Scott McCormick
Aerospace
- Mar 18, 2020
- 2
First-time poster here. I'm looking for a way to create a point set that is dependent on a set of X,Y coordinates.
Problem: I have many instruments that I want to place on a cylindrical face, whose orientation definition is controlled by a spreadsheet with azimuthal and height dimensions (on surface inferred as 3rd constraint). I want to define a set of points on a cylindrical face for use in positioning components in an assembly. Once those points are defined, the associative update of the points would drive an update of the coincident constraint on the points in the set and the CSYS of the component to be placed. Also, I need the points to be serialized, with unique and traceable definitions for each point. (e.g. point name TB001, with dimensions TB001-X, TB001-Y)
Solution path I've chosen: I'm using the wrap/unwrap curve feature to unwrap the features of the face onto a 2D plane. I am then taking the azimuthal coordinate and converting it into a "flat pattern" dimension to be placed on a sketch on the same 2D plane. I then want to unwrap that sketch back onto the face. I've tested this solution using a single point, and it works great. I am just wondering if there's an easier way to do this or if I'll have to go manually input all 60+ points, with a horizontal/vertical dimension for each point. Is there a way to do this en-masse with expressions? Is there a better way/tool/feature to do this?
Using NX12 by the way. Thanks for any insight!
Problem: I have many instruments that I want to place on a cylindrical face, whose orientation definition is controlled by a spreadsheet with azimuthal and height dimensions (on surface inferred as 3rd constraint). I want to define a set of points on a cylindrical face for use in positioning components in an assembly. Once those points are defined, the associative update of the points would drive an update of the coincident constraint on the points in the set and the CSYS of the component to be placed. Also, I need the points to be serialized, with unique and traceable definitions for each point. (e.g. point name TB001, with dimensions TB001-X, TB001-Y)
Solution path I've chosen: I'm using the wrap/unwrap curve feature to unwrap the features of the face onto a 2D plane. I am then taking the azimuthal coordinate and converting it into a "flat pattern" dimension to be placed on a sketch on the same 2D plane. I then want to unwrap that sketch back onto the face. I've tested this solution using a single point, and it works great. I am just wondering if there's an easier way to do this or if I'll have to go manually input all 60+ points, with a horizontal/vertical dimension for each point. Is there a way to do this en-masse with expressions? Is there a better way/tool/feature to do this?
Using NX12 by the way. Thanks for any insight!