UG programming

[Rizox]

Hi,

My company has just started to use Unigraphics and my boss asked me to search information for the application development, I found information about GRIP and API C, C++ based.

The first application I need to do is software to check the objects of a model are in the correct layer and obtain a log file with the errors.

Which option (GRIP or C++) do you recommend to do this???

I need a license to develop application with GRIP or just to develop with the OPEN API???


Thanks for any help and if somebody has manuals about this topic I would appreciate…

 

[JohnRBaker]

If these are the types of tasks you thinking about automating, you may wish to look into our Check Mate product.

For more information about Check Mate, go to:

http://www.ugs.com/products/nx/docs/fs_checkmate_quickcheck.pdf

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Product Line
UGS Corp
Cypress, CA

http://www.ugs.com

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

 

[looslib]

Do NOT use GRIP!!! While I have used GRIP to do the layer checking, GRIP itself is not being maintained and new features added to UG/NX since V11 have not been added to GRIP, except NX3 plotting.

You will need a development license to develop custom applications and execute licenses to run them.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli
Sr IS Technologist
L-3 Communications

 

[JohnRBaker]

Sorry, but GRIP is being 'maintained', just not enhanced. But Ben is right in the sense that if you're starting with a clean slate, I would avoid GRIP only because it has limitations and gaps which will NOT be addressed, and rataher you should look at more modern and full supported (and enhanced) functionality. That could either be in the form of user adjusted products like Check-Mate for simple rule and corporate standards verification and enforcement, to Journalling for simple user developed application programs, to the Open API's for full fledged automation type projects, or some combination of these, since the can and do work together.


John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Product Line
UGS Corp
Cypress, CA

http://www.ugs.com

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

 

[ugsoft]

Yes I would agree with John's point ... Here are some real life examples that you can not use pure Open API functions :

Case I : 2.5 Axis Point Drilling
- by API , you can just set point coordinates and operation parameters , create the operation but then you have to use GRIP NC to add point coords as the geometry. The reason for that is explained as the strategy of the development, assuming users would tend to use Hole Making Wizard instead..

Case II : Wire EDM operations
- Again API is not sufficient to handle this case , you need to define the geometry by GRIP NC...

There are also some other examples per say , that API is not capable of performing which is true for GRIP ,on the other hand , nobody can claim that a single tool would perform all the interactive jobs that UG does ...In many cases some degree of combination is not avoidable ...

Regards ,

Karl Oppenheimer

Moderator
CAD/CAM SoftStore

http://www.ugsoftstore.com

http://www.cadcamsoftstore.com

 

[phillpd]

I'd have to agree that long term, API is your best route. Other than a couple of "holes" in the CAM API that Karl refers to, you can pretty much do everything and anything. API is also preferable if you need to consider interactions outside of NX.

However, if you're new to programming and want somthing as simple as checking the layers of objects, then GRIP would certainly suffice.

Using GRIP, API, or CheckMate will require development/authoring licences. Its all changed post-NX3. Not sure on CheckMate, but I don't believe an execute license is required for API from NX4 and beyond.

Paul Phillips
Specialty Engineered Automation

http://www.sea4ug.com

 

[Rizox]

Thank all for your answers, I think I will try to learn how things work with the Open API, and also a try to learn GRIP I think this one is easy to learn but maybe has limitations so I shouldn’t depend of it because in the future I could need to develop others more complicated applications.

Now if you have any example or tutorial I will thank for it, because I have just the UG help documentation and I don’t know if that is enough…

Thanks…

 

[psiwak]

Rizox please review information in documentaion about check-mate. It's suitable tool to maintain/check company standards, price for this can be similar to GRIP dev.

Regards
Pawel Siwak

 

[DavidTolsma]

Check mate is made for this type of checking, if it can't do it with the existing checks you can create your own rules. Check mate uses the Knowledge Fusion language that can wrap Ufunc applications.

If you need to create a Ufunc program use the NX/Open API not the UG/Open api. NX/Open api is the current direction where Grip hasn't been enhanced for many version UG/Open will not be enhanced for many versions going forward. NX/Open API supports C++, .Net, and Java equally. Pick your poison.

-Dave
PLM Exchange

http://plmexchange.net

http://groups.google.com/group/NX_CAX/