Chapter 6 Creating and Documenting Assemblies

Chapter 6 - Objectives After completing this chapter, you will be able to perform the following: Understand the assembly options Create bottom-up assemblies Create top-down assemblies Create subassemblies Constrain components together using assembly constraints Edit assembly constraints Create adaptive parts Pattern components in an assembly Check parts in an assembly for interference Drive constraints Create a presentation file Create Skeletal Models Use the Frame Generator Manipulate and edit the Bill of Materials (BOM) Create individual and automatic balloons Create and perform edits on a Parts List of an assembly

Creating Assemblies New Assembly Files .IAM Extension New icon – What To Do New – File Menu New icon – Down Arrow

Creating Assemblies Assembly Options Tools > Application Options > Assembly tab

The Assembly Capacity Meter Number of occurrences in active assembly Number of open files Memory (RAM) used

Creating Assemblies Assembly Browser Part Occurrence Assembly Constraints Subassembly Occurrence In R6, you can no longer reorder parts in the browser. The addition of the weldment environment with assembly features required this change.

Creating Assemblies Bottom-Up Approach Components are created in their individual files Place Component tool ‘P’ hot key

Creating Assemblies Create Components in Place Create new components while in an assembly Create Component tool Create In-Place Component Dialog Component Name Template to be used File Location Default BOM Structure Virtual Component Constraint to selected face The Middle-Out approach is important. The assembly is a combination of existing parts and new parts created in place. This is the most common workflow.

Creating Assemblies Occurrence Copy of existing components Copy/Paste Ctrl Select Multiple Files Place Component Drag & Drop Any change to original updates all occurrences Save Copy As… to create a copy that is not linked to original

Creating Assemblies - Editing Occurrence Active Component – Available for edit Double-click in the graphics area Double-click file name/icon in the Browser Right-click in the Browser > Edit

Creating Assemblies Occurrence Grounded Component The Component will not move All Degrees Of Freedom are removed When constraining, components move to a Grounded component Any # of components can be grounded

Assembly Constraints Constraints Create relationships between components Bolt and a Hole Reduce the number of Degrees Of Freedom 6 total (3-translational & 3-rotational) View > Degrees of Freedom Component Properties > Occurrence tab

Assembly Constraints Constraints Placing Constraints Constraint tool Right-click > Constraint ‘C’ hot key Place Constraint Dialog

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Assembly tab Mate Plane, Line, or Point Assembles two components so that the surface normal on the selected planes are opposite each other Assembles the edges of lines Assembles two points together Flush Solution Aligns two components so the selected planes face the same direction (surface normal point in the same direction)

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Assembly tab Angle Specify the degrees between the selected planes

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Assembly tab Tangent Defines a tangent relationship between planes, cylinders, spheres, cones, and ruled splines At least one selected face must be a curve Inside/Outside Solutions

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Assembly tab Insert Two circular edges Centerlines are aligned & mate constraint is applied to the planes defined by the circular edges. 5 DOF are removed with an insert constraint

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Motion tab Animation the motion of gears pulleys, rack and pinions, etc. You can drive one component and cause others to move accordingly Motion constraints are secondary constraints They do not maintain positional relationships between components Recommended: fully constrain components before applying motion constraints, then suppress the constraints restricting motion

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Motion tab Rotation Define a component that will rotate in relation to another component Specify a ratio for the rotation between the two components Forward & Backward solution types

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Motion tab Rotation-Translation Define rotation relative to translation of a second component

Assembly Constraints Constraints Constraint Types – Transitional tab Specifies a transitional relationship between a cylindrical part face and a contiguous set of faces on another part

Assembly Constraints Constraints Snap ‘n Go ALT – drag a part to another part No Place Constraint dialog box Select correct area on the part to apply the constraint M or 1 Changes to a mate constraint. Spacebar flips to a flush solution. A or 2 Changes to an angle constraint. Spacebar flips angle direction. T or 3 Changes to a tangent constraint. Spacebar flips between inside/outside solutions. I or 4 Changes to an insert constraint. Spacebar flips insert direction. R or 5 Changes to a rotation motion constraint. Spacebar flips the rotation direction. S or 6 Changes to a rotation-translation constraint. Spacebar flips the translation direction X or 8 Changes to a transitional constraint.

Assembly Constraints Moving & Rotating Components Move Component Tool Drag individual components in any linear direction in the viewing plane Temporarily suppresses assembly constraints on the component until the assembly is updated (constraints are then re-applied) Rotate Component Tool After selected, the 3D rotate symbol appears on the selected component Similar to the Move Component tool, Rotate Component temporarily suppresses any assembly constraints applied to the component

Assembly Constraints Editing Two Methods via the Browser Double-click the constraint name Right-click the constraint name and select Edit, Suppress, or Delete Edit - opens the Edit Constraint dialog box Suppress – the assy constraint is not applied Delete – deletes the assy constraint

Assembly Constraints Conflicts Alert Box Conflicting Recover If you try to place or edit an assembly constraint and it cannot be applied, an alert box is displayed explaining the problem. Conflicting When assembly constraint conflicts with another one, a small yellow icon with an exclamation point is displayed in the Browser Recover Displays the Design Doctor to walk you through the steps to fix the problem

Browser Views Assembly View Modeling View Assembly constraint symbols nested below both constrained components Modeling View Assembly constraints are located in a Constraints folder

Find Other Half Find component that constrained is applied to

Isolating Constraint Errors Design Doctor Isolate and Edit Constraint Turn off all components except those that participate in the common constraint

Exercise 6-1 Assembling Parts

Designing Parts In-Place In-Place Creation Initial Sketch Creation Face of an existing assembly component Work Plane Automatically constrain the sketch plane to the selected face or work plane Creates a Flush constraint between the sketch and the selected face or plane

