Items UG needs to fix!! 6

[HellBent]

I just posted in another thread how I'm always telling myself I need to write down the minor "annoyances" I have to deal with everyday while running UG but I just never seem to do it. For some reason I think having a thread dedicated to just that may help. At some point maybe these items will get the attention they deserve by UG. So I'll start it off with a couple that immediately come to mind:

#1. Fix the darn 2d translators!! Why does making a DXF or a DWG of my drawing have to be so difficult? It has never worked right! Why am I forced to run it through CGM in order to get reliable results?

#2. Let me fix errors during feature creation rather than having to start all over again. I.E. "Through curve mesh" intersection errors force me to fix the intersections and then start all over again. Let me edit the intersections from within the creation menu so I don't have to re-select all of my geometry again! Apply this mentality to all feature creation...give me the ability to fix mistakes on-the-fly.


I think I'll be more likely to add items to a thread on a message board than write them down on a notepad so let's give it a shot!

Take care...

 

[JohnRBaker]

I wish I could give you a different answer than what I'm about to.

I have always been a big fan of the Mac. Back when I was still with the sales organization I made some of the very first sales calls that we made to Apple, back when they were first showing off the Lisa and their headquaters was a typical spec-built industrial park type building in Cupertino. Apple purchased their first seats of Unigraphics shortly before the Mac was introduced, and have been using UG/NX ever since.

Personally, I bought my first Mac in 1984 and have owned at least a dozen differnt models over the years. Currently I have a G4 iBook which I honestly don't use as much as I used to ever since the company brought me the Dell M65 laptop that I now use here and on the road. However, when at home doing 'my own thing', I have a Dual G5 1.8GHz 'tower' with 2GB memory, plus all the typical items tied to it; high-res (4000dpi) Canon Film Scanner, Epson 4800dpi flatbed scanner, 8-color Epson Photo Printer, DVD-burner, external archive storage unit (as you may have guessed, I do a lot of photo work), however since it's not Intel based I don't have NX installed on it. However, when we first prototyped a Mac G4/G5 version of NX 4 I did install it on my iBook and did some testing and even a couple of early demos, but our intentions all along was to put our effort into an Intel version of the code, which we released with NX 5.

Now for the 'issue' that I have with all this.

I've been using NX on Windows now for so long that I'm sort of 'spoiled' in the sense that while I'm NO fan of Microsoft or Windows, it certainly runs very well under Windows XP and everything works together and so on, that when I sit down and run Linux it just feels like I've gone back to an older 'Unix' era. Unfortunately, the Mac implementation uses the same 'Windows-like' interface as does Linux.

But if you're asking me what would be the perfect combination, I would say a new Apple MacBook Pro, with both the Mac OS & Windows XP installed using something like 'Boot Camp' and then installing a Windows version of NX.

Now the reason why I don't do all my demos on such a configuration is, as you might suspect, a combination of things. First, our corporate standard for laptops is Dell, and second, using a configuration like that as a representative of our company could prove to be problematic since while this setup does work and works really well (at last year's UGS Connection (AKA, PLM World) there was at least one non-Siemens presenter who did just that and he just loves it, and it looked and ran great), it would not be 'politically correct', as it were.

So unless there was some 'religious' or national security reason, I would at the moment lean toward Wthe Window versions of NX, but I would love to be running them on Apple boxes and not just because they're designed using NX, but because they LOOK GREAT and run really FAST.


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

http://www.siemens.com/plm

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

 

[DavidTolsma]

Back on topic, what NX needs to fix.

They need control of their source code. Now what I mean by that is "NX5.0.1.4 MP5 patch a" for example. I don't think patch 'a' exists but humor me on this. NX5.0.1.4 MP5 is newer then 5.0.2.2 MP2 and 5.0.3.2. When you go up to another version, things are broken that once was fixed. Things that worked now is broken, and worst of all the MP5 version may change code that 5.0.2.2 does not, so when you upgrade, you may be left in a hybrid configuration. Meaning MP5 fixes a library and 5.0.2.2 did not, so what version are you running? 5.0.2.2? not really you need to explain to GTAC how you upgraded since the files would be laid out differently.

If a smaller release number gets maintenance pack, the same day every other version of NX on up needs to have a MP released that has the new fixes in it. Honestly the patches and releases are not of good quality either. No one would ever run a 5.0.0.24 version, a 5.0.3 may be the first real release to start to look at it. The goal should be an IRM is the last resort,


That's my frustration.

