Rapid Dimensions Drafting NX9 3

[peterrdevries]

Working with NX9.0.0.19 in Drafting Rapid Dimension with Tolerance. Hoe easy is was to place a Tolerance, the more work it is in NX9:

- Place a Dimension -> mb3 -> Tolerance -> buttons in front of Tolerances are not there!

- Place a Dimension -> mb3 -> Tolerance -> f.e. Equal Bilateral Tolerance -> change the Tolerance ...... now the amount of mouse clicks is too much: do not move the mouse -> Edit button -> then select the green/brown rectangle -> change the Tolerance Value -> de-select the edit button ( DO NOT press middle mouse button, what all user do... -> dimensin is gone -> start all over) -> Place the dimension.
When reading press releases about less mouseclicks in Drafting, then .....

Another one is the Appended Text, a lott of NX Drafters are using the 4 Arrow Keys on the keyboard when creating appended text -> not possible anymore. Use a dialog instead.

Anyone experience with all of this? Are we doing anything wrong in creating Tolerances / Appeneded Text in NX9?

 

[Toost]

Agree. I do not think the rapid dimension is ready for production in 9.0.
It's one step forward in some aspects and one step backwards in other.
I hope it will be "all perfect" in 9.0.1.

Something i miss ( and have noted in another thread) is that one cannot move an existing dimension whilst the dialog is on the screen.
Quite often I place a dimension and while placing the next dimension i realize that i must move the first, so drop the second where it should be, exit the dialog and move the first dimension, then back into dialog etc etc.


Regards,
Tomas

 

[peterrdevries]

Tomas, i agree on the issue moving dimensions while placing another one. I also noticed that "problem".

Also in the Sketcher we have got the Rapid Dimension. Do not use "place automatically". I think that option shoul not be there in a Sketcher.

Hopefully i the near future we can call it RAPID Dimensions.

regards, Peter

 

[JohnRBaker]

I'll admit, the term 'Rapid' seems to be a bit 'hyperbolic', but it's intended to convey the idea that you can define all aspects of a dimension while placing it WITHOUT having to explicitly open up a long list of menu options.

Note that there is NO need to press MB3 when you wish to make a change to what you see in the preview before you place the dimension, just wait a few seconds and the 'edit' icon will automatically appear. Selecting it will give you an option to change the dimension type, in case the inference was incorrect, such as changing a Horizontal to a Vertical dimension, as well as activating all of the 'edit' handles on the dimension which when selected will pop-up an on-screen entry widget where you can set the detailed options, such as tolerances or appending text. Selecting the 'Edit' icon a second time will take you back to dragging your dimension to it's desired location and placing it. Note that whether you makes these settings using the on-screen tools or in the Dimension dialog itself, it make no difference so use whatever approach you're most comfortable with.

As for the dragging existing dimensions issue is concerned, just as was the case prior to NX 9.0, UNTIL you start to select the next set of reference objects for the next dimension, you are free to reposition any of the current dimensions that you've already created. There is NO difference in this behavior than from previous versions of NX.

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.

 

[peterrdevries]

Johan, thanks for your answers.
We will try to learn all the users to work the same way (not pressing mb3, but waiting for the edit button) when placing Tolerances.
Selecting the Edit button the second time could also be mousebutton 2 (how a lot of peopel are used to).....next release maybe?

A pitty that i cannot use my arrow keys on the keyboard anymore to place appended text. So used to that one.

regards, Peter

 

[cubalibre000]

Hi,
I'm testing NX9 and I like the new dimension method and the On-screen interaction.
Can you provide a video to understand you frustration ?


Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1

 

[peterrdevries]

Hi Cubalibre,

Please count the amount of mouseclicks in previous NX versions, then the amount of mouseclicks in NX9.
Then you will understand the laughing of users with Rapid Dimension.

The arrow key is used (in f.e. NX7.5) to quickly place an appended text. Does not work anymore.

