NX8 - Flange, General Flange, Form / Unform 2

[NX2013]

These functions has been moved from Modeling to Sheet Metal in NX 8.
How can I bring them back (the Icons) in Modeling ?

 

[NX2013]

And for some reason, if I switch to Nx Sheet Metal and try to add a Flange to my model (created in Modeling) I can not add a Flange, I can not pick an Edge ....It was so easy in 7.5

 

[JohnRBaker]

What you're experiencing is the phasing-out and replacing of older, and soon to be obsolete, 'SM Design' functions with newer NX Sheet Metal functions.

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.

 

[Bluewolf]

We noticed the same thing here regarding Sheet Metal General Flange missing in modeling. Does this mean we will now be required to convert all of our solid models into sheet metal in order to use the flange operator?

 

[JohnRBaker]

That depends.

If all you want to do is ADD a new NX Sheet Metal flange to an existing model and that's all that you're doing with no plans to flatten the model or create a flat-pattern layout for a Drawing or to manufacture the unbent 'blank', then there's no need to convert your existing model to be a 'sheet metal' model.

However, if you DO plan on flattening it or to create a 2D wireframe flat-pattern either to create a Drawing or to define the profile to cut the blank, then yes, you will need to eventually convert your simple solid model into a 'sheet metal' model using the tools provided in NX Sheet Metal.

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.

 

[capnhook]

Converting to "Sheet Metal" doesn't always produce something you can flatten, hence our need for the older tools until these newer ones completely do the job.


Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..

[green]To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?[/green]

 

[capnhook]

Discussion here:

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=345197

Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..

[green]To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?[/green]

 

[JohnRBaker]

The clean-up and conversion utilities are getting better. However, no matter how good the tools are, there will still be situations where you simply "cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". And wishing it so will NOT make it happen. There will be some situations where if you truly need to have a model which will behave in ALL ways as if it were a Sheet Metal model, that you may just have to 'bite the bullet' and create it from scratch using the latest NX Sheet Metal tools.

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.

 

[capnhook]

Yeah, but when I tell that to my managers, they tell me to find other software that will unfold sheet metal parts the way we design them. Our sheet metal parts are not "sow's ears", anymore than anyone else having this same problem.

Regression, anyone?

Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..

[green]To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?[/green]

 

[JohnRBaker]

If you have examples of where NX has 'regressed', PLEASE CONTACT GTAC AND PROVIDE THEM YOUR MODELS!!!!!

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.

 

[capnhook]

NX2013, put a call into GTAC and have them explain to you what you have to do to get SM Design back. It is a simple toggle in the configuration (at least it was for NX7.5.X.X).

Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..

[green]To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?[/green]

 

[JohnRBaker]

Sorry, but THAT IS NOT A VALID SOLUTION!

If you have examples of models which you cannot create using NX Sheet Metal, Advanced Sheet Metal or Aerospace Sheet Metal modules, but which you were able to create prior to the introduction of the current set of tools, PLEASE CONTACT GTAC AND PROVIDE THEM THESE EXAMPLES! Asking that old, obsolete code should somehow remain available in perpetuity simply because you like it better or you somehow feel that it did a better job is just wishful thinking. If you can demonstrate that we have NOT fully transferred the capabilities and functionality of these older tools into the latest set of replacement products then your ONLY recourse is to provide us examples of that so that we can work on bringing the current tools up to the level that they need to be to do the job. Have you EVER done this, provide us with real world examples of what you were able to do in the past but which you cannot do now? If not, why not?

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.

 

[capnhook]

There are other ways to model sheet metal parts. NX Sheet Metal, Advanced Sheet Metal or Aerospace Sheet Metal modules aren't the only tools people use.

SM Design has worked rather nicely for many years to flatten parts. It is being replaced with a tool that does not function at 100%, and will not always unfold all NX designs.


Is there anything in the statement above that is not true?

Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..

[green]To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?[/green]

 

[JohnRBaker]

So I guess it's safe to say that you have NOT provided GTAC with examples of how the current 'sheet metal' offerings available in NX are NOT able to do what you've been doing in older versions of NX, eh? IS THIS A TRUE STATEMENT OR NOT?

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.

 

[capnhook]

What I am saying is that the current 'sheet metal' offerings available in NX aren't adaptable to our current method of designing parts made from sheet metal.

A decision has to be made whether $$$$money$$$$ should be spent to re-train designers to use these new complicated NX tools THAT DON"T WORK, or to investigate other software that can flatten anything you can throw at it.

Right now, NX can't flatten everything. It used to be able to flatten everything.

The new tools that replace SM Design can't do it. We have to have alternative flattening software if tools that work are being taken away.


Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..

[green]To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?[/green]

 

[JohnRBaker]

You claim to be a member of the "Reality-Based Community" yet you continue to refuse to answer a simple question; Have you've EVER contacted GTAC and provided them examples of parts that NX is no longer able to create? A simple YES or NO will suffice.

However, your premise that you are not willing or able to learn to properly use the tools that you've apparently paid for, and I assume are continuing to pay maintenance on, seems to be a poor rational for somehow demanding that we bring back software which has been deemed obsolete for years now. What you're paying for is continued development of software that will evolve as new techniques and development environments changes as well as customer requirements, but without input from our customers when these goals are not achieved helps no one, certainly not you when you appear to not even be utilizing the tools that we've provided.

So until you answer my outstanding questions, I'll be ignoring further comments posted since without those answers, this exchange is nothing more than so much noise and as such, is accomplishing nothing.

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.

 

[capnhook]

I stand by my earlier posts here. GTAC was contacted, parts were submitted, and our answer from GTAC was to just toggle the SM Design tool back to the "on" position.

It seemed a simple solution to our problem here, as we sure didn't characterize this SM Design tool to be obsolete, at all. A bullet-proof working tool (SM Design) was taken away, and we wanted it back. The replacement tools proposed do not function at 100% currently.

We will indeed revisit flattening parts again soon, but I am hedging my bet that NX's new tools still won't flatten everything, like it always used to. I don't know if you call that a regression or not, but I do. Hell, we can't even agree what a "sheet metal" part is..!

We will look for better software for this critical function in the meantime. We know there are better offerings out there.


Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..

[green]To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?[/green]