-Dave Tolsma

http://groups.google.com/group/NX_CAX/

 

[JohnRBaker]

First off, we NEVER recommend that ANYONE install an 'MP' (Maintenace Patch) except for those customers who it is being directed at based on the fact that it addresses specific PR's that THESE particular customers have submitted.

And because we continue to 'patch' older versions of the code than the latest 'MR' (Maintenace Release), there will be situations where fixes HAVE been included in a 'patch' for a so-called 'older' version that may not yet be in either the current MR or even in an 'MP' for a more recent MR, including the current one. I'm sorry, but that's just the way software development and maintenance programs work in the real world. The only alternative would be to halt 100% all work on fixing bugs in ANY release older than the current 'MR', which would be both a foolish, if not nieve, position to take, to say nothing of being unacceptable to a large number of our customers who, for whatever reason, is not able to install and update software on the same schedule as we release it (trust me, life would be SO MUCH SIMPILER if that WAS the case).

As for newer patches developed for older versions not being compatible with upgrades for newer versions, I believe that we cavet those exact situations in the field bulletins that accompany any of these items, be they MP's, MR's or whatever.


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

http://www.siemens.com/plm

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

 

[SiW979]

For those of you who are planning to upgrade, to NX 4, I would highly recommend you don't. I have 400 seats of NX4 here and we have had nothing but problems with it. At a recent NX seminar in the UK I had the chance to speak to NX users from a vast range of companies from Formula 1 teams to medical and Aerospace and whilst everyone seemed to agree with my feelings, some had even binned NX4 and gone to NX 5 in less than 6 months and with fantastic results. Unfortunately for us, we only ever upgrade every 2 revisions so it will be NX 6 for us next year some time. By the way, I've seen NX 6 and it looks awesome - you arfe able to use full screen display (optional) without seeing menus whilst still having access too all your commands. Weird, but true!

Simon W
Group CAD Manager
JCB

 

[acciardi]

We also had many many issues with NX4, to the point where I considered it only marginally usable.

We rolled out NX5 a few months ago and it is improved in every imaginable way. The development team did a very good job with this release.

 

[MCGNX]

One thing that I would like to see in NX6 (or possibly an NX5 upgrade) is the ability to change a threaded hole to a simple hole to a clearence hole and vice versa within the new (NX5) hole command (which is nice).

Currently if you go back to modify the whole and try to change the type it is greyed out.

 

[JohnRBaker]

The ability to change the 'Type' of one of the new NX 5 'Advanced Hole Features' is being considered for a future release. Note that that was NOT within the scope of the original project as that was aimed first at replacing the current hole function without losing any of the existing capabilities, which we haven't, and to introduce the concept of specification driven holes, in the case NX 5 that included Clearance and Threaded Holes (note that for NX 6 we will also be adding holes based on the specifications of standard twist-drill sizes).


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

http://www.siemens.com/plm

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

 

[MCGNX]

Good to know John, can't wait for it.

Another thing I would like to see in future releases/updates is the ability to pattern with different pitches/angles. For example if you want to radially pattern a hole 10deg for one, then 20deg, then 15deg, etc... or a rect. pattern at .25, then .125, then .5 etc...

Currently the only way to do this is with the Clock command but I think doing this up front is a lot easier (plus you can do it in I-Deas )

 

[JohnRBaker]

For NX 5 there are a couple of things that you may wish to look into. For one, you can create a sketch ahead of time consisting of points positioned and constrained as needed. Once create, when you're in the Hole function, you can select the entire 'sketch of points' as a single pick, which also means that if you go back and edit the sketch, even if that included adding or removing points, that your set of holes would also update to reflect that change. Something similar can also be done using the new Instance Geometry function where you can create an instance set of points based on some rule or scheme. And again, you can select this 'instance set' as a single selection and again, any change to this instance set will be reflected in the holes feature.

Now if you willing to not have the convenince of making a single selection (you'll have to select each point indivually, but they can still be part of single hole feature) you can also use the Insert -> Datum/Point -> Point Set... command to create a series of points based on some user defined scheme. Granted this set of points is not parametric nor assoicative, but it's is usable within those limitations.

However, that will NOT be the case in NX 6 where we will be updating the Point Set command so that it too will now be fully parametric and associative and it will also then act like a 'Sketch of points' or an 'Instance Set' of points behave in NX 5 in that if you edit the 'Point Set' be it to add or remove points or change the rules, that they hole feature will update to reflect that change as well.