Designing Parts In-Place In-Place Creation After the base feature is created Create additional features based on geometry from another part in the assembly an adaptive work plane is created. The adaptive work plane moves as necessary to reflect changes in the component that it is based upon The sketch moves with the plane Features based on the sketch adapt to match its new position

Exercise 6-2 Designing Parts in the Assembly Context

Assembly Browser Tools In-Place Activation Double-click a subassembly or component occurrence in the Browser to activate it Right-click > Edit All components that are not active are shaded in the Browser Organizational Tip – The assembly browser shows the structure of the assembly. Components are shown in the chronological order in which they were placed. Prior to R6, you had the ability to reposition components within the browser sequence – this ability was removed with the addition of assembly features. Components can be renamed in the browser. Doing so only changes the browser name of the component. This can be useful if you are required to use obscure file names and want to see more intelligible names in the browser.

The Assembly Return Tool Return to subassembly Return to top level assembly

Assembly Browser Tools Visibility Control Expand the Browser until the desired component occurrence is visible Right-click > Visibility Components selected in the browser highlight in the graphics window. You can select a component in the browser and using the context menu FIND IN GRAPHICS is an option. The converse is also true – selecting a component in the graphics display will allow you to FIND IN BROWSER and doing so will adjust your browser to see the selected part. This can be useful when working with large assemblies.

Adaptivity Definition Allows the size of a part to be determined by setting up a relationship between the part and another part in the assembly Under-constrained sketches and features can adapt The adaptivity relationship is acquired by applying constraints between an adaptive sketch or feature and another part The sketch cannot be fully constrained A part can only be adaptive in one assembly at a time Only one occurrence of a part can be adaptive – other occurrences reflect the size of the adaptive part Example Diameter of a pin from the size of a hole or vice-versa Adaptive relationships will increase the time to solve constraints. To improve performance, turn off adaptivity once a component is sized appropriately.

Adaptivity Options Tools > Application Options > Assembly tab

Adaptivity Example The rectangular sketch is not dimensioned along its length

Adaptivity Example The extruded feature is defined as adaptive

Adaptivity Example Parts are placed, constraints applied between the two plates (flush between the faces on the ends of the plates)

Exercise 6-3 Creating Adaptive Parts

Enabled Components Enabled Component is displayed as wire frame and cannot be selected in the graphics window Right-click a component and select Enabled from the menu

PATTERN COMPONENTS Pattern Components Rectangular Circular Based on Feature Pattern Suppress Elements Pattern Assemblies Replace Components

Exercise 6-4 Patterning Components

Minimum Distance Tool In an assembly measure distances between Components Parts Faces and Edges

Analysis Tools Center of Gravity View > Center of Gravity Displays Gray when the properties are out of date Hover the cursor over the origin of the symbol to display the COG coordinates

Analysis Tools Interference Checking Tools > Analyze Interference Define Set #1 – select components that define set 1 Define Set #2 – select components that define set 2

Exercise 6-5 Analyzing an Assembly

Driving Constraints Drive Constraint tool Simulate motion Right-click on a constraint in the Browser > Drive Constraint

Driving Constraints Drive Constraint tool Assembly Constraints Record Drive Adaptivity Collision Detection

Exercise 6-6 Driving Constraints

Skeletal Modeling Source Create a new IPT into an Assembly .IPT file Derive Component Create geometry based on derive part

Exercise 6-7 Creating a Skeletal Model

Frame Generator Create frame structures Skeleton part (modeling)

Frame Generator Steps to create frame Create skeleton part that consists of a single sketch Place members using the edges of the skeleton part Members inserted from the frame generator Add end treatments; miters and had holes etc.

Exercise 6-8 Using the Frame Generator

Presentation Files .IPN Extension Associated with the assembly file Exploded Views Hide specific components Create animations of assembly and disassembly of components Work Plane Associated with the assembly file Changes made to the assembly are reflected in the presentation file

Presentation Files Panel Bar Presentation Panel Create View Creates views of the assembly Tweak Components Moves and/or rotates parts in the view Precise View Rotation Rotates the view by a specified angle direction using a dialog box Animation Creates an animation of the assembly – AVI file can be output

Presentation Files Creating Presentation Views Create a presentation view Create View tool Adds a presentation view to the file and the Browser

Presentation Files Creating Presentation Views Tweaking Components Moves or Rotates components a specified distance or angle Auto Explode Extends all tweaks the same distance

Presentation Files Creating Presentation Views Tweaking Components Tweak Component Dialog Box Manual Tweaks

Presentation Files Creating Presentation Views Animation Animate Tool Controls for playback Record to AVI or WMV file

Presentation Files Creating Presentation Views Animation Animate Tool > More button Changing the Animation Sequence Move Up / Down Group / Ungroup

Exercise 6-9 Creating Presentation Views

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations) Base View Base View tool IAM and IPN files

Creating Drawing Views - BOM Editor Edit item number, quantity, part number, description, vendor, etc. The BOM is also considered associative to parts and assemblies

EXERCISE 6-10 Editing the BOM

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations) Balloons Balloon tools Balloon - Single Components Auto balloon – Selected Components

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations) Balloons Editing Right-click a balloon > Edit Balloon Edit Balloon dialog box Balloon Type Balloon Value

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations) Parts List Parts List tool Select a view Enter options in the Parts List dialog Click OK

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations) Bill of Materials dialog box Edit the assembly BOM. All changes are saved in the assembly and corresponding component files

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations) Parts Lists Editing Right-click and select Edit Parts List

Exercise 6-11 Creating Assembly Drawings

Applying Your Skills Skill Exercise 6-1 Skill Exercise 6-2