walls after selection, face inward where the surface is to be created.
Select the second wall and choose the Center Curve button. Select the curve that acts as
the hinge for the fillet surface to be created. The center curve is selected to define the
center point for the fillet surface to be created. The center curve selected should not be
normal to the fillet surface to be created.

Figure 2-64 The preview of the styled blend Figure 2-65 The resulting styled blend surface
surface displayed for the selected parameters created using the Law option

After selecting the center curve, choose the Spine button. Select the spine that is parallel
to the center curve selected. The spine curve is selected to define the shape of the fillet.
After selecting the spine curve, choose the Preview button; the Labels check box, along
with the Select Feature and Reverse Blend Direction buttons, will be available. If the
Labels check box is selected, the entities that are selected for the blend creation such as
wall 1, wall 2, center curve, and spine will be annotated and displayed in the graphics
window. The Select Feature button is chosen to inherit the properties of an existing blend
surface. The Reverse Blend Direction button will be used to flip the direction of the blend
surface created. Figure 2-64 shows the parameters selected for creating the styled blend
surface using the Law option and Figure 2-65 shows the resulting surface created.

Creating a Styled Blend Surface Using the Curve Option


As mentioned earlier, when you select the Curve option from the Type area for creating
the styled blend surface, you need select the tangential holding lines. Select the Curve
radio button from the Type area; you will be prompted to select the faces for wall 1.
While selecting the walls, ensure that the arrow displayed from the walls after selection
should face inward where the surface is to be created. Select the first wall and choose the
Wall 2 button from the Selection Steps area. Select the second wall and choose the Curve
Set 1 button. Select the first tangential curve from the first wall selected and choose the
Curve Set 2 button. Select the second tangential curve from the second wall selected.

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Reference Guide

Choose the Spine button and select the spine curve. The spine curve will be selected to
define the shape of the fillet. After selecting the spine curve, choose the Face button.
After choosing the Preview button, the Labels check box along with the Select Feature
and Reverse Blend Direction buttons will be enabled. If the Labels check box is selected,
the entities that are selected for the blend creation such as wall 1, wall 2, curve set 1,
curve set 2, and spine will be annotated and displayed in the graphics window. Figure 12-
66 shows the parameters selected for creating the styled blend surface using the Curve
option and the resulting surface created.

Creating a Styled Blend Surface Using the Profile Option


As mentioned earlier, when you adopt the Profile option from the Type area for creating
the Styled Blend surface, you need select the curve or sketch that is to be imprinted on
the surfaces to create the tangential holding lines. Select the Profile radio button from the
Type area; you will be prompted to select faces for wall 1. While selecting both the walls,
ensure that the arrow displayed from the walls after selection should face inward where
the surface is to be created. Select the first wall and choose the Wall 2 button from the
Selection Steps area. Select the second wall and choose the Profile button. Select the
curve or sketch to be imprinted and choose the Center Curve button. Select the center
curve and choose the Spine button. Next, select the spine curve and choose the Preview
button; the Labels check box, along with the Select Feature and Reverse Blend Direction
buttons will be enabled. Figure 12-67 shows the parameters selected for creating the
styled blend surface using the Profile option and also the resulting surface.

Figure 2-66 The preview of the styled blend Figure 2-67 The preview of the styled blend
surface displayed after selecting the parameters surface displayed after selecting the parameters
for the Curve option for the Profile option

Creating Surfaces Using the Styled Sweep Tool


Menu: Insert > Sweep > Styled Sweep

Toolbar: Free Form Shape > Styled Sweep

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Reference Guide

The Styled Sweep tool can be used to create surfaces that need sweeping of the cross-
sections across the guide curves. The surface created across the cross-sections by
following the guide curve can be modified dynamically by dragging the handles
displayed along with the surface created. For creating the surface, choose the Styled
Sweep tool from the Free Form Shape toolbar. The Styled Sweep dialog box will be
displayed, as shown in Figure 2-68, and you will be prompted to select the guide string.
By default, the Guide String button is chosen from the Selection Steps area. Select the
first guide string and choose the Guide String button again to add the guide curve
selected. The first guide string selected is known as the guide and the shape of the surface
is guided along the shape of the guide string. After choosing the Guide String button for
the second time, the selected guide string will be listed in the Guides list box. The second
guide string is known as the touch curve. The surface will be created by touching the
overall length of this curve. At the maximum, you can only select two guide curves. Next,
choose the Section String button and select the section string. After selecting the section
string, choose the Section string button to add the selected section in the Sections drop-
down list. Next, choose the Spine String button from the Selection Steps area. Select the
curve to be followed as the spine. Otherwise, after selecting the cross-sections, choose the
Shape Control button from the Selection Steps area. The preview of the surface will be
displayed, along with the handles. By dragging the handles, you can modify the shape
and size of the surface. The options in the Handle Visibility area are used to display the
different types of handles for the surface created. You can dynamically modify the
surface using the handles displayed.

Figure 2-68 The Styled Sweep dialog box

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Reference Guide

Handle Visibility Area


After you select the Section radio button from the Move String area, the Handle Visibility
area will be enabled. You can also rebuild the guide strings and the section strings by
using the options from the Rebuild area. You can rebuild the strings automatically or
manually, by selecting the Automatic or Manual button, respectively. If you need to
rebuild the curves automatically, choose the Automatic button from the Rebuild area; the
Max Segments and Max Degrees spinners will be enabled. By adjusting the values in the
spinner, you can rebuild the curves automatically. If you need to rebuild the curves
manually, choose the Manual button from the Rebuild area; the Max Degrees spinners
will be enabled. By adjusting the values in the spinner, you can rebuild the curves
automatically. Figure 2-69 shows the parameters selected for creating the styled sweep
surface and Figure 2-70 shows the resulting styled sweep surface.

Figure 2-69 The parameters selected for creating Figure 2-70 The resulting styled sweep surface
the styled sweep surface

Sewing Individual Surfaces into a Single Surface


Menu: Insert > Combine Bodies > Sew

Toolbar: Feature Operation > Sew (Customize to add)

The Sew tool from the Feature Operation toolbar is used to stitch the individual surfaces
into a single surface with a common edge. This tool allows you to sew two solid bodies
together, if they share one or more common faces. When the selected individual surfaces
enclose a volume, a solid body will be created. The sheet to which all the other individual
sheets are to be stitched is known as the target sheet, and the individual sheets that are to
be stitched are known as tool sheets. You cannot stitch tool sheets that intersect a target
sheet and extend from it. For stitching the individual surfaces in to a single surface,
choose the Sew button from the Feature Operation toolbar; the Sew dialog box will be
displayed, as shown in Figure 2-71, and you will be prompted to select the target sheet to
sew. Select the target sheet to sew; the border of the target sheet will be displayed in
yellow and you will be prompted to select the tool sheets to sew. The border of the
selected tool sheets should lie in the yellow boundary displayed. Otherwise, the selected
tool sheet will not be stitched with the target sheet. To stitch surfaces, select the Sheet
radio button from the Sew Input Type area; the Target Sheet and Tool Sheets buttons will
be enabled in the Selection Steps area. To combine the solid bodies, select the Solid radio

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Reference Guide

button. After selecting this radio button, the Target Faces and Tool Faces buttons will be
enabled in the Selection Steps area. You can also enter the sew tolerance in the Sew
Tolerance edit box. If the selected objects are an instance of an array and the Sew All
Instances check box is selected, all the instances of the array are stitched together. This
check box will be enabled only after selecting the Solid radio button.

Figure 2-71 The Sew dialog box

Adding Thickness to a Surface


Menu: Insert > Offset / Scale > Thicken Sheet

Toolbar: Form Feature > Thicken Sheet (Customize to add)

This tool is used to add thickness to the sheet. Once you add thickness to the sheet, it is
converted into a solid. For adding the thickness, choose the Thicken Sheet tool from the
Form Feature toolbar; the Thicken Sheet dialog box will be displayed, as shown in Figure
2-72. You will be prompted to select a sheet body to thicken. Select the sheet to which
the material is to be added. Enter the thickness value in the Second Offset edit box. You
can enter the offset distance in the First Offset edit box. The Action drop-down list
provides the options for performing the boolean operation with an existing solid body. To
perform any type of boolean operation with an existing solid body, select the respective
option from the Action drop-down list. Next, choose the Target Solid Body button from
the Selection Steps area and select the target solid body. Figure 2-73 shows the sheet
displayed to add the thickness and Figure 2-74 shows the resulting solid body.

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Reference Guide

Figure 2-72 The Thicken Sheet dialog box

Figure 2-73 The sheet selected for adding the Figure 2-74 The resulting solid body after adding
material thickness to the sheet

37
ASSEMBLIES
Reference Guide

ASSEMBLIES:-
Assembly is an integrated unigraphics application that facilitates the construction of
assemblies of parts, the modeling of individual parts within the context of the assembly,
and the production of parts lists for assembly drawings.

You can create links from the assembly to its components to simplify the incorporation of
changes across the various levels of product definition. One advantage of using
assemblies is that a design change to one part file can be reflected in all assemblies that
use the part.

When initially creating an assembly, you do not need to create or alter any geometry.
The system creates a link from the assembly to the component, which allows the system
to keep track of your assembly structure. You can create an assembly by several different
techniques that combine parts and/or sub-assemblies together.

A collection of piece parts and sub-assemblies represents a product. In Unigraphics, an


assembly is a part file, which contains components.

Assemblies Concepts
Assembly part files point to geometry and features in the subordinate parts rather than
creating duplicate copies of those objects at each level in the assembly. This technique
not only minimizes the size of assembly parts files, but also provides high levels of
associativity. For example, modifying the geometry of one component causes all
assemblies that use that component in the session to automatically reflect that change.

Within an assembly, a particular part may be used in many places. Each usage is referred
to as a component and the file containing the actual geometry for the component is called
the component part

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Reference Guide

For example, a car assembly may have two axle subassemblies, each of which has two
wheel parts. In this case, there are four wheel components and two axle components in
the car, but only two component parts (one wheel, one axle). See the following figure.

Assembly Related Icons:

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Reference Guide

Defining the Assembly Structure


You define the assembly structure at the top level from an assembly part by creating
components consisting of subassemblies and/or piece parts. This top-level assembly part
is initially the work part, also referred to as the assembly work part.

Adding Parts to an Assembly


To create a new component within the work assembly based on an existing part, use
Application – Assemblies (Turn the Assemblies Module on choose Assemblies->
Components-> Add Existing. The Select Part dialog appears, which lets you specify the
component that you wish to add. The existing part can be one that is created or loaded
during the current session or a pre-existing part.

You define the location and orientation of the component within the assembly when the
component is created. Using the other options such as Reposition. After add, you can
first “stage” the component in the assembly work part, then reposition it later.

You can also mate components, establishing constraint relationships from one component
to another.

You can automatically position multiple components in a circular or rectangular pattern.


(Such as placing bolts in a series of bolt holes), If you want to parametrically position
many components in an array, use Component Arrays.

You can specify a reference set for the component. Change Ref. Set Name lets you
choose from a list of reference sets that exist in the part.

Empty reference set in order to reduce display time for large components. If none is
specified, the reference set defaults to the entire part.

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Reference Guide

Deleting Components from Assemblies


To remove a component or set of components from the assembly work part, select the
components and choose Edit-> Delete.

Moving Existing Parts within an Assembly


To move existing components with respect to the assembly work part, select the
components that you want to move, and choose one of the following options. The
Reposition Component dialog appears when you choose one of the following:

· Assemblies-> Components-> Reposition Components

You can move components using the following options:

Translate lets you move the components to a point, or in a delta direction.

Rotate About a Point lets you rotate the components around a selected reference point.

Rotate About a Line lets you rotate the components around a specified reference line by
entering a rotation angle.

Reposition lets you move the components from their position in a reference coordinate
system to a destination coordinate system.

Rotate Between Two Axes lets you rotate the components a specified angle between a
reference axis and a destination axis.

Identifying the Work Part: -

When working with an assembly, it is very important to be aware of which part is the
work part at any given time. There are two ways to determine this:

· The status line at the top of the graphics window contains the name of both the
displayed part and the work part.

· You can highlight the work part in the displayed assembly using the Preferences –
Assemblies – Work Part Emphasis option.
This lets you “dim” the rest of the assembly in another color so the work part stands out.
This helps clarify which part you are working on.

Setting the Work part:

Set Work Part lets you select the part in which to create geometry. This option is helpful
when you want to design in context.
You can specify a new work part in any of the following ways:

4
· Choose Assemblies-> Context Control-> Set Work Part to make the currently
displayed part the work part.
· Select the component and choose Make Work Part from the graphics window
popup menu or the Assemblies toolbar.
· Use the Make Work Part option on the popup menu in the Assembly Navigator.
· Double click on the component in the Assembly Navigator.

When your assembly uses the same component part multiple times, it may not be clear to
the system which usage of the component it should make the changes to if you select the
component by entering its name. Instead, use the cursor to select the specific component
you desire. Otherwise, the system will select one arbitrarily.

Analysis
Determining the Assembly Structure
The Assemblies-> Reports-> List Components option provides you with an indented
list of all components referenced directly or indirectly by the assembly work part. This
report contains the quantity of each part, its units (inches/millimeters), component name,
reference set, the directory where it was found, and status (e.g., whether the part is a
loaded or unloaded part).

Where is the component used?

The Assemblies-> Reports-> Where Used option provides you with a list of all
assemblies referencing a particular part. You can specify which directories to search for
the assemblies that use the part.

Analyzing the Assembly Model


Options that let you analyze the assembly model include:

Info – Object obtains component information such as the owning part, layer, type, color,
font, width, and whether the component is one of a multiple occurrence.

Analysis – Distance determines distances between components.

Analysis-> Mass using Solids


Analysis-> Mass using computes the mass properties of various objects.
Curves and Sheets

Analysis - Simple Interference Determines any areas of interference within the


assembly.

These functions apply to the displayed part, independent of the work part.

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Reference Guide

Creating Mating Condition:

You can mate components of an assembly together by establishing constraint


relationships from one component to the other. These constraints locate a “mated’
component with respect to a fixed position “base” component, creating an associative link
between the two. If the base component is modified, the relationship between it and the
mated component is maintained. You can later edit the constraints to change the location
of the mated component if necessary.

You can create a mating condition in two ways:

· When adding an existing part as a component to your assembly (on the Add existing
part dialog, use the Mate option on the Positioning menu). The part being added
becomes the mated component.

· By choosing Mating Conditions, Create (found under Assemblies – Edit


Structure) and choosing an existing component from the assembly.

Both methods allow you to create mating conditions by establishing the following types
of constraints:
· Mate
· Align
· Orient
For each of these constraints, you can constrain the components using the following
objects:
· Faces (Planar, Cylindrical, Conical Faces)
· Edges (straight edges)
· Datum Planes
· Datum Axes
· Coordinate systems of components
· Components

Mating condition: -
Mating conditions let you position components in an assembly by specifying constraint
relationships between two components. For example, you can specify that a cylindrical
face on one component is to be coaxial with a conical face on another component.
Note: - The object (or geometry) doing the mating must be from a component. The base,
however, can be assembly geometry; it does not have to be a component.

The relationship between the two components is associative. If you move the “fixed”
component’s location, the component that is mated to it also moves when you update.
For example, if you mate a bolt to a hole and then move the hole, the bolt moves with it.