Also in the Sketcher we have got the Rapid Dimension. Do not use "place automatically". I think that option should not be there in a Sketcher.

regards, Peter

 

[peterrdevries]

No video but:

To place a dimension: 100±0.3:

- NX7.5: 4 mouseclicks:
(dimension: select first object (1) - mousebutton 3 (2) - Tolerance Type (3) - Place Dimension (4) )

- NX9: 6 mouseclicks
(Rapid Dimension: select first object (1) - edit button (2) - select brown rectangle (3) - Tolerance Type (4) - de-select the edit button (5) - place the dimension (6) )

Peter

 

[capnhook]

Rapid Dimensioning = "plesae work more rapidly, since there are more mouse clicks now"

capn

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]

 

[RyanVLee]

Also with rapid dimension in NX 9.0 if you grab an edge to a center line it defaults to angular dimension. I was playing the wait and see game to feb 4th to see if it still like that due to all the selection bugs that have been reported. I hope it is fixed.

Ryan Lee
Mechanical Project Engineer

NX 6.0.5.3
NX 9.0.0.19(testing)
If you can think it it can be modeled

 

[JohnRBaker]

OK, in your little scenario try this and see how many mouseclicks it takes to perform this very typical series of changes to the settings of the dimension that you're creating:

Create a dimension, change the style of tolerancing, change the tolerance values, add some appended text. And if any other not-so-typical settings need to be made as well, all of those options are available once the 'Edit' widget has been enabled. And lets not stop there, go back later and count the mouseclicks needed when EDITING any or all of these settings of an existing dimension.

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.

 

[carlharr]

Ryan, that's also been bugging me.

It seems if you click the endpoint of the line, rather than the line, it won't default to angle, but you do have to be a lot more careful than in earlier versions.

Still trying to suss it out...

http://www.jcb.com

NX 7.5 with TC 8.3

 

[Toost]

John, can you please clarify on exactly how you move an existing dimension , in 9.0.0.19, whilst the dialog is on screen ?
I have not been able to spot the trick, or i have some setting which prohibits this.

Neither am i able to select and edit an existing dimension when the dialog is up.
- If i leave the dialog and double click on a dimension i can edit + move this, but only the "doubleclicked" one.

Regards,
Tomas

 

[JohnRBaker]

While the 'Rapid Dimension' dialog is open, but BEFORE you've started to select objects to be dimensioned, you're able to select and drag any dimension on the Drawing. This is exactly how it worked in previous versions of NX.

As for selecting a dimension to edit while the 'Rapid Dimension' dialog is open, that does appear to have changed despite the fact that when the dialog is open the Que/Status line still says that you can 'double-click to edit'. At the moment, you need to simply double-click a dimension (with no dialogs open) to launch the 'edit' mode. However, I will open a PR since either the Que/Status line is incorrect or if it is correct, then the edit function isn't working as it should.

Note that I'm running NX 9.0.1 so it is possible that some of this behavior has changed from what you're seeing.

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]

I'm trying to move the dimensions but... See attached video.
Should be a flash movie and should play in Internet explorer. Captured with Jing.
The stop sign that appears is when i try drag the existing dims. Left mouse button : press-drag-release.
- Can anybody else move dimensions or is it just me ?

Regards,
Tomas

 

[JohnRBaker]

I can't play the video. Can you capture it using the built-in NX 'Movie' function?

Attached is a video I created using the NX movie capture function doing this in NX 9.0.1.

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]

Try open the video using Internet explorer. Not mediaplayer or such.

Regards, Tomas

 

[Toost]

No, forget about it. If you say it's fixed in 9.0.1 i believe you.

Regards,
Tomas

 

[JohnRBaker]

And to get back to the suggested scenario in my posting at 10:47 this morning, here's a video showing the creation of a typical dimension where several settings are made or adjusted while creating the dimension using NX 9.0. Try making these exact same changes while creating a dimension using an older version of NX and count how many mouseclicks that it takes and how many different widgets are displayed that you have to deal with. Perhaps after a while you'll have a better appreciation for the term 'Rapid'.

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,
apart the bug that it's resolved in the next MR, I like the new rapid dimension tool.
I prefere some more mouse click then using the RMB.
What it's done starting NX8.5, with the interactive LMB, I prefere this workflow.
I don't like the RMB workflow.
I like that all options are visible to the user.
I'm an user and a CAD manager for 30 NX users and I assure you that what it's done with NX9 is the right choice.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC9.1