sp8472
Mechanical
- Oct 12, 2010
- 29
Hello all,
Version: Pro-E WF4.0
What I'm after: Some way to add notes or comments in Sketcher, similar to how one would add comments in computer code to explain what a line or section should do.
I do design of aluminum extrusions and sheet metal enclosures, and there are many features and dependencies built into even the smallest, simplest-looking things. - Meet a weight requirement, stackability for storage, fitting a specific size of screw, mating with 3 other types of part, spaces for tooling, making sure it's all shiny and purdy for Marketing
, and so on.
Problem is, I might remember the reason for a dimension one day, but then forget the next day. (Or after 15 minutes, when someone comes in with a technical issue, or a customer support call, or any of the myriad of other interruptions throughout a typical day.)
So, I'll put a feature in that needs to be sized so the extrusion will accommodate a drill bit during assembly, but then a day later I won't remember why that dimension needs to be 0.540", or that I wanted to put a tolerance of +0.010/-0.006 on it when the drawing is generated. So then it gets shifted to make room for something else. Then a day later I remember why it was 0.540, and have to backtrack a bit to get that original feature back.
Now, yes, I can Lock dimensions. And I can also accidentally click something without noticing, though that's rare. That still won't explain why it was locked. Maybe I just wanted to quick drag some geometry around to see what it would look like elsewhere. Whatever the reason was though, it isn't documented.
If I'm programming C, or doing something in a spreadsheet, I can either see dependency problems when the program attempts (and fails) to compile or run, or Excel will whack me on the forehead and tell me I'm trying to do something stupid. I don't know of anything at all similar in Pro-E, short of its feature-level dependencies.
I see that there is an Annotate feature that can be added, but it is cumbersome, and it also appears on the main feature list, and it requires attachments to geometry that may change or disappear, etc etc.
And in Sketcher there is the Text tool, but it is inserted as real geometry that would then get extruded, revolved, swept, or whatever I'm doing.
So just a "notes" or "comment" type of feature is what I'm digging for - or else some other way of adding in this kind of documentation. Or am I out of luck in this software?
Internet searching has not been too helpful, as these two keywords are quite exceedingly common, and there is of course no way of telling a search engine, "No, I don't mean 'comment,' I mean 'comment.'"
Version: Pro-E WF4.0
What I'm after: Some way to add notes or comments in Sketcher, similar to how one would add comments in computer code to explain what a line or section should do.
I do design of aluminum extrusions and sheet metal enclosures, and there are many features and dependencies built into even the smallest, simplest-looking things. - Meet a weight requirement, stackability for storage, fitting a specific size of screw, mating with 3 other types of part, spaces for tooling, making sure it's all shiny and purdy for Marketing
, and so on.Problem is, I might remember the reason for a dimension one day, but then forget the next day. (Or after 15 minutes, when someone comes in with a technical issue, or a customer support call, or any of the myriad of other interruptions throughout a typical day.)
So, I'll put a feature in that needs to be sized so the extrusion will accommodate a drill bit during assembly, but then a day later I won't remember why that dimension needs to be 0.540", or that I wanted to put a tolerance of +0.010/-0.006 on it when the drawing is generated. So then it gets shifted to make room for something else. Then a day later I remember why it was 0.540, and have to backtrack a bit to get that original feature back.
Now, yes, I can Lock dimensions. And I can also accidentally click something without noticing, though that's rare. That still won't explain why it was locked. Maybe I just wanted to quick drag some geometry around to see what it would look like elsewhere. Whatever the reason was though, it isn't documented.
If I'm programming C, or doing something in a spreadsheet, I can either see dependency problems when the program attempts (and fails) to compile or run, or Excel will whack me on the forehead and tell me I'm trying to do something stupid. I don't know of anything at all similar in Pro-E, short of its feature-level dependencies.
I see that there is an Annotate feature that can be added, but it is cumbersome, and it also appears on the main feature list, and it requires attachments to geometry that may change or disappear, etc etc.
And in Sketcher there is the Text tool, but it is inserted as real geometry that would then get extruded, revolved, swept, or whatever I'm doing.
So just a "notes" or "comment" type of feature is what I'm digging for - or else some other way of adding in this kind of documentation. Or am I out of luck in this software?
Internet searching has not been too helpful, as these two keywords are quite exceedingly common, and there is of course no way of telling a search engine, "No, I don't mean 'comment,' I mean 'comment.'"