6
Align performs two function. For planar objects, it positions the two objects so that they
are coplanar and adjacent. For axis symmetric objects, it aligns the axes. You can
specify an offset distance between planar objects using the Offset field. The default
offset is zero.

Aligning Planar Objects:

The system aligns planar objects (planar faces and datum planes) by locating the faces so
they are coplanar, and their normal point in same direction.

Aligning Cylindrical, Conical, and Toroidal Faces


The system aligns axisymmetric faces (cylindrical, conical, and toroidal faces) by
positioning the axes of these objects to be coincident. The align constraint lets you mix
and match different axisymmetric faces. The radii of the selected faces need not be equal.

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Reference Guide

Mate
Mate allows you to position two objects of the same type so that they are coincident.
You can specify an offset distance between planar objects using the offset field. The
default offset is zero. The system mates selectable objects as described in the following
paragraphs.

Mating Planar Faces


The system mates planar objects (planar faces and datum planes) by locating the faces so
that they are coplanar and their normal point in opposite directions.

Mating Conical Faces


When mating conical faces, the system checks to see if the conical half angles of the two
selected faces are equal. If they are the same, it aligns the axes of the faces and positions
the faces so that they are coincident.

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Reference Guide

Mating Types
Mate Positions two objects of the same type so that they are coincident. For planar objects,
their normals will point in opposite directions.
Align For planar objects, it positions the two objects so that they are coplanar and adjacent.
For axisymmetric objects, it aligns the axes.
Angle Defines an angle dimension between two objects.
Parallel Defines the direction vectors of two objects as parallel to each other.
Perpendi Defines the direction vectors of two objects as perpendicular to each other.
cular
Center Lets you center one object everywhere along the center of the other, or center one or
two objects between a pair of objects.
Distance Specifies the minimum 3D distance between two objects. You can control which side
of the surface the solution should be by using positive or negative values.
Tangent Defines a physical contact between two objects.
Degrees of Freedom
To position a component, you can use a combination of constraint types. When you begin
to mate the component, there are six ways in which it can move (i.e., six degrees of
freedom): three for rotation, and three for translation. (In other words, an unconstrained
component can move in the x, y, and z directions, and rotate about the XC, YC, and ZC
axes.)

Each constraint that you specify removes some of these degrees of freedom. In the
example below, the mating component has been partially constrained, so that it now has
only three degrees of freedom left.
You may combine constraint types in any order. When no more degree of freedom arrows
are displayed, the component is fully constrained.
Note: -If the displayed degrees of freedom become difficult to see in a large assembly,
toggle the Show Degrees of Freedom option OFF and then ON. This causes the system to
erase and redraw the arrows. If you do this quickly, the degrees of freedom blink to show
you where they are.

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Reference Guide

An example of Fully Constraining a Component


One of the most common mating situations is the mating of a bolt into a hole. The steps
necessary to do this are

STEP 1: Mate two faces of the desired components

Creating a mating constraint constraint with a zero offset

Step 2: Align two faces

Creating an aligning constraint with a zero offset

When you select the desired faces, the system creates the constraint and displays the
remaining degrees of freedom (via arrows)

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Reference Guide

Step 3: - Orient two faces

Creating an orienting constraint with an angle of zero

When you select the desired faces, the system creates the constraint. At this time, there
should be no more displayed DOF arrows. Then you choose OK and the system moves
the component to the constrained location.

Now the part is fully mated.

Reference Sets:
When you choose Format à Reference Sets, the Reference Sets dialog is displayed as
shown below.

A reference set is a named collection of objects that


you can reference from an another part. Using
reference sets can drastically reduce, or even totally
eliminate, the graphical representation of portions of
the assembly without modifying the actual assembly
structure or underlying geometric models.

Many reference sets can exist in one part. For


example, one reference set could consist of the solid
model, while another could consist of a wireframe
outline without any details, while yet another could
be empty and not contain any geometry at all. By
default, every component automatically has an
empty reference set.

Objects that can be members of a reference set include: geometry, coordinate system,
planes, pattern objects, and immediate components of the part.

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Reference Guide

Reference sets operations are always performed on the work part, so whenever an object
is designed in context, it is added to the reference set of the work part.

Reference sets – Create


This option lets you create reference sets.
Creating a Reference Set
1. Choose Format-> Reference Sets to bring up the Reference Sets dialog.
2. Click the Create icon to bring up the Create Reference Set dialog.

3. Provide a name for the reference set in the Name field.


4. Choose OK in the Create Reference Set dialog.
5. Select the objects that you want to place into your reference set.
6. When you have finished selecting objects, dismiss the Class Selection dialog by
choosing OK.

The reference set's name appears in the Work Part list in the Reference Sets dialog. You
can now modify this reference set, or create a new reference set.

It is recommended that the reference set name reflect the purpose or contents of the
reference set, for example: “OUTLINE,” or “SOLID MODEL”.
Reference sets – Add

You can add objects to an existing reference set. Specify the reference set
you wish to edit by choosing from a list or entering the name.

Select the objects you wish to add using the Class Selection Subfunction. If you select a
component member, its component is added to the reference set.

Reference Sets – Remove

You can remove objects from an existing reference set. Specify the
reference set you wish to edit by choosing from a list or entering the name.

Select the objects you wish to remove using the Class Selection Subfunction. Any non-
reference set members selected are ignored. If you choose a component, all of its
members are also removed.

Reference Sets – Delete

To delete a reference set, select it in the Work Part list box and press this
button. This option does not delete any members or any geometry
associated with the reference set,
only the reference set object itself. Specify the reference set you wish to delete by
choosing from a list or entering its name.

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Reference Guide

Reference Sets – List

You can list all reference set names in the current work part to the information window.

Reference Sets – Rename

This option lets you renames an existing reference set. Specify the
reference set you wish to rename by choosing from a list or entering its
name. Then enter a new name for the reference set.

Orient
Orient lets you position two objects using a rotational angle between them. The system
creates an orientation vector or each object and rotates them about a rotational axis
defined by a previously created mated or aligned constraint. You can specify an angle to
be applied between the orientation vectors in order to rotate the mated component into the
correct position.

Orienting Planar Objects


For planar objects (planar faces and datum planes), the system creates the orientation
vector by projecting the normal of the selected planar object onto a ploane perpendicular
to a rotational axis of the mating condition.

Orienting Axisymmetric Faces


For axis symmetric faces (including cylindrical, toroidal, and conical faces), the system
creates the orientation vector by drawing a vector from the rotation axis to the axis of the
selected face.

Orienting Edges
For edges, the system creates the orientation vector for the selected edge by drawing a
vector from the rotation axis to the selected edge.

Component Create Arrays


You can use the component Arrays options to create and edit an associative array of
components in an assembly.
· Create
· Edit
Creating a Component Array
You can use the Create Array options to create and edit an associative array of
components in an assembly. You can create array components according to feature
instance sets (feature isets), or by creating a linear or circular array.

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Using component arrays lets you:


· Quickly create patterns of components and component mating conditions.
· Add similar components in one step.
· Create a number of similar components whose mating conditions are the same.

You may define an array component by the following definition:

· From Feature ISET (default)


· Linear
· Circular

Feature ISET Arrays:


You may create component arrays, called Feature
ISET Arrays, based on feature instance sets. There
is one component for each feature in the instance set
and the components automatically mate to the
appropriate faces.
When creating a feature ISET array you must first
position a component via mating conditions, so that
the component is mated to one of the features in the
instance set.
By default, the first mated component is the
template component. Any new components you add
share the template's attributes. (You may specify a
new template at any time.)
Whenever you add a new component to the array, the component is positioned via mating
conditions. The system copies the mating conditions from the template, and applies them
to the appropriate feature. In the figure below, if Bolt (1) were the template, Bolt (2)
would be added so that the same faces on the bolt were mated, but to different faces in the
component.

If you change the template's mating conditions so that new components can not be mated
correctly, the system positions these components absolutely.
When geometry is duplicated for each feature in an instance set, each component mates
independently. When there is no duplicate, each component mates to the same geometry.
The following figure illustrates how each element of a feature ISET array is
independently mated to the appropriate geometry. The block was created with an array of
hole features, and a corresponding array of bolt components. Each bolt component is
mated with two constraints, the shaft mated to the hole, and the underside of the bolt face
mated to the top of the block. Because there is a unique cylindrical face for each hole
feature, the two bolts are mated to the two different cylindrical faces. However, as the top
face of the block is not duplicated by the ISET, each bolt is mated to the same top face.

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Note: -You cannot mate to the edges of a solid body in an instanced feature. Only face
mating (planar, cylindrical, etc.) is allowed.

Effects of Modeling Changes


If you change the number of elements in the ISET, the system automatically deletes or
adds the components. In addition, individual features and components in the instance set
may be deleted by a modeling change that invalidates a particular feature.
A component array does not update unless the part containing the ISET is fully loaded. If
you load a component with partial loading switched ON (the default) and that
component's ISET has changed, any component arrays that depend on that ISET are not
updated.

Component Identity
Component identity is based on feature identity. A feature ISET is based on a "master
feature" which is the first element in the array. This is the only fixed position in the array,
and all other features are offset from the position of the master feature.
Feature identity is preserved when you modify an ISET. For example, in a rectangular
ISET, the feature at position (3,2) remains in that position, provided there are at least 4
rows and 3 columns remaining in the ISET. Similarly, the component that is mated to that
feature stays in position (3,2) in the component array.
It is your responsibility to determine the master feature, and to understand the behavior of
the ISET when it is modified.
The following figure shows two different results of an edited ISET parameter.

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Linear
Lets you create orthogonal or non-orthogonal master component arrays. Using this
option, you can define a 1- or 2-dimensional master component array.

To create a linear master component array, you must:


· Choose a direction definition.
· Select a X direction reference.
· Select a Y direction reference (for a 2-dimensional array).
· Enter appropriate total number and offset values.

A linear component array is defined by the following parameter values:


· Total Number - XC
Defines the total number of instances to be generated parallel to the X direction you
select. This number includes the existing feature you are instancing.
· Offset - XC
Defines the spacing for the instances along the X direction you select. This spacing is
measured from a point on one instance to the same point on the next instance along the X
direction you select. Negative values position the instances in a negative direction along
the axis.
· Total Number - YC
Defines the number of instances to be generated parallel to the Y direction you select.
This number includes the existing feature you are instancing.
· Offset - YC
Defines the spacing for the instances along the Y direction you select. This spacing is
measured from one instance to the next along the Y direction you select. Negative values
position the instances in a negative direction along the axis.

Circular
Lets you create a circular array of master components from a selected template
component. You specify a rotation axis about which the components are generated. You
also specify the number of components to create in the array, and the angle at which each
component is created about the rotation axis.
To create a circular master component array you must first select the features to instance.
Then you must:
· Choose an axis definition.
· Select an axis of rotation.
· Enter appropriate total number and angle values.

A circular component array is created by using a mating condition that translates the
components about an axis. You can define an axis of rotation using the following Axis
definitions:

· Cylindrical Face
Defines an axis of rotation which coincides with the axis of a selected cylindrical face.

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· Edge
Defines an edge as the axis of rotation.

· Datum Axis
Defines an existing datum axis as the axis of rotation.

After specifying the rotation axis, you can specify the following options:

· Total Number - Defines the number of components to be created in the circular


array, including the existing feature you are instancing.
· Angle - Defines the angle at which each component is created about the reference
point.

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DRAFTING
Reference Guide

Drafting
Introduction
Drafting is one of the applications of Unigraphics, a Computer-Aided Design and
Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system. The Drafting application allows
you to create fully annotated engineering drawings from the solid models you create in
the modelling application. The Drafting application contains many features and has an
easy to use intuitive user interface.

Features of the Drafting Application: -


The Drafting application is designed to allow you to create and maintain a variety of
drawings made from models generated from within the Modeling application. Drawings
created in the Drafting application are fully associative to the model. Any changes made
to the model are automatically reflected in the drawing.

This associativity allows you to make as many model changes as you wish. Besides the
powerful associativity functionality.

Drafting contains many other useful features including the following:

· The capability to create fully associative cross-sectional views with automatic hidden
line rendering and crosshatching.

· Automatic orthographic view alignment. This allows you to quickly place views on a
drawing, without having to consider their alignment.

· Automatic hidden line rendering of drawing views.

· The ability to edit most drafting objects (e.g., dimensions, symbols, etc.) from the
same dialog in which they were created. This allows you to create drafting objects
and make changes to them immediately.

· On-screen feedback during the drafting process to reduce rework and editing.

· User controls for drawing updates, which enhance user productivity.

· A drawing board paradigm in which you work "on a drawing." This approach is
similar to the way a drafter would work on a drawing board. This method greatly
increases productivity.

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Drawing

· New
· Open
· Delete
· Modify
· Add view
· View types
Auxiliary View, Orthographic View
Simple Section Cut
Stepped Section Cut
Half Section Cut
Revolved Section Cut
Unfolded Section Cut
· Remove view, move/copy view to a point & to another drawing
Vertically, horizontally, to a point
Perpendicular to a line
Align view
· Edit view
· Define view boundary
Boundary type m
Manual rectangle
Automatic rectangle
Bound by object
· Update views

Dimensions
· Dimensions options
· Appended text
· Place text
· Precision
· Tolerance type

Annotation editor
· Panes area
· Drafting symbol pane
· GD & T symbols pane
· Create with and without leader
Create leader dialog
· Note/label creation
Note/label editing

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Drafting Application
The Drafting application is designed to allow you to create and maintain a variety of
drawings made from models generated from within the Modeling application. Drawings
created in the Drafting application are fully associative to the model. Any changes made
to the model are automatically reflected in the drawing. This associativity allows you to
make as many model changes as you wish.
To access the various application-specific functions contained in the Drafting application,
choose Drafting from the Applications pull-down menu.

The Application Pull-down


Once you choose the Drafting application you can choose Drafting options from
pull-down menus or from Drafting Toolbars.
Creating a Drawing - An Example
The example that follows illustrates the process for creating a drawing from an existing
3D model (see the following figure).

A 3D Model Used as the Basis for Creating a Drawing


Creating a New Drawing
The first step in creating a drawing is to make a new drawing sheet. You do this by
choosing Drawing-> New. The New Drawing dialog displays allowing you to specify
various drawing parameters for your drawing sheet including drawing size, scale, unit of

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Reference Guide

measure, and projection angle. After all parameters have been set, choosing OK replaces
the current display with the display of the new drawing sheet (see the following figure).

Importing a Model View


In order to proceed with the drawing, you can start by importing a model view onto the
drawing. Once a model view is imported, you can create other views from it including An

Imported Model View Added to the Drawing


orthographic, auxiliary, detail and section views. The imported model view determines
orthographic space and view alignment for views, which are projected from it. You can
import as many model views as desired and make projections from each of them.
To import a model view choose Drawing-> Add View-> Import View and choose a view
from the view selection list. Then, using the cursor indicate a position on the drawing for

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the view. In this example drawing the model view chosen to import is the TOP view (see
the following figure).

Adding an Orthographic View


After importing a model view onto the drawing you can add additional views such as
orthographic, auxiliary, or detail views by choosing the appropriate option from the Add
View dialog. For this example, an orthographic view is added to the drawing and placed
below the imported model view (see the following figure). It is important to note that the
added orthographic view is created at the same scale as the model view and is aligned
with the model view.

