NX 8.5 sketch constraints 1

[mmiscool]

Hello,
I preferred the way of doing constraints as they were in version 7.5 an v 8 where I could click on the line or objects I wanted to constrain and then select the type of constraint I wanted to apply between them. Is here a way to get this functionality back in 8.5?

 

[JohnRBaker]

Yes, just select the desired sketch curves on the screen and when the 'shortcut' toolbar appears, simply select the desired constraint, as shown below:

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

 

[Toost]

Dang! I have not spotted this option before, Brilliant!

Regards,
Tomas

 

[JohnRBaker]

Actually, this is not really an 'option', at least not in the classic sense. Starting with NX 8.5 when you select most any object a so-called 'Shortcut Toobar' will appear near where you selected and it will contain the icons for what were felt to be the most commonly used functions valid for that particular type of object and if multiple objects were selected, then those functions which could be performed on the selected set of objects will be shown. And this list of functions is also context and application specific. For example in the case above, since you're in the Sketcher when you select a curve you get not only the the generic functions, like Hide or Delete, but also the Sketch specific functions like the Constraints and whether you want it to be a Reference object or not.

And keep in mind that the contents of these 'Shortcut Toolbars' are fully customizable where you can remove functions that you don't want to access and/or add additional ones which are relevant for whatever you're doing, and again this is both context specific and object type specific meaning that I can assign different functions when selecting a solid body versus a feature or curve versus a surface.

The whole idea of these 'Shortcut Toolbars' is to give you immediate access to the generally expected next operation without having the do anything more than selecting the object(s) that you're wishing to act on. And while it was true that in the past you could do something similar by pressing MB3 after selecting something, which you can still do and you'll get a more complete list of functions, like you've gotten in the past, but now without the need to press MB3 for the most common of these operations.

Anyway, give it a try and pay attention to what is available now when selecting objects as you may find that you can save a lot of extra keystrokes during the course of the day.

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.

 

[bryce12]

My question about this is after you have selected two or more sketch items that you are trying to constrain is there a way to have the pop-up window with the constraint selection stay longer or stay after any mouse movement? It is infuriating me that if I move the mouse in the slightest the pop-up disappears and I have to reselect everything to constrain.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Honestly, they did this to save time, but it is costing me much more than from NX 7.5.

Thanks!

Bryce Keilman

 

[JohnRBaker]

After selecting your curves, you can STILL press MB3 and the pop-up menu, as well as the new 'Shortcut Toolbar', will both appear and they will remain visible AND available until you select a constraint or whatever.

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.

 

[bryce12]

Thanks John. That fixes the issue for me of having the options disappear, but is there a way to change the user preferences to make NX 8.5 behave like 7.5 with regards to the sketch constraints. I know that this is supposed to be progress and improvement, but for my job and the amount of sketching I do to acheive a design this is becoming an increasing hassle. I know that I will improve with this new way since I just upgraded to 8.5, but to be able to go to 7.5 selection style would help me tremendously.

Thanks!

Bryce

 

[JohnRBaker]

NO, what you see is what you get. But remember, you can still select the 'Geometric Constraints' icon and get a traditional dialog with the full list of possible Constraints from which to choose and then select the desired curves that you wish to act on, like any other 'Action -> Object' workflow. The 'Object -> Action' approach is strictly optional, just that we think the trend is in that direction, but NX still supports BOTH workflow philosophies and will continue to do so.

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.

 

[Toost]

"My question about this is after you have selected two or more sketch items that you are trying to constrain is there a way to have the pop-up window with the constraint selection stay longer or stay after any mouse movement? It is infuriating me that if I move the mouse in the slightest the pop-up disappears and I have to reselect everything to constrain."

I wonder if you are experiencing some kind of graphics error , the popup doesn't disappear for me as i have selected the two objects .?.
I have attached a video clip on how it works on my screen. The video is a flash animation* and can be replayed using Internet explorer, not windows media player.
* captured with Jing from Techsmith.com

Regards,
Tomas

 

[cowski]

Toost,
Near the end of your video, the toolbar starts to fade as you move the cursor further away from it. Continue to move the cursor away and it will disappear entirely.

www.nxjournaling.com

 

[Toost]

I know, but it doesn't disappear as soon as i move the cursor, as i got the impression from Bryce12's post. ( The italic text in my previous post)
What i learnt when i captured that video is that if the popup disappears, i can deselect -select to get it back.


Regards,
Tomas

 

[carlharr]

Ref the original question, I've now been using the new 8.5 constraints dialogue for a few months and find it MUCH quicker and easier than the old 7.5 method.

Main advantages:
multiple selections are quick and easy, either with or without automatic progression
single selections (horizontals, verticals etc) are very very quick
and the main thing...
this new method does not allow you to make wrong selections, unlike the old 7.5 method (e.g. selecting an end point when you wanted a curve).

Its worth making the move to the new method.

http://www.jcb.com

NX 7.5 with TC 8.3