Associative Casting/Machining files 6

[CAD2015]

Hi,

How are associative Casting/Machining files created?
Could somebody place the steps that should bi followed?
How is the link between casting and machining maintained?

Thanks a lot!

CAD 2015

 

[capnhook]

There are 42 steps involved, CAD2015.

Got a minute...?


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[CAD2015]

I was thinking about the main ones......
How is the link between casting and machining maintained?
Should I create an assembly file with the casting file as a component?

CAD 2015

 

[JohnRBaker]

For tasks like that, I would recommend that you look into the creation of 'Promotions' or 'Promoted Bodies'. While some might suggest using WAVE, in this case, Promotions will work better.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[CAD2015]

Thank you, Mr. Baker!

CAD 2015

 

[CAD2015]

It looks like I do need to create an assembly file (for the machined part), either using Wave or Promote Body.........
Am I on the right path?

CAD 2015

 

[JohnRBaker]

Yes, you can only Promote a body into an Assembly by selecting a Body (Solid or Surface) in one of the Components of that Assembly. Please keep in mind, that once you've created the Promotion, that unlike WAVE-linked bodies, you must keep the Assembly(s), even if you have a series of Promoted Bodies going from one Assembly level to another, maintaining the Assemblies is necessary. With WAVE-linked Bodies, while the only practical mechanism to get access to the part models from which WAVE-linked objects can be identified, once the links are created, the Assembly used in the process is not absolutely necessary that that be kept around. Now it's recommended that you do keep the Assemblies, not because without them the WAVE-links will fail, just that if you need to add more objects to a linked scheme, it's easier to do if the original Assemblies are around to provide the environment to do so.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[CAD2015]

Great answer!


CAD 2015

 

[SDETERS]

What we do is put the RM part as a component in the Machining part. We do the "Wavelink" inside the machine part. Then we turn the reference set to the RM part as empty and set it to reference. We also remove the RM component from the machine part model reference set. We do this because, it makes it a lot easier to manage different part numbers to make from these existing parts. I have attached a set of NX 10 RM and Machine per the way we do it today. This is what makes NX great. More than one way of doing things.

 

[CAD2015]

SDETERS,

Can you resend the link in NX 9, please?

CAD 2015

 

[SDETERS]

No problem. I done this in NX 8.5

The one thing people here struggle doing is, removing the Raw Material from your "Model" reference set after you add the Raw Material as a component.

 

[Tingsryd]

Whether you are manufacturing dies, molds or part machining it is quite easy. I think our designers use wave linked geometry more than promote. In the mold design work flow we wave link a body, make any adjustments such as machining stock, adding/deleting/modifying features, scaling, etc-, then proceed onward as usual. If you are part machining it's even more simple as you can program tool paths directly on the wave linked body. The wave linked body/sheets/curves are associated to the original model so you can change that model as well and your link model will have it. We typically leave the original model as is from the customer and manipulate the downstream data. From a cam standpoint NX is quite powerful and it enables me to get more work done than my coworkers using other software; I'm frequently manipulating models for those guys!

In summary, about 40 steps less than a previous poster stated.


10.0.3

 

[CAD2015]

SDETERS,

I am grateful for your replies.
Thanks to you, I can satisfactory handle links between casting and machining files.
It is such a relief to meet such kind people like you, like Mr. Baker and like Tingsryd.
Thank you all.



CAD 2015

 

[CAD2015]

Tingsryd,

I got your last sentence: same counting, 42-40=2


CAD 2015

 

[CAD2015]

Another question for Mr. Baker:

1) When should we use "Promote Body" and when "WAVE Geometry Linker"?
2) What makes one better than the other, in an given environment?

Thanks


CAD 2015

 

[JohnRBaker]

I've already commented about the fact that for the task that you're trying to perform, the 'Promotions' are generally the best approach. WAVE is best when you wish to share or 'link' topology of one model with another. For example, if you wish to align the holes on a frame with the holes of a bracket, I would use WAVE to link the centers of the holes in the bracket using the points to locate the holes in the frame. However, in the case of where you're in essence 'replacing ' one manifestation of a model with another, such as to define the manufacturing steps, like the machining of an as-cast or as-forged part so that it represents the as-finish machined part, I would use Promotions because first you need to deal with the complete body and second, at each level the parent part is no longer needed, only the child which is then modified by adding additional modeling features.

Just remember, with promotions you get a copy of the entire body, there are no other options. While with WAVE linking you can pick and choose the type and amount of 'objects' that you wish to share or link into another model.

Anyway, I hope that helps.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[CAD2015]

It does.......
The samples that you placed to argue your options were very effective, bringing fully comprehension.
Thank you!

CAD 2015

 

[SDETERS]

From John's description We always use Wavelinks. When we go from a casting to a machine we also reference not only the "body" but also the coordinate systems and other geometry. This way if a raw material feature that needs machines moves in the raw material the machine feature will move also. Everything is referenced to each other.

 

[cowski]

One downside of using promotions is that if the link gets broken, there is no real way to edit the link to fix it. In my experience, promotions seem a bit more stable, but I have seen broken links where the work was lost.

www.nxjournaling.com

 

[CAD2015]

Thank you.

CAD 2015