An Orthographic View Added to the Drawing


Adding a Section View
After adding an orthographic view to the drawing, you can continue to add additional
views. In this example, a simple section view is added to the drawing. The section view is
created and projected from the orthographic view that was previously added to the
drawing. To create a simple section view, choose Drawing-> Add View-> Simple Section
Cut.
The next step is to create a section line. This section line is associated to the section view.
Any future changes to the section line or to the model affects the section view. After the
section line is created, the section view is placed on the drawing and the system
automatically crosshatches it.

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Importing a Pictorial View


You can use the Add View dialog to import a pictorial model view onto the drawing. This
is accomplished by choosing Drawing-> Add View-> Import View, selecting a TFR-TRI
view from the view selection list, and indicating a position on the drawing for the view
(see the following figure)

An Imported Pictorial Model View Added to the Drawing

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Adding Dimensions
Once you have placed the views on your drawing, you are ready to add dimensions.
Choosing Insert-> Dimension enables you to create dimensions on your drawing views.
To create a dimension, choose the desired dimension option (e.g. Horizontal, Vertical,
etc.) from the Dimensions dialog and then select the objects to dimension.
Dimensions you create are associated with the geometry in the views. If a view is moved
the dimensions move with the view. If the model is edited, the dimensions update to
reflect the change. The following figure shows the example drawing with added
dimensions.

Adding Notes and Labels


You may also choose to add notes and labels to your drawing. You can do this by using
the Annotation Editor (Tools-> Annotation Editor). These notes and labels consist of text
and/or symbols. Symbols may include GD&T symbols and user-defined symbols. Other
symbols such as ID symbols and utility symbols can also be added to the drawing using
Insert-> ID Symbol and Insert-> Utility Symbol.
Adding a Drawing Format
After you add all the necessary views and annotation to the drawing, you may want to
add a drawing border, title block, revision block, etc. You can create these formats in
advance, save them as a pattern, and later retrieve them into your drawing. The following
figure shows a drawing border added to the example drawing.

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A Drawing Format added to the Drawing

These are the procedures to be followed while you are opted for Drafting Application.
Toolbars
The Drafting application is equipped with a number of toolbars to help you quickly
navigate through desired Drafting options. You can turn on the toolbars you want to be
visible and customize their contents using the View->Toolbars ->Customize ->
Commands or by moving the cursor over the docking container.

Object-Action Overview
An object-action relationship on drafting annotation objects lets you perform actions on
objects that you select from the graphics window. The object type determines what action
you can apply to the object. Using object-action operations lets you maintain focus on the
graphics window rather than on menu bars.

Object-Action Operations
Dragging Single Objects This action lets you reposition annotation objects.
Double-clicking an object brings up the appropriate
dialog to perform editing. For example, double-
Double-Click Actions
clicking a dimension brings up the Annotation
Preferences dialog.

Drawing Menu
This section provides information on the options available under the Drawing pull-down
menu. These options allow you to create, edit and manipulate drawing views and drawing

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sheets. Views you can create using these options include orthographic, auxiliary, detail,
imported, and section views. Once views are created, they can be moved, aligned,
removed, copied, edited, etc.

New Drawing

Drawing-> New allows you to create a new drawing by defining a drawing name, and
specifying drawing parameters such as Size, Scale, Unit of Measure, and Projection
Angle. After all drawing parameters have been set, choosing Apply replaces the current
display with a display of the new drawing.

New Drawing Options


Filter Locates a drawing or a series of drawings in a part file.
Drawing Specifies the name of a new drawing.
Name
Selection This field is where you enter the drawing name. Names may contain up to 30
Field characters. Spaces in the name are not allowed. All names are converted to upper
case. The default drawing name is SH1.
Drawing May choose a drawing size.
Size

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Drawing Establishes the default scale for all view types added to the drawing.
Scale
Unit of Specifies either inch or SI units.
Measure
Projection Specifies either 3rd angle or 1st angle projection.
Angle

Projection Angle
Choose the desired Projection Angle by selecting either the third angle or first angle
projection icons (see "Projection Angle Icons" figure). All projected views and sections
then comply with the projection angle. Imported model views however, are not affected
by projection angle.

After all selections have been made from the New Drawing dialog, you can choose the
Apply button to apply the changes, or the OK button to apply the changes and close the
dialog box. The current display is replaced with the new drawing.

The following two figures illustrate examples of drawings using First and Third Angle
Projection.

First Angle Projection Third Angle Projection

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After you have defined a drawing name and drawing parameters, you are ready to add
views, dimensions, symbols, etc. to your drawing. First however, you may want to create
a drawing format to add to your drawing.

Open Drawing
Drawing-> Open allows you to open an existing drawing by choosing from a list of
previously created drawings. You can either select a drawing name from the list, or type a
name in the selection field (see the following figure). If you enter the drawing name
incorrectly, an error message appears.
You can use the Open Drawing Dialog's Filter option to rapidly locate a drawing or a
series of drawings in a part file. Enter a portion of a drawing name followed by an
asterisk (*), and choose the OK button. The system then performs a search, and displays
the desired drawing name(s) in the listing window. You can then highlight the drawing
name and copy it to the selection box.

The Open Drawing Dialog

Delete Drawing
Drawing-> Delete Drawing allows you to delete an existing drawing. If no drawings
currently exist, this option is unavailable.
To delete a drawing, you must choose Drawing-> Delete. You can either select a drawing
name from the list or type in a name (see the following figure). The current drawing is
not displayed in the Delete Drawing dialog and therefore cannot be deleted.

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Reference Guide

You can use the Delete Drawing dialog's Filter option to rapidly locate a drawing or a
series of drawings in a part file. Enter a portion of a drawing name followed by an
asterisk (*), and choose the OK button. The system then performs a search, and displays
the desired drawing or drawings in the listing window. The drawing name can be
highlighted, placed into the selection box, and deleted by choosing Apply or OK.

Note: - If you delete a drawing which contains a parent of a section view, the section
view is deleted from the drawing it resides on. If that section view had any detail views
created from it, those details are also deleted from the drawing or drawings, which they
reside on. When these situations arise, an error message displays allowing you to either
continue with the operation (by choosing OK) or abort the operation (by choosing
cancel).

Edit Drawing
Drawing-> Edit allows you to modify the currently active drawing by changing any of its
drawing parameters including Name, Size, Scale, and Unit of Measure. If no drawings
currently exist, then Edit is unavailable.

You can use the dialog's Filter option to rapidly locate a drawing or a series of drawings
in a part file. Enter a portion of a drawing name followed by an asterisk (*), and choose
the OK button. The system then performs a search, and displays the desired drawing or
drawings in the listing window. The drawing name can be highlighted, placed into the
selection box, and edited to create a new drawing name.

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The Edit Current Drawing Dialog

Modifying the Scale value only affects views on the current drawing which are not
associated to expressions.
The Projection Angle options can only be changed if no projected views exist in the
current drawing.
When modifying the Drawing Size, it is important to note that the drawing changes in
size by the movement of the drawing bound upper right corner (see the following figure).
In some instances, when a smaller drawing size is chosen, the views may be forced to
display completely outside of the drawing view bounds. If this occurs, the following error
message displays:

Cannot modify drawing. Drawing size too small.


This error message may display even though the drawing views may indeed fit on that
drawing size. It is therefore recommended that you move the drawing geometry toward
the lower left hand corner of the drawing prior to decreasing the drawing size (see the
following figure).

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When modifying the drawing size, it is recommended that the view borders be turned On
in Preferences-> Visualization-> Names/Borders. This makes visible any views that may
exist partially outside of the drawing bounds.

Modifying the Drawing Size

Add View
Drawing-> Add View allows you to populate your drawing with views. Views that can be
added include imported model views, orthographic views, auxiliary views, detail views,
and section views. When views are added to a drawing their scale, location, name, status,
etc. can be controlled. When you import a model view a copy of the model view and all
of its contents are placed on the drawing. The modeling view is not altered by the import
process.

View Type Options


Import View Imports selected model views onto your drawing.

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Reference Guide

Orthographic View Creates orthographic projections from existing imported


model views or other orthographic views.

Auxiliary View Projects a view from an existing view perpendicular to a


defined hinge line

Detail View Creates detail views with either a circular or rectangular


view boundary.
Simple Section Cut Creates a simple section view. This is a view that allows you
to see the inside of a part which is cut by a single cutting
plane.
Stepped Section Cut Creates a section which contains linear steps.

Half Section Cut Creates a view with half of the part sectioned and the other
half un-sectioned.

Revolved Section Cut Creates section views which are revolved about an axis.

Unfolded Section Cut Creates unfolded section views. Unfolded section views have
corresponding section lines that contain multiple cut
segments without any bend segments.
Simple/Stepped Creates either a simple or stepped section cut from a pictorial
Section Cut from Pictorial View view (e.g., TFR-ISO, TFR-TRI, etc.). The system determines
if the view is a stepped cut by the number of cut segments.

Half Section Cut from Creates a half section cut from a pictorial view.
Pictorial View

Import View
The Import View option allows you to import selected model views onto your drawing.
Model views can be used to create other view types including orthographic, auxiliary,
detail and section views. The steps involved for importing a model view are as follows:

· Choose the Import View option.


· Enter the desired view scale in the scale field. The default scale is the scale of the
drawing.
· Select the model view you want to import from the view selection list.
· Drag the view to the desired location on the drawing. During the drag, the view's
boundary is visible.

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· Click to place the view on the drawing. You can continue to import additional
views by moving the cursor to a new location

Orthographic View
The Orthographic View option allows you to create orthographic projections from
existing imported model views or other orthographic views. To place an orthographic
view onto the drawing, you indicate a position in the desired orthographic quadrant
determined by the parent view. The orthographic view automatically aligns with the

parent view, and has the same view scale as the parent view

An Orthographic View Added to Drawing

The steps involved for creating an orthographic view are as follows:


· Choose the Orthographic View option.
· Select the parent view. The parent view is the view you want to create the
orthographic view from.
· Drag the view to the desired location on the drawing. During the drag the view's
boundaries are visible. Note that the view can only be moved along its
orthographic corridor.
· Enter a value in the distance field, and toggle the Distance button to the ON
position (this step is optional).
· Click to place the view on the drawing. You can continue to create additional
orthographic views by moving the cursor to a new location

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Note: -
You have the option to perform automatic hidden line removal on solid models as views
are placed on the drawing. To do this, you must set the Hidden Line Removal option in
Preferences-> View Display prior to placing the views.

Detail View
A detail view is a view, which contains an enlarged portion of an already existing
drawing view. The enlarged detail view shows detail, which is not apparent in the view
from which the detail was made. The Detail View option allows you to create detail
views with either a circular or rectangular view boundary.

The steps required for creating a detail view with a circular view boundary are as follows:
· Choose the Detail View button.
· Set the Circular Boundary option to ON.
· Indicate a point for the detail center in the parent view. Use the Point Construction
options to help select the desired point.
· Enter a view scale.
· Indicate a second point to define the detail radius. This point can be a screen
position. Use the Point Construction options to help select the desired point.

Circular Detail View

Note: -

When a detail view is created, any view dependent geometry contained in the parent view
is copied.
If you remove a section view from the drawing, any detail view made from the section
view parent is removed also. However, detail views made from other view types such as
orthographic and auxiliary views are not removed from the drawing when the parent view
is removed.

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Simple Section Cut


This option allows you to create a simple section view. A simple section view is a view
that allows you to see the inside of a part. It is created by dividing the part with a single
cutting plane (see the following figure).

A Simple Section View


The steps involved for creating a simple section cut are as follows:
· Choose the Simple Section Cut option.
· Select a parent view. The parent view is the view where the section line is created.
You can select the parent view from the View Selection List, or directly from the
graphics screen.
· Define a section view hinge line using the Vector Construction options. A vector
arrow displays showing the direction of the hinge line and the direction that the
section line arrows point (see the following figure). If the vector arrow is pointing in
the opposite direction, you can change its direction by choosing the Reverse Vector
button.
· Choose Apply. A Section Line Creation dialog displays. This dialog allows you to
specify cut, arrow, and bend positions for the section line.
· Indicate a cut position using the appropriate Point Construction option.
· Drag the view to the desired location on the drawing. During the drag the view's
boundaries are visible. Note that the view can only be moved along its orthographic
corridor.

Stepped Section Cut


A stepped section allows you to include geometry in the section view which would
otherwise not be included if only a simple section line were used. The Stepped Section
Cut option allows you to create a section which contains linear steps. These steps can be
made by indicating multiple cuts, bends, and arrow segments. All bend and arrow
segments are created perpendicular to cut segments.

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Bend and Arrow Segments are Perpendicular to Cut Segments

Half Section Cut


The Half Section Cut option allows you to create a view with half of the part sectioned
and the other half un-sectioned. Half sections are similar to simple and stepped sections
in that the cut segment is parallel to the defined hinge line. Note that the section line for a
half section contains only one arrow, one bend, and one cut segment. The following
figure illustrates the various segments of the section line, as well as the system generated
half section view.

A Half Section View

Revolved Section Cut


Revolved Section Cut allows you to create section views, which are revolved about an
axis. The following figure shows a revolved section view with its associated parent view
and section line. A revolved section view can contain a single revolved cut plane, or it
can contain steps to form multiple cut planes. In either case, all cut planes are revolved
into a common plane.

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Revolved Section View and Associated Parent View

Simple/Stepped Section Cut from Pictorial View


This option lets you create either a simple or stepped section cut from a pictorial parent
member view. The section line displays as a pictorial section line (see the following
figure).

When you select this option, the system displays five creation step icons.

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Reference Guide

The system determines whether the section cut is simple or stepped by the number of cut
segments. If the number of cut segments is more than one the section cut is determined to
be stepped.

Half Section Cut from Pictorial View


This option lets you create a half section cut from a pictorial parent member view. The
section line displays as a pictorial half section line (see the following figure).

Creation Steps
The Add View dialog contains creation step icons that guide you through the interactive
steps required to create a particular view type. As you complete each step, the creation
step icon for the next interactive step automatically highlights. Only the icon for the
current step highlights, all other icons appear grayed out. If you make a mistake during
the view creation process, you can go back to a previous step by clicking on the
appropriate icon. For example, when an auxiliary view is created there are three creation
step icons available; Select Parent View, Define Hinge Line, and Place View. After you
complete the first two steps (selecting a parent view and defining a hinge line) the Place
View icon highlights. At this point if you had realized that you made a mistake and
selected the wrong hinge line, you could go back to the Define Hinge Line step by
choosing the Define Hinge Line icon.

Creation Step Icons

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Note: - The creation step icons in the dialog vary depending on the view type that is
currently being created.

Section Line Creation Dialog


During section line creation, a Section Line Creation dialog displays. There are two
distinct Section Line Creation dialogs: one for the Unfolded Section Line and one for all
other section cut types. Depending on the type of section cut you create, the dialogs allow
you to specify the cut, arrow, and bend positions, angle, and connect position on the
section line you are creating. The dialog shown below is the one common to all cut
section types except the Unfolded Section Line. The table below describes all of the
options for both Section Line Creation dialogs. Some of these options are unavailable for
a specific section cut type.

