Part List "PC.No" from Balloon

[kts14]

Hi,

I'm using NX8.5.

I had a cylindrical part with 3 steps and each step will have different parts assembled.
Now, in the drafing sheet, I wanted to show a table with first column as "Steps" and second Column as "Part Number" and third column as "Qty".
For this purpose I use "Part List" because I wanted to show some part attributes also apart from the above three columns and everything is perfect accept the first Column.Though the PC.No i.,e "Steps" is in the same required order 1,2, and 3 but they are not matching with 3D model order.

Adding a callout attribute for each part is an option but the part is not going to get assembled in the same step everytime.It varies depending on the design requirement and I dont want to assign a component attribute fro each component in every assembly file every time.

So, what I do is, I'll ballon the items first and I wanted to link this ballon value to the first column of my part List. which is exactly the reverse process of what we do- first part list and then auto balloon.

Is it possible?

 

[MFDO]

You must be coming from a smart drawing CAD environment.

What I'm experiencing in NX drafting is, text could be driven by Expressions but not the other way around. After placing Balloon text becomes dumb as they don’t know their owners anymore (Is a switch to make them smart?). When I move the leader to another component, Balloon # won’t update.


Michael Fernando (CSWE)

http://www.solidCADworks.com

Tool and Die Designer
Siemens NX V9.0 + PDW
SWX 2013 SP3.0 X64
PDMWorks 2013
Logopress3
FastForm Advance
FormatWorks

 

[JohnRBaker]

Text on a Drawing, or for that matter in Modeling, can also be driven by Attributes, either at the Part or Component level.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[MFDO]

John,
The way I understand, the requirement is to drive attributes from the drawing text. Not the other way around.

I was tiring to find a way to link dimension values in the drawings to its Machining Notes (to automate for future cloned parts). Is it possible to do it while only in the Drafting mode?

Michael Fernando (CSWE)

http://www.solidCADworks.com

Tool and Die Designer
Siemens NX V9.0 + PDW
SWX 2013 SP3.0 X64
PDMWorks 2013
Logopress3
FastForm Advance
FormatWorks

 

[MFDO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWCqpaS1-NI

Michael Fernando (CSWE)

http://www.solidCADworks.com

Tool and Die Designer
Siemens NX V9.0 + PDW
SWX 2013 SP3.0 X64
PDMWorks 2013
Logopress3
FastForm Advance
FormatWorks

 

[JohnRBaker]

If you think these are useful enhancements, please contact GTAC and have them open an ER (Enhancement Request) to that effect.

But please note that while posting SolidWorks videos may give you some level of personal satisfaction, when it comes to posting them in an purely NX oriented forum, even here on Eng-Tips, they tend to add very little to the process where others have come here to learn to use NX in a more productive and efficient manner.

That being said, our philosophy has ALWAYS been (and this is supported by our largest and most influential customers) that Drawings are intended to document the design model and is NOT to be used as an environment from which models can be modified and updated, and as more information is being captured in attributes and PMI type objects, this now pertains to non-geometric part file data, such as attributes, as well. Therefore, even if you do submit an ER asking for the ability to DRIVE model dimensions and attribute values FROM purely Drawing/Documentation types data files, I suspect that you will not get a positive reception from the responsible Product Manager(s).

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[cowski]

The functionality in the video looks very useful, I'd love to see similar in OOTB NX.

www.nxjournaling.com

 

[MFDO]

John,
Firstly, I didn't ask to drive attributes from the drawing but it was the request by KTS14. You responded saying that it could be done but the other way round.

After I posted my issues and experiences with NX Drafting notes and what I wish to have in NX, I thought of looking for some examples to prove that I'm not asking for an unearthly request. Then I found the link which I posted later. If I didn’t have such a proof, everybody will just reject and forget my request.

As you can see this link has caught the eye of some prominent users of this forum and realise what could be done to be productive. As I posted in another topic, majority of NX users have not seen outside of their NX world and don’t know what they are missing these days. I’m posting those links not for my personal satisfaction, but for my frustration of seeing how cold this renowned software is and to do my part to educate and show others what to ask from NX developers. ( I must be the most unpopular person in the diehard NX community and will not get any stars for my postings.)

As you say NX’s focus on OEMs but we, lower tier manufactures are being forced to be more productive and competitive to reach OEM’s budgets. So more than OEMs we need productive tools to be efficient. Drawing sheet is the most common communication media everybody could afford and should not be the bottleneck of productivity.

PS: Still I'm debating if I should not post external software links as samples in this forum. What do you think?

Michael Fernando (CSWE)

http://www.solidCADworks.com

Tool and Die Designer
Siemens NX V9.0 + PDW
SWX 2013 SP3.0 X64
PDMWorks 2013
Logopress3
FastForm Advance
FormatWorks

 

[kts14]

Hello John,

I tried adding a "callout" attribute at the component level in the assembly and could present my Part List as needed. But the problem comes when I change something in the part file with holes and again comes to the assembly file, the part List is showing "[...]" and again I have to update the part List by calling the "Callout" attribute.

What I'm exactly doing is,I'm assembling the components by using "From Pattern Feature" and I'm using the pattern feature of hole (which is thru UDF) in the part file as reference, so that my array count in the assembly updates with the hole pattern count.Becoz of this, when I do something like "make current feature" and modifying something and then again making the whole part current feature then, the manually assigned "callout" attributes is not "empty" for the instances which is reflecting in my part list as "[...]".

 

[JohnRBaker]

I've found, as I've tried this myself a couple of times in the past, that the 'Callout' attribute can only be reliably managed by the system itself when creating/updating the Parts List note. If you try to manually assign or edit the 'Callout' attribute, it eventually falls apart. I don't think this because it's not working correctly, no, I think that it IS working as it was designed to work. Now could it be improved, probably. Perhaps we need to have an option allowing the user select what controls the 'Callout' attribute, on a Component by Component basis. If you feel that this is critical to your desired workflow, than contact GTAC and have them open an ER (Enhancement Request) to that affect.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.