1. Pro/ENGINEER Concurrent Design Top Down Design & Large Assembly Management

2. Agenda Top-Down Design Philosophy Stages of Top Down Design 3D Design
Tip & Tricks
Question & Answer

3. Objectives
At the end of this tutorial, you will better understand how to:
Capture knowledge, or design intent, allowing you to concentrate on significant issues by making the software perform tedious, repetitive calculations.
Enable the framework for interchangeability of components allowing for high-velocity product development by supporting rapid iterations of product variations.
Create a concurrent design environment by spreading project design responsibility across many organizational levels.

4. Top-Down Design Philosophy

5. Traditional Design Approach
“Bottom-Up Design”
Design of individual components independent of the assembly
Manual approach to ensure that components fit properly and meet the design criteria
Components and those placed in sub-assemblies are brought together to develop the top-level assembly
Errors are manually identified and modifications to each component are made to make the adjustment. As assembly grows, detecting these inconsistencies and correcting them can consume a considerable amount of time
Top Level Assembly
Component
Design
Component
Design
Component
Design

6. Top-Down Design Philosophy
Method of placing critical information in a high-level location
Communicating that information to the lower levels of the product structure
Capturing the overall design information in one centralized location
Design
Information
Component
Component
Component

7. Why should you use it? Benefits: Reduced design time
Reduced errors (right the first time)
Increased quality
Better project management visibility
Concurrent engineering
Confidence in top-level regeneration
Knowledge of how modules interface
Top-level change control

8. Example: to design an alternator...
What information should a designer need to work with most times?
Neighboring Subassemblies
320MB
Complete Top-Level Assembly
540 MB
All Skeleton Models in Top-Level Assembly
70 MB
Subassembly,
with Skeleton Model containing
all required information ~ 20 MB

9. Stages of Top Down Design

10. Stages of Top Down Design (TDD)
Conceptual Engineering
Layouts and Engineering Notebook
Preliminary Product Structure
Model Tree, PDM (i.e. Benevolent Dictator)
Capturing Design Intent
Skeleton Models
Manage Interdependencies
Reference Control & Viewer
Communication of Design Intent
Copy & Publish Geometry
Population of the Assembly
Constraints & Component Interfaces

11. Conceptual Engineering Phase Layouts and Engineering Notebook
Stage 1
Conceptual Engineering Phase Layouts and Engineering Notebook
Understand Existing Situation
High-level Requirements
Space Allocation
Define New Space and Motion
2D Sketches
3D Models
Rapid Iteration & Convergence
Animations
Capture Key Design Intent
Parameters
Notes
Relations / Calculations
Interfaces

12. Product Definition: Engineering Layout
What it is:
First thing done in design cycle
Used to evaluate key interface points
Used to evaluate key components of project
What it is Not:
Three dimensional solids
Fully detailed

13. Advantages of Using a Layout
Document design information in one centralized location
Document design information before creating solid models
Investigate design options without involving the entire assembly
Easily make design changes because all of the design information is contained in one location

14. Preliminary Product Structure Phase Model Tree and PDM
Stage 2
Preliminary Product Structure Phase Model Tree and PDM
Quickly define product hierarchy
Before any of the components’ geometry is defined
Intuitive, automatic mapping to “start models”
Templates ensure all designs share the necessary common elements such as datums, layers, views, parameters, etc.
Foundation for efficient task distribution
Component Creation Methods
Empty Components; Copy from start models
Automatic assembly of default datums
Unplaced & Partially-Constrained Components

15. #2 Product Definition: Assembly Structure
What it is:
Virtual Assembly / BOM
Used to organize assembly & assigning of design tasks
Used to input non-geometrical data up-front
What it is Not:
Three dimensional solids
Fully detailed
Fully constrained

16. Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product Structure
Defining the product structure prior to defining geometry can assist you in organizing the assembly into manageable tasks that can be assigned to design teams or individual designers.
Associate specific library parts (that are to be used on the project) with the assembly at the start of the design, preventing confusion later.

17. Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product Structure
Cont…
Submit the assembly to Pro/INTRALINK or PDMLink (or FIT dictator) and assign models to the appropriate vaults or folders.
Individual designers can focus on specific design tasks instead of on how their design is going to fit into the overall structure.
Input non-geometrical information such as the part number, designer’s name, etc., at a very early stage.

