P 33

This quarter's issue of Profiles Magazine is absolutely packed with great information.
In a reprise of his excellent presentation at the PTC/USER World Event, Mike Brattoli of Moen shares his experience and insights on the use of ISDX in our cover story. We also have an interview with Jim Heppelman discussing the impact of, and future possibilities created by PTC's acquisition of Arbortext. From PTC/USER, Evan Caille talks about innovation and also has some interesting comments on the member portal and internet services in general. James Lynch discusses his experiences at the World Event from a student's perspective. And of course, we have four new tips and tricks to increase your productivity. Feel free to share your praise or criticisms about the magazine with us. You can write me at rick@ptcuser.org. Best Regards,
Designing with StyleTurning Sketches into Successes by Michael A. Brattoli, Moen Incorporated
Being Innovative by Evan Caille, PTC/USER President
All About Arbortext with Jim Heppelmann, Executive Vice President, Software Solutions, and Chief Technical Officer, PTC
A Student's Eye View of the PTC/USER World Event James Lynch, University of Ireland Reevaluating the PTC/USER Member Portal by Evan Caille, PTC/USER President
Rick Snider
Regional User Group Calendar Download a PDF of this issue Copyright 2005 PTC/USER, Inc. All rights reserved.
I Want My MOM Back! by Pete Pickett, Mercury Marine Creating Gears and Splines by Dan Marsalek, Marine Mechanical Corporation Visualizing the Air Space of a Complex PSU by Ceferino Sanchez, ASTEC Power Digital Watermarks for Today's Engineer by John Tucker, Raytheon Vision Systems
Designing with StyleTurning Sketches into Successes

By Michael A. Brattoli, Moen Incorporated
Turning conceptual designs into finished products is at the core of product design. For many years, however, the ability to capture the design intent of industrial design models, sketches, and renderings within the CAD model has been limited at best. Translating the aesthetic sense of a design into the mechanical reality of the product is often more art than science. Industrial designers use a variety of tools to produce their conceptual designs, but many still present their concepts as sketches and renderings. Interpreting these handgenerated ideas and capturing them accurately is the challenge of the mechanical designer and engineer. The Interactive Surfacing Design Extension (ISDX) within Pro/ ENGINEER, also known as the Style module, provides the tools that make this process as painless as possible. The Style module includes functionality known as trace sketches, allowing the designer or engineer to import images into the model and ensure the end-product conforms to the aesthetics of the initial concept. The trace sketch images can be placed on any planar object within the Pro/ENGINEER model (Wildfire 2.0 lets you use datum planes and/or flat surfaces) and then can be manipulated for position, scale, and orientation. Trace Sketch ManipulationStep by Step The key to capturing aesthetic design involves the information contained within the image. Knowing the interface dimensions of key features within the design simplifies the manipulation of the trace sketch. Reference features, or sketched sections, represent the interface dimensions of the part being modeled. These features can consist of datum planes, points, and/or sketched curves (Fig. 1). In this example, the interface measures horizontally 4.00 inches by vertically 7.00 inches.
Designing with StyleTurning Sketches into Successes Being Innovative All About Arbortext Reevaluating the PTC/USER Member Portal A Student's Eye View of the PTC/ USER World Event I Want My MOM Back! Creating Gears and Splines Creating a FAR Plot Digital Watermarks for Today's Engineer
More information about RUGs is available at our web site...
Figure 1.
1. Importing the Trace Sketch Select the Style Icon in the Base Features toolbar (Fig. 2), or choose Insert, Style from the top pulldown Insert menu. NOTE: THE ISDX MODULE IS OPTIONAL IN PRO/ENGINEER. Select Style, Trace Sketch from the top pulldown Style menu. The Trace Sketch dialog box will open. Selections matching the three default datum planes in the model will be listed, although images will not be allocated by default. Select the Front sketch orientation. A dialog box will open. Browse to the location of the desired file, select it, and pick Open. The image will appear on the front datum plane (Fig. 3).
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
2. Manipulating the Image Expand the Properties portion of the Trace Sketch dialog box. The following tools will appear (Fig. 4):
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Fit locates the image by fitting it horizontally and vertically using dimensional input. The values are applied based on the position of the Image Fit Lines. Transparency controls the visibility of the imported image. Rotate rotates the image up to 360 degrees about an axis normal to the screen. Move provides horizontal and vertical movements of the image. Scale scales the image. By default, the horizontal and vertical scale controls are locked together,
applying the same changes to both.

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Image Fit Lines assist in locating and sizing the imported image. These lines work in conjunction with the Fit tools.
Figure 4.
In this example, the image must be positioned to match the 4.00 x 7.00-inch dimensional reference. The baseline position is located at the bottom center of the spout, indicated by the dimensional references and heavier lines shown in the image. Select the bottom left intersection or the vertical left image fit line, and drag it using the left mouse button to the desired intersection on the image. Pick the bottom right intersection, or the vertical right image fit line, and drag it using the left mouse button until it lines up with the desired intersection on the imagein this case, the discharge end of the spout indicated by the dimensional references and the intersection lines (Fig. 5). Figure 5.
In the upper half of the Trace Sketch dialog box, enter a horizontal fit value of 4.00 inches and pick the Fit button. The image will be resized to match the position of the image fit lines to the 4-inch horizontal input. The bottom left intersection of the image fit lines will be moved to the intersection of the default datum planes. Now repeat this process to control the vertical sizing of the image. In the upper half of the Trace Sketch dialog box, select the vertical fit option. The image fit lines will change, allowing you to control the sizing of the image vertically. Select the top and bottom image fit lines, and drag them as needed to match the dimensional reference sketch (top and bottom curve lines). Input a value of 7.00 in the Vertical fit field and select the Fit button. The image will be resized to match the position of the vertical image fit lines to the 7-inch input. If additional manipulations are necessary, use the Move, Scale, and Rotate options in the dialog box. Pick OK to close the dialog box and complete the manipulation of the image.
3. Inserting Datum Curve Features into the Style Feature

The image has been successfully imported into the Style feature. Note that you can import additional images in the same manner and place them on other planes or planar surfaces as needed (side or top images, for example). The ISDX module lets you interact with the curves and surfaces created within a single Style feature, dynamically manipulating and updating the model without the need to modify a single feature, then regenerate the model. It is common practice to include all Style curves and surfaces within a SINGLE Style feature! This provides maximum flexibility as you work with an industrial designer to refine your design. In this example, the base of the spout is 3.00 inches in diameter and the discharge end of the spout is 1.5 inches in diameter, inclined on a 15-degree angle as indicated in the imported sketch. It is important that core datum feature references (sketches, points, axis, etc.) be in place prior to the Style feature, so that you can select them when creating the required free-form aesthetic curves. This can be easily accomplished using the previously sketched curve. Complete the Style feature by selecting the Blue Checkmark icon in the Style toolbar. You will be inserting the datum features prior to the Style feature. Select the Insert Here arrow in the model tree and drag it above the Style feature. It will be suppressed, and any new features will be placed prior to it in the model. Construct the required datum features. Once these features are complete, Resume the previously suppressed Style feature by dragging the Insert Here arrow below the Style feature in the model tree, or by picking the Style feature, holding down the right mouse button, and choosing Resume from the popup menu (Fig 6). Redefine the Style feature by picking it and selecting Edit, Edit Definition.
Figure 6.
4.
Creating the Profile Curves
Select the ActivePlane icon in the Style toolbar (second icon from the top) and choose the Front datum plane (plane of symmetry) in the model. Pick the Style Curve icon (Fig. 7). In the curve dashboard, make sure the Planar radio button is selected. This will place the curve on the active plane previously selected.
Use the Shift key and select the datum point for the inner profile of the spout with the left mouse button. Pick the actual point, not the text. (Alternatively, use the Shift key and pick on the base curve with the left mouse button, near the desired location. The curve point will snap to the point on the curve that intersects the Front datum plane.) Three curve points are needed for this curve. The second curve point will be placed on the active plane, approximately halfway between the initial point and the desired end point of the inner profile of the spout. For the final point, again use the Shift key and left mouse button to select the end point where the curve intersects the active plane. Pick the Green Checkmark icon in the curve dashboard to complete the Style curve feature. Figure 7.
To make the Style curve match the imported image, select the Edit Curve icon in the Style toolbar (looks like the Style Curve icon with a pencil on it). Pick the curve you just created, and choose the middle point on the curve.
Using the left mouse button, drag this point until it lies on the upper half of the inner profile curve (Fig. 8).
Figure 8.
When you pick the end point of the curve, a tangency manipulation line will appear (Fig. 9). Place the cursor over the tangency line and hold down the right mouse button. Select Normal from the tangency popup menu and pick the angled datum plane. The tangency control line will become perpendicular to the angled plane. Using the left mouse button, drag the length of the line until the upper end of the curve matches the image of the inner profile curve. Figure 9.
Repeat this operation at the bottom end of the curve, this time leaving the tangency control line Free. Using the left mouse button, drag the control line as needed (angle and length) until the Style curve matches the inner profile curve on the image. Select the Green Checkmark in the Edit Curve dashboard to complete the
modifications. Repeat this process to create the outer profile curve, again creating a three-point Style curve, making it Normal to the angled datum plane.
5. Creating the Style Surfaces

