Patch 1

[cubalibre000]

Hi,
I'm not able to obtain a fast method to patch this four surfaces.
For fast I mean, fews feature, fast to regenerate and fast to create.
I tried whit some bridge surface and N side mesh, but nothing god and fast.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[Xwheelguy]

More than one way to skin this cat. I preferred to start with half of what you had and instance it around as much as possible. Continuity wasn't specified, so I assumed G1 (tangency) would suffice, but you can adjust as needed.

Takes less than 10 minutes.

Let me guess - CATIA's Fill command is where this might be going, right?

Tim Flater
NX Designer
NX 7.5.4.4 MP8
WinXP Pro x64 SP2
Intel Xeon 2.53 GHz 6GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2GB

 

[cubalibre000]

Hi Tim,
thank you for the response, but I'm looking for an approach similar to Catia...a fill surface compared to our n side mesh.
You have used Bridge Curve and I Transition (less feature).
You have used Mesh an I Bounded Plane (analytic surface).


Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[Xwheelguy]

Oh - I didn't see where you specified to use N-Sided surface in your original post. Must have disappeared. You only mentioned that you attempted using that method.

I did as you asked at the beginning, but I knew where this was going. Had the N-Sided surface in NX been able to handle this, I would have suggested it. I wouldn't suggest that approach in NX. I assume you've already found out why.

Not sure what you mean by I Transition and I Bounded Plane. I used TCM for everything except the tubular bodies, which were just unparametric bodies.

To be honest, the absolute EASIEST way to do this is to start from scratch, square everything off and add Edge Blends, first in 4 corners then on all 8 top edges.

Tim Flater
NX Designer
NX 7.5.4.4 MP8
WinXP Pro x64 SP2
Intel Xeon 2.53 GHz 6GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2GB

 

[JohnRBaker]

If something like this (see attached) is acceptable, I don't see how you can do it any faster or with less features.

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.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Or something like this (see attached).

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.

 

[cubalibre000]

Thank you to all,
but Catia use a fill command that produce one surface (pale yellow) with one command.
The correlative NX command to the fill command in Catia, it's N side mesh, but produce a strange result.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[JohnRBaker]

So my suggested solutions were NOT acceptable, eh?

BTW, we are NOT obligated to provide functionality on a one-to-one basis with what other software packages might offer you. Rather, we try to provide something which will give you either same or equivalent results using an acceptable workflow. Now this might entail having to create a few more features or to use a couple of functions instead of only one, but if the extra time and effort are not excessive, we still feel that we've met our customer expectations. If you would like something different, feel free to contact GTAC and have them open an ER and we will give it serious consideration.

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.

 

[cubalibre000]

Hi John,
the N side mesh in NX is the correspondent fill command in Catia.
See the very strange result in NX.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[capnhook]

One could say it is working as it was designed to work. Thanks for the example, Cubalibre00.

I have also had to ditch the n-sided surface before, because of unexpected results.

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]

 

[cubalibre000]

Hi capnhook,
the difference that someone don't understand, it's that we are the real users that use NX, not the Siemens PLM employees.
We are that every days project with NX, and only we feel the disappoint when the result it's not as expected and loose time to resolve with workarounds or extra feature that increment the time needed to project a part.
Every time I'm not able to obtain something, I think, the problem I am, because NX is an hight-end CAD package, but my curiosity put me to ask to other friends that use another hight-end CAD package like Catia.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[kapmnit123]

Hi Cubalibre00,
Will this do? I have used N-Sided Patch only.
Attaching the image herewith.
Best Regards
Kapil Sharma

 

[kapmnit123]

Hi,
I am attaching a movie herewith showing how did i do it? Feel this methodology can be refined further.
Best Regards
Kapil Sharma

 

[Xwheelguy]

I believe the UV orientation was the step we were all more than likely missing.

Thanks for the insight, Kapil.

Tim Flater
NX Designer
NX 7.5.4.4 MP8
WinXP Pro x64 SP2
Intel Xeon 2.53 GHz 6GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2GB

 

[kapmnit123]

Hi Xwheelguy,
Thanks for acknowledging my efforts.Actually i have worked both on CATIA V5 as well as NX. ) So used both N-Sided as well as Fill).
N-Sided additionally gives you an option to arrange the U-V lines or the iso-params as per your input (Sharing my past Class-A surfacing work experience with all of you it is always better to have a rectangular patch (rectangular U/V grid untill and unless you want to drive your patch from curved feature lines for controlling the curvature character and reflection pattern as per designer).If you check the pole structure of the patch N-Sided created you will notice that it is basically a rectangular grid (although dense nurbs are like this only no matter what software you use).In case you wish to control the middle convexity of the N-sided patch using the SHAPE CONTROL option Center Flat.
Best Regards
Kapil Sharma

 

[cowski]

Good video, Kapil.
I've wondered what that rectangle option was for, thanks for sharing.

www.nxjournaling.com

 

[Xwheelguy]

Being on NX7.5, the Bridge Surface isn't the newer dialog, so I had to use Through Curves with some curves defining the shorter limits oo the tubular surfaces. Even with the UV orientation input, the N-sided surface doesn't match up to what you had in the newer NX version. My best guess is that there has been some improvements in how the resulting surface is constructed within that particular command (N-sided). I get lots of sagging between the tubular surfaces and the center area for some reason.

I've come across Class A examples in the past that utilized the Bridge Curve approach with TCM surfaces, which results in almost the same thing, with slightly more direct control with how everything transitions in the center area. In the end, the approach all just depends on how much control one needs in the middle of the body, where the tubular surfaces all come together and get washed out by the blended surfaces.

Tim Flater
NX Designer
NX 7.5.4.4 MP8
WinXP Pro x64 SP2
Intel Xeon 2.53 GHz 6GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2GB

 

[cubalibre000]

Hi kapmnit123,
thank you sharing your NX knowledge, but the result it's not correct.
If you try with Catia, the surface in the middle is flat.
If you try to flat with shape control option, near to the half tube, the surface concave.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[Xwheelguy]

Cuba,

That's the sagging I was mentioning.

While I don't disagree with your point about N-sided surface versus the competition, the general idea of what I posted is about the most robust way to achieve the results you're expecting with the flat area on top AND having a model that updates quickly. Not taking anything away from the suggestion Kapil made, either. Note that I was unable to examine John Baker's model, since I'm using an older version of NX.

That I am aware, N-Sided Surface just doesn't allow for the control you're wanting to achieve where the tube peaks converge with the blend surfaces into the center area. NX sometimes requires more direct curve-based approaches, defining the surfaces in more detail with the curves.

Just my opinion, but I'd never consider using N-Sided surface for any surfacing where I needed decent quality - I will always opt for the mesh surfaces, as they offer more control and more predictable results in NX. I know that doesn't help your situation, but that is just my thought on the subject.

Tim Flater
NX Designer
NX 7.5.4.4 MP8
WinXP Pro x64 SP2
Intel Xeon 2.53 GHz 6GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 2GB

 

[Darthdad]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge Kapil, it is always interesting to see the different
ways to tackle an area. I agree with Tim about only using mesh surfacing in a case like this, as it
does afford more control in my experience. I will however look into the N-sided approach more now
after seeing your video. My first attempts in using this command were less than stellar, and I have avoided using it.

BR
Martin
Steinhobel Design