Routing mechanical, using family members as stock

[alpopkov]

Hi everyone,
Do you know if there is any effective way of selecting family members items inside NX?
We have different profile contours part families (qualified as routing stock). Master, and each family member is a separate item in TeamCenter.
Normally, when adding a master item into an assembly the system will initiate member selection dialog. This does not happen when I apply the master item to the routing path (the routing is generated using master item as stock).

Thanks in advance!
Alexander.

 

[jiloebel]

This isn't really an answer to your question (as I would like to know if that is possible too), but we use the routing part library to apply stock. All of our stocks are added to the .ptb files and organized into folders. When adding stock through the routing library, you can right click and search the folders by attributes (i.e. size, material, etc) just like you would in a part family. This eliminates the need to the know the exact part number you want before going to add the stock since you can basically search on the fly.

The downside of this is .ptb files are independent of part families. Every time a new stock is created in your part family, you need to update the .ptb file with the new stock attributes. The library was also quite a pain to get set up as well. I always get the feeling the routing is NX's red headed step child that keeps getting ignored. Hopefully they start looking into improving it in the future.

 

[SvenBom]

Check also this:

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=349585

I have written this sometime ago. It explains, how to define ptb files, etc. Maybe this will help you with your problem.

 

[alpopkov]

Hello and thanks for the answer!

We are using TeamCenter. Found some temporary walk-around way.
Maybe it can help someone:
- add a stock master item as a component and select a child
- select Stock operation and as stock choose the item in assembly navigator (which is now a correct family member)

It has a downside...
If I replace the stock item in assembly navigator (change reusable component) and then choose replace stock referring the changed family member - the system would not change it.
It was solved by selecting stock (in stock operation) from loaded items... (instead assembly tree)

Alexander.