Creating surfaces within the Style module environment is similar to creating surfaces with the Boundary Blend command in core Pro/ENGINEER. Style surfaces require a minimum of three boundary edges, with a maximum of four that can be selected during initial surface creation. Other internal curves can be added after the surface has been created. Choose the Style Surface icon (Fig. 10) in the toolbar. Figure 10. Using the Ctrl Key, select the four boundary curves on one side of the symmetry plane. (Surfacing within the Style module always involves half of the model.) The surface connection icon lines will appear. You can adjust the length of these lines by changing the value in the Icon Length field of the dashboard. Complete the surface by selecting the Green Checkmark in the dashboard (Fig. 11).
Figure 11. Once you have created a Style surface, you can add other internal curves to further define the desired shape. Temporarily hiding the Style surface greatly simplifies this process. Pick the surface, hold down the right mouse button, and select Hide from the popup menu. Select the Style Curve icon. Place the view in a side orientation.
In the dashboard, pick the Free radio button, which lets you modify the curve after creation (Fig. 12). Pick the top outer profile curve using the Shift Key. The end of the new curve will snap to the curve, displaying as a circle. Use the Shift Key to repeat this operation, selecting the lower profile curve. The circular ends of the curve represent soft points, meaning they can slide along the profile curves, following their form and curvature. Pick the Green Checkmark in the dashboard to create the curve. Modify the newly created curve by making the ends normal to the Front datum plane and controlling the length of their tangency lines to ensure the form of the curve is identical at both ends. Pick the Edit Curve icon and select the newly created curve. Pick one end of the curve to expose the tangency control line. Place the cursor over the line, hold down the right mouse button, and select Normal from the popup menu. Choose the plane called Front and drag the line with the left mouse button to the desired length. Repeat this process with the other end of the curve. In the dashboard, pick the Tangent option. In the pulldown menu, check the box marked Length, and enter a value of 1.000. Figure 12.
Figure 13. Pick the other end of the curve and repeat this process. This will cause both ends of the curve to have identical tangency influence, regardless of where the curve may be positioned in the model (Fig. 13). Choose the Green Checkmark in the dashboard to complete the curve edit process. Unhide the surface, holding down the right mouse button, and selecting Unhide All Entities. Pick the surface and choose Edit Definition from the popup menu.
In the dashboard, choose the Internal Curve arrow button (Fig. 14). Pick the curve you just created. It will be added to the surface curve set. Select OK in the Menu Manager. The surface will update to reflect the inclusion of the internal curve (Fig. 15). Figure 14.
Pick the Blue Checkmark in the Style toolbar to complete the Style features. Using layers, hide the datum curves and Style curves within the model, saving the layer status when complete. Select the Style feature and mirror it about the Front plane. Figure 15.
You can now merge the Style surfaces together and use standard surfacing practices to create a closed quilt, constructing flat surfaces to close the ends of the spout. Once the quilt has been closed, it can be converted into a solid protrusion and additional internal features can be added to the model. The completed model can then be prototyped, machined, and/or rendered in the same manner as any other Pro/ENGINEER part (Fig. 16).
Figure 16.
Summary With the capabilities of Pro/ENGINEERs ISDX module, you can address any surfacing challenge while also improving the turnaround time from design concept to finished product. Proper implementation of Style, combined with core modeling techniques, makes it much easier for designers or engineers to capture a parts aesthetic appearance as well as its functional requirements. From a simple sketch to a part with Style that means success by any definition of the word! Mike Brattoli is the engineering systems administrator at Moen Incorporated in North Olmsted, Ohio, USA. This article is based on his presentation at the PTC/USER World Event 2005. Mike can be reached by email at Mike.Brattoli@moen.com.
Being Innovative
Designing with StyleTurning Sketches into Successes Being Innovative All About Arbortext
by Evan Caille, President of PTC/USER