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

http://www.siemens.com/plm

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

 

[MCGNX]

John, I have looked at doing it that way (external sketch) and while it works it's the same as doing it inside the hole command (internal sketch). Now the instance geometry thing I like too (use it quite often) but it still does not do what I want (at least I can't figure it out using an equation). What I would like to see is inside the instance geometry command (and in the instance feature command) some kind of seperator in the distance/angle field so you could put multiple values. For instance a comma seperator so you could put 10,25,90 and have the pattern make the angles between holes 10deg, 25deg, and 90deg for the remaining holes respectively.

I am curious to see the new point set command, but as it is it still doesn't look like it will easily do what I want.

On a side note, I do love the way you can use the Instance Geometry command to create a "twisted array" by using a combination of angle and distance.

 

[NXMold]

Interesting, I think thats going to be a good replacement for what I used ProE's "pattern by table" for. I would create a (practically) random pattern of components/holes with X and Y dimensions driven by a spreadsheet table. I have been dissapointed by UG's rectangular/circular only patterning, but a sketch of points selected in a hole feature should help. Still not sure how I'd use that to assemble components where the number of instances will change, but its a start.

 

[Crocostimpy]

Here's a niggling little pest. Why is it that when I scroll down to the bottom of the Part Navigator and delete the last feature, the scroll bar moves back up just enough to almost completely obscure what is now the last feature? If I want to highlight that last feature now, I have to move the scroll bar back all the way to the bottom to be able to pick it easliy. And if I delete that last feature, it happens all over again. This is in NX5 now, but it did it in 4 also. Pretty annoying.

Mike

 

[realmagicracer]

Ok. Here it is something realy important that UGS(Siemens) need to fix in NX.
It is impossible to open file with filename different from latin. It is problem with automatic naming using part names with non-latin symbols.
It is problem with surface finish symbols. I'm trying to customize the pulldown menu and to have automatic bulgarian names for Production process. But When I restart NX to activate the new customer defaults (as you can see in the applied files) there are some strage "monkey" symbols.
So there is a lot of things to do, to make NX more applicable for international users.


Regards: Dimo Urumov
Aircraft Engineer
Plovdiv, Bulgaria

 

[NXMold]

We need a pull-down menu for Moldwizard. I made my own as a replacement for the toolbar (think alt+z, p for parting line etc) but it has its flaws.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Dimo,

We're aware of this limitation and I think it's being addressed in NX 6, but I don't a confirmation yet, but I hope to have more info by tomorrow (the guy responsible for this dialog works in our India R&D site and I've asked him to get back to me on it, but it may a couple of hours yet before I can expect an reply, but if I hear anything I'll let you know.

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

http://www.siemens.com/plm

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

 

[man2007]

Here are some of the issues regarding positioning methods:

1) Try this
i) Create block
ii) Select hole command
iii) Next, in the positioning method select Perpendicular dimension icon, click block edge.
iv) Now again select Perpendicular dimension icon and select the SAME EDGE, to create second dimension.
v) You can now MB3 the hole feature and select Edit Positioning to see TWO OVERLAPPING DIMENSIONS FROM SAME EDGE!!, in fact ug tells that the positioning is fully specified!

I feel ug should be smart enough, not to allow such duplicate dimensions from the same reference, or at least it should pop up a message saying that you have already given that dimension (like in sketcher dimensioning).

2)When you select horizontal (vertical) positioning dimensioning icon (e.g. positioning a hole), ug will ask for horizontal reference. In the Horizontal Reference dialog the first option "End point" is totally misleading. It has to be renamed to "Linear Edge" instead, because the reference direction is the vector direction of the selected linear edge.


Version : UG NX 4.0.4.2

 

[JohnRBaker]

Of course, starting in NX 5.0.2.1, holes are now positioned using Sketch dimensions meaning that the you will get feedback if you place redundant constraints.

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

http://www.siemens.com/plm

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

 

[potrero]

(1) When using Product Interface and having set the option to "Encourage Use of Interface Objects", if you specify an object to interface that isn't part of the Product Interface, GIVE THE OPTION TO ADD THAT OBJECT TO THE PRODUCT INTERFACE IN THE POP-UP WINDOW. This would save having to go back to the originating part and add to the Product Interface.

(2) When linking parameters and utilizing Product Interface, have the option (as a toggle) to only display parameters that are part of the Product Interface. This way you could rapidly see only the Product Interface-intended parameters.

 

[Xwheelguy]

The thread that will not die.....

Tim Flater
Senior Designer
Enkei America, Inc.

http://www.enkei.com

Some people are like slinkies....they don't really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

 

[jonasr]

Hi,

anybody explain to me, is the NX5.0.1.4 stable version? Sometimes it was "frozen", disappeared the working progress window etc... Try to fix it next qrm installing?

thx,
JR