Assembly - Top-Down in NX5

[6BQ5]

Hi, I am hoping to get some help with this. In Assemblies I brought in a sheet metal part, like a 3 sided pan. Then I created a new component to make the end cap. My problem is to make the end cap I would like to sketch along the end of the pan but I cannot select the part I guess maybe because its not the working part not sure. Is there a way to use the non working part for refference points to make my end cap part?

Thanks.

 

[JohnRBaker]

What version of NX are you using?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Sorry, just as I hit 'Submit' I reread the title of this thread ;-)

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[6BQ5]

Yeah, I hate when that happens!

 

[JohnRBaker]

If you did not care whether the End Cap was created associative to the 3-Sided Pan, then I would create both Sheet-Metal parts in the same part file and simply Export them into their own part files and then assemble them together.

However, if I did want to create the End Cap associative to the 3-Sided Pan, I would first create the Pan, add it as a component to your assembly, create a second component for the End Cap and make it the Work Part. Then I would use the WAVE Linker to extract the necessary Edges and/or Faces from the Pan into the End Cap part and then just create the End Cap relative to these extracted objects using normal Sheet Metal operations. At that point there would be no need for any further work since the End Cap would have been built relative to the Pan and that's the way it would appear in the Assembly.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[6BQ5]

Ok let me give that a try and see if I can figure out how to do this based on your advice. I am fairly new to doing assemlies in NX5. I will let you know how I make out.

Thanks

 

[hudson888]

While it is tempting to take short cuts if you're intending to top down model then you need to think about the level of associativity that you create as you go along.

Sometimes you are better to create a simple starting feature like a block or a point that you can use to "create new component" which you would immediately make the work part in the context of an assembly so that you can then create linked geometry to base your new model upon. You can delete that point of block now they were just to have something to start the separate component file with.

The problems you often encounter are that you'd like to use linked geometry but you can't do so prior to spawning the new component using "create new component". So you need to strategise according to your needs.

Best Regards

Hudson

www.jamb.com.au

Nil Desperandum illegitimi non carborundum

 

[6BQ5]

John,

I went to file export and there are a slew of options to choose from what steps do I take in the export dialog box it has like 500 options ;>) ok maybe 15, but thats still alot and every selction I make is wrong!

Second problem I run into is when I do help so find out what "WAVE Linker" is in the UGS help file it shows me some icons BUT it doesn't tell you where to find that icon in the menus?

Hudson,

I am not sure what you are talking about.

 

[hudson888]

No it is under Assemblies "create new component"

Best Regards

Hudson

www.jamb.com.au

Nil Desperandum illegitimi non carborundum

 

[JohnRBaker]

When I mentioned using Export, I was talking about...

File -> Export -> Part...

...where you can either copy objects from the current Work Part into an existing part file or you can create a new one on the fly. You can also do this in the context of an assembly by using the Create Component function.

As for the WAVE linker, that function can be found at...

Insert -> Associative Copy -> WAVE Geometry Linker...


John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[6BQ5]

John,

I am using the WAVE Geo Linker now and so far so good. Thanks for the help.



Hudson,

Thanks for the help.