On a recent trip to Nova Scotia, I visited the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck where he made his summer home on the Bras dOr Lake. Many think of Bell as the inventor of the telephone, but he was much more than that. I was struck by his drive to constantly find ways to improve existing technologies or try out new ones. Little did I know that he came up with a better concept of Thomas Edisons phonograph or that he had interests in genetics and medical science. Two of Bells passions were flying machines and hydrofoils, and he used the concept of the tetrahedral structure as the building block to deliver a high strength-to-weight ratio for both his aircraft and his boats. Through constant innovation, he was able to progress from prototypes that failed miserably to ones that were moderately successful. Although neither project became commercially viable, a number of his innovations found their way into the successful designs of others. Bell saw himself as a tinkerer, admitting that if an idea succeeded, he was more inclined to sell the patent rights rather than be the businessman. When I finished the tour of the museum, I began to wonder how the outcomes of Bells tinkering would have been different if he had had access to the engineering software we have today. In fact, I often reflect on the value of the tools we use in our jobs to meet the pressures of building new and exciting products in todays innovation-driven world. While Bells example reminds us that monumental achievements in engineering and design can be made without computer-based software, its clear that CAD/CAM/CAE/ PDM systems can help our companies introduce high-quality products more quickly. In particular, innovative users can leverage a CAD system or a structural analysis system to generate more design iterations with a given timeframe and thus arrive at a better solution. In addition, they can use the software tools to improve the probability of creating a robust design on the first attempt. Of course, simply having the tools does not imply mastery. Just because I own woodworking tools doesnt make me a master carpenter, just as using a CAD system doesnt make someone an engineer. Its the combination of the skill of the people, the efficiency of the process, and the power of the tools to continuously bring innovative products to market.
Reevaluating the PTC/USER Member Portal A Student's Eye View of the PTC/ USER World Event I Want My MOM Back! Creating Gears and Splines Creating a FAR Plot Digital Watermarks for Today's Engineer
Its here that we think PTC/USER provides its value to the community of PTC product users. By providing opportunities to share knowledge in regional user group meetings, international conferences, and virtually through the email exploder, users are able to learn from the experiences of others in applying the CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM technology in new and effective ways. Although its too early to report on the results of our recent survey, it is evident from the responses so far that a large percentage of you do find good value in being a PTC/USER member and particularly in participating on the email exploder. On this subject, Id like to point you to an article about the PTC/USER member portal that appears in this issue. And in the spirit of continuously improving the services we offer to the community, I should also mention that we are planning to extend our knowledge-sharing programs to support the users of newly acquired PTC companies such as Arbortext (also featured in this issue). Evan Caille works at HP in Houston, TX. He can be reached via e-mail at evan@ptcuser.org.
All About Arbortext
An Interview with Jim Heppelmann, Executive Vice President of Software Solutions, and Chief Technical Officer, PTC
PTC recently completed its acquisition of Arbortext, Inc., a leader in the emerging dynamic enterprise publishing market. With this XML-based software, PTC customers will be able to create, manage and dynamically publish critical information concurrently with the development of related physical products. In this interview, PTC/ USERs Rick Snider talks with Jim Heppelmann, Executive Vice President of Software Solutions and Chief Technical Officer at PTC, about what these new capabilities can do for Pro/ENGINEER users. Rick Snider: Jim, can you give us your thoughts on why PTCs acquisition of Arbortext makes sense? Jim Heppelmann: Sure, Rick. We believe this acquisition makes total sense for a variety of reasons, the most important being that it helps solve a big problem faced by our traditional installed base of discrete manufacturing companies. Our customers have long complained that it takes too much time to create technical publications, it is difficult to reuse CAD data, and that engineering changes to product designs are missed in the technical publications process. When combined with PTCs solutions, Arbortext will enable companies to rapidly create and publish smarter, more customer-friendly, and more accurate technical documents. Getting better reuse of Pro/ENGINEER CAD data in downstream technical publications is also a golden opportunity for our stronghold industries of industrial equipment, high-tech, automotive, and aerospace. From a technology perspective, Arbortexts products are beautifully aligned with PTCs. What Pro/ENGINEER did for solid models is exactly what Arbortext is doing for textbased publications. Both are parametric in the sense that they separate hard-wired parameters from underlying design intent to promote greater reuse. In the case of documents, Arbortext separates content from formatting to allow the same information to be reused in multiple documents and delivery media. Both are component-based in that they build up the final deliverable from reusable component parts. In Arbortext, a document is made up of chunks of text and graphics, just as a Pro/ENGINEER design is made of parts and sub-assemblies. And both are associative in that they adapt gracefully to change, offering automated ways to regenerate all applicable downstream outputs.
Really, both Arbortext and PTC have been telling similar stories all along. It makes good sense to bring the two pieces together. RS: So, what does this mean for PTCa shift in your core target industries? JH: No, I wouldnt say it shifts our target industries. This concept is a perfect fit for PTC and strengthens our Product Development System for our traditional manufacturing customers. It also give us opportunities to expand into adjacent markets that need the same forms of Create, Collaborate, Control, and Communicate capabilities for text documents. These would include pharmaceuticals, publishing, government, and financial services. RS: What about the value of these solutions for those of us in engineering? JH: Have you ever shipped documentation that didnt match the product because of a late design change? Have you ever had to update several different types of output (a printed document, a web page, etc.) because of a product change? Do you waste time doing a lot of copying and pasting because there is a lot of common content to incorporate across many documents? Do you convert sophisticated Pro/ENGINEER data to IGES to get it into technical publications? These are very common problems, and the solution to them is what we call dynamic publishing. But dynamic publishing is an integrated solution, not a single piece of technology. Think about the required elements.
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First, you need to be able to create and structure documents in a smart way, so that they are managed as a collection of reusable components. Arbortext Editor does this, and of course Pro/ENGINEER is a fantastic way to create 3D models and 2D and 3D drawings that are also components of the documentation. Second, you need to be able to manage all of the text and graphics components, including changes and alternative configurationsagain, at a very granular, component level. This need for content management is where Windchill comes into play. After all, weve mastered that thanks to Pro/ENGINEER. Then, you need to be able to automatically extract the right components from the data vault, construct the documents properly, add the right formatting, and publish the information in different formats such as PDF or HTML. The specific solution for this is Arbortext Publishing Engine. Finally, you would like users to be able view and even interact with that data in a web page, which is where ProductView fits in.
In combination, this integrated solution helps eliminate the manual, repetitive, errorprone steps typically entailed in developing technical publications. The result is documentation that is richer, more interactive, accurate, and generated in a fraction of the time. It is also easy to localize to multiple languages, reconfigure to reflect product variants, or adapt to match a customized product. RS: How about other areas within the enterprise that are outside of engineering? JH: There is a great application within marketing. When combined with the photorealistic rendering capabilities of Pro/ENGINEER, Arbortext can be used to create slick, colorful marketing collateral for products that have never even been prototyped. But really any organization that produces documents can benefit from this technology.
For example, the financing arm of an automotive or industrial equipment company produces product-related information. These information productsleasing or rental contracts, sayare generally printed documents that must accurately reflect details of specific product lines. Often, though, these groups are among the last to know when design changes are made. The result is that their work is never updated. By tying into the same technology, albeit for a much different use, marketing can get the same advantages we mentioned for engineering. RS: How are the Arbortext products licensed and packaged? JH: The two primary Arbortext products are Arbortext Editor and Arbortext Publishing Engine. Arbortext Editor is sold on a node-locked user basis, with a floating/shared license option. Arbortext Publishing Engine is sold on an initial server basis, with the option to add servers. RS: What about those companies that previously bought Arbortext but do not use Windchill? How will the acquisition affect them? JH: Prior to the acquisition, Arbortext did not have a content management offering, so early customers needed to integrate or customize their own solutions. Those customers may of course continue to use these solutions. In fact, it is PTCs strategy to retain relationships with Arbortexts existing technology partners. But most customers would likely prefer to have all of the necessary componentssuch as CAD, text editing, content management, content publishing, and visualizationalready integrated in a way that provides the full range of benefits I mentioned. Thats where our solution really stands out. A tremendous strength of Windchillin this case, Windchill PDMLinkis to be the single repository for managing ALL product information, from MCAD and ECAD to software and documents. All of this needs to be linked together and linked to common change management processes, something that standalone content management systems never can do. Plus, Windchill facilitates product development collaboration both inside and outside the company, in real time or asynchronously. With all these core capabilities in place, we can take the next step of extending Windchills capabilities to visualize, share, and manage different configurations of documents. RS: What is the timeframe for integrating Arbortext with Windchill PDMLink? JH: Timeframes for future R&D work always need to be prefaced with caveats. We do a rigorous job validating our software builds, fixing problems, and re-qualifying until our release criteria have been met. This means schedules dont always hold firm. That being said, we are targeting the first phase of integrationwhich essentially involves having Windchill be the content management system for these smart documentsto be available by the M20 maintenance build of Windchill 8.0, expected in spring 2006. RS: What will this mean for pre-existing partnerships such as Documentum? JH: It is our plan to maintain these relationships where possible. For any given account or sales engagement, the partnership plan should be driven by whats right for the customer. RS: Can you talk about future enhancements impacting Pro/ENGINEER? JH: We envision that Pro/ENGINEER will be able to supply documents with lightweight, associative graphical content, tweaked and stylized in a way thats suitable
for technical publications. Also incorporated into that document will be Arbortext Editor-supplied text. Imagine a service manual that contains maintenance instructions in the form of 3D product information in addition to textual content. What better application for 3D drawings? If you were to view that manual on the web or a mobile device, you could interact not with a static JPEG picture, but rather a content-rich, dynamic product viewable. For more information about Arbortext, please visit www.ptc.com/company/ arbortext/.
A Student's Eye View of the PTC/USER World Event

by James Lynch, University of Ireland
My first experience of a PTC/USER World Event came in June 2004 when it was held in Nashville, Tennessee. I was lucky enough to be a member of the team that won that years PTC Award in the education, college and university category for our Battleship Bismarck entry. The University of Limerick in Ireland saw this as a fantastic opportunity to promote the university and to provide some of its students with a possibly careerdefining chance to showcase their work on an international stage.
RUG Chairs meet in Orlando. (Left to Right: Dan Marsalek, Mike Venegoni, James Lynch) To be honest, at the time I was only vaguely aware of PTC/USERand for that matter, the true dimensions of the world that is Pro/ENGINEER. While the Bismarck was chiseled out with brutal determination and a burgeoning use of Pro/ENGINEERs features, I had no real idea how to take advantage of this engineering tool and I was ripe for a master class. From the moment I stepped into Exhibition Hall on Sunday to the closing ceremony in the Grand Ballroom on the following Wednesday, my overall impression of the PTC/ USER event was one of reverence and yet of comfort within its welcoming atmospherethe same things I experienced again when I had the opportunity to return in 2005. Here are some of the specific benefits I gained from participating in the PTC/ USER World Events.
Networking. I think the one thing that stands out for me personally (and at first took me by surprise) was the friendly, informal atmosphere. From what I can recall, this years event in Orlando had over 1,500 attendees. At one point or another, I feel as if I probably had the opportunity to talk with every one of them. Well, maybe not, but networking definitely wasnt a problem! I read a statistic some time back that over 70% of all job interviews are obtained through personal contacts and networkingsomething Ive found to be true myself. I left both the 2004 and 2005 conferences with over 100 contacts with people working in every area of industry and quite a few job prospects. You couldnt possibly ask for better opportunities! Industry knowledge. As a prospective graduate who would soon take the leap into the working world, another most important thing I brought away with me was a clear perception of the MCAD industry and undoubtedly a vastly improved knowledge of Pro/ ENGINEER. At the conference, I took the opportunity to find out what the industry is looking for and what companies expect from a graduate. I asked about what Pro/E users find stimulating about their jobs, and of course what the negative aspects are. I heard many stories of people taking varied career paths to get where they are today. This forced me to ask myself why I wanted to be an engineer and why I veered to the design end of things late in my education. I came to understand what it is that I want for my career and how best I can achieve this. Job opportunities. Perhaps like any other student attending an event like this, the thought at the forefront of my mind was that the 400 or so companies represented at the World Eventranging from Maserati to Raytheon, Richard Childers Racing to Rolexwere essentially 400 prospective employers. Where else could you find an opportunity like that? In addition, after listening to all of the advice and comments that my peers had to offer, I found it easier to make the switch from academia to the professional world and with more confidence than I had before attending the conference. During a job interview with the company that I am currently working with, it was a real benefit to talk confidently and knowledgably about the direction industry is taking, the impacts of the emerging Asian and Indian markets on the MCAD community, and PTCs strategic plans for Pro/ENGINEER. I think this knowledge distinguished me from other candidates and gave my employer the confidence to allow me to find my feet in the industry. Technical information. Probably one of the better presentations I attended at this years conference was Matt Loews Its Called Pro/ENGINEER for a Reason!, where he explained how Stewart and Stephenson converted a 340-page US Army spec into a Pro/ ENGINEER skeletal model using advanced relations and behavioral modeling. Its these things that universities simply cannot teach, and this type of information that can set you apart from every other graduate from the 2,500 or so institutions teaching Pro/ ENGINEER around the world. PTC presence. Another aspect of the conference that came as a surprise to me was how closely PTC/USER and PTC work together. The resources that PTC dedicates to the conference are quite astounding. The availability of the product line managers for each of the functional areas ranging from Tim Harrison, the product line manager for all of PTCs Industrial Design solutions, to John Buchowski, who deals with all of PTCs Structural and Thermal simulations, you can pretty much get the answer to any technical question you have about Pro/E! Add to this any number of PTCs free handson workshops that ran throughout the conference, the best practice seminars, the expert user presentations, or this years introduction of a PTC University lab. All in all, it doesnt matter whether you are a novice like myself or have been using Pro/
ENGINEER since R2, you are going to learn something by attending a PTC/USER World Event. In my opinion, this conference provides invaluable insights into the world of Pro/ENGINEER that you wont find anywhere else. James Lynch is a design engineer working with Design Partners in Wicklow, Ireland and also pursuing a masters degree at the University of Limerick. He can be reached by email at james.lynch@ul.ie.
Reevaluating the PTC/USER Member Portal