Selection Line Creation Options


Segment Specifies different section line segment types when you are creating your section
Position line. The three available options are as follows.
Cut Position - Lets you specify the location of the cut segment portion of a section
line, which defines a cutting plane. This is typically parallel to the hinge line.
Arrow Position - Lets you specify the location of the arrow segment portion of a
section line. The arrow segment includes the arrowhead and defines the direction of
sight for viewing the section cut. Arrow segments are perpendicular to cut
segments.
Bend Position - Lets you specify the location of the bend segment portion of a
section line. The bend segment connects the cut segments together. Bend segments

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Reference Guide

route the cut segments through the part features you want shown in the section
view. Bend segments are perpendicular to cut segments.
Point Defines point locations by choosing from a variety of methods. Depending on
Constructio which option you choose, the system interprets the selected object(s) accordingly.
n Options
Next Leg Controls which leg of a revolved section line you are working on. After
constructing one leg of a revolved section, you can press the Next Leg button to
allow you to work on the other leg of the section line. This button is only active
when creating revolved sections.
Remove Removes the last section line creation operation.
Last
Remove All May undo all section line creation operations and start again.
Erase All Lets you select the faces or bodies to keep in the section view.
But Selected

Erase All But Selected


When you choose this option, the graphics window switches to the model view and the
Class Selection dialog displays. After you select the objects you wish to keep, click OK
on the Class Selection dialog and the graphics window switches back to the drafting view
and the Section Line Creation dialog so that you can complete unfinished tasks.
The following items apply to this functionality:
· In order for this option to work, Preferences->View Display->Section View-
>Background must be toggled ON.
· This option is not available for section views created from faceted representation
views.
· Non-sectioned component display takes precedence over this functionality.
Section View with Background Curves Included Background Curves Excluded

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Reference Guide

View and Scale Labels


View labels and view scale labels allow you to automatically generate associative labels.
The labels are associative to the member view. When the view moves, the associative
labels move with the view. A view label consists of a prefix and a label letter. A scale
label consists of a prefix and scale value.

· You can add view and scale labels at view creation time or by using the Drawing-
> Add View option. You add view and scale labels to existing views using
Drawing-> Edit View.
· View and scale labels are single annotation objects that use the current module
text preferences.
· View and scale labels are automatically created below the view and centered with
the view. View labels can be moved to a new location using the Edit-> Origin
option and remain associated to the view.
· You can modify the parameters of view and scale labels using the Preferences->
View Label option.

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Reference Guide

Note: -You can delete view and scale labels for Top, Auxiliary, and Orthographic Views
using Edit-> Delete. However, you cannot delete view and scale labels that are associated
to section or detail views.
Label Letters
View label letters increment automatically when you create a new view label that
includes a label letter. For example, if an imported view was created with the letter "A",
then the letter "B" is used with the next view you create. When the letter increments past
the last letter in the alphabet, double letters are used (e.g. AA, AB, AC etc.) then triple
letters are used (e.g. AAA, AAB, AAC, etc.). The letters I, O, and Q are not explicitly
excluded from label letters. The Customer Defaults file (see Gateway Help) includes
options for including and excluding letters and limiting the minimum and maximum
number of letters that can be used. Duplicate letters cannot be assigned.
Copy View
When you copy a view (Drawing->Move/Copy View), the view label is also copied to
the new view. The view label is copied except that the label letter is incremented in the
new view.
Drawing XY Coordinates
You may place views on a drawing by entering drawing XY coordinates into the XC and
YC coordinate fields (located along the bottom of the graphics window) and pressing
<Enter>. As the cursor moves around the graphics window, its location in drawing
coordinates is tracked and displayed in the drawing XY coordinate fields.

Drawing XY Coordinates

Section Views in Assembly Drawings


When creating an assembly drawing, it may sometimes be necessary to show certain
components uncut (non-sectioned) in section views that appear on the drawing (see the
following figure). Standard part components such as nuts, bolts, pins, etc. are commonly
shown on a drawing in this manner. To accomplish this task, you can use the user-defined
attributes functionality. By setting the user-defined part attribute called section-
component to the proper setting, you can add components to an assembly that appear
non-sectioned in section views on the drawing. You can also specify sectioning properties
for individual occurrences of a component in a view with the Section Components in
View option.

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Reference Guide

Remove View
Drawing-> Remove View allows you to remove views from a drawing(s). You can select
one view or multiple views to remove. The following figure shows the Remove View
dialog.

The Remove View Dialog

Remove Views Options


View Lists the names of views that you can remove.
List
Box
List All When toggled ON, this option causes the View List Box to list all of the views on all
in Part drawings in the part. When toggled OFF, this option causes the View List Box to list
all views in the current drawing of the part.
All Selects all of the views shown in the View List Box.
Reset Deselects all of the selected views in the View List Box.
Action The following action buttons are always active.
Buttons · OK - Removes the selected view and dismisses the dialog.
· Apply - Removes the selected view and retains the dialog.
· Cancel - Dismisses the dialog without removing any selected views.

Using The Remove View Option


To use the Remove View option:
· Select the view(s) you want to remove. You can select views by choosing a view
name from the Remove View dialog, or by selecting the view itself from the
graphics display. You may use a combination of both methods. When views are
selected their view bounds highlight.
· Choose Apply to remove the selected view(s).
If you make an error in selecting the view(s) you want to remove you can clear the
selection by choosing the Reset button.

Note: - When removing a view from a drawing all view dependent objects are deleted.

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Reference Guide

Move/Copy View

Drawing Move/Copy View allows you to move or copy existing views on the drawing.
Views can be moved or copied To a Point, Horizontally, Vertically, Perpendicular to a
Line, or To Another Drawing.

Move/Copy View Options


View Selects one or more views to be moved or copied.
Selection
List
To a Point Moves or copies views to a new point location on the drawing.
Horizontally Moves or copies views in a horizontal direction.
Vertically Moves or copies views in a horizontal direction.
Perpendicul Moves or copies views perpendicular to a defined hinge line.
ar to a Line
To Another Move or copies views to another drawing.
Drawing
Copy Views Copies existing views and move them to a new location on the drawing.

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Reference Guide

View Name Enters a name for a view that is to be copied onto the drawing. The view name
must be entered into the field prior to placing it on the drawing. If a view name is
not specified, or if it is not valid or unique, a unique system name is generated for
the view (e.g. ORTHO@8).
Distance Controls the distance that a view is moved/copied relative to the originally
selected view. If the Distance button is toggled to the ON position, the view is
moved/copied at a distance equal to the value specified in the distance field. If
more than one view is selected, the views are moved/copied based on the first
view that was selected.
Vector Defines vectors by choosing from a variety of methods. Depending on which
Constructio option you choose, the system interprets the selected object(s) accordingly. For
n Options details on specific options see Vector Construction Options.
Deselect Deselects views. This is useful if you make a mistake selecting views.
Views
View Selection List
The view selection list allows you to select one or more views to be moved or copied.
Once the views are selected, and a move/copy method is chosen, the views can be
dragged and placed to a new location on the drawing. In addition to selecting views from
the view selection list, views can also be selected directly from the graphics screen. Both
active and reference views can be selected.
To a Point
The To a Point option allows you to move or copy views to a new point location on the
drawing. When several views are selected to move or copy, the newly specified point
location becomes coincident with the center of the first view selected.

The steps below describe how to move views using the To a Point. option. For copying
views, the steps are the same except that the Copy Views option must be set to the ON
position.
· Select the views you wish to move. You can select the views from the view
selection list or directly from the graphics screen. If you make a mistake selecting
views, you can choose Reset to deselect the views and re-start the view selection
process.
· Choose the To a Point option.
· Using the cursor, drag the views to the desired location on the drawing. When the
views are dragged, their view bounds are dynamically displayed.
· Indicate a new location for the views. If you continue to move the cursor, the
views move again. You can continue to move the views until MB2 is pressed.
When you found the desired the location, the views are placed at the current
location on the drawing.
Horizontally
The Horizontally option allows you to move or copy views in a horizontal direction. The
steps below describe how to move views using the Horizontally option. For copying
views, the steps are the same except that the Copy Views option must be set to the ON
position.

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Reference Guide

· Select the views you wish to move. You can select the views from the view
selection list or directly from the graphics screen. If you make a mistake selecting
views, you can choose Reset to deselect the views and re-start the view selection
process.
· Choose the Horizontally option.
· Using the cursor, drag the views horizontally to the desired location on the
drawing. When the views are dragged, their view bounds are dynamically
displayed.
· Indicate a new location for the views by pressing MB1. If you continue to move
the cursor after pressing MB1, the views move again. You can continue to move
the views until MB2 is pressed. When MB2 is pressed the views are placed at the
current location on the drawing.

Vertically
The Vertically option allows you to move or copy views in a vertical direction. The steps
below describe how to move views using the Vertically option. For copying views, the
steps are the same except that the Copy Views option must be set to the ON position.

Perpendicular to a Line
The Perpendicular to a Line option allows you to move or copy views perpendicular to a
defined hinge line. The steps below describe how to move views using the Perpendicular
to a Line, option. For copying views, the steps are the same except that the Copy Views
option must be set to the ON position.

· Select the views you wish to move.


· Choose the Perpendicular to a Line option.
· Define a hinge line using the Vector Construction option. When the views are later
moved, they are moved in a direction which is perpendicular to this line. When the
hinge line is defined, an arrow displays showing the direction in which the views can
be dragged.
· Using the cursor, drag the views to the desired location on the drawing. When the
views are dragged, their view bounds are dynamically displayed.
· Indicate a new location for the views. The views are placed at the current location on
the drawing (see the following figure).

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Reference Guide

A View Moved Perpendicular to a Defined Hinge Line

To Another Drawing
The To Another Drawing option allows you to move or copy views to another drawing.
The steps below describe how to move views using the To Another Drawing, option. For
copying views, the steps are the same except that the Copy Views option must be set to
the ON position.

· Select the views you wish to move.


· Choose the To Another Drawing option. The Views To Another Drawing dialog
displays.
· Choose the drawing you wish the views to be moved to.
· Choose OK. The views are moved to the selected drawing. This can be verified by
opening the drawing

Views To Another Drawing Dialog

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Reference Guide

Copy Views
The Copy Views option allows you to copy existing views and move them to a new
location on the drawing. Copy Views can be used with all move/copy methods. The steps
below give an example of how to copy and move views using the To a Point option:
· Turn on the Copy Views option.
· Select the views you wish to copy.
· Choose the To a Point option.
· Using the cursor, drag the copied views to the desired location on the drawing.
When the views are dragged, their view bounds are dynamically displayed.
· Indicate a location for the copied views. If you want to make another copy of the
views, you can move the cursor to a new location. This process can be repeated as
many times as desired.
Note: - If a section view is copied without its parent view, it becomes a detail view on
the drawing. If a section parent view is copied alone, it is copied without the section line.
If the section view is copied with its parent view, identical copies of the views are made
and include the section line.

A View Copied Using To a Point

Align View
The Drawing-> Align View option allows you to align existing drawing views on a
drawing. Views can be aligned using the alignment methods: Overlay, Horizontally,
Vertically, Perpendicular to a line, and Infer.

Several alignment options are available to help you define the point location on the
view(s) where the alignment takes place.

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Reference Guide

Align View Options


View Selects the views you want to align. Both active and reference view can be
Selection selected. In addition to selecting views from the list, views can also be selected
List directly from the graphics screen.
Overlay Align views both horizontally and vertically so that they may be superimposed one
upon the other.
Horizontally Horizontally aligns selected views with each other. The way in which the views
are aligned depends on the alignment option chosen (Model Point, View Centers,
or Point to Point), and the view points that are selected. The example steps below
describe how to align views horizontally using the three different alignment
methods.
Vertically Vertically aligns selected views with each other. The way in which the views are
aligned depends on the alignment option chosen (Model Point, View Centers, or
Point to Point), and the view points that are selected. The Vertically option works
in the same manner as the Horizontally option, except that the views are aligned
vertically instead.
Perpendicula Aligns a selected view perpendicular to a specified reference line.
r to a Line
Infer Aligns views based on the matrix orientation of a selected stationary view.
Alignment Controls the way in which views are aligned.
Options
Point Defines point locations by choosing from a variety of methods. Depending on
Construction which option you choose, the system interprets the selected object(s) accordingly.
Options
Vector Defines vectors by choosing from a variety of methods. Depending on which
Construction option you choose, the system interprets the selected object(s) accordingly.
Options
Deselect Is useful if you make a view selection error when aligning views. You can use the
Views Deselect button to clear the selection and start again.

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Reference Guide

Overlay
The Overlay option allows you to align views both horizontally and vertically so that they
may be superimposed one upon the other. The way in which the views are aligned
depends on the alignment option chosen (Model Point, View Centers, or Point to Point),
and the view points that are selected.
You can overlay views to a specified model point as follows:
1. Set the Model Point alignment option.
2. Using the appropriate point construction option, select a model point in the view
that remains stationary during alignment.
3. Select the views that you want to overlay on the stationary view. The views can
be selected from the view selection list or directly from the graphics screen.
4. Choose the Overlay option. The views automatically overlay with the selected
model point.

Broken View

The Broken View option allows you to create, modify, and update compressed views
with multiple boundaries which are known as broken views. Options on the Broken View
dialog are unavailable until you select a view. You can select a view from the View List
Box or from the graphics screen. Once you select a view, the view displays in expanded
view mode.

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Reference Guide

Note: -
· The preferred method is to create the broken view first and then to annotate the
view.
· A broken view cannot be the parent for a section view.
· The following views cannot be broken:
1. Multiview section views (unfolded and revolved)
2. Detail Views
3. Views with section lines
4. Views with faceted representations

Basic Procedure for Creating a Simple Broken View


· Choose Drawing-> Broken View.
· Choose a view from the View Select Box or from the Graphics Screen. Observe
that the view expands. Options on the Broken View dialog become available.
· Choose Simple Break from the Curve Type option menu.
· Choose Inferred Point from the Point Construction option menu.
· Select the boundary start point with the cursor.

· Select the line end point with the cursor. This defines the Simple Break curve.
Note that the curve type changes to Construction Line.

· Continue defining the primary region until you have a closed region as shown in
the following figure.

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Reference Guide

· Choose Apply. Note that the system automatically defines an anchor point for
you. If you are not attached to geometry you must define an anchor point.

· Choose the desired curve from the Curve Type option menu. Note that if you do
not choose a curve type, the system automatically reverts back to the previous
curve type.

· Define a break region as shown in the following figure.

· Choose Apply.
· Choose Display Drawing or Cancel.

Edit View
The Drawing-> Edit View option allows you to edit various view parameters for existing
views on the current drawing. Some of the items which you can edit include the view
name, view status, view angle, view scale, etc.

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Reference Guide

Edit View Options


View Selects one or more views at a time to edit. The views can either be selected from
Selection the view selection list, or, they can be selected directly from the graphics screen.
List Both active and reference views can be selected. As each view is selected, its
name, type, status, angle, and scale settings are displayed in the dialog. After all
desired views are selected, the dialog settings can be modified. When Apply or OK
is chosen all previously selected views are assigned only the settings that were
newly modified.
View Name Changes an existing member view's name by entering a new name in the View
Name field and choosing Apply. Only one view at a time can have it's name
changed. The view name setting becomes inactive if more then one view is
selected. If a view name is not specified, or if it is not valid or unique, the view is
not renamed.
View Type Displays the type of view that has been selected for editing. View types include,
Imported, Auxiliary, Orthographic, Section, etc.
Reference Edits the status (either active or reference) of views that exist on the drawing.
Angle Change the angle of member views that currently exist on the drawing.
Scale Change the scale of member views that currently exist on the drawing.
Expression Reassociates the scale value to a different expression.

