Feature recognition? 4

[Tingsryd]

Does NX have model feature recognition when starting with a non-parametric model from another system? I have looked through the docs but haven't found anything.

Perhaps being one of the top-tier cad/cam apps there is not much of a need for this.


NX 12.0.2
NX 1872 in testing
EVP's

 

[JohnRBaker]

While I wouldn't call it 'feature recognition' per se, NX does provide tools which will allow you to edit a non-parametric model as if IT were parametric. This included being able to edit the diameter of cylindrical faces, like a hole or shaft. Also most constant-radius blends can be converted to an editable 'feature'. Also you can move faces of a model in a manner similar to editing a parametric body like a block or an extrusion.

Anyway, I hope this helps. At least you now know that you need to simply look at the tools that are there or talk to someone who can mentor you as to how to use these tools.

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

 

[Tingsryd]

I imagine you are speaking of the wonderful Synchronous Modeling; I use some of those tools frequently. It's a great editing tool but I am looking for recognition.

NX 12.0.2
NX 1872 in testing
EVP's

 

[CAD2015]

Catia V5 has this tool (feature Recognition)

John Baker,
What are NX tools which will allow us to edit a non-parametric model as if IT were parametric?

Thank you!

CAD 2015

 

[jerry1423]

This may help you a little bit.

https://community.plm.automation.si...-from-STEP-or-IGES-files-with-NX8/td-p/354429

Jerry J.
UGV5-NX11

 

[JohnRBaker]

As Tingsryd has already stated, it's called 'Synchronous Modeling'.

Back in the old days, when solid modeling was just starting to show commercial possibilities, particularity with CSG (Constructive Solid Geometry) systems, we had an editing technique that was called 'tweaking'. This allowed you to edit the size of a solid model by moving and changing the size of faces. Back then the one big restriction was that you could NOT change the models topology, that is that the number of edges and faces were the same before and after the 'tweak', and it was not parametric. With 'Synchronous Modeling', the approach is similar to the old 'tweaking' technique except that it's now possible to change the topology of a model and you can now optionally saves these 'Synchronous Modeling' operations as parametric features, which in essence can have the effect of 'converting' a non-parametric model into one that can be edited as if it were made-up of parametric features. It's NOT 'feature recognition' but for many customers and situations, it's more than adequate to allow at least portions of previously non-parametric to be edited parametrically.

I hope this 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

 

[JohnRBaker]

The tool mentioned by jerry1423, while it has some of the characteristics of 'feature recognition', as mentioned in the linked item, these are generally aimed at making it easier to define manufacturing operations such as drilling holes or chamfering the edges of a model. It uses some of the same underlying technology as is used in 'Synchronous Modeling'.

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

 

[Tingsryd]

I did some more research and it looks like I was mistaking cam feature recognition for cad features. A one button solution to find cad features would be nice but realistically I do not have a need to make changes to entire non-parametric models.

My most often used Synchronous Modeling functions are probably delete face, resize blend, move face, offset face and optimize. Optimize seems to be quite helpful when preparing a model for manufacturing as a first step or correcting root causes of manufacturing operation failures.

@JohnRBaker
I seem to recall when Synchronous was first introduced it was marketed as tool mainly for dealing with non-parametric models. Obviously now it's marketed as much more than that.

NX 12.0.2
NX 1872 in testing
EVP's

 

[JohnRBaker]

'Synchronous Modeling' can certainly be a big help for editing non-parametric modela, but don't overlook how it can help even if your models are fully parametric.

While the value of parametric modeling has been touted for years (back to at least the first release of Pro-E) and it has certainly changed the approach virtually everyone uses today when creating solid models, parametric or feature-based modeling is NOT a panacea. There are some problems, the biggest being that in order to get the most out of any downstream editing advantage of a feature-based model, you have to have some insight into how a model might need to be edited in the future. Now some things are obvious such as creating a model which from the start was a member of some sort of 'family of parts'. Then it's very easy to create a model which can be edited in exactly the fashion that you expect it to be edited in the future to get another member of the originally conceived family. However, often the edits that come-up in the future had nothing to do with anything that you were aware of when the original model was built. This is where 'Synchronous Modeling' can put a powerful tool into the hands of the designer/engineer.

To that point, 'Synchronous Modeling' also allows you to edit a fully-parametric model in a way that was not anticipated when it was originally created and it can do so without having to remove or disable any original features, since 'Synchronous Modeling' simply ADDS additional features, often parametric themselves, that will result in a different model, which can still use the original features/parameters in addition to the new 'Synchronous' features.

So please think of 'Synchronous Modeling' as more than just the first thing you grab to edit non-parametric models, it can also be a very useful tool for editing fully parametric models when confronted with unanticipated changes to a model.

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]

CAD 2015

 

[Toost]

John, I started working for MDC back 1990, my first version was UG V7 along with , i believe, the first release of UGSolids.
I know UGSolids was based on Parasolid which isn't CSG and i think it never has been either. I think there was a forerunner to the UGSolids that was terminated with the adoption of Parasolids.
Was that forerunner CSG ?

Regards,
Tomas

 

[JohnRBaker]

Yes, the first Solid Modeling system sold by what was then McAuto (McDonnell Douglas Automation Company) was named 'UniSolids' and was based on PADL-2, a solid modeling toolkit originally developed at the University of Rochester. And yes, PADL was a CSG system. The first version of UniSolids was introduced in May 1983. If you'd like to learn a bit more about this early Solid Modeling system, go to...

https://www.plmworld.org/index.php?mo=cm&op=ld&fid=221

...and scroll down to the entry dated May, 1983.

And if you want to see some more example models created using UniSolids as well as more detailed descriptions of PADL-1 and PADL-2, go to...

https://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=237

...and scroll down to the item labeled PADL-1 Model (circa 1982) where this information starts. You'll also learn a bit about the history of the company and how, even if you fail to make the sale, that you should not give up ;-)

Note that the last version of UniSolids was V3.0 and was delivered in October 1985. And while something less than 100 UniSolids licenses were ever sold. Note that back then, software was not sold on a per seat basis, but rather on a per CPU basis. And since these were basically mainframe type systems, you could run as many seats that you were able to based on the power of the CPU and the amount of memory that you had. Now UniSolids required significantly more computing power than did Unigraphics but with a large DEC VAX or Data General MV system (UniSolids only ran on 32-bit systems), you could run three or four seats of UniSolids at once. Also note that when UG/Solids was released in 1989, our customers, who had previously purchased UniSolids, was offered a free upgrade.

Anyway, enjoy.

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