By Evan Caille, PTC/USER President
Recently a number of users on the pro-user exploder list participated in a discussion thread that centered on the need for a common repository for documents of interest to PTC/USER members. This resource could include such information as technical tips and best practices. Our response to this question is repeated below for the benefit of those who dont subscribe to the pro-user list. One important point that should be emphasized is that PTC/USERs member portal already provides the structure for sharing files and is in fact is a source for sample Pro/TOOLKIT applications and NC post-processors. The challenge has been finding volunteers who want to contribute submissions and/or act as librarian. Jeff Zemsky, one of the recent additions to the PTC/USER Board of Directors, has now agreed to champion our web portal evaluation project. I am sure he would welcome the input, and even more, the assistance, of other PTC/USER members in this effort. If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact Jeff at jeff@ptcuser.org,
A Brief Look Back

There have been some very good questions raised recently on the exploder about enhanced collaboration tools for the PTC/USER community, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information with you. First, some history would be helpful:
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In 1991 PTC/USER provided the email exploder (http://www.ptcuser.org/ exploder) to the user community. In 1994 PTC/USER launched its website (http://www.ptcuser.org) to share user group information with its members. In 2002 PTC/USER Technical Committee members began using ProjectLink to share documents and communicate using online forums. In 2004 PTC/USER added a community portal (http://members.ptcuser.org) to its website for the benefit of all PTC/USER members. It is used extensively to schedule meetings and track registration, share files, maintain membership lists, access the email exploder, create and respond to surveys, and more. There is also a repository where members could store files for general member access, although there havent been any requests to do this until now.
Where We Are Now

In 2005 we undertook a review of our current web-based applications to see if there were any alternatives that provided a better user experience and also meet PTC/USERs functional and budget requirements. What we found was that there are dozens of
commercial packages for association management, community development, or both. The challenge is that each package has different strengths and weaknesses. They also span the cost spectrum from affordable to budget-busting. We narrowed the field down to a shortlist and actually performed a preliminary pilot test of a couple of solutions. We have since explored some other potential approaches, including partnering, and are considering these as possible solutions. PTC/USER wants to be sure that any solution it rolls out is an improvement over the current environment in the eyes of as many members as possible. As pointed out in one of the exploder postings, PTC/USER and PTC recently issued a survey to the member community to truly understand the communitys needs and desires on a wide range of topics, including web presence. The survey just closed and we are in the process of analyzing all the responses. Interestingly enough, the email exploder question evoked some strong responses from dont change what we have to how come there isnt an online forum. This echoes the sentiment of members in other professional organizations who are often equally split between email-based postings and online postings. We have seen some of the same challenges with the online forums used by our Technical Committees. PTC/USER recognizes that there are many alternatives to its community. There are communities sponsored by publication firms, VARs, individuals, suppliers, and even PTC. We feel anyone has the right to form a community and every user of PTC products can make the choice of joining one or more communities. Each community has a different underlying mission, whether it is to be a revenue generator by a for-profit enterprise or a member-funded activity of a nonprofit organization. We should all keep in mind that it costs money to have a web presence and the funds need to come from ad revenues, member fees, or donations. Notice that lately even Wikipedia has been swamped by its success and is in urgent need of donations in order to upgrade its servers. All communities have something to offer and PTC/USER is no exception. Based on the feedback of our members, we are rated very highly in terms of the service we provide. However, the credit for success has to go to the active participation of PTC/USER members, PTC employees, and partner companies that contribute to the exploder, the conference, and the various other PTC/USER-sponsored activities. It is true that we are a volunteer organization funded by its members and industry partners. Part of the funding goes to PTC/USER part-time and full-time staff to provide a range of business services, including support of our web portal. I should also mention that any frequent user of the PTC/USER email exploder is familiar with Rick Snider who, among other duties, oversaw the development and operation of our web infrastructure. Rick has done an outstanding job supporting this effort for a number of years. Since he has recently decided to focus his energies on the conference, we are in the process of evaluating a number of options for maintaining our web operation. In closing, I would like to express PTC/USERs commitment to serving its membership. We believe we have a functional web portal in place that is available for its members to use. At the same time, we will continue to seek improvements that enhance the functionality of the portal. Evan Caille works at HP in Houston, TX. He can be reached via e-mail at evan@ptcuser.org.
I Want MOM Back!

By Pete Pickett, Mercury MerCruiser
In this day and age, Im all about trying to speed things up in Pro/ENGINEER. I recently discovered that some functions in older versions of Pro/E are faster than in Wildfire, Wildfire 2 and Wildfire 3. So, I want My Old Menus back! When Wildfire was introduced, PTC bragged about reducing mouse clicks to do your job. Well, here are a few overlooked places in Pro/DETAIL where MOM can help.
Designing with StyleTurning Sketches into Successes Being Innovative All About Arbortext Reevaluating the PTC/USER Member Portal A Student's Eye View of the PTC/ USER World Event I Want My MOM Back! Creating Gears and Splines Creating a FAR Plot
Tip 1: Moving Items in a Drawing

Cleaning up a drawing, for example, requires two picks on the object and one more to place it. If you add the old move function used way back in Pro/ENGINEER release 19, you get faster results. Create a mapkey: mapkey v @MAPKEY_LABEL*move (detail move);#detail;#move Now moving a dimension text or balloon is just two clicks away. This means that if you have 300 balloons or dimensions to set up in a drawing, you have 600 clicks rather than 900! This was tested and worked in pre-production Wildfire 3.
Tip 2: Adding Text to a Table

Is the TABLE pull-down menu driving you nuts? Cant select the table just right to get these functions to highlight?
Digital Watermarks for Today's Engineer
If you want to add text to a single cell in a table without the massive PROPERTIES box, just add this mapkey: mapkey EC @MAPKEY_LABEL*ADD TEXT TO TABLE;#TABLE;#ENTER TEXT Not only does this restore the old function of quickly adding text to a cell, but it also brings back the old table menu (from Pro/ENGINEER 2001), which lets you edit the table faster than a pull-down.
Note: The COPY/COPY TABLE function works differently than EDIT/COPY in Wildfire. Lets say you are using an automated BOM table with an assembly. You add a different assembly to the same drawing and you want to copy that same table but reference the new assembly. This is what COPY/COPY TABLE does. EDIT/COPY references the original assembly.
Tip 3: Editing a Single Line of Text

Sometimes that PROPERTIES box drives me nuts when I want to quickly edit a line of text in a large note. You have to resize it, drag the scroll bar to where you want it, or simply need to break up the text for different size fonts for each line. Heres a mapkey to deal with this nuisance: mapkey ed @MAPKEY_LABEL*EDIT TEXT LINE;#modify;#text;#text line
If you have more legacy mapkeys or menus you access, please email me and I will add them into another article, I Want MOM Back Too! Peter A. Pickett II is a design engineer at Mercury MerCruiser in Stillwater, Oklahoma. A Pro/ENGINEER user since release 10, Pete currently serves as chair of the PTC/USER Routed Systems Technical Committee and co-chair of the Oklahoma Pro/ENGINEER Users Group. He can be reached by email at Pete_Pickett@mercmarine.com.
Creating Gears and Splines in Wildfire 2.0

