Chapter 6 Creating and Documenting

Assemblies

• After completing this chapter, you will be able to– Understand the assembly options– Create bottom-up assemblies– Create top-down assemblies– Create subassemblies– Constrain components together using

assembly constraints– Edit assembly constraints– Create adaptive parts– Pattern components in an assembly

Chapter 6 - Objectives

• After completing this chapter, you will be able to– Check parts in an assembly for

interference– Drive constraints– Create design view representations– Create flexible assemblies– Create positional representations– Create a presentation file– Create individual and automatic balloons– Create a parts list of an assembly

Chapter 6 – Objectives continued

Creating Assemblies• New Assembly Files

– .IAM Extension– Creation Methods

• New icon – What To Do

• New – File Menu

• New icon – Down Arrow

Creating Assemblies• Assembly Options

– Tools > Application Options > Assembly tab

Creating Assemblies

• Assembly Browser– Part Occurrence– Assembly Constraints– Subassembly Occurrence

Creating Assemblies• Bottom-Up Approach

– Components are created in their individual files

– Place Component tool– ‘P’ hot key

Creating Assemblies• Top-Down Approach

– Create new components while in an assembly

– Create Component tool

– Create In-Place Component Dialog

• Component Name

• Template to be used

• File Location

• Default BOM Structure

• Virtual Component

• Constraint to selected face

Creating Assemblies• Occurrence

– Copy of existing components

• Copy/Paste• Place Component• Drag & Drop

– Any change to original updates all occurrences

• Save Copy As… to create a copy that is not linked to original

Creating Assemblies• Occurrence

– Active Component – Available for edit• Double-click in the graphics area

• Double-click file name/icon in the Browser

• Right-click in the Browser > Edit

Creating Assemblies• Occurrence

– Grounded Component • The Component will not move

– All Degrees Of Freedom are removed – When constraining, components move to a

Grounded component

• Any # of components can be grounded

Creating Assemblies• Subassembly Creation

– Create Component • Change file type to Assembly

Promote/DemoteRight-click after selecting a component in the Browser

Promote – moves a component(s) to it’s parent assembly

Demote – moves a component(s) to a subassembly

Restructuring Components Drag in Browser

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Create relationships between components

• Bolt and a Hole• Reduce the number of

Degrees Of Freedom– 6 total (3-translational

& 3-rotational)– View > Degrees of

Freedom– Component Properties

> Occurrence tab

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Placing Constraints• Constraint tool

– Right-click > Constraint

– ‘C’ hot key

• Place Constraint Dialog

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

–Constraint Types – Assembly tab• Mate

– Plane, Line, or Point» Assembles two components so that the surface normal

on the selected planes are opposite each other» Assembles the edges of lines» Assembles two points together

• Flush Solution– Aligns two components so the selected planes face the same

direction (surface normal point in the same direction)

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Constraint Types – Assembly tab• Angle

– Specify the degrees between the selected planes

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Constraint Types – Assembly tab• Tangent

– Defines a tangent relationship between planes, cylinders, spheres, cones, and ruled splines

– At least one selected face must be a curve

– Inside/Outside Solutions

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Constraint Types – Assembly tab• Insert

– Two circular edges

– Centerlines are aligned & mate constraint is applied to the planes defined by the circular edges.

– 5 DOF are removed with an insert constraint

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

–Constraint Types – Motion tab• Animation the motion of gears pulleys, rack and pinions,

etc.– You can drive one component and cause others to move

accordingly

• Motion constraints are secondary constraints– They do not maintain positional relationships between

components

• Recommended: fully constraincomponents before applyingmotion constraints, then suppress the constraints restricting motion

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Constraint Types – Motion tab• Rotation

– Define a component that will rotate in relation to another component

– Specify a ratio for the rotation between the two components

– Forward & Backward solution types

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Constraint Types – Motion tab• Rotation-Translation

– Define rotation relative to translation of a second component

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Constraint Types – Transitional tab• Transitional

– Specifies a transitional relationship between a cylindrical part face and a contiguous set of faces on another part

Assembly Constraints• Constraints

– Snap ‘n Go• ALT – drag a part to another part

– No Place Constraint dialog box

– Select correct area on the part to apply the constraint

M or 1 Changes to a mate constraint. Spacebar flips to a flush solution.

A or 2 Changes to an angle constraint. Spacebar flips angle direction.

T or 3 Changes to a tangent constraint. Spacebar flips between inside/outside solutions.

I or 4 Changes to an insert constraint. Spacebar flips insert direction.

R or 5 Changes to a rotation motion constraint. Spacebar flips the rotation direction.

S or 6 Changes to a rotation-translation constraint. Spacebar flips the translation direction

X or 8 Changes to a transitional constraint.

Assembly Constraints• Moving & Rotating Components

– Move Component Tool• Drag individual components in any linear

direction in the viewing plane• Temporarily suppresses assembly

constraints on the component until the assembly is updated (constraints are then re-applied)

– Rotate Component Tool• After selected, the 3D rotate symbol

appears on the selected component• Similar to the Move Component tool,

Rotate Component temporarily suppresses any assembly constraints applied to the component

Assembly Constraints• Editing

– Two Methods via the Browser• Double-click the constraint name• Right-click the constraint name

and select Edit, Suppress, or Delete

– Edit - opens the Edit Constraint dialog box

– Suppress – the assy constraintis not applied

– Delete – deletes the assy constraint

Assembly Constraints•Conflicts

–Alert Box• If you try to place or edit an assembly constraint

and it cannot be applied, an alert box is displayed explaining the problem.

–Conflicting• When assembly constraint conflicts with another

one, a small yellow icon with an exclamation point is displayed in the Browser

–Recover• Displays the Design Doctor

to walk you through the steps to fix the problem

Assembly Constraints• Conflicts

– Redundant• Occurs when too many constraints are added.

• Constraints are preceded with an information symbol

Exercise 6-1• Assembling Parts

Designing Parts In-Place• In-Place Creation

– Initial Sketch Creation• Face of an existing assembly component• Work Plane

– Automatically constrain the sketch plane to the selected face or work plane

• Creates a Flush constraint between the sketch and the selected face or plane

Designing Parts In-Place• In-Place Creation

– After the base feature is created• Create additional features based on geometry

from another part in the assembly an adaptive work plane is created.

• The adaptive work plane moves as necessary to reflect changes in the component that it is based upon

– The sketch moves with the plane– Features based on the sketch adapt to match its

new position

Exercise 6-2

• Designing Parts in the Assembly Context

Assembly Browser• Tools

– In-Place Activation• Double-click a subassembly or component

occurrence in the Browser to activate it• Right-click > Edit• All components that are not active are shaded

in the Browser

Assembly Browser• Tools

– Visibility Control• Expand the Browser until the desired component

occurrence is visible• Right-click > Visibility

Adaptivity• Definition

–Allows the size of a part to be determined by setting up a relationship between the part and another part in the assembly

• Under-constrained sketches and features can adapt• The adaptivity relationship is acquired by applying

constraints between an adaptive sketch or feature and another part

– The sketch cannot be fully constrained– A part can only be adaptive in one assembly at a time– Only one occurrence of a part can be adaptive – other

occurrences reflect the size of the adaptive part

–Example• Diameter of a pin from the size of a hole or vice-versa

Adaptivity• Options

– Tools > Application Options > Assembly tab

Adaptivity• Example

– The rectangular sketch is not dimensioned along its length

Adaptivity• Example

– The extruded feature is defined as adaptive

Adaptivity• Example

– Parts are placed, constraints applied between the two plates (flush between the faces on the ends of the plates)

Component Visibility• Components Visibility

– On or Off• Right-click a component and

select Visibility from the menu

– Enabled • Component is displayed as

wire frame and cannot be selected in the graphics window

• Right-click a component and select Enabled from the menu

Exercise 6-3

• Creating Adaptive Parts

PATTERN COMPONENTS • Pattern Components

– Rectangular– Circular– Based on Feature Pattern– Suppress Elements– Pattern Assemblies– Replace Components

Exercise 6-4

• Patterning Components

Analysis Tools• Center of Gravity

– View > Center of Gravity• Displays Gray when the properties are out of date• Hover the cursor over the origin of the symbol to

display the COG coordinates

Analysis Tools• Interference Checking

– Tools > Analyze Interference• Define Set #1 – select components that define set 1

• Define Set #2 – select components that define set 2

Exercise 6-5

• Analyzing an Assembly

Driving Constraints• Drive Constraint tool

– Simulate motion• Right-click on a constraint in the Browser

> Drive Constraint

Driving Constraints• Drive Constraint tool

– Dialog Box• Start, End, Pause

• Play Controls

• Record

• More Button– Drive Adaptivity

– Collision Detection

– Increment

– Repetitions

– AVI Rate

Exercise 6-6

• Driving Constraints

Design View Representations

• Save configurations that show the assembly in different states, stores the following– Component visibility (visible or not visible)– Component selection status (enabled or not

enabled)– Color settings and style characteristics

applied in the assembly– Zoom magnification– Viewing angle

• Create New Design View Representation• Make Active• Rename• Lock• Public vs. Private Design Views

Design View Representations

Flexible Assemblies • Set Flexible property to a subassembly to allow

movement independent from other occurrences of the subassembly

Positional Representations • Create a motion study of an assembly

model– Based on positional representation

Positional Representations• Override Settings for an assembly

constraint– Suppression– Value

Positional Representations• Create Base Views based on

Positional Representation

Exercise 6-7

• Positional Representations

Creating Overlay Views • Overlay views document positional

representations of an assembly in a single view.

Presentation Files• File Type

– .IPN Extension• Exploded Views• Hide specific components• Create animations of assembly and

disassembly of components• Work Plane

– Associated with the assembly file• Changes made to the assembly are reflected

in the presentation

Presentation Files• Panel Bar

– Presentation Panel

Create View Creates views of the assembly

Tweak Components

Moves and/or rotates parts in the view

Precise View Rotation

Rotates the view by a specified angle direction using a dialog box

Animation Creates an animation of the assembly – AVI file can be output

Presentation Files• Creating Presentation Views

– Create a presentation view• Create View tool

• Adds a presentation view to the file and the Browser

Presentation Files• Creating Presentation Views

– Tweaking Components• Moves or Rotates components a specified

distance or angle

• Auto Explode– Extends all tweaks the same distance

Presentation Files• Creating Presentation Views

– Tweaking Components• Tweak Component Dialog Box

– Manual Tweaks

Presentation Files• Creating Presentation Views

– Animation• Animate Tool

– Controls for playback

– Record to AVI file

Presentation Files• Creating

Presentation Views– Animation

• Animate Tool > More button

– Changing the Animation Sequence

– Move Up / Down

– Group / Ungroup

Exercise 6-8

• Creating Presentation Views

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations)

• Base View – Base View tool

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations)

• Balloons– Balloon tools

• Balloon - Single Components• Auto balloon – Selected Components

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations)

• Balloons– Editing

• Right-click a balloon > Edit Balloon• Edit Balloon dialog box

– Balloon Type– Balloon Value

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations)

• Edit Balloons– Aligning Balloons Vertically or Horizontally

• Select multiple balloons > right-click

• Offset Value is set on the Balloon tab(Format > Standards)

• Text Style is set on the Balloon tab(Format > Standards)

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations)

• Parts Lists– Parts List tool

• Select a view• Enter options in the Parts List dialog• Click OK

Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations)

• Parts Lists– Editing

• Right-click and select Edit Parts List

Exercise 6-9

• Creating Assembly Drawings

SummaryTo Do This

Place a component in an assembly

Click the Place Component tool on the Assembly Panel Bar or on the Assembly toolbar.

Create a component in an assembly

Click the Create Component tool on the Assembly Panel Bar or on the Assembly toolbar.

Place an assembly constraint Click the Constraint tool on the Assembly Panel Bar or on the Assembly toolbar.

Edit an assembly constraint Double-click the constraint in the Browser or right-click and select Edit from the menu.

Edit a component in place Double-click the component in the graphics window or Browser.

Control component visibility Right-click the component in the graphics window or Browser and select Visibility from the menu.

Check component interference

Click Tools > Analyze Interference.

SummaryTo Do This

Move an assembly through a range of motion

Drag an under constrained component.

Create a presentation file Create a new file with the .ipn extension and click the Create View button.

Create a balloon Click the Balloon tool on the Drawing Annotation Panel Bar.

Create a parts list Click the Parts List tool on the Drawing Annotation Panel Bar.

Applying Your Skills

• Skill Exercise 6-1

• Skill Exercise 6-2