Broken Views NX 8.5 1

[msledden]

After creating a broken view on a drawing, I have added item balloons for the parts. This is a long tube with end plates to make a weldment. We have a grip program that runs the plot function and captures the output to send it to a custom viewer we have. When I run this grip program, the broken views are moving aorund on the drawing. It is like they are going to to an un-broken state and then end up looking fine on the drawing. The one problem I am having, the item balloon that is attached to the tube itself is changing postions on the drawing when the views move around. So it does not end up in the position it was placed at on the drawing. Is there something I need to set to make sure the item balloons will not move around? Each time I run the grip, that one item balloon ends up in a different position on the drawing every time.

 

[msledden]

Well I found out I have to first place the item balloon and associate it to something on the drawing. Then I can place it where it needs to be on the drawing. Then when I do the plotting, at least the item balloon stays in the location I positioned it at. The same goes with labels added to the drawing.

 

[JohnRBaker]

What exactly does this GRIP program do? And you are talking an actual GRIP program, correct?

John R. Baker, P.E.
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[msledden]

Basically it is running the plot function in NX. It then captures the output to be used for an drawing viewer we have set up for the company. It takes the output of the plotting and gets things converted into a pdf file to use in our viewer. Even if I just try plotting itself, the broken views jump around on the screen and then return to their proper state. Even though the drawing does not show "out of date", it is like it is trying to update the broken views before plotting.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Have you tried to use...

File -> Export -> PDF...

...to produce your PDF files?

You say that the plots and prints of the drawing "end up looking fine". If so, when exactly are you seeing the broken view "moving around on the drawing"?

John R. Baker, P.E.
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[msledden]

You see the views moving around on the screen as you are trying to plot. The views themselves look ok, but the item balloons and labels added do not stay at the location they were positioned on the drawing. Those items change position everytime you try plotting the drawing.

We can look at using the export to pdf, we just would have to figure a way to get the pdf into the database for our viewer. Currently with the grip program, it places the file in a location that is used for the viewer. When you look go to our viewer, you see the updated drawing right away. Each user does not have to worry about where that file is going to to update the database. If we use the export to pdf, I am not sure we could get the files to that location and have them update the database.

 

[JohnRBaker]

When doing an Export -> PDF, you have the option of directing the PDF file to be placed wherever you would like it.

If you wanted to automate this, I would consider replacing your GRIP program with a Journal that does what you want.

As for you statement that "You see the views moving around on the screen as you are trying to plot.", I'm still not sure what you're saying. Could you capture a video, using the built-in NX Movie function, of your session showing this "moving around" behavior?

John R. Baker, P.E.
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[msledden]

Here is what is happening.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Well, it looks like something that's happening inside the GRIP program, perhaps it's doing a Drawing update before it exports the PDF. Have you tried doing the Export -> PDF yet? If so, are you seeing the same behavior with respect to the views moving?

John R. Baker, P.E.
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Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
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[msledden]

It is not the grip program. Same thing happens if you just try plotting the drawing to our plotter. Even though the drawing sheet does not say out of date, when you go to plot, it looks like it is trying to update the views. This is very similar to what use to happen to some older sheet metal design parts in the past. As you went to plot, you could see the part in the views un-bend, then bend back into shape. Only thing we could figure out with them was to re-do the flat pattern itself and then the part was fine on the drawing.

I just tried the export to pdf, the same thing happens with the views as in the movie i made.

 

[JohnRBaker]

But does it effect the final result? If not, and if the only way that this is manifesting itself is as a visual anomaly, albeit a pain in the arse, you may just have to live with it.

BTW, if this is an Assembly, which it appears to be, it's possible that IT'S the Assembly which is out-of-date and when it updates it's what's forcing the Drawing to update. Could you zip-up the parts and the Drawing and upload them so that I can look at this on my system?

John R. Baker, P.E.
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[msledden]

Here are the parts that make the part. 1117135-0 is the weldment. I added one item balloon to show what happens when the views start moving around. You also see the views do this when you go from modeling to drafting. You can see how the one item bolloon changes position. Sorry we are not on Master Model, wish we were but hoping to get there someday.

 

[JohnRBaker]

I'm sorry but I can't seem to find what's causing this and if I start over I can't reproduce it. I tried both Master Model and non-Master Model, using your parts as well as creating one of my own from scratch and in none of these cases can I reproduce the behavior that I'm also seeing, but only with your original Drawing. The good news, sort of, is that if I open your Drawing file in NX 9.0.1, that when I do an Export -> PDF operation, while there is still a slight 'flash', the views do NOT move around nor does it look like they're resizing, going from the current size to the original unbroken size and then back again.

Have you tried to create this drawing over again? Is this the ONLY Drawing where you've seen this behavior?

If you can't resolve this, by trying to create a new Drawing or if this in not the only example of this problem, I suspect that you'll need to contact GTAC and have them show this to someone in the development group and see if they can find out what might be causing this, however, since the problem appears to have been minimized in NX 9.0, to where it's barely noticeable, unless there's a very easy fix for NX 8.5, they may simply tell you to update to NX 9.0 and move on.

Anyway, that's about all that I can do for now. Sorry it wasn't more.

John R. Baker, P.E.
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[stThree]

We have similar problems whenever we use broken view in NX 8.5. It actually removes centerlines.

Steve
NX 7.5.5.4

 

[JohnRBaker]

Again, since it appears (from my last post) that this might be fixed, or at least made less of an issue, in NX 9.0, I would recommend that you contact GTAC and have them look at your examples and test them against the latest versions of NX.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
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Siemens PLM:
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To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[msledden]

We have had other older parts that when brought into NX 8.5 we have these problems. I was able to recreate one of these parts from scratch and have no issues with the views jumping around. The one problem I am having now with broken views is when I try to add a section view using the broken view as the base. I get a warning "Failed to propagate one or more view breaks". When I select ok I get another message saying "The view break will result in a hidden section line". The section line itself is not displayed on the screen. The section view shows up on the drawing but out of the 2 parts the section line is going through, only one shows crosshatching. I then went to make the section view without background and only one of the parts shows in the section view. I tried placing the section view on first before the broken views. After placing the first broken view section on, I lost the section line itself. It says it is hidden, but I can't find a way to get the section line to display again. This issue is with a different part from what I first asked about on this issue.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Again, these need to be tested using NX 9.0 as some changes were obviously made as was alluded to earlier. Contact GTAC and have them look at your files, both the new ones with the Section issues and older ones with the 'jumping' views problem.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

 

[msledden]

I will do that. We just changed over to NX 8.5, so going to NX 9.0 probably will not happen right away I am sure.

 

[stThree]

Same thing with us. We have been on 8.5 for about 1 month now. I did my simple block drawing in NX 9 and it did not behave like it did in 8.5. I have not tried more complicated examples. Unfortunately I do not see us going to NX 9 anytime soon.

Steve
NX 8.5.3.3