By Dan Marsalek, Marine Mechanical Corporation
Although many published methods exist for developing profiles of gear and spline teeth, the techniques are sometimes confusing and often inaccurate because they use only an approximation of the involute curve profile. The methods in this article clarify, expound, and improve on the current involute curve formulae commonly used. The methodology is based on Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0, but can also be easily adapted for use with WF1.0 and Pro/ENGINEER 2001. The equations for creating the involute datum curve are the same, although the extrusion and patterning of the final geometry are slightly different. The Pro/ENGINEER user wishing to design a gear or spline tooth should start with the basics: the involute curve. An involute is described as the path of a point on a straight line, called the generatrix, as it rolls along a convex base curve (the evolute). The involute curve is most often used as the basis for the profile of a spline or gear tooth. Heres how to visualize the involute curve:
q q q q
Imagine a cylinder and a piece of string. Wrap the string tightly around the cylinder. Pull the string tight while unwinding it from the cylinder. Trace the end of the string as it is unwrapped. The result is an involute curve.
You should also acquaint yourselves with the standard features and terminology of gears and splines. The ANSI standards for gears (B6.1, B6.7) and splines (B92.1) are a good place to start, as is Machinerys Handbook (1992, pp. 17872065). The AGMA standards
are another source of good information for terms, symbols, equations, and definitions. The following figure (taken from ANSI B92.1) illustrates a spline with standard dimensions and definitions.
Why should an involute profile be used in the design of a gear or spline tooth? Why not a straight edge? Some of the more important reasons:
q
Conjugate action is independent of changes in center distance. Basically, if a driver gear with an involute tooth profile rotates at a uniform rate while acting on another gear with an involute tooth profile, the angular motion of the driven gear will be uniform. This is true even if the center-to-center distance is varied. The form of the basic rack tooth is straight-sided and therefore relatively simple. Thus, it can be accurately made. As a cutting tool, the rack tooth imparts high accuracy to the cut gear or spline tooth. One cutter can generate all gear or spline tooth numbers of the same pitch. The relative rate of motion between driven and driving gears having involute tooth curves is established by the diameters of their base circles. Contact between intermeshing involute teeth on a driving and driven gear is along a straight line that is tangent to the two base circles of these gears. This is called the line of action.
While several techniques can be used to create the involute tooth profile in Pro/ ENGINEER, this article focuses on using datum curves by equation. The benefits of this method are that the involute curve profile is based on the exact geometric equations, it is highly flexible in terms of the types of gears and curves that can be created, and it
requires no additional Pro/ENGINEER modules (like ASX, AAX, BMX, etc.). In addition, the datum curve by equation technique allows you to use either Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate systems to create the involute curve profile. Finally, the curves generated by the methodology presented herein are automatically truncated at the major diameter, without the need for any additional operations (to trim the curve to size). Why are there so many equations in this article? Its great to know the final answer to a problem, but if you dont know how you got to the solution, then you wont be able to properly apply it. Additionally, the derivations of the equations validate the formulae that will be used in the relations editor to create the involute profile.
General Procedures for Involute Curve Creation

1. Set up parameters for key variables: a. Base diameter b. Pitch diameter c. Number of teeth d. Major (outer) tooth diameter e. Start angle (i.e., the angle from the horizontal axis in sketcher where the involute starts) f. Circular tooth thickness or circular space width. 2. Create basic geometry in support of the spline or gear tooth. 3. Define the involute tooth profile with the datum curve by equation. 4. Create the tooth solid feature with a cut or protrusion. a. Design vs. Manufacturing intent b. May need additional helical datum curves to sweep a helical gear teeth 5. Pattern the tooth around the centerline axis. The trick is to know when to use Cartesian or cylindrical coordinates in creating the datum curve by equation.
q
Use the cylindrical coordinate method if you want the easiest and most versatile method of involute creation, or if you have to use polar coordinates. Use Cartesian coordinates if you have to have the equations in terms of X, Y, and Z only.
Simply put, using the cylindrical coordinate system will be easier and quicker in most cases.
Deriving the Involute Datum Curve Equations Cartesian Coordinates

The first step is to define terms and set up a sketch with the variables. The figure below presents a basic idea of what is involved in determining the equations for the involute datum curve.
Ri = Base dia./2 Ro = Major dia./2 S = arc length SR = tangent line length at any point X,Y on the involute SRo = tangent line length at major diameter on involute = angle from start of involute to tangent point on base circle Xc,Yc = tangent point on base circle corresponding to tangent line SR Start_angle = angle from the horizontal axis to the start of the involute curve
For simplicity, we will assume a start angle of 0 and remove it from the formulae.
From basic trigonometry:
From the geometry, the equation for XR and YR can be derived:
From the Pythagorean Theorem:
Substitute and simplify the equations to get XR and YR in terms of Ri and . Start by substituting for Xc and SR in the original equation for XR:
Substitute for Yc and SR in the original equation for YR:
Take the equations for XR and YR, above, and plug them into the equation for RO:
Expand the squared terms:
Consolidate terms that have Ri2, and Ri2 * :
Remember a basic trigonometric identity formula:
Substitute for the identity, and combine like terms (which add to 0). The equation for Ro becomes:
Combining terms that have Ri2:
Squaring Ro gives us:
Squaring the square root term:
Rearranging the equation to isolate :
We need to define a term, , in terms of Ri and Ro, so that we can solve the parametric equation for the creation of the datum curve. We also need to evaluate over its full range (from Ri to Ro) to derive the involute curve, so we multiply by t in the equation (t varies linearly from 0 to 1):
Substituting for :
But since we want radians, we multiply by 2* /360:
We need the parametric equations for X and Y (and Z) in terms of Ri and . We will use XR and YR as the basis, substituting for (and multiplying the terms by 360/2* because we need degrees here):
Deriving the parametric equation for X:
Deriving the parametric equation for Y:
Finally, Z = 0 (since we wish to create a 2-D planar curve)
So, the relation equations used in creating the involute profile datum curve will be:
solve
for
Z=0
Remember that all variables (, Ro, Ri) must be predefined. Since we dont know yet, just preset it to a value of 1 using parameters, or set it to 1 before the involute curve equations in the relation equation editor.
If we include a start angle of some value other than 0, the equations become:
solve
for
Z=0
Deriving the Involute Datum Curve Equations Cylindrical Coordinates

Ri = Base dia./2 Ro = Major dia./2 R = Radius to any point on the involute curve S = arc length from start of the involute to the tangent point SR = tangent line length at any point X,Y on the involute SRo = tangent line length at major diameter on involute = angle from start of involute to tangent point on base circle = angle from start of involute to any point on the involute between Ro and Ri = angle from a point on the involute to the tangent point on base circle Start_angle = angle from the horizontal axis to the beginning of the involute curve
The geometry associated with the involute curve in a cylindrical coordinate system is shown below.
Again, we are setting the start angle to 0 for simplicity.
The following equations are based on the geometry of the involute setup:
The relationship between SR and SRo varies linearly, so if we denote a variable t that goes from 0 to 1 as R goes from 0 to Ro, then:
It is important to note that SR = SRo when R = Ro (because t=1). By the Pythagorean Theorem:
By observation and the Pythagorean Theorem:
Substituting (SRo * t) for SR into the equation defining R:
We need to find in terms of Ri and Ro. Start with the equation for SR found previously:
Isolate the term and substitute (SRo * t) for SR:
Solving the equations to get :
Substitute (SRo * t) for SR:
Substituting for and in the equation for :
As in the case for the equations for Cartesian involute curves, we still want the curve to be 2-D and planar, so:
Z=0
We need to make the equations parametric based on Ro and Ri and t (which varies linearly from 0 to 1), so we create a variable , similar to the term in the Cartesian Coordinate equations, but based on SR instead of :
Substituting for SRo:
Substituting for SRo into the equations for R gives us:
A similar substitution for SRo in the equation for :
So, the relation equations used in the creation of the involute profile datum curve will be:
Solve
for
Z=0
Note: to account for a start angle 0, use:
As with the Cartesian coordinate method, remember to predefine , Ro, and Ri before solving the relations.
Using the Cylindrical Coordinate System to Create an Involute Curve

1. Create the part parameters (major_dia, pitch_dia, minor_dia, base_dia, tooth_thick (or space_width), no_of_teeth, start_angle, gamma).
(Click to enlarge)
2. Create the base cylinder geometry. Use the major_dia parameter as the OD of the cylinder.
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
3. Make sure you have a coordinate system already established. It should be located on the centerline axis at one end of the cylinder you have created. (It helps if the coordinate system has the Z direction along the centerline axis.) Create the involute datum curve by using Datum Curve, By Equation. Choose a cylindrical coordinate system.
(Click to enlarge)
4. Create a datum curve (by sketch) that represents the entire cut for the tooth profile. Create a centerline, and then mirror the involute curve to make the two sides of the cut. Set the two curves apart by using a construction arc at the pitch diameter to represent the circular space width. Dimension the arc as a perimeter by selecting the angular dimension and choosing Convert, To Perimeter from the Edit dropdown menu. Make the top and bottom sides of the cut using an arc and selecting the end points to be symmetric about the centerline.
(Click to enlarge)
5. OK the section. Then extrude a cut axially along the cylinder based on the profile of the datum curve in Step 4.
(Click to enlarge)
6. Pattern the cut axially around the cylinder. Voila! Your gear/spline is now ready for use!
(Click to enlarge)
For Further Reference