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Reference Guide

View Label Lets you automatically create a view and/or scale label in an existing view that
and Scale does not already have view and scale labels. To create a label, select the view and
Label turn on the appropriate toggle button(s) as desired. The view and scale parameters
reflect the values set in Preferences->View Label.
If the view already has a view or scale label, the toggle buttons display the current
state of the label buttons (ON or OFF). Make your changes to the toggle buttons
and choose OK or APPLY. If both toggle buttons are set to off and you choose OK
or APPLY, the view label is deleted.

Reference
The Reference option allows you to edit the status of views that exist on the drawing. A
view can have a status of either Active or Reference. Active views are views you can
work on directly, while reference views cannot be worked on directly. When the
Reference option is turned ON for a view, the view is considered a reference view. When
the Reference option is turned OFF the view is considered an active view.
If you change an active view to a reference view, the view geometry no longer displays
and a reference marker appears inside the view bound. Although the geometry in a
reference view does not display on the screen, it still plots. Views which are converted to
reference views do not update until made active again, even if the angle, scale, or hinge
line is changed.
To edit a view's status:
1. Select the view(s) whose status you wish to edit. The view bounds highlight. If
you make a mistake selecting views, you can press Reset to clear the selection and
start again.
2. Choose either the Active or Reference option. The following figure shows an
active view which has been changed to a reference view.

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Reference Guide

Break-Out Section

Break-Out sections allow you to see the inside of a part by removing a region of the part.
The region is defined by a closed loop of break-out curves. You can apply break-out
sections to both orthographic and pictorial views. Choose Drawing->Break-Out Section
to use the break-out section options.
Note: -
· Only the planar cut faces of a break-out section are crosshatched.
· Splines created by the fit method are not selectable for break-out section boundary
regions (splines created by Through Points or By Poles are selectable).

Break-Out Section Options


Create Lets you create multiple, associative, break-out sections in either an orthographic
or pictorial view.
Edit Lets you modify a break-out view.
Delete Lets you delete a break-out section.
Creation Contains creation step icons that guide you through the interactive steps required
Steps to create a particular view type.
View List Lists all of the views.
Box
Cut Cuts completely through the model when this option is ON.
Through
Model
Hidden Controls whether hatching participates in hidden line processing or not.
Line · OFF = Uses current hatch style from Preferences->Annotation-
Hatching >Fill/Hatch.
· ON = Uses equally spaced solid lines (e.g. iron).

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Reference Guide

Create a Break-out Section


See Break-Out Creation Steps for definitions of base point, extrusion vector, and
boundary points.
The steps required to create a break-out section are as follows:
· Select a view. Create geometry to use for a closed loop of break-out curves. You
can either create the closed loop in a member view (View-> Expand) or create an
open curve in member view and close the curve during "Modify boundary points"
of the interactive steps of the Break-Out Section dialog.
· Exit the member view.
· Choose Drawing-> Break-Out Section.
· Select the view where you have added break-out curves.
· Select a base point.
· Indicate the extrusion vector.
· Select curves.
· Modify boundary points.
· Click the Apply button on the Break-Out Section dialog.

Break-Out Creation Steps


The Break-Out Section dialog contains creation step icons that guide you through the
interactive steps required to create a break-out section. As you complete each step, the
creation step icon for the next interactive step automatically highlights. Only the icon for
the current step highlights, all other icons appear grayed out. If you make a mistake
during the break-out creation process, you can go back to a previous step by clicking on
the appropriate icon. For example, when you create a break-out section view there are
five creation step icons available:
· Select View
· Indicate Base Point
· Indicate Extrusion Vector
· Select Curves
· Modify Boundary Points
After you complete the first step (select view) the Indicate Base Point icon highlights. At
this point if you made a mistake and selected the wrong view, you could go back to the
select view step by clicking the Select View icon.

Creation Step Icons

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Reference Guide

Select View

The select view option allows you to select an orthographic or pictorial (trimetric or
isometric) view for a break-out section. You can select a view by clicking a view on the
drawing or by selecting a view name from the view name list box.

Indicate Base Point

The base point is the reference point from which the break-out curves (closed loop)
sweep in the direction of the extrusion vector. The base point is also used as a reference
for non-associated break-out boundary curves (non-associated means that the curves were
not previously associated to the model). If the base point moves, the non-associated
break-out curves move with the base point.
You select a base point using one of the point subfunction options.

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Reference Guide

When toggled ON, the Cut Through Model button allows you to cut completely through a
pictorial view.

Indicate Extrusion Vector

The system offers and displays a default extrusion vector which is perpendicular to the
XY plane of the view which points toward the viewer. The following options allow you
to define the extrusion vector:

Extrusion Vector Options


Vector Constructor Lets you define a vector associative to the model.
Reverse Vector Lets you reverse the direction of the extrusion vector.
View Normal Lets you reestablish the default vector as the extrusion vector

Select Curves
The select curves step allows you to define the boundary curves of the break-out section.
You can either create a closed loop of curves or create several curves and let the system
connect them automatically.

Select Curves Options


Chain Provides a quick method of selecting connected objects.
If the curves form a closed loop, select one curve from the loop and click OK on the
Chaining dialog. The system selects all of the curves from the closed loop, marks the
curves with boundary indicators, and automatically chooses Modify Boundary Points.
Deselect Deselects the last curve selected
Last

Note: -
Only view dependent curves are selectable. Splines created by the Fit method are not
selectable (splines created by Through Points or By Poles are selectable).

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Reference Guide

Pictorial Break-Out Section View


In the following figure we have added a rectangle in the Modeling application.

1. Choose the Drafting application.


2. Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.
3. Choose the pictorial view.
4. From Convert Dependency, choose Model To View. The Class Selection dialog
displays.
5. Select the four lines of the rectangle and click OK.
6. Choose Drawing->Break-Out Section.
7. Select the pictographic view. After you select the view, the break-out section
dialog advances to the "Indicate Base Point" icon. In this example, we want the
break-out from the bottom of the part to the top. Toggle Cut Through Model ON.
We indicate a line endpoint which is below the base of the part (this is a reference
line) as shown in the following figure.

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Reference Guide

8. The extrusion vector is automatically chosen. You can accept it by clicking MB2
or define a new vector by using the vector constructor options. We defined a
vector using the vector construction two points option. We used two arc centers so
that the direction of the vector is along the axis of the part as shown in the
following figure.

Indicate Extrusion Vector


9. To select the rectangle as the boundary curves choose the Chain option. The
chaining dialog displays. Select any leg of the rectangle. Click the OK button on
the Chaining dialog. The selected rectangle displays with boundary points (small
circles). To reshape a curve you click on one of the boundary points once, then
move your mouse without pressing down on any buttons. The curve moves at the
boundary point as the mouse moves. You can use the point constructor to
associate the point with geometry on the model. Click to accept a new location for

43
the boundary point.

10. Click the Accept button on the Break-Out Section dialog. The system generates
the break-out section view shown in the next figure.

Pictorial Break-Out Section View

Update Views
Drawing-> Update Views allows you to manually update selected drawing views to
reflect changes that have occurred to the model since the last time the views were
updated. Items that may be updated include hidden lines, silhouettes, view bounds,
section views, and section view details. If the currently displayed drawing or any of its
views are not up to date, an "OUT-OF-DATE" message appears next to the drawing
name in the lower left corner of the drawing display. This message may also appear when
the drawing contains any invalid section lines. The following figure shows the Drawing
Update dialog.

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Reference Guide

View Selection List


Displays the names of the views that are available for selection on the current drawing.
You can select one view or multiple views from the dialog. If views are selected from the
graphics screen the view names become highlighted in the dialog. After selecting the
desired view(s), you may choose Apply or Ok to update the view(s). Selected out of date
views are updated, and selected up to date views are regenerated (including all silhouettes
and hidden lines). If you make a mistake when selecting view(s), you may choose the
Reset button to clear the selection and start again.

Edit
The options found under the Edit pull-down menu allow you to modify existing drafting
objects such as section lines, crosshatching, leaders, ordinate dimensions, etc. Note that
the first six options that appear under the Edit pull-down are options that are common
throughout the system and are not described in this manual.

Origin

Edit-> Origin lets you establish an associative relationship between views, geometry, and
other annotations to define the location of an annotation on the drawing. The associative
annotations relocate themselves to the proper location when the model or related
annotations update. The default alignment type (Drag, Relative to View, etc.) and default
parameter settings in the Alignment Specific Options area of the dialog depends on the
current alignment setting in Preferences->Origin. The Origin Tool dialog becomes active
whenever you choose an option that places or modifies annotations on a drawing.

If you select an annotation by clicking it, the Origin Tool dialog updates with the current
alignment type of the annotation.

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Reference Guide

Origin Tool Alignment Options


Drag Lets you rubberband annotations or dimensions into place. When the Associative
option is ON, the system can automatically infer an associative reference point with
geometry or you can manually specify a geometric reference point.
Relative to Lets you associate standalone drafting objects (notes, symbols, etc.) to a drafting
View view (this option excludes modeling views). Annotations move with the view when
the view is moved, copied, or rotated.
Horizontal Lets you horizontally align the text of an annotation with the text of another
Text annotation in the part.
Alignment
Vertical Lets you vertically align the text of an annotation with the text of another annotation
Text in the part.
Alignment
Align with Lets you align dimensions with their dimensions lines.
Arrows

Section Line
Edit->Section Line allows you to edit an existing section line. You can use this option to
add, delete, or move segments of a section line. You can also use it to redefine an existing
hinge line, or to move the rotation point of a revolved section view.

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Reference Guide

Edit Section Line Options


Select Selects a section view in preparation for editing a section line.
Section
View
View Located directly below the Select Section View option, the View Selection List lets
Selection you select a section view from the current drawing.
List
Add Adds a new cut segment to a section line.
Segment
Delete Deletes a segment from a section line.
Segment
Move Moves individual segments of a section line.
Segment
Move Edits the rotation point for a revolved section view.
Rotation
Point
Redefine Edits a section view's hinge line.
Hinge
Line
Add Segment
This option allows you to add a new cut segment to a section line (see the following
figure). To add a new segment, you must:
1. Select the section line you want to edit. The bounds of the section view highlights.
2. Choose the Add Segment option.
3. Indicate a position to place the added segment. Use the appropriate Point
Construction options.
4. Choose Apply or OK to change the currently selected section line, and update the
section view.

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Reference Guide

Original Section Line and New Section Line with Segment Added
Delete Segment
This option allows you to delete a cut segment from a section line (see the following
figure). You can also delete user-defined bend and arrow segments. To delete a segment
you must:
1. Select the section line you want to edit. The bounds of the section view highlights.
2. Choose the Delete Segment option.
3. Select the segment you want to delete. For point to point unfolded section lines
select a segment close to the point you want to delete.
4. Choose Apply or OK to change the currently selected section line, and update the
section view.
Note: -
· This option is not intended to delete the entire section line. You must delete the
associated section view using Drawing->Remove View to delete the section line.
· This option can be used to change a user-defined arrow or bend segment to a system-
defined segment.

Original Section Line and New Section Line with a Segment Deleted

Move Segment
This option allows you to move individual segments of a section line while maintaining
the angle and connection to adjacent segments (see the following figure). Segments that
may be moved include cut segments, bend segments, and arrow segments.

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Original Section Line and New Section Line with a Segment Moved

Move Rotation Point


This option allows you to edit the rotation point for a revolved section view. The
following steps describe how this is done:

1. Select the section line you want to edit. The bounds of the section view highlights.
2. Choose the Move Rotation Point option.
3. Select the appropriate Point Construction option.
4. Indicate a new location for the rotation point.
5. Choose Apply or OK to change the currently selected section line, and update the
section view

Section Components in View


Edit->Section Components in View allows you to edit assembly components of a Section
View to be either sectioned or non-sectioned. For multiple occurrences of a component in
a section view, you can specify individual occurrences to have either sectioned or non-
sectioned properties. This option allows you to:
· control the sectioning of individual components within different views in the
drawing.
· edit the sectioning properties (sectioned or non-sectioned) of an occurrence of a
component in a Section View and takes precedence over the component's user-
defined part attribute (if it exists).
To edit section components in a View:
1. Choose Edit->Section Components in View.
2. Choose a sectioning property (e.g. Make Non-Sectioned).
3. Select a view. You can select a view from the Graphics window or from the View
Name list box.
4. Select component(s). You can choose All Occurrences in View to select all of the
component's occurrences.
5. Choose Apply or OK.
6. Choose Drawing->Update Views.
7. Choose All from the Drawing Update dialog.
8. Choose Apply or OK.
9. The drawing view updates with the specified sectioning property.

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Edit Component
Edit->Component allows you to delete portions of previously created drafting objects.
Components that can be deleted include arrowheads, manually created hatch lines,
dimension and extension lines, etc. In addition to deleting components, the Edit
Component dialog can also be used to move previously created embedded components
(e.g., User Defined GAP symbol, User Defined Break Symbol) to a new location on the
same drafting object.

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Delete Component
The following steps describe how to use the Delete Component option to delete
components of previously created drafting objects.
· Choose Delete Component.
· Select the drafting object whose component you wish to delete. You can select
any number of components for deletion.
· Select the component to be deleted.
· Click Apply to delete the component(s). The following figure shows an example
of a dimension whose extension line component is being deleted.

Move Component
The following steps describe how to use the Move Component option to move a
previously created embedded component (e.g., User Defined GAP symbol, User Defined
Break Symbol) to a new location on a drafting object.
· Choose Move Component.
· Select the drafting object that contains the embedded component you want to
move.
· Select the embedded component. If there is only one embedded component in the
drafting object it is selected automatically by the system.
· Drag the embedded component to the desired position. It can only be moved
along the desired drafting object component. The following figure shows an
example of a GAP symbol, which is moved to a new location to hide an extension
line, which crosses over text.

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Moving an Embedded Component to a New Location using Move Component

View Dependent Edit


View Dependent Edit allows you to edit the display of objects in a selected member
view without affecting the display of those objects in other views. In addition, you can
also use View Dependent Edit to edit objects (such as curves) that exist directly on the
drawing sheet. The View Dependent Edit functionality allows you to erase or edit entire
objects or selected portions of objects.

View Dependent Edit Dialog

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Erase Objects
This option allows you to erase entire geometric objects (such as curves, edges, splines,
etc.) from a selected member view or drawing. If you wish to erase only a part of an
object, you can use the Edit Object Segments option. Objects that are erased using this
option are not deleted, they are merely "made invisible" in the selected view or drawing.
You can re-display the erased objects by using either the Delete Selected Erasures option,
or the Delete All Edits option.

The following steps describe how to use the Erase Objects option to erase a previously
created drafting object:

· Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.


· Select the desired drawing or member view you wish to erase the object(s) in.
· Choose the Erase Objects option.
· Select the object(s) to be erased using the cursor or the Class Selection dialog.
· Choose OK.

Edit Entire Objects


This option allows you to edit the color, font and width of entire objects (such as curves,
edges, splines, etc.) in a selected view or drawing. To edit a portion of an object you can
use the Edit Object Segments option.

To use the Edit Entire Objects option perform the following steps:

· Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.


· Select the desired drawing or member view you wish to edit the object(s) in.
· Choose the Edit Entire Objects option.
· Select the object(s) to be edited using the cursor or the Class Selection dialog.
Note that objects can be selected from any view. Choose OK from the Class
Selection dialog to complete your selection.
· Choose the desired color, font and width settings from the View Dependent Edit
dialog.
· Choose Apply from the View Dependent Edit dialog.

Edit Object Segments


This option allows you to edit the color, font and width of object segments in a selected
view or drawing. When editing an object segment, you must tell the system which
segment you want to edit.