18. Capturing Design Intent Phase Skeleton Models
Stage 3
Capturing Design Intent Phase Skeleton Models
What needs to happen?
Capture conceptual design parameters within the context of the assembly
Capture & control critical object interfaces in a single, convenient location
How? Skeleton Models…
Centralized pathway for communication
Facilitate task distribution
Promote well-organized design environments
Enable faster, more efficient propagation of change
Special Treatment in BOMs, Simplified Reps, Drawings, Model Tree & Mass Property Calculations
Uniquely supported Scope Control Setting

19. #3 Product Definition: Skeletons
What it is:
Zero-mass geometry
Exact location detail
Minimized geometric detail
What it is Not:
Three dimensional solids
Fully detailed

20. Advantages of Using Skeletons
Provides a centralized location for design data
Simplifies assembly creation / visualization
Aids in assembling mechanisms
Minimizes unwanted parent-child relationships
Allows you to assemble components in any order
Controls propagation of external references

21. Manage Interdependencies Phase Reference Viewer & Reference Graph
Stage 4
Manage Interdependencies Phase Reference Viewer & Reference Graph
Tools to Manage References
External Reference Control
Ensures Top-Down Design methodology is followed
Incorporate design management rules directly into the design
Ensures proper design reuse
Model Tree
Global Reference Viewer
Reference Graph

22. Reference Control
Benefits of Communicating Information From a Central Source
Task distribution
Concurrent modeling
Managing external references
Tools
Layout Declaration
Publish geometry
Copy geometry
The foundation is set … but topologically modifiable … it’s time for 3D.
With Reference Control Manager, you are safe to create your parts directly in the assembly.

23. Hierarchy Top_level.asm Top_level_skeleton.prt Sub_assy_1.asm
Sub_assy_1_skeleton.prt
Sub_assy_2.asm
Sub_assy_2_skeleton.prt
Sub_assy_x.asm
Sub_assy_x_skeleton.prt

24. 3D DESIGN … FINALLY!

25. Communication of Design Intent Phase Publish Geoms, Copy Geoms
Stage 5
Communication of Design Intent Phase Publish Geoms, Copy Geoms
Publish Geometry Features
Provides ability to pre-determine the geometry to be referenced by a Copy Geometry feature
Allows designers to define their interfaces to the rest of the design
Copy Geometry Features
Allows copying of all types of geometry
Surfaces, edges, curves, datums, quilts, copy/publish geometry
Retains copied geometry name and layer settings
Dependency on parent geometry can be toggled
Can be “Externalized”
External Copy Geometry
Build relationships on external models independent of an assembly
Useful for coordinate system assembly practices
Simplified Representations, Display States & Shrinkwrap

26. Stage 6
Population of the Assembly Phase Automatic Component Constraints & Component Interfaces
What tools are available for populating the assembly?
Assembly Tools
Drag & Drop Placement
Component Interfaces
Component Creation
Within the context of the assembly
Mirror Parts or Subassemblies

27. Highlights of Top-Down Design
Capture knowledge, or design intent, allowing you to concentrate on significant issues by making the software perform tedious, repetitive calculations.
Enable the framework for interchangeability of components allowing for high-velocity product development by supporting rapid iterations of product variations.
Create a concurrent design environment by spreading project design responsibility across many organizational levels.

28. Tip & Tricks

29. Miscellaneous Tips Separate Part Versus Assembly for Skeleton Features
Avoid constructing assembly-level skeleton features since the system requires that you perform all edits of these features in Assembly mode.
The components can become an obstruction and degrade performance.
Furthermore, you cannot easily reuse skeleton features at the assembly level in other subassemblies. By using a separate part file, you can edit the feature in Part Mode and reassemble it into many different assemblies.
Geometry Features
Place all static information in a skeleton as early as possible and place all dynamic information later in the design process cycle.

30. Miscellaneous Tips Datums for Skeleton Models Visualization
Consider renaming skeleton datums to “sk_”
Visualization
Use simplified reps and transparency prolifically to make viewing easier
Use “display states” to highlight different items at different times
Use surfaces to clarify meaning of centerlines & axes
Conceptualization
Don’t be afraid to use simple hand sketches before delving into complex situations … it’s NOT illegal

31. Simplified Representations: Performance Focused Tools
Tools to manage the type and amount of data in session
Graphics Only Reps
Graphical component display only
No feature tree, measuring, modifications
Show relations, material, parameters, etc.
Geometry Only Reps
Graphics Rep, plus…
Reference and Measure capabilities
Explode, Package, Routing Apps
On Demand
Automatically bring information into session as needed, then remove
Graphics Rep
Geometry Rep
Master Rep
Master Rep of ALL components

32. Shrinkwrap: Performance Metric
Original Transmission
Surface Subset
File size: 23MB
Quality Level 6
File size: 147MB