1. 2. 3. The Society of Automotive Engineers, ANSI Standard B92.1-1996, 1996. www.cadquest.com/books/pdf/gears.pdf, Involute Gear Design Tutorial. PTC Knowledgebase, Suggested Techniques for:
q q q
Creation of an Involute Gear Cutting (3 Methods) Creating a Cylindrical Gear with Helical Teeth Creating an Involute Curve
4. 5. 6.
Machinerys Handbook, 24th ed., 1992, pp. 1787-2065. Shigley and Mishke, Mechanical Engineering Design, 5th ed., 1989, pp. 527-584 Roy Beardmore, www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Drive/Gears.html, 2004.
Dan Marsalek is a design engineer with Marine Mechanical Corp. in Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in 3-D modeling and nonlinear FEA of complex mechanisms for naval vessels. Dan is currently vice president of the Ohio Pro/E User Group (NOPUG). This article is based in part on his
presentation at the 2005 PTC/USER World Event.
Visualizing the Air Space of a Complex PSU

By Ceferino Sanchez of ASTEC Power, a Division of Emerson Network Power
Both thermal engineers and the mechanical design team can benefit being able to visualize how densely populated the power supply unit (PSU) is. Creating a free area ratio (FAR) plot along the length of the PSU is one way to address this need. The basic idea is to create the air part by cutting out a merged solid representation of the PSU and plotting its cross-sectional area along the length of the unit by performing a user-defined analysis (UDA). This technique requires the Advanced Assembly Extension (AAX) and the Behavioral Modeling Extension (BMX). Also necessary is a workstation with sufficient RAM. It may be necessary to have the /3GB switch on Windows XP Professional. If not, use the 64-bit version of Pro/ENGINEER.
Designing with StyleTurning Sketches into Successes Being Innovative All About Arbortext Reevaluating the PTC/USER Member Portal A Student's Eye View of the PTC/ USER World Event I Want My MOM Back! Creating Gears and Splines Visualizing the Air Space of a Complex PSU Digital Watermarks for Today's Engineer
Creating a Merged Solid Shrinkwrap of the PSU

The first functionality to be used is available in AAX. The following steps were adapted from <PROE_LOADPOINT>html\usascii\proe\aax\ to_create_a_merged_solid_exported_shrinkwrap_model.htm. 1. 2. 3. 4. Retrieve the PSU assembly as the source model. Click File, Save a Copy. The Save a Copy dialog box opens. In the Type dropdown list box, click Shrinkwrap (Fig. 1). In the Creation Method area of the dialog box, select Merged Solid.
5. In the Quality area of the dialog box, specify the quality level for the system to use when identifying components that will contribute to the shrinkwrap model. Enter an integer in the range of 1 to 10 (default = 1). Since the accuracy of the FAR plot is important, I advise using the highest quality possible (10). 6. In the Special Handling area of the dialog box, select or clear the following options:
q
Auto Hole Filling (selected by default). Unselect this since the FAR plot accuracy will be affected with filled holes done by the system. Ignore Skeletons (selected by default). The system does not include skeleton model geometry when creating the shrinkwrap model. Ignore Quilts (selected by default). The system does not include external quilts in the shrinkwrap model.
Assign Mass Properties. The system assigns the mass properties of the original model to the shrinkwrap model.
7. In the Output File Name area of the dialog box, specify the export output. The system assigns the shrinkwrap model a default file name based on that of the source model. Accept the default file name in the format model_name_sw0001 or enter a new name for the shrinkwrap model. 8. Click Preview to obtain graphical and textual feedback about the subset of information that will be captured in the shrinkwrap model (Fig. 2). The message window provides information about how many components are included and excluded from the representation, in the format "X of Y components have been selected." You can zoom in and select unselected components to include, or you can undo selections using the Select Components button. 9. Click Create. The system copies a subset of information from the source model to create a shrinkwrap model, saves the new part to disk, and displays it in its own window (Fig. 3). The subset consists of solid geometry consisting of all collected components from the source model. 10. Click Close. The Create Shrinkwrap dialog box closes.
Figure 1. Shrinkwrap Dialog Box
Figure 2. PSU Assembly
Figure 3. Merged Solid Shrinkwrap Part of PSU Assembly
Note: Its advisable to enable the configuration option enable_absolute_accuracy and set it to yes. You can set the part accuracy to 0.001 mm absolute to avoid problems in the cutout later on.
Making the Cutout

At this point you need to create an assembly, which you can arbitrarily name PSU_model_FAR.asm. These are the intermediate steps prior to using the cutout functionality. 1. Assemble the merged solid shrinkwrap part.
2. Create and assemble the air.prt, which consists of a protrusion feature flush to the width, height and length of the PSU. 3. With the air.prt activated, click on Insert, Shared Data, Cutout and then pick the merged solid shrinkwrap part of the PSU. If there are problems with the cutout, other than enabling absolute accuracy, you can match the accuracy of the air.prt with the merged solid shrinkwrap of the PSU.
Performing the User Defined Analysis

By calculating the cross-sectional area of the air.prt, the FAR can be derived by dividing this by the total area of the PSU cross-section normal to the airflow direction. The following steps were adapted from <PROE_LOADPOINT>\html\usascii\proe\bemod\ example__analyzing_the_cross_section_of_a_pipe.htm and <PROE_LOADPOINT> \html\usascii\proe\bemod\ to_create_a_user_defined_analysis.htm 1. Open the air.prt or activate it if in session.
2. Create a field point on the trajectory curve by clicking Insert, Model Datum, Point, Field (Fig. 4).
Figure 4. Field Point 3. Create a datum plane through the field point normal to the airflow direction (Fig. 5).
Figure 5. Datum Plane Through Field Point Normal to Airflow Direction
4. To create an analysis feature to measure the cross-section of the pipe, click Insert, Model, Datum, Analysis. 5. In the ANALYSIS dialog box, enter the name of the analysis, air_area, and select Model Analysis as the type of the analysis (Fig. 6).
Figure 6. First Page of Analysis Dialog Box
6. Click Next to go to the second page and select a parameter that you want to create (Fig. 7).
Figure 7. Second Page of Analysis Dialog Box 7. Select X-Section Mass Properties as the type of measure.
8. Place a checkmark in front of Use Plane, and choose the name of the datum plane to create the cross-section.
9. Click Compute to the mass.
10. Click Close.
11. Under Result params, choose the parameter XSEC_AREA and select Yes to create this parameter (Fig. 8).
Figure 8. Third Page of Analysis Dialog Box 12. Click OK. 13. Create a UDA construction group by grouping all required features and parameters. Click Edit, Feature Operations, Group, Local Group. Specify a name for the group (Fig. 9).
Figure 9. Local Group
14. From the model tree, select the field point, the datum plane through the field point, and the analysis feature (the last item). 15. Create a user-defined analysis using the construction group you have just defined. Click Analysis, User-Defined Analysis. 16. Under Type, select a Construction group. 17. Under References, accept the default references used by the feature. 18. Under Parameters, select the analysis feature parameter you want to compute (in this case, XSEC_AREA). 19. Specify where to perform calculations by accepting the default (Entire Field) from the domain list. The calculation will be performed on the entire domain where the field point is located (in this case, the entire trajectory curve that is the edge along the airflow direction). 20. Under Computation Settings (Fig. 10), define the resolution by clicking the appropriate icon. Define the resolution by setting the distance (0.5mm is acceptable in the case of PSUs) between two adjacent points in the model units. Depending on the length of the PSU and your processor, this will take some time. 21. Under Computation Settings, also set any of these options:
q
Max/Min Refinement. Obtains more accurate results for the minimum and maximum values without increasing the density or accuracy. This option is available only for the Entire Field domain. Create Graph. Shows results in a graph window. If you have MS Excel, set the configuration option bm_graph_tool to excel_linked, which opens a standalone Excel window when the graph is created. Dynamic Update. Pro/ENGINEER updates the results automatically. You need not choose Compute to update.
Figure 10. UDA Dialog Box
22. Under Results, click:

q
Settings. Sets the scale and density of the display and specify calculation options (Fig. 11). For UDAs with the field point on an edge or curve, you can set the scale and density. If the field point references a surface or a quilt, you can set increment (linear, logarithmic, or two-color), spectrum (upper and lower limits, and sensitivity), and accuracy (low, medium, high, or very high). Compute. Generates the results of the analysis (Fig. 12). The results appear in the box under Results, and can be a porcupine display accompanied by a graph (if the field is a curve or an edge) or a shaded display (if the domain is a surface or a quilt).
q q
Clear. Erases the display of the results. Choose OK to close the dialog box.
Figure 11. UDA Settings
Figure 12. UDA Display
23. Click the Saved Analyses bar to expand the dialog box for the functions related to saving analyses. 24. To save this analysis in an analysis feature, click Add Feature and enter the name for the feature. A new analysis feature appears in the model tree. 25. Click Close.
In an Excel spreadsheet, you can add field names such as width, height and length of the PSU. You can also easily compute derived fields such as area, X-distance on the PSU and FAR (Fig. 13).
Figure 13. FAR Plot on the Spreadsheet
Ceferino Sanchez is a lead engineer, thermal engineer and Pro/E administrator at ASTEC Power, a division of Emerson Network Power in Quezon City, Philippines. He can be reached by email at ceferinosanchez@astec-power.com.
Digital Watermarks for Today's Engineer