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This is done by selecting bounding objects. Bounding objects intersect (or appear to
intersect) the object being edited, and bound the segment of the curve you wish to have
modified.
To use the Edit Object Segments option perform the following steps:
· Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.
· Select the desired drawing or member view you wish to edit the object(s) in.
· Choose the Edit Object Segments option
· Select the object to be edited. Where the object is selected is important. The side
of the segment selected in relation to its bounding object(s) determines which
portion of the segment to modify.
· Select a first bounding object. At this point, you may do one of two things. You
may choose OK to edit the object segment selected, or you may continue to select
a second bounding object. If necessary, after selecting the second bonding object
you may continue to select additional pairs of bounding objects to edit multiple
segments on the same curve or edge.
· Choose OK
· Choose the desired color, font and width settings from the View Dependent Edit
dialog.
· Choose Apply. The system edits the segment(s) that fall inside the boundaries
with the new color, font and width settings. The segment(s) that fall outside of the
bounding objects remain unaffected. The following figure shows an example

where a segment is modified to be made invisible using a single bounding object.

Delete Selected Erasures


This option allows you to delete erasures that you may have previously applied to objects
using the Erase Objects option. Erasures can be deleted from objects in individual
member views or from objects that exist on the drawing sheet.

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To use the Edit Selected Erasures option perform the following steps:
· Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.
· Select the desired drawing or member view you wish to delete erasures in.
· Choose the Delete Selected Erasures option. The objects that have been
previously erased are highlighted.
· Select the objects you want erasures to be deleted from. You can select the objects
using the cursor or the Class Selection dialog.
· Choose OK. The previously erased object(s) re-display.

Delete Selected Edits


This option allows you to delete selected view dependent edits made to objects on
drawings or in drawing member views. To use the Delete Selected Edits option perform
the following steps:

· Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.


· Select the desired drawing or member view you wish to delete selected edits in.
· Choose the Delete Selected Edits option. The objects that have view dependent
edits applied to them become highlighted.
· Select the objects you want the edits to be deleted from. You can select the
objects using the cursor or the Class Selection dialog. Note that the objects can be
selected from any view. As objects are selected they display in their original state
prior to any applied view dependent edits.
· Choose OK. The edits are deleted from the previously selected objects.

Delete All Edits


This option allows you to delete all previously made view dependent edits on drawings or
in drawing member views.

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Model To View
This option allows you to convert certain objects which exist in the model (model
dependent), to objects which exist in a single member view (view dependent). The
objects that can be converted to a single member view include unreferenced curves,
points, patterns, dimensions, and other drafting objects (excluding crosshatching).

In addition, Model to View also allows you to convert unreferenced curves, points, and
patterns to the drawing itself. This option does not allow solids or drafting objects (such
as dimensions) to be converted to the drawing view.

To use the Model To View option perform the following steps:

· Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.


· Select the view (or the drawing) you want the object(s) to be view dependent in.
· Choose the Model To View option. The Class Selection dialog displays and
allows you to select objects to convert. You can select the objects using the Class
Selection dialog, or you can select them directly from the graphics screen.
· Choose OK from the Class Selection dialog The previously selected objects are
converted to view dependent objects.

View To Model
This option allows you to convert certain objects, which exist in a single member view
(view dependent objects), to model objects. The objects that can be converted include
unreferenced curves, points, patterns, dimensions, and other drafting objects (excluding
crosshatching, area fill, and section lines).

In addition, View To Model also allows you to convert unreferenced curves, points, and
patterns that exist on the drawing to model objects.

To use the View To Model option perform the following steps:


· Choose Edit->View Dependent Edit.
· Select the view (or the drawing) that contains the view dependent objects you
want to convert to model objects.
· Choose the View To Model option. The Class Selection dialog displays and
allows you to select objects to convert. You can select the objects using the Class
Selection dialog, or you can select them directly from the graphics screen.
· Choose OK from the Class Selection dialog. The previously selected objects are
converted to model objects.

Preferences
The options found under the Preferences pull-down menu allow you to specify various
settings called preferences. These preferences control creation parameters, display

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parameters, tolerances, and other characteristics. Once you have set a particular
preference, all subsequently created objects correspond to that setting.
Options on the Preferences pull-down menu that apply to both Drafting and GD&T are:

· Annotation
· Geometric Tolerancing
· Drafting

Options that apply specifically to the Drafting Application are:


· Visualization
· Origin
· Section Line Display
· View Display
· View Label

Preferences Menu
Use Preferences to define the display parameters of new objects, names, layouts, and
views. You can set the layer, color, font, and width of created objects. You can also
design layouts and views, control the display of object and view names and borders,
change the size of the selection ball, specify the selection rectangle method, set chaining
tolerance and method, and design and activate a grid.

Visualization Preferences Dialog


This dialog controls attributes that affect the display in the graphics window.
Some attributes are associated with the part or with particular views in the part. The
settings for these attributes are saved in the part file. For many of these attributes, when a
new part or view is created, the setting is initialized to a value specified in the customer
defaults file.

Option Description
Names/ Specifies display attributes of object names and controls the display of view names and
Borders borders.
Line Specifies display properties of lines, curves, and edges, including font and width
attributes and the tolerance used to compute displayed curves from model data.
Special Controls fog effects or enables stereoscopic viewing for the work view.
Effects
Screen Calibrates the physical dimensions of the monitor screen. Also sets the fit percentage,
the portion of the view occupied by the model after a fit operation.
Visual Specifies how objects in a view are visualized. Controls shading, silhouettes and the
appearance of hidden and smooth edges, translucency, and other attributes.
Shade Sets display properties of shaded views. Specifies the tolerance used to compute
shaded facets from model data and controls how edges are displayed in shaded views.
Color Selects colors that are used for special purposes, including selection colors, the dim
Settings color used to display objects off the work plane, and the dim color used to display non-
work parts in an assembly.

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Color Modifies the colors used to display the part in the graphics window.
Palette
Perspec Specifies front and back clipping planes and enables perspective projection for the
tive work view.

Names/Borders
Allows you to turn on and off and change the parameters of the names of objects, as well
as enabling the names and borders of the views.
Option Description
Object Name Object Name Display allows names of objects, attributes, patterns, and
Display groups to appear in the view.
Character Size Allows you to define the size of the text in the object names.
Show View Show View Names or Borders allows you to turn on and off the display of
Names/Borders view names and borders

Note: -

Show View Names has no effect on drawings or drawing member views. The name of a
drawing is always displayed. The name of drawing member view is not displayed, except
when the member view is expanded

Creating a Monochrome Display


You can set a drawing's display to monochrome from any application which supports
drawing display (for example, Gateway or Drafting). The following example sets a
white background and a black foreground (drafting objects are displayed in black).

To create a monochrome display for a drawing:


· Display the drawing you want to set to monochrome display.
· Choose Preferences-> Visualization-> Color Settings.
· Under Drawing Part Settings, toggle ON the Monochrome Display option.
· To display the line width attributes (thick, thin, or normal) of objects, turn ON the
Show Widths option. To display thin line widths, turn OFF the Show Widths
option.
· Click the Foreground color box. The Color dialog displays.
· Click the black color swatch. The Color dialog exits. The Foreground color box
updates its display to reflect the color specified.
· Click the Background color box. The Color dialog displays.
· Click the white color swatch. The Color dialog exits. The Background color box
updates its display to reflect the color specified.
· Click OK or Apply. The drawing displays in the Monochrome colors specified for
Background and Foreground

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Screen Preferences
Fit Percentage
Specifies the area of the graphics display to be occupied by the model after a fit operation
is performed. For example, a fit percentage of 100% scales the model so that it occupies
100% of the graphics display. Similarly, a fit percentage of 80% fits the model within
80% of the graphics display area, leaving space around the model for the creation of
additional geometry

Annotation Preferences
You can use the options from the Annotation Preferences dialog box to edit objects or to
set creation preferences. The Annotation Preferences dialog box enables you to access the
following tabbed options at the top of the dialog:

This special function dialog box contains preferences for Dimensions, Line/Arrow,
Lettering, Symbols, Units, Radial, and Fill/Hatch. Additionally, some of the preference
options support Geometric Tolerancing.

Annotation Dialog Options


Dimensions Lets you set dimension preferences for arrow and line formatting, type of
placement, tolerance and precision formatting, dimension text angle, and size
relationships for extension line components.
Line/Arrow Lets you set preferences that apply to leaders, arrows, and extension lines for
dimensions and other annotations.
Lettering Lets you set preferences that apply to lettering for dimensions, appended text,
tolerances, and general text (notes, id symbols, etc.).
Symbols Lets you set preferences that apply to ID, User Defined, Centerline, Intersection,
Target, and GD&T symbols.
Units Lets you set preferences for the display of linear and angular dimension values as
well as dual dimension format.
Radial Lets you set preferences for the display of diameter and radius dimension values.
Fill/Hatch Lets you set preferences for cross hatching and area fill.
Action Includes Inherit, Inherit All, Reset, Reset All, Load Defaults, Load All defaults,
Buttons OK, Apply, and Cancel.

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Dimensions
The Annotation Preferences Dimensions dialog box provides the following preference
settings after you choose the Dimensions tab:

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Annotation Preferences Dimensions Options


Extension Line and Arrow toggle buttons turn on or
off the following:
Display Extension Line on Side 1
Display Arrow on Side 1
Display Arrow on Side 2
Extension/Arrow Preferences Display Extension Line on Side 2
The following dimension placement preference
options are available:
Automatic Placement - allows the system to control
where the dimension is placed. The system rubber
Dimension Placement Pull-down menu bands the location of the dimension to the center of
the dimension line.
Manual Placement Arrows Out - Allows you to
move the cursor to any location. The arrows display
outside the extension lines.
Manual Placement Arrows In - Allows you to move
the cursor to any location. The arrows display
inside the extension lines with the dimension.
The following Line Between Arrows options work
in conjunction with the three options for Dimension
Placement:
No Line Between Arrows - Does not place a line
Line Between Arrows Pull-down Menu between the extension lines.
Line Between Arrows - Places a line between the
extension lines.

The Tolerance Type preference option controls how


the tolerance value displays.
Tolerance Type
Dimension Text Orientation provides the following
options that apply to dimensions and appended text.
Horizontal
Aligned
Text Over Dimension Line
Perpendicular
Dimension Text Orientation Text at Angle
The Text at Angle text box is only available when
you choose the Text at Angle option from the
Dimension Text Orientation drop-down options.
To create or edit the dimension text angle, choose
Text at Angle text box this option, and enter a new value in the Text at
Angle text box.

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The Dimension Units radio box lets you set the


nominal dimension precision, the upper and lower
tolerance values, and the tolerance precision to be
Tolerance and Precision set for the units specified in the Units dialog.
Chain Offset Lets you set the distance between successive
dimensions for chain dimensions.
Baseline Offset Lets you set the distance between successive
dimensions for baseline dimensions.
Lets you choose from among five narrow
dimension display types.

Narrow Dimension Display Types


The Horizontal and Parallel options become
available when the Dimension Text Orientation is
Horizontal Text Over Dimension Line and the Narrow
Dimension Display Type is either With Leader,
Text Above Stub, or Text After Stub.
Parallel Horizontal is parallel with the X-axis of the WCS.
Parallel is parallel to the dimension line.

This option is only used during automatic creation


on chain dimensions where overlapping of
arrowheads occurs. If overlapping occurs, then the
arrowhead type specified is used. If overlapping
does not occur then the system uses the arrowhead
type specified in Preferences-> Annotation->
Arrowhead Type Line/Arrow. The Arrowhead options types are the
same as the Line/Arrow preference.
Sets the perpendicular distance between the leader
endpoint and the dimension line of a narrow
Text Offset dimension. The default value is 10 mm or 0.4 inch.
You can also use negative numbers.
This option is available for all Narrow Dimension
Display Types except None.
Sets the angle between the leader and the positive
direction of the dimension line for a narrow
Leader Angle dimension. The range for the angle is:
0 < angle < 180
The default is 60 degrees.
This option is available for any Narrow Dimension
Display type with a leader line.

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Line/Arrow
The Line/Arrow Property Tab contains preferences that apply to leaders, arrows, and
extension lines for both dimensions and other annotations. A preview area provides a
WYSIWYG rendition of the symbol with leaders and dimensions.

Line/Arrow Options
Enables you to specify the type of arrowhead used
in the creation of dimensions and drafting aids.
Arrowhead Display There are separate options for the 1st and 2nd
arrows. Each option provides the following arrow
types: Closed Arrow, Open Arrow, Filled Arrow,
None, Origin Symbol, Cross, Dot, and Filled Dot.
Lets you set the leader line from the left or right
Leader From Left/Right when editing annotation.
Vertical Alignment You can vertically align a leader line with the top,
middle, or bottom of the text. The options are:
· Leader from Top
· Leader from Middle
· Leader from Bottom

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Sets the size relationships of the following drafting


Line/Arrow Display Parameters components:
(English Units Shown) A = Arrowhead length
B = Included Angle
C = Dot diameter
D = Stub size (the dogleg on a label or dimension)
E = Distance an extension line or arc extends past
the dimension line or arc.
F = Extension line angle. This angle only applies to
vertical and horizontal dimensions.
G = Distance from the text to the dimension line
(stub) or arc
H = Distance from the position on the object being
dimensioned to the end of the first extension line or
arc.
J = Distance from the position on the object being
dimensioned to the end of the second extension line.

Enables you to toggle on or off any of the following


Extension Line/Arrow Display iconic toggle buttons (from left to right):
First Extension Line
First Arrowhead
First Arrowline
Second Arrowline
Second Arrowhead
Second Extension Line
Procedure
To set the parameters for drafting object line/arrow format display, perform the following
steps:
· Define the appropriate settings for the display of drafting components such as
arrows, extension lines, or angles.

· Choose the arrowhead type to be used in the creation of drafting objects (e.g.
Closed, Open, Cross, Dot, etc.)

· Specify whether the arrowheads are filled or not.

Note: - The above procedures are just guidelines for setting preferences for
how the system displays the line/arrow format of drafting objects. You do not
have to perform some of the listed steps for setting up the line/arrow format
display if you do not wish to.

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Lettering

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Lettering Options
Alignment Lets you choose the relative position of text in a drafting object with respect to
Position its enclosing, imaginary rectangle.
Text Lets you set the horizontal text justification to one of Left Justify, Center Justify,
Justification or Right Justify.
GD&T Frame Lets you set the value for the GD&T frame height for the Annotation Editor and
Height Factor for embedded Geometric Tolerancing.

Lettering Choose between the following lettering types:


Types · Dimension
· Appended
· Tolerance
· General
Character Defines the height of character text in inches or millimeters, depending on the
Size unit type you specify during part creation.
Defines the spacing between characters in text as a multiple of the standard
Space Factor character spacing for the current font.
Specifies a ratio of length to height which represents the size of character text.
Aspect Ratio
Line Space Assigns the line spacing value as a multiple of the standard spacing for the font.
Factor
Character Contains a list of available character fonts in the directory pointed to by the
Fonts UGII_CHARACTER_FONT_DIR environment variable.
Style Sets the line width of drafting text which may be needed when plotting. Choose
between normal, thick, or thin line widths by selecting the appropriate icon from
the style pull-down menu. Note that to make these line widths visible on the
screen, you must enable the Show Widths option in Preferences->Display.
Color Sets the color of drafting text. When you choose the color option, the Color
dialog displays a Color palette. Click the color of your choice from the Color
palette. You can edit the text display of a entity by selecting it, changing any or
all parameters, and clicking on Apply.
Lettering Controls the angle (in degrees) of General text and ID symbols. User Defined
Angle Symbols have their own angle settings.
Action Action Buttons include Inherit, Inherit All, Reset, Reset All, Load Defaults,
Buttons Load All Defaults, OK, Apply, and Cancel.

Lettering allows you to control the size parameters and orientation of text in all drafting
objects. It also allows you to edit these parameters for existing objects.
Procedure
· Choose Preferences->Lettering.
· Choose the drafting text type whose lettering format (height, spacing, etc.) you
wish to set.

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· Choose the type of orientation you wish to set for the text.

Symbols
The symbols dialog allows you to set preferences that apply to various symbol types. A
preview box provides a generic symbol display which shows the symbol's color, line font,
and line width. The Symbols dialog contains the following options.

Symbols Options
Symbol Types Allows you to set or edit ID, User Defined, Centerline, Intersection, Target, and
GD&T symbols.
ID Symbol Size Allows you to set the size of the ID symbol and is unavailable for all other
symbol types.
Color/Font/Wi Sets the color, font, and width of any of the symbol types.
dth

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Apply to All Sets the color, font, and width of all of the symbol types to the currently
Symbol Types selected type.
Preview Area Shows a preview display of the selected symbol type.
Display
Action Buttons Action buttons include Inherit, Inherit All, Reset, Reset All, Load Defaults,
Load All Defaults, OK, Apply, and Cancel.

Units
The Units dialog allows you to set the desired unit of measure for dimensions, as well as
control whether dimensions are created in single or dual dimension format. You can use

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the Units dialog to set unit preferences for subsequent dimensions added to the drawing,
or to edit existing dimensions.
Procedure 1
To set the Unit preferences for subsequent dimensions added to the drawing:
· Choose Preferences->Annotation->Units.
· Set the desired options in the Units dialog.
· Choose Apply or OK.
Procedure 2
To Edit the Units of an existing dimension:
· Choose Preferences->Annotation->Units.
· Choose the dimension to edit.
· Set the desired options in the Units dialog.
· Choose Apply or OK.

Units Options
Decimal Point Allows you to specify either a period or comma for the decimal point
Character and character of a dimension. The comma option is only valid for a
Display/Suppress dimension text unit that is metric (meters or millimeters). You can also
Trailing Zeros either display or suppress trailing zeros.
Allows you to specify the location of the tolerance relative to the
Tolerance Location dimension value.
Allows you to specify the dimension units and decimal/fraction text
Linear Format and format for single dimensions or the primary dimension of a dual
Units dimension.
Angular Format Allows you to specify the Nominal Angle Format, Tolerance Angle
Format, and Display/Suppress Zeros options. These options allow you
to independently set an angular dimensions nominal and tolerance
format. The Display/Suppress Zeros option applies to both the nominal
and tolerance format for angular dimensions.
Dual Dimension Controls whether the dimensions you create are single or dual. Allows
Format and Units you to specify the decimal/fraction text format for the secondary
dimension of a dual dimension.
Convert Primary Controls whether the tolerance values of a dual dimension are converted
Tolerance to from one unit to another.
Secondary Units

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Radial

The Radial option contains preferences for the display of both diameter and radius
dimension values. The following options are available.

Radial Options
Allows you to specify the location of the Diameter and Radius symbols
with respect to the dimension text.
Symbol Location
Diameter Symbol Allows you to set the Diameter symbol preference.

Radius Symbol Allows you to set the Radius symbol preference.

Symbol-To- Allows you to control the space between the symbol and dimension text
Dimension Space in character spaces. Enter the desired number of character spaces. Enter a
Control value in the A parameter text box.
Folded Radius Allows you to specify the angle of the fold in Folded Radius dimensions.
Angle Enter a value in the B parameter text box.
Text After/Above Allows you to control the location of dimension text relative to the leader
Stub stub. There are two options:
Text After Stub - dimension text displays next to the leader stub.
Text Above Stub - dimension text displays above the leader stub with the
stub extended to the maximum length of the dimension text.

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Fill/Hatch
The Fill/Hatch Dialog provides:
· Area Fill options that allow you to either define settings for subsequent area fills
or edit the parameters of existing area fills.
· Hatch Style options that allow you to define settings for subsequent crosshatches
or edit the parameters of existing hatches. There are options that allow you to
choose from a variety of hatch styles as well as control hatch parameters.

Fill/Hatch Dialog Options

Crosshatch and Lets you control how closely the system approximates the boundary along
Area Fill Tolerance curves.

Lets you control the following Area Fill preference options:


Fill · Fill Pattern Style lets you set the area fill pattern style.
· Area Fill Parameters lets you set the scale and rotation angle of the
area fill pattern.
Lets you control the following crosshatch options:
· Current File - displays the name of the current crosshatch definition
file.
Hatch · Open Hatch File lets you specify a crosshatch definition file from a
file list box.
· Distance lets you control the distance between crosshatch lines.
· Angle lets you control the inclination angle of the crosshatching
lines.
Lets you specify the color and width of crosshatch lines, the color of area
Color and Width fill lines, or the area fill solid fill color.

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Dimension
Dimension options let you create and edit various dimension types as well as set local
preferences that control the display of the dimension type. The system uses intelligent
inferencing for all dimension types to create dimensions based on the object(s) you select.
You choose a dimension type from the Dimension Toolbar or from the Insert->
Dimension pull-down menu.
Once you choose a dimension option (other than Ordinate Dimension) a dimension dialog
displays with the following options.

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General Procedure for Creating a Dimension


A general procedure for creating a dimension is as follows:
1. Select the dimension option you wish to create (e.g. Horizontal, Angular, etc.).
2. Set the parameters in the Dimensions dialog that control the display and
placement of the dimension.
3. Select the object you wish to dimension. Use the Line and Point Position options
to help with selection.
4. Indicate a position for the dimension origin.
General Procedure for Editing a Dimension
A general procedure for editing a dimension is as follows:
1. Select the dimension you wish to edit.
2. Change the parameters in the Dimensions dialog that control the display and
placement of the dimension.
3. Choose Apply.

Dimension Toolbar
Inferred This option lets you create dimensions using the systems capability to
intelligently infer a dimension type based on the object(s) you select and the cursor
location.

Horizontal This option lets you creates a horizontal dimension between two selected
points.

Vertical This option lets you creates a vertical dimension between two selected
points.

Parallel This option lets you creates parallel dimensions between two selected
points.

Perpendicular This option lets you creates a perpendicular dimension between a line or
centerline, and a defined point.

Angular This option lets you creates an angular dimension which defines in
degrees the angle between two non-parallel lines.

Cylindrical This option lets you creates a cylindrical dimension which is the linear
distance between two objects or point positions.

Hole This option lets you create diameter dimension of any circular feature with
a single leader.

Diameter This option lets you dimensions the diameter of a circle or arc.

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Radius This option lets you creates a radius dimension that uses a short arrow
from the dimension value to the arc.

Radius to Center This option lets you creates a radius dimension that draws an
extension line from the center of the arc.

Folded Radius This option lets you creates a radius dimension for an extremely large
radius arc-one whose center lies off the drawing area.

Concentric Circles This option lets you creates a concentric circle dimension which
measures the difference in radii between two concentric arcs.

Arc Length This option lets you creates an arc length dimension which measures the
distance around the perimeter of an arc.
Auto Inherit Dimensions from Sketch
When you choose this option, the system will ask you to pick a view to place the new
dimensions into. Once you pick a view, the system will search your part for sketches that
are parallel to the plane of the view and copy the sketch dimensions from these sketches
to the drawing using the current drafting preferences.

Appended Text
Appended text is text that is added to a dimension. You can control how and where the
appended text is displayed by choosing the appropriate appended text option in the
Dimensions dialog.
No Appended Text this option allows you to specifically disallow appended text while

creating or editing a dimension.

Simple Append
This option allows you to append text to a dimension. You do this by choosing a Place
Text option (e.g., Before, After, Above, etc.), and entering text into the Appended Text
fields. When the dimension is created, the entered text displays with the dimension.
Annotation Editor
The Annotation Editor option allows you to use the Annotation Editor to append
text/symbols to a dimension. You use the editor in the same way you would use it to
create a note or label.

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Place Text
The Place Text options allow you to control the placement of appended text. They are
available if you choose either the Simple Append or the Annotation Editor appended text
options. You can place the appended text on the dimension in a variety of ways (see the
following figure).

Text Placement Options

Once you choose a Place Text option, you can enter text into the corresponding field(s)
(see the following figure).

Append Text Text Fields


Precision
The Precision buttons allows you to access the Dimension Precision dialog which can be
used to independently control the precision for both nominal dimension values and
tolerance values (see the following figure). Both Primary and Secondary precision
options are available, and can be used to support single and dual dimensions.

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The following figure shows a dimension that includes a nominal dimension value and
tolerance values. In this example the nominal dimension value has been set to display two
place precision, while the tolerance values are set to display three place precision.

A Two Place Dimension with Three Place Tolerance Values

Annotation Editor

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When you choose Insert->Annotation Editor an Annotation Editor dialog displays


allowing you to create and edit notes and labels. The notes and labels you create can
include symbols represented by control character sequences as well as references to
expressions, part attributes and object attributes. In addition to being able to access the
Annotation Editor directly, you can also access it from several other dialogs for the
purpose of creating and editing appended text. These dialogs include the Dimensions,
Ordinate Dimension Sets, Ordinate Dimensions, and Tolerance Editor dialogs.
Panes Area
The Panes Area consists of five dialog panes whose visibility is controlled by a group of
radio box buttons. Only one pane is visible at a time. There are three panes for entering
symbols (Drafting, GD&T, and User), and two panes for setting preferences (Text and

Dialog). Information on each of these panes is provided below.

Drafting Symbols Pane


The Drafting Symbols Pane allows you to insert drafting symbol control characters into
the edit window. The Symbols Pane is divided into two areas.

The top area has symbol buttons which when clicked adds the control control characters
for the symbol into the edit window.
Below the symbol buttons are the Fraction and Two-Line buttons. These buttons allow
you to insert the control characters for fractions and two-line text into the edit window.
Text for the numerator and denominator of a fraction, or first and second line for two-line
text, is entered into the two text widgets.

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GD&T Symbols Pane

The GD&T Pane allows you to enter the control characters for GD&T symbols into the
edit window. On the left side of the GD&T pane is a column of four buttons. These
buttons will enter the control characters for the following GD&T symbols. (See fig.)

Begin Single Frame


Begin Composite Frame
Vertical Frame Separator and
Begin Next Frame

To the right of these buttons are the buttons for the various tolerance characteristics,
material conditions, and other GD&T symbols. At the bottom of the pane is a field used
to specify the Frame Height Factor and an option menu used to specify the tolerance
standard used by Vcheck. The two choices for tolerancing standards include
ANSI Y14.5M – 1982 amd ISO 1101 – 1983.

To create a GD&T symbol


You can first click either the Begin Single Frame or Begin Composite Frame
button. This inserts the control characters into the edit window to indicate the start and
end of a symbol. This also adds the starting and ending vertical separators for the symbol
and places the cursor between them, so symbol creation can continue without having to
move the cursor. Clicking a characteristic symbol button inserts the symbol followed by a
vertical separator. Clicking the Begin Next Frame button inserts a vertical separator
followed by the control characters for a GD&T new-line. When creating two or more
single feature control frames, you need to insert a vertical separator each time you choose
Begin Next Frame.

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Create With & Without Leader


The Create with Leader button allows you to create labels and GD&T symbols with
leaders. When this button is pressed, a Create Leader dialog displays allowing you to
create a leader using the various parameters in the dialog (for details see Create Leader
dialog). You create a leader by indicating a leader end point and leader intermediate
points. To create a label with more than one leader you can use the New Leader button in
the dialog. Once the OK button in the Create Leader dialog is pressed, a Origin Tool
dialog displays allowing you to specify the origin of the label

The Create without Leader button allows you to create notes and GD&T symbols without
leaders. When this button is pressed, a Place Annotation dialog displays allowing you to
create notes and GD&T symbols at a specified origin.

Create Leader Dialog


The Create Leader dialog is available when the Create with Leader button is pressed. This
dialog allows you to create leaders for labels, GD&T symbols with leaders, and Custom
Symbols. The Create Leader dialog has three option menus that allows you to specify the
leader type, leader side, and leader text alignment (see the following figure). Some
options are not available for Custom Symbols. Each of these menus are described below:

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Note/Label Creation:

The following example shows the steps involved to create the GD&T symbols pane.

· Choose Toolbox – Annotation Editor


· Choose the GD&T radio button on the dialog to display the GD&T symbols pane.
· Choose the Begin Single Frame option.
· With the cursor at the current position in the edit window choose the Concentricity
option. The characters in the edit window should look like the following
<&70><+><&11><+><+><&90>
· Enter the value “. 001” into the edit window.
· Choose the Vertical Separator option
· With the cursor at the current position in the edit window type the letter “A”. The
characters in the edit and preview windows should look like those shown in Figure.
· Click on the Create With Leader button. The Create Leader dialog will display

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· Set the leader type to plain and the leader side to infer.
· Indicate a leader end point for the first leader
· Press the New Leader button and indicate a leader end point for the second leader.
Press New Leader button a second time and indicate a leader endpoint for the third
leader.
· Chose the Ok button. The place annotation will display.
· Indicate an origin for the label.

Notes and Labels Created for a View

Note/Label Editing
You can edit existing text using the Annotation Editor by choosing Insert->Annotation
Editor. Once the editor dialog is displayed, you can select text in the graphics window.
The selected text is captured in the Annotation Editor's edit window where changes can
be made. To apply any edits choose the Apply button. The changes are applied to the
selected text. If you choose the Create with Leaders button or the Create without Leaders
button instead of choosing Apply, the edit is canceled and a new note or label is created
using the text selected for editing. This edit mechanism can be used to inherit existing
text for creating a new note or label.

Utility Symbol:
This option allows you to create various utility symbols such as centerlines, Offset
center points, target points, and intersection symbols. When you choose Insert-> Utility
Symbol, the Utility Symbols dialog displays. This dialog allows you to control the
display of each symbol.

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National standard for the following centerline types:


Linear Centerline, Full Bolt Circle, Partial Bolt Circle, Offset Center Point,
Cylindrical Centerline, Partial Circular Centerline, and Full Circular Centerline.

Basic Procedure for Creating Utility Symbols


The following is a general procedure for creating Utility Symbols. Details are discussed
at length on the pages that follow.
To create a utility symbol:
1. Select the type of utility symbol you want to create.
2. Set the parameters that control the display and placement of the utility symbol.
3. Select the object(s) from which the utility symbol is to be created.

The Utility Symbols options are modal. This means that the utility symbol option you
choose continues to remain active after you have created or edited a symbol.

When creating utility symbols, you may reselect the first object selected. For example, if
you are creating a linear centerline and have selected the wrong object for your first
selection, then just start over by reselecting linear centerline. You are now ready to make
your first selection.

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ID Symbols

The Insert-> ID Symbol option allows you to create and edit ID symbols on your
drawing. ID symbols can be created as stand-alone symbols, or they can be created with
leaders. The ID symbols dialog allows you to specify the symbol type, text, size, and
placement.

Types
The ID Symbol dialog contains a variety of ID Symbol Types for you to use. Each
symbol type creates a different type of ID Symbol. The following figure shows examples
of ID Symbols you can create.

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User-Defined Symbols
The User-Defined Symbol option allows you to place symbols on your drawing which are
either provided by us or previously created by you using File-> Utilities-> Edit Symbol
Font File (see Gateway Help for details on using this option). The user-defined symbols
you place on your drawing can either be stand alone symbols, or they can be added to
existing drafting objects.

Procedure
To place a user-defined symbol perform the following steps:
· Choose Insert->User-Defined Symbol.
· Select the directory in which the symbol resides (either current Part, the Current
Directory, or Utility Directory).
· Select the desired symbol from the displayed list of symbol files contained in the
directory you selected.
· Indicate the desired placement mode for the symbol.
To edit a user-defined symbol perform the following steps:
· Choose Insert->User-Defined Symbol.
· Select the symbol.
· Change the symbol parameters in the dialog (e.g. length, height, scale, aspect
ratio).
· Choose Apply.

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· Choose Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical to change the symbol orientation.


User-Defined Symbols supplied by Unigraphics

User-Defined Symbols are intended to provide the means to represent simple drafting,
machining, or manufacturing symbols.
Creation of overly complex or large symbols may result in degradation of the symbol's
display resolution.

Add To Drafting Object


This option allows you to add a symbol to a drafting object. The system first prompts you
to select a drafting object to which to attach the symbol. Next, the system prompts you to
select the position on the component of the drafting object where you want to attach the
symbol.

You can select Leader lines, Leader stubs, Leader arrows (or other forms), Crosshatching
lines, Dimension lines, Dimension extension lines, Angular dimension arcs.

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Crosshatching

The Crosshatching option allows you to create patterns within a user-defined boundary.

Crosshatching is done by hatching or by filling a specified area with a pattern. A


crosshatched object includes the hatch or area fill pattern and the defining boundary
entities.
Procedure
To create a Crosshatch:
· Check Preferences->Annotation->Fill/Hatch to be sure that the crosshatch
pattern you wish to create is the one selected.
· Choose Insert->Crosshatching.
· Choose either Crosshatch or Area Fill.
· Define the boundary by selecting geometric objects.
· Click Apply to create the crosshatch.

Tabular Note

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The Tabular Note option allows you to create and edit tables of information on drawings.
Tabular notes are often used to define the dimensional values of similar parts within a
family of parts. They are also used for hole charts and material lists.

The following figure shows an example of a tabular note on a drawing used for a hole
chart.

A Tabular Note Used for a Hole Chart


When you choose the Tabular Note option the Tabular Notes dialog displays allowing
you to either Create a new tabular note, or Edit an existing one.
Tabular Note Options
Create Creates tabular notes.
Edit Edits existing tabular notes.

Section Line Display


Section Line Display allows you to control the display of section lines added to the
drawing. The section line display can be modified for existing section lines or for
subsequent section lines added to the drawing.

This option allows you to either modify the display of an existing section line or
subsequent selection lines added to the drawing.

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Section Line Display Options


Arrow Display Controls the sizes of the arrow display by entering values in the appropriate
fields (A, B, and C).
Arrow Past Part Controls the distance between the section line arrows segments and the
geometry box enclosing the part by entering a value in the appropriate field (D).

Stub Length Enters a stub length in the Stub Length field (E)

Color Controls the color of the section line


Display Controls the section line symbol display. JIS section lines require customer
default settings. See JIS Section Line Display.
Font Chooses a font style for the section line.
Width Chooses a section line width.
Style Chooses from a variety of section line arrowhead styles.
Display Label Controls the section line symbol display.
Letter Controls the letters for section line's that contain labels.
Select Section View
Use this option to modify any section line by selecting the section view that is associated
to the section line you want to modify. You may use this in particular for selecting non-
displayed section lines.

Section Line Display allows you to control the display of section lines added to the
drawing. The section line display can be modified for existing section lines or for
subsequent section lines added to the drawing.
Modifying the Section Line Display
This option allows you to either modify the display of an existing section line or
subsequent section lines added to the drawing.

To modify an existing section line you may:


· Select the section line to modify. The section line becomes highlighted.
· Choose the appropriate section line settings.
· Choose Apply or OK to change the currently selected section line.

Select Section View button:

The select section view button allows you to modify any section line by selecting the
section view that is associated to the section line you want to modify. You may use this
in particular for selecting non-displayed section lines.

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View Display
View Display allows you to control the display of views on a drawing. You can control
the display of hidden lines, section view background lines, silhouettes, smooth edges, etc.
You can use the View Display dialog to set preferences for subsequent views added to the
drawing, or you may use the dialog to edit the settings of existing views. When selecting
a view, the View Display dialog updates to display the current settings for that view.

Note: When creating a detail view, the view display properties (e.g. hidden line, smooth
edges, automatic update) of the detail are identical to the view display properties of the
parent view used to create the detail. This is true regardless of the settings in the View
Display dialog. After a detail view is created however, you may then use the View
Display dialog to edit the view display properties.

Note: View Display Preferences are not saved with the part file.

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View Display Options


Define Lets you create, update (modify), delete, or rename a render set. A render set
Render Sets consists of solids or component sets to which you can apply the following
options: Hidden Line, Referenced Edges Only, Edges Hidden by Edges, Edges
Hidden by Own Solid, Hidden Line Color, Font, Width, and Visible Line Color,
Font, and Width.
Define Lets you define the render set sequence for a view.
Render Sets
in View
Provides accessibility to the Hidden Line toggle button which let's you set the
color/font/width of hidden lines and turn ON or OFF, the following Hidden Line
options.
Hidden Referenced Edges Only - Controls the rendering of hidden edges with annotation.
Lines Edges Hidden by Edges - Controls the display of edges which are hidden by other
overlapping edges.
Interfering Solids - Allows you to correctly render hidden lines in a drawing
member view with interfering solids.
Edges Hidden by Own Solid - Allows you to render edges hidden by their own
solid in the selected hidden line color, font, and width settings.
Small Features - Allows you to simplify the display of member views with small
features. This may improve print quality or view update performance.
Visible Lines Provides accessibility to the visible line options which lets you set the
color/font/width of visible lines.
Smooth Edges Provides accessibility to the smooth edge options which lets you set the
color/font/width of Smooth edges and the end gaps value.
Virtual Provides accessibility to the Virtual Intersections toggle button which lets you set
Intersections the color/font/width of Virtual Intersections and the end gaps value.
Section View Provides the following Section View display preferences:
Section Sheet Bodies - Lets you section sheet bodies in a section view.
Background - Either suppresses or displays background curves for a section view.
Crosshatch - Controls whether or not crosshatching is generated in a given
section view.
Hidden Line Hatching - Controls hidden line hatching for Break-Out Section
views and Pictorial Section views.
Assembly Crosshatching - Controls the crosshatching angle of adjacent solids in
an assembly section view.
Adjacency Tolerance - Determines how solids in an assembly section view are
crosshatched.
Threads Provides the following view display preference options for threads:
Thread Standard - Creates ANSI and ISO thread representations for both internal
and external threads in drawing member views.
Minimum Pitch - Controls the minimum distance (in drawing coordinates) to
which two points which represent crests of a thread are drawn.
Options This area of the View Display dialog changes to display the color/font/width
Display Pane options and the unique options for Hidden Lines, Visible Lines, Smooth Edges,
Virtual Intersections, Section View, and Threads.

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Silhouettes Controls the display of silhouettes in drawing member views.


Extracted Provides an alternative way to display model geometry in a drawing view.
Edges
UV Grid Controls the display of UV grid curves in drawing member views.
Automatic Determines whether a drawing view is updated after a change to the model is
Update made.
Tolerance Specifies a chord height tolerance value for silhouette and hidden line generation
in a given drawing view.

Define Render Sets

Render Sets allows you to select either solids or component sets and apply the following
Hidden Line Rendering options: Hidden Line, Referenced Edges Only, Edges Hidden by
Edges, Edges Hidden by own Solid, Hidden Line Color, Font, Width, and Visible Line
Color, Font, and Width.

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To use the render set options:


· Define the render set with Preferences->Drafting->Define Render Set or
Preferences->View Display->Define Render Set.
· Add the render set to the render set sequence from Preferences->View Display->
Define Render Sets in View.
· OK the Define Render Sets in View dialog and OK the View Display dialog.

Hidden Lines
View Display-> Hidden Lines allows you to access the hidden line display preferences
for all views added to the drawing.

When creating a detail view, the view display properties (e.g. hidden line,
smooth edges, automatic update) of the detail are identical to the view display
properties of the parent view used to create the detail.

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This is true regardless of the settings in the View Display dialog. After a detail
view is created however, you may then use the View Display dialog to edit the
view display properties.

Hidden Line Options


The Hidden Lines tab option controls the accessibility of the
Hidden Lines Tab hidden line options. After you click the Hidden Lines tab,
you can select or clear the Hidden Line check box.
Set the Hidden Line check box to make the hidden line
Hidden Line Check Box options available. Hidden Line status (on or off) affects the
appearance of lines in a member view.
The following options become available when you select
the the Hidden Line check box.
Color
Font
Width
Hidden Line Options
Referenced Edges Only
Edges Hidden by Edges
Interfering Solids
Edges Hidden by Own Solid
Small Features

Section View Crosshatch


Section View Crosshatch allows you to control whether or not crosshatching is generated
in a given section view. The following figure shows the two different effects this option
can have on a section view.
Section View Crosshatch - OFF
If Section View Crosshatch is set to the OFF position, crosshatching is not generated for
a section view on the drawing, and a performance increase is gained.
Section View Crosshatch - ON
If Section View Crosshatch is set to the ON position, crosshatching is displayed for a
section view on the drawing.
Procedures
The following procedures outline two ways the Section View Crosshatch option may be
used:
Procedure 1
The Section View Crosshatch option may be used to control the display of subsequent
views added to the drawing as follows:
· Toggle the Section View Crosshatch button to the desired state.
· Choose OK to change the View Display for subsequent views added to the
drawing.

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Procedure 2
The Section View Crosshatch option may be used to edit the display of existing section
views as follows:
· Select the section view(s) to edit. You can select the view(s) from the screen using
the cursor, or you can select them by name from the dialog.
· Toggle the Section View Crosshatch button to the desired state.
· Choose OK to make the change and close the View Display dialog, or choose

Apply to make the change and leave the dialog displayed.

Hidden Line Hatching


The Hidden Line Hatching option controls whether hatching for a Break-Out or Pictorial
Section view participates in hidden line processing. Orthographic hatching is never
hidden and does not require participation in hidden line processing for break-out section
views. The current hatch style chosen from Preferences->Annotation->Fill/Hatch always
applies to a broken-out section view when Hidden Line Hatching is OFF. When Hidden
Line Hatching is set to ON for a break-out section view, the only hatch style available is
iron (equally spaced solid lines).

Hidden Line Hatching OFF Hidden Line Hatching ON

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Assembly Crosshatching
The Assembly Crosshatching option allows you to control the crosshatching angle of
adjacent solids in an assembly section view. This option is available when the Crosshatch
option in the View Display dialog is set to the On position. The following figure shows
how the setting of this option affects a section view.

Section View Crosshatch - Off


If Assembly Crosshatching is set to the OFF position the crosshatching angle for all
solids in an assembly section view are created with the value set in Preferences-
>Annotation->Fill/Hatch->Angle.
Section View Crosshatch - ON
If Assembly Crosshatching is set to the ON position, the crosshatching angle for each
adjacent solid in an assembly section view varies to provide better visualization of each
solid in the view. The crosshatch angle that a particular solid is rendered with is
determined by the solid's crosshatch section area. The largest solid in the view is rendered
with a 45 degree crosshatch; the second largest solid is rendered with a 135 degree
crosshatch; the third largest is rendered with a 75 degree crosshatch, etc. The following
figure shows the different crosshatch angles that are used to render a solid.

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In addition to the size of the crosshatch section area, the Crosshatch Adjacency Tolerance
value is also used to determine how solids in an assembly section view are crosshatched.
The following example serves to illustrate this. The following figure shows an assembly
section view created with a Crosshatch Adjacency Tolerance value of .05 mm. The
section view is made up of four solids. The largest solid is A. Solid A is rendered with a
45 degree crosshatch. The next largest adjacent solid is B. Solid B is 0.06 mm apart from
solid A, and is not within the specified 0.05 mm Crosshatch Adjacency Tolerance.
Therefore, solid B is also rendered with a 45 degree crosshatch. The third largest solid is
solid C. Solid C is 0.02 mm apart from solid A and is within the 0.05 mm Crosshatch
Adjacency Tolerance. As a result, solid C is automatically rendered with a 135 degree
crosshatch. Solid D is the forth largest solid. Solid D is 0.02 mm apart from solid A and
0.01 mm apart from solid C. Since both distances fall within the Crosshatch Adjacency
Tolerance of 0.05 mm, solid D is rendered with a crosshatch angle of 75 degrees which is
different from solid A and C. This ensures that solid D stands out from both adjacent
solid A and solid C.

Note: - When performing a view update, each existing section view on the drawing is
rendered based on the current setting of the Assembly Crosshatching option for that
section view. Since this preference is set on a per-view basis, different section views may
have different settings for the Assembly Crosshatching option. Any crosshatching that
has had its angle previously modified using Preferences->Hatch Style will have its angle
overridden by the assembly crosshatch angle.

An Example of an Assembly Section View


Procedures
The following procedures outline several ways the Assembly Crosshatching option may
be used:
Procedure 1
You can use the Assembly Crosshatching option to control the display of subsequent
views added to the drawing as follows:

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· Toggle the Assembly Crosshatching button to the desired state.


· Choose OK to change the View Display for subsequent views added to the
drawing.
Procedure 2
You can use the Assembly Crosshatching option to edit the display of existing section
views as follows:
· Select the section view(s) to edit. You can select the view(s) from the screen using
the cursor, or you can select them by name from the dialog.
· Toggle the Assembly Crosshatching button to the desired state.
· Choose OK to make the change and close the View Display dialog, or choose
Apply to make the change and leave the dialog displayed.
Procedure 3
You can use the Assembly Crosshatching option and Preferences->Annotation->
Fill/Hatch to define a hatch distance and angle for only some of the cut faces as follows:
· Choose View Display-> Section View.
· Select the section view.
· Toggle Assembly Crosshatching ON. Choose Apply. The system defines the
Assembly crosshatching angle.
· Reselect the same section view.
· Toggle Assembly Crosshatching OFF. Choose Apply. Note that you do not see
any drawing changes because the section view inherits the existing hatching scale
and angle which were just defined by the system.
· Choose Preferences-> Annotation-> Fill/Hatch.
· Select the crosshatch you wish to have a user defined scale and/or angle.
· Change scale and/or angle to the desired values. Choose Apply. Note the selected
crosshatch scales and rotates.
· Choose Drawing-> Update Views.
· Select the section view. Choose Apply. The user defined scale and/or angle are
maintained as desired.

Crosshatch Adjacency Tolerance


The Crosshatch Adjacency Tolerance field (used in conjunction with the Assembly
Crosshatching option) allows you to control the crosshatching angle of adjacent solids in
an assembly section view. If an adjacent solid is at a distance larger than the specified
tolerance value, the section view crosshatch angle for the solid is created with the value
set in Preferences->Hatch Style->Angle. If the adjacent solid is at a distance less than the
specified tolerance, the system automatically calculates a different crosshatching angle
for that solid. The angle that is chosen, depends on the number and location of adjacent
solids in the view

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