Top-Down Design Tools Managing Complex Assemblies

1. Tips & Techniques Top-Down Design ToolsManaging Complex Assemblies Victor RemmersHolland Engineering Consultants BV

2. Top-Down Design Philosophy

3. Traditional Design Approach • “Bottom-Up Design” • Design of individual components independent of the assembly • Manual approach to ensure that components fit properly and meet the design criteria • Components and those placed in sub-assemblies are brought together to develop the top-level assembly • Errors are manually identified and modifications to each component are made to make the adjustment. As assembly grows, detecting these inconsistencies and correcting them can consume a considerable amount of time Top Level Assembly Component Design Component Design Component Design

4. Possible example Bottom Up? Mate

5. Top-Down Design Philosophy • “Top-Down Design” • Method of placing critical information in a high-level location • Communicating that information to the lower levels of the product structure • Capturing the overall design information in one centralized location Design Information Component Component Component

6. A more integrated approach….

7. Top Down Design Stages – It is a concept. 6-Stage Process • Conceptual Engineering Phase Layouts and Engineering Notebook • Preliminary Product Structure Phase Pro/INTRALINK, Model Tree • Capturing Design Intent Phase Skeleton Models • Manage Interdependencies Phase Reference Viewer & Reference Graph • Communication of Design Intent Phase Copy Geoms, Publish Geoms & Shrinkwrap • Population of the Assembly Phase Automatic Component Constraints & Component Interfaces

8. The Bobcat example

9. Stage 1 Conceptual Engineering PhaseLayouts and Engineering Notebook • Understand Existing Situation • High-level Requirements • Space Allocation • Define New Space and Motion • 2D Sketches • 3D Models • Rapid Iteration & Convergence • Animations • Capture Key Design Intent • Parameters • Notes • Spreadsheets • Proprietary Data

10. Stage 2 Preliminary Product Structure PhasePro/INTRALINK, Model Tree • Quickly define product hierarchy • Before any of the components’ geometry is defined • Intuitive, automatic mapping to “start models” • Templates ensure all designs share the necessary common elements such as layers, views & parameters • Foundation for efficient task distribution • Assembly Population Environments • Pro/E menus and Model Tree pop-up menus • Pro/INTRALINK and PDMLink • Component Creation Methods • Empty Components; Copy from start models • Automatic assembly of default datums • Unplaced, Partially- & Over-Constrained Components

11. Stage 3 Capturing Design Intent Phase Skeleton Models • What needs to happen? • Capture conceptual design parameters within the context of the assembly • Capture & control critical object interfaces in a single, convenient location • How? Skeleton Models… • Centralized pathway for communication • Facilitate task distribution • Promote well-organized design environments • Enable faster, more efficient propagation of change • Special Treatment in BOMs, Simplified Reps, Drawings, Model Tree & Mass Property Calculations • Uniquely supported Scope Control Setting

12. Stage 4 Manage Interdependencies PhaseReference Viewer & Reference Graph • Tools to Manage References • External Reference Control • Ensures Top-Down Design methodology is followed • Incorporate design management rules directly into the design • Ensures proper design reuse • Pro/INTRALINK • Model Tree • Global Reference Viewer • Reference Graph

13. Stage 5 Communication of Design Intent Phase Publish Geoms, Copy Geoms & Inheritance • Publish Geometry Features • Provides ability to pre-determine the geometry to be referenced by a Copy Geometry feature • Allows designers to define their interfaces to the rest of the design • Copy Geometry Features • Allows copying of all types of geometry • Surfaces, edges, curves, datums, quilts, copy/publish geometry • Retains copied geometry name and layer settings • Dependency on parent geometry can be toggled • Can be “Externalized” • External Copy Geometry • Build relationships on external models independent of an assembly • Useful for coordinate system assembly practices • Inheritance – Inherit model geometry for one-way associativity • Shrinkwrap (included in Foundation Advantage Package)

14. Stage 6 Population of the Assembly PhaseAutomatic Component Constraints & Component Interfaces • What tools are available for populating the assembly? • Assembly Tools • Drag & Drop Placement • Component Interfaces • Component Creation • Within the context of the assembly • Mirror Parts or Subassemblies

15. How does Top Down Design relate to company goals? • Four Goals from Upper Management • 1) Cycle Time Reduction. • 2) Increase User Satisfaction with Software. • 3) Margin Increase. • 4) Cost Reduction.

16. Why should you use it? • Benefits: • Reduced design time • Reduced errors (right the first time) • Increased quality • Better project management visibility • Concurrent engineering • Confidence in top-level regeneration • Knowledge of how modules interface • Top-level change control

17. Example: to design an alternator... • What information should a designer need to work with most times? Neighboring Subassemblies 320MB Complete Top-Level Assembly 540 MB All Skeleton Models in Top-Level Assembly 70 MB Subassembly, with Skeleton Model containing all required information ~ 20 MB

18. What does an example look like? • Three Phases Pro/INTRALINK Pro/CONCEPT ISDX Pro/ENGINEER Pro/NOTEBOOK CAPTURE DESIGN CRITERIA CONCEPTUAL DESIGN • DETAILED DESIGN

19. Product Definition

20. Product Definition: Engineering Layout • What it is: • First thing done in design cycle • Used to evaluate key interface points • Used to evaluate key components of project What it is Not: • Three dimensional solids • Fully detailed

21. Advantages of Using a Layout • Document design information in one centralized location • Document design information before creating solid models • Investigate design options without involving the entire assembly • Easily make design changes because all of the design information is contained in one location

22. #2 Product Definition: Assembly Structure • What it is: • Virtual Assembly / BOM • Used to organize assembly & assigning of design tasks • Used to input non-geometrical data up-front What it is Not: • Three dimensional solids • Fully detailed • Fully constrained

23. Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product Structure • Defining the product structure prior to defining geometry can assist you in organizing the assembly into manageable tasks that can be assigned to design teams or individual designers. • Associate specific library parts (that are to be used on the project) with the assembly at the start of the design, preventing confusion later.

24. Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product Structure Cont… • Submit the assembly to Pro/INTRALINK or PDMLink and assign models to the appropriate vaults or folders. • Individual designers can focus on specific design tasks instead of on how their design is going to fit into the overall structure. • Input non-geometrical information such as the part number, designer’s name, etc., at a very early stage.

25. #3 Product Definition: Skeletons • What it is: • Zero-mass geometry • Exact location detail • Minimized geometric detail What it is Not: • Three dimensional solids • Fully detailed

26. And Definitely Not This!!

27. Advantages of Using Skeletons • Provides a centralized location for design data • Simplifies assembly creation / visualization • Aids in assembling mechanisms • Minimizes unwanted parent-child relationships • Allows you to assemble components in any order • Controls propagation of external references

28. Central source for information • Benefits of Communicating Information From a Central Source • Task distribution • Concurrent Modeling • Managing External References Tools • Declaration • Publish Geometry • Copy Geometry

29. Hierarchy • Top_level.asm • Top_level_skeleton.prt • Sub_assy_1.asm • Sub_assy_1_skeleton.prt • Sub_assy_2.asm • Sub_assy_2_skeleton.prt • Sub_assy_x.asm • Sub_assy_x_skeleton.prt

30. 3D Design … Finally! • The foundation is set … but topologically modifiable … it’s time for 3D. • With Reference Control Manager, you are safe to create your parts directly in the assembly.

31. More Than Meets The Eye! • Interchangeability: • Family of Tables • Interchange Assembly • Layout Declarations

32. Power of Top-Down Design • To Achieve Advanced Automation, consider using: • Relations • Pro/Program

33. Miscellaneous Tips • Separate Part Versus Assembly for Skeleton Features • Avoid constructing assembly-level skeleton features since the system requires that you perform all edits of these features in Assembly mode. • The components can become an obstruction and degrade performance. • Furthermore, you cannot easily reuse skeleton features at the assembly level in other subassemblies. By using a separate part file, you can edit the feature in Part Mode and reassemble it into many different assemblies. • Geometry Features • Place all static information in a skeleton as early as possible and place all dynamic information later in the design process cycle.

34. Miscellaneous Tips • Datums for Skeleton Models • Consider renaming skeleton datums to “sk_” • Visualization • Use simplified reps and transparency prolifically to make viewing easier • Use “display states” to highlight different items at different times • Use surfaces to clarify meaning of centerlines & axes • Conceptualization • Don’t be afraid to use simple hand sketches before delving into complex situations … it’s NOT illegal

35. Pro/E Wildfire EnhancementsHigh-performance Assembly Modeling • Lightweight Components • Represent common components with lightweight graphics for optimum display speed • Accurate mass properties and BOMs • Customizable symbolic representations • Flexible Components • Represent multiple states of a single component in an assembly • Addresses critical need for consistency between BOM and assembly model • Intelligent Regeneration • Assembly regeneration is up to 80% Faster!

36. Highlights of Top-Down Design • Capture knowledge, or design intent, allowing you to concentrate on significant issues by making the software perform tedious, repetitive calculations. • Enable the framework for interchangeability of components allowing for high-velocity product development by supporting rapid iterations of product variations. • Create a concurrent design environment by spreading project design responsibility across many organizational levels.

37. New in Advanced Assembly in Wildfire 3.0 • Data Sharing Dashboard • The Data Sharing dashboard consolidates the Merge, Cutout, and Inheritance features in a modern user interface. • Enhancements to Data Sharing features in a new dashboard offer many benefits: • Allows changing of multiple feature types at any point • Offers a user-friendly user interface with easy access to commands • Supports object-action workflow for increased productivity • Consolidates Data Sharing features, such as Merge, Cutout, and Inheritance

38. New in Advanced Assembly in Wildfire 3.0 (#2) • Top-Down Design with Mechanism Assemblies • You can now design a skeleton model that includes motion. • Motion skeletons are available in Assembly, allowing motion to be incorporated into the model at the beginning of the design process. There is no longer a need to recreate an assembly to include a mechanism analysis. • You can create mechanism bodies and connections as a motion skeleton, then run a simple kinematic analysis to ensure that the skeleton provides the appropriate degrees of freedom. You can then create and assemble components to the motion skeleton. Motion skeletons are defined in the same way as normal assembly skeletons and include reference control settings. They do not appear in the assembly bill of materials.

39. POWER OF TOP DOWN DESIGN!!!