Counting How Many Features in a Part? 1

[Gemnoc]

This may sound silly, but I have a 40MB part of which I would like the feature count without actually counting manually (I must have 200+).

Is there a way to get that kind of info on a part document in Solid Edge? I've looked at the macro folder and haven't found anything. A breakdown list of the types of features would be nice but not essential.

I find it odd that there is no apparent way to get this info...

Thanks for your input.

 

[beachcomber]

I've never seen anything to do this but you could do it with a bit of VB.

bc.
2.4GHz Core2 Quad, 4GB RAM,
Quadro FX4600.

 

[Gemnoc]

Oh well. Last time I did a bit of programming was in... Basic on an Atari home computer, back in the '80s!

I still think getting statistics on a part like number of features etc. would be interesting to have in SE.

 

[AnthonySE]

Hello,

here is a small macro which count features in the Edge Bar (including reference features) and can write the result in a custom property.

Anthony

 

[Gemnoc]

Thanks Anthony!

I will try that.

 

[Schipperus]

Anthony,

I have seen lots of macro's for Solid Edge, but didn't know about this one. Do you have a personal library, or is it public? ;-)

IJsbrand Schipperus

Visualise your vision... in 3D

http://www.Horchner-Hammersma.nl

 

[AnthonySE]

Hi !

I have a few macros I did, and I programmed this one specifically for Gemnoc... (few minutes to do it)...
Do not hesitate to submit your requests in macros, If it's tiny macros, I'll be happy to do it for free. If it's bigger projects, I'll be happy to talk about it !

Good evening !

Anthony

(let's talk on twitter : @totop)

 

[Gemnoc]

@ AnthonySE

Apologies for taking so long to get back.

I didn't realize you programmed this on the spot for me. Thanks a lot! It's a pity the forum's attachment field can't transmit a beer. ;-)

It works well. My 40MB part has 325 features. No wonder it is "heavy" working in it and rebuilds take up to a minute on my AMD 3GHz dual-core machine.

Best regards

Normand AKA Gemnoc

 

[AnthonySE]

325 features ! It must be a nice part !
Solid Edge has good modelling capacities in order to recompute it within a minute...

Never mind for the beer ! It will maybe possible to transmit it with Web3.0 !!



Anthony

twitter : @totop

 

[Gemnoc]

Hi Anthony,

It's an ABS plastic shell for an electrical appliance. There are no planar faces on it. After working 17 years in custom metal products (base materials being various profiles and sheetmetal), and 2 years on Solid Edge, this project was a real challenge. I had to learn advanced surfacing in SE by myself. Some good folks here were kind enough to give me some pointers (Don, BC and others). This shell has taken me more than one month to make. Which may be too long, and due to my inexperience. A lot of those features are construction surfaces, trims, boolean operations on the main solid.

I forgot: I first modelled a solid shape then made a part copy in a new file and made the shell, adding details (mounting bosses & the like). The first part has 82 features and weighs 22MB, to be added to the 325 features/40MB of the child part! And I have two other components (handle, door) that have many features as well.

I'm sure I'll look back at this part 2 years from now and realize that it is an impossible mess of hacks and features patched together as if held with duct tape!

But I believe that I may have almost stretched Solid Edge to its limits with this project (in regard to surfacing). I used BlueSurfs a lot, it is an advanced tool unseen in other packages, a mix between loft and sweep features that I had some trouble getting used to. Unfortunately, I found out that Solid Edge is missing some analysis tools that are found in SolidWorks. If I'm to work on similar projects in the future, I may have to switch CAD packages. Which is a pity, since I like the SE workflow a lot. But it just does not seem to be targeted at product design. The surfacing tools do not seem to have been improved since their introduction in V14.

Anyway, enough rambling, got to get back to work!

RE: Beer transmission through Web3.0: I've been waiting for the transporters from Star Trek for years!

Cheers!

Normand

 

[AnthonySE]

Hello Normand,

I really like SE surfacing tools... Blue Technology is really nice. I do not know surfacing tools in SolidWorks so I don't know what tools are missing in SE.

I first started CAD with Catia V4 which was for me a really nice tool. The workflow of part construction was really different...

For sure, Solid Edge is not as Powerful as NX or Catia but I think it's a very good modeling tool... And Parasolid is not a stranger in that !


Anthony

twitter : @totop

 

[beachcomber]

Anthony,
Any chance of having the code for your macro?
I've done a few macros, but my programming is a bit limited so I'd like to see how you did it.
It's only for my personal use.

bc.
2.4GHz Core2 Quad, 4GB RAM,
Quadro FX4600.

 

[AnthonySE]

Of course you can have the code source !




Anthony

twitter : @totop

 

[Gemnoc]

I really like SE surfacing tools... Blue Technology is really nice. I do not know surfacing tools in SolidWorks so I don't know what tools are missing in SE.

Hi Anthony,

Well, I've been reading a SolidWorks blog, Dezignstuff from Matt Lombard, and although he's not been updating for more than a month, he frequently blogged on surfacing tips and posted surfacing "challenges". From what was posted from him and his readers, SW has never stopped improving the surfacing tools. SW 2010 is bringing more improvements.

For example, there is a deviation analysis tool that can tell you if there is deviation between two adjacent surfaces. Look at this post, there are a few screenshots. Such a tool is missing in SE.

I've started taking an evening course on "advanced modeling" in Solidworks. I'll be able to compare it to SE further.

P.S. Hope the "plug" for that SW blog was OK! I really wish there'd be a similar blog focused on SE...

 

[beachcomber]

The introduction of BlueSurf was a great step forward, but it's remained the same ever since. There has been no real development or improvement to SE surfacing for years.
It's not something I use regularly, but its limitations are quickly reached.

bc.
2.4GHz Core2 Quad, 4GB RAM,
Quadro FX4600.