by John Tucker, Raytheon Vision Systems The Why
Clearly identifying engineering documentation as PRELIMINARY or DRAFT can prevent costly downstream misunderstandings. From program management to supply chain, each function in the enterprise must clearly understand whether or not engineering information is released for production. Now, if you have a printer compatible with PostScript or a PDF distiller, you too can identify your documents with a fully automated, digital, customizable watermarkbringing the outdated red stamp into the modern age. The What A watermark is here defined as a semi-transparent marking that unmistakably identifies the release state of Pro/ENGINEER output without obstructing the readability of information underneath or behind it. A good watermark looks like a light fog superimposed over the engineering print or PDF (Fig. 1). It does not obscure the documentation and is difficult to ignore.
Figure 1. The How You can set up a watermarking system for your users that employs simple menu selections to print a file or create a PDF in Adobe Reader format. Ideally, the
watermarking process should be transparent to the user. That is, the watermark should be automatically applied based on the release state of your databases. If you are using Pro/INTRALINK, Windchill, or another PDM system to manage your Pro/ENGINEER files, you need only query your system to determine whether or not to add a watermark. If you are still using your operating systems innate filing system to manage your files, you wont be able to automate the process unless you use drawing parameters to track your release state and are extremely disciplined about keeping them up to date. Nonetheless, you can still choose to apply a watermark based on, for example, an alternate menu selection or a mapkey. The Watermark Recipe There are three steps for applying a watermark to your output: 1. Create a PostScript file. Create a PostScript file, sending the output to a file, or record a Pro/ENGINEER mapkey to do the job. If you are tracking your lifecycle state with Pro/INTRALINK, your mapkey should include a file dump of your model or drawing parameters, so that you can inspect the resulting file and obtain the release level. Knowing the release state of your data will allow you to further customize the watermark or simply forgo it. 2. Insert the watermark. The watermark itself is composed of 18 lines of PostScript code embedded into the PostScript file created by Pro/ENGINEER. The PostScript code is available (click here to download). (Note: in Adobe lingo, the watermark is actually a background, so if you plan to use shaded views in Wildfire 3.0, your shaded views will clip your text.) 3. Obtain paper or PDF output.
a. Use the lp command or Windows print command to send your PostScript file to a printer. If you cannot use the print command in your Windows environment (as may be the case because of your network architecture), you can use the excellent freeware PrintFile (go to http://www.lerup.com/printfile/ for instructions and download) to send your PostScript files to your system printer. b. PDF output may be obtained via your Adobe distiller or a product such as GhostScript. Insertion Tips You cannot insert the 18 lines of PostScript code just anywhere into the Pro/ENGINEER PostScript output file. Currentlythis applies to Pro/ENGINEER 20 through Pro/ ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0 Preproductionit must be inserted after either line 14 or 15 of the output. To insert the code quickly and easily into the correct location without writing a custom routine, make use of the SED program that comes with your operating system. If you use Windows, download a freeware version of SED from the internet. (Im using super-sed version 3.59 available at http://sed.sourceforge.net/grabbag/ssed/sed-3.59. zip. Ive renamed the executable to SED.exe and placed it into our operating system path.) Copy the text in Figure 2 exactly and name it watermark.sed. Place it in a folder of your choosing.
p /%%EndPageSetup/ a\ /theWatermark {[(DRAFT/REVIEW) (YOUR CUSTOMIZED) (WATERMARK HERE)]} def\ /globalScaleFactor {4} def\ /grayScale {0.95} def\ /interLinearSpacing {0.5} def\ /getmidpage {currentpagedevice /PageSize get dup 0 get exch 1 get exch 2 div exch 2 div} bind def\ /corner2corner {currentpagedevice /PageSize get dup 0 get exch 1 get exch atan} bind def\ /getsheetscal {currentpagedevice /PageSize get 0 get 72 div globalScaleFactor mul} bind def\ /sizefont {/Helvetica-Bold findfont exch scalefont setfont} bind def\ /showcenterjust {dup stringwidth pop 2 div neg 0 rmoveto show} bind def\ /numwatermarklines {theWatermark length} bind def\ /watermark {gsave newpath getmidpage moveto corner2corner rotate 0 getsheetscal 2 div neg rmoveto\ 0 numwatermarklines 1 sub getsheetscal mul interLinearSpacing mul rmoveto getsheetscal sizefont\ grayScale setgray theWatermark {gsave showcenterjust grestore 0 2 getsheetscal mul interLinearSpacing mul\ neg rmoveto} forall\ grestore} bind def\ <<\ /BeginPage {watermark} bind\ >> setpagedevice\
Figure 2. Lets assume that youve just printed your PostScript output to a file. Lets further assume that the file is called my_drawing.ps. Use the following command line to transform your Pro/ENGINEER PostScript file into a watermarked PostScript file: sed -n -f watermark.sed my_drawing.ps >watermarked.ps The file named watermarked.ps now contains a watermark, which will become visible when you send it to a PostScript-compatible printer or a distiller. You may delete the input file named my_drawing.ps at your leisure.
Customizing Your Mark Take note of the following in the SED script shown in Figure 2.
q
Text. The text of the watermark (in red) is customizable. Your watermarks may contain a single line of text, such as the word DRAFT, or they may contain several lines of text. Its possible to use a different watermark for different purposes: quotation, review, release, draft, etc. In any case, all watermark text must be set between the two square brackets. Each line of text in the watermark must be set between parentheses. If you need to use parentheses in your watermark, prefix them with the back-slash character \. Font size. The overall size of the watermark lettering (in blue) is adjustable. Experiment with the size of the lettering by varying this setting. This is a positive real number. Start with the given value 4, adjusting downward if your watermark spills off of the page, and adjusting upward if it looks too small. Remember to test it for each of your standard page sizes. Save to watermark.sed when satisfied. Line spacing. The interlinear spacing of the watermark (in pink) is adjustable. This is also a positive real number. The current spacing of 0.5 indicates that there is one half-height of character spacing between lines of text in the watermark. Adjust it up or down to achieve a pleasing effect. Remember to save this to watermark.sed when youre happy with it. Intensity. The intensity of the watermark (in green) is adjustable. This is a real number ranging from 0.0 to 1.0. A value of 0.0 will set your watermark to full black; you will not be able to view any other output behind it. A value of 1.0 indicates full white; your watermark will be invisible! I have noticed that a different value for intensity may be required depending on whether you output to a printer or to a PDF file. In addition, if you obtain obviously stippled (dotted) output from your printer, make sure that you are using a PostScript driver supplied with your operating system or by your printer manufacturer. If necessary, change the driver through your operating system control panel to achieve a smoother effect.
Printing Made Easy

There isnt room to go into every possible system configuration in this article. However, for Windows users, I have created a Pro/ENGINEER printer configuration file (PCF file) and a batch file as a sample. Instructions for use follow. 1. Download a Windows-compatible version of SED. (You can get it here.) Unzip it and rename it to SED.exe. 2. Download and install Ghostscript (http://www.ghostscript.com/). 3. Place the provided PCF file watermark.pcf into the folder designated by pro_plot_config_dir in your config.pro. If there is no special setting for this folder, place the PCF file into the folder <loadpoint>\text\plot_config along with the other PCF files. Edit lines 10 and 14 of the file according to the instructions on lines 9 and 13. Save the edited file as plain text. 4. Edit the batch file watermark.bat with your favorite text editor. Youll need to make edits to the first 10 SET commands to customize them to your setup (editing instructions are provided within the file). Save the edited file as plain textwith the original nameand place it in the folder you designated when editing watermark.pcf in Step 3. 5. Record a mapkey that selects the printer WATERMARK, or manually print using the WATERMARK printer (Fig 3). Be sure to leave both boxes To File and To Printer checked (Fig. 4). Make any other selections you want, and press OK. The batch file should run, prompting you to fix any clerical errors you may have made during editing. If there are no errors, youll be asked whether youd like to print
your file or create a PDF. Either way, youll get output with a watermark.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Conclusion The advent of email has changed the way we do business, cutting costs and reducing time-to-market. Along with these benefits comes the possibility of confusion and misinterpretation of information. But using the watermarking system described here, you can mail a PDF to customers for review, or to suppliers for quote, without any possibility of misunderstanding. Meanwhile, as paper documentation travels between offices in your own facility for design reviews and manufacturing planning, no one can
possibly fail to recognize the design phase of your product. John Tucker is a mechanical engineer at Raytheon Vision Systems. He can be reached by email at jtucker@raytheon.com. Trademark acknowledgments: Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Adobe, PostScript and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Tips & Tricks Archive

Profiles Magazine Tips & Tricks are written by experts from the user community. We invite you to submit your favorite tip for publication. If we accept it, you'll receive recognition as well as some cold hard cash! Click here for information on submitting an article for Tips & Tricks. For more tips on Pro/ENGINEER and other design tools, check out the Design Knowledge Base (www.designkb.com). The following Tips & Tricks are all available online: Issue Date Summer 2005 Tip Title Creating a Cylindrical Cam Using Mechanism Design Extension Author Dana Coombs, SYNTHES CMF Description Although Mechanical Design Extension (MDX) does not include built-in functionality for cylindrical cams, you can use this technique to do so with MDX. Can you determine the relative costs of design build options? This simple test will help you evaluate your expertise. When working with large assemblies, this technique will help simplify the task of replacing standard parts in multiple locations. Helpful tips for Pro/ INTRALINK script developers. Use the tools in Pro/ ENGINEER 2001 to improve the appearance of complex drawings.
Summer 2005
Pro/ENGINEER Professionals: Test Your Expertise
John Driscoll
Summer 2005
Quickly Replacing Elkin Jhirad, HP Indigo Division Components that Assemble Many Times
Summer 2005 Summer 2005
Reflections on Pro/ Marc Mettes INTRALINK Scripting Dimension Justification Made Easy Weligton Nascimento, Caterpillar Brazil Ltda.
Summer 2005 Spring 2005
Using Axis Pattern in Wildfire 2.0 Using a Family Table Instance to Create a Single Part Drawing in Pro/INTRALINK
Florin Neamtu, Belcan Corporation Wesley Ingram, Robert Bosch Corporation
Explore the enhanced patterning capabilities of Wildfire 2.0. How to duplicate a family table object into a single part while maintaining a relationship to the drawing, while using Pro/ INTRALINK.
Spring 2005
Pro/ENGINEER Image Output versus Copy/Paste Using the Thermal Module of Pro/ MECHANICA to Optimize a 3D Electrostatic Problem
John Randazzo, Expand your graphics Blue Ridge Numerics output options by using an external image editor. Johannes Tredoux, Using the similarities ABB Trasmissione & between the governing Distribuzione equations for heat conduction and electrostatics, you can use the Pro/MECHANICA thermal module to solve 3D electrostatic problems. Angus Milne, Weatherford UK How to insert geometry from another CAD systems (SDRC, AutoCAD, others) into Pro/ENGINEER. A config.pro option makes it easier to select your most commonly used file types. An alternative approach to utilizing the hidden capability to create labels within Pro/ENGINEER. A method to automate partially the update of the current date on a drawing prior to printing.
Spring 2005
Spring 2005
Inserting 2D Geometry into Pro/ ENGINEER
Winter 2005 Changing the Order of Greg Kemner "Save a Copy" File Types Winter 2005 Another Take on Decals Jason Baggett
Winter 2005 How to Update the Drawing System Parameter &todays_date Before Printing
Ceferino Sanchez
Winter 2005 Easy Axis Justification Steve Register
Easily adjust all four leaders for a centerline simultaneously. Improve your productivity and quality through UI scripting. This simple tip lets you open more than one model at a time from a workspace.
Fall 2004
Automating Pro/ INTRALINK with UI Scripts Opening Multiple Models Simultaneously
Matt Meadows
Fall 2004
John Scranton
Fall 2004
Working with Decals
John Randazzo
Add realism to your photorendered models by applying decals in Pro/ ENGINEER. This sophisticated tip shows you how to create a straightened instance of a bent tube model. How to convert an "oldstyle" simplified drawing (with suppressed features) into a Wildfirecompatible drawing utilizing family tables. Using table-driven patterns gives you enormous flexibility to create, duplicate and place features. This tip saves you time when you need to open, view and/or print a drawing. Learn how to use Pro/ ENGINEER's analysis feature to help you automate your design process.
Fall 2004
Creating a Straight Instance of a Bent Tube
Dan Moran
Summer 2004
Updating a Simplified Edwin Muirhead Drawing in Wildfire
Summer 2004
Driving a TableDriven Pattern Through Relations
Dwaraka Nadha Reddy
Summer 2004
View a Drawing Without Having a Model in Session
R. Swamynathan
Summer 2004
Using Pro/ Asim Rashid ENGINEER's Analysis Feature Effectively
Spring 2004
Creating a Parametric Kenneth S. Johnson Use parameters residing in your part file to Note Block generate drawing notes. Using Relations to Assign Different Materials and Mass Properties for Family Table Instances Dwaraka Nadha Reddy Pro/ENGINEER allows you to attach any number of materials to the part database, but you can only assign one material to the part at any given time. This technique lets you access parameters from one of the many material files defined in the generic model to drive family table instances. How to combine model parameters and dimensions into a single note that can be displayed in parts as well as drawing tables.
Spring 2004
Winter 2003 Linking Model Notes and Parameters to Display Family Table Instance Information Winter 2003 Managing Workspaces in Pro/ INTRALINK 3.0/3.1
Jim Wehner
Natarajan K. Murali Transfering a Pro/ INTRALINK workspace created in one system to another.
Winter 2003 Solving 2D Electrostatic Problems Using the Thermal Module of Pro/MECHANICA
Johannes Tredoux
As the governing equations for heat conduction and electrostatics are the same, see how you can use the Thermal module of Pro/MECHANICA to solve basic electrostatic dielectric problems.
Winter 2003 Relation-Driven Family Tables
Kenneth S. Johnson Drive an unlimited number of dimensions with a set of relations and a few parameters fields. How to construct a model of a human head with surfacing. Take advantage of Pro/E 2001's spin/pan and Fix Component Position functionality to make assembly easier. Tips and techniques to ease administration of multiple Pro/E and Pro/ INTRALINK sites. Master the use of light for proper visualization of your shaded models. Search for Pro/E objects in Pro/INTRALINK that have specific numbers of characters in their names using wildcards. Shrinkwrap can used to create solids, models for external flow analysis and many other applications. Get quick and easy statistics on your Windows network performance without the overhead of a GUI. How to resolve conflicts created by missing objects from your workspace. Import Pro/E data managed outside of your PDM system and retain the version information.
Fall 2003
Need to Get a Head in John Driscoll a Hurry? Spinning and Fixing a Keith Ebling Component's Placement During Assembly Reducing the Workload of Pro/E Administration Shedding a Little Light on the Matter Using Wildcards in Pro/INTRALINK Object Operations Edwin Muirhead
Fall 2003
Fall 2003
Fall 2003
Jason Taylor
Summer 2003
Keith Ebling
Summer 2003
Four Tips on Shrinkwrap
John Randazzo
Summer 2003
Using Netstat to Monitor Your Windows Network Performance Getting Rid of Those Pesky Ghost Objects How to Import Multiple Versions of Pro/E Data into Intralink While Maintaining Version History
Duane Roach
Spring 2003
Karen Dougherty
Spring 2003
Keith Ebling
Spring 2003
Creating a Constant Cross-Section Twist
John McDougall
A helpful tip for creating a 90&Mac251; twist between rectangular cross-sections. This is important for creating waveguides for electrical and RF signals. Troubleshoot network problems that may be affecting performance of your Pro/INTRALINK installation. Cut a part at a datum plane without creating a sketch. Use color-coding to highlight specific features of your Pro/E model. Excel spreadsheets can be used to create a more user-friendly interface to drive parametric values. Use construction lines to streamline your sketches and eliminate unnecessary dimensions and patterns. Use the power of 3D notes to easily manage large assemblies with moving parts. Two tips on computer mice, and previewing edited text. How to solve draft command failures using alternative methods. Use the power of family tables to easily create multiple instances of gear geometry required for product catalogs, manufacturing and other applications. A simple tip on modifying text height for notes and dimensions. How to create an associative mirrored part in Pro/DESKTOP.
Spring 2003
Using Netstat to Duane Roach Monitor Your Unix Network Performance
Spring 2003
How to Cut a Part at a Erik Sherwood Plane
Winter 2002 Color That's Only Skin Marc DeBower Deep Winter 2002 Drive Your Pro/ ENGINEER Model with a Spreadsheet Winter 2002 Increasing Sketcher Productivity Using Construction Lines Edwin Muirhead
Jason Mastry
Winter 2002 Creating 3D Notes in Pro/ENGINEER
Jason Taylor
Winter 2002 Two Tips That Will Make Your Day Fall 2002 Draft Command Workarounds
Henry Sommer
David Low
Fall 2002
Is It A Doughnut or Is Jill Marshall It a Gear?
Fall 2002
Custom Text Height in a 3D Environment Creating Mirrored Parts in Pro/ DESKTOP
Rakesh Thukral
Fall 2002
Mike Nelson
Summer 2002
Creating Hole Patterns Around the Edge of a Plate-The Smart Way Placing Drawing Views of a Part Simplified Rep Check Out The New Parameter/Relation Editor of Pro/E 2001
Davor Baros
Use relation-driven patterns to simplify hole placement. Then, learn to apply BMX technology to generate smart patterns. Learn a technique to place drawing views of a part simplified rep to save regeneration time. Two config.pro settings in Pro/ENGINEER 2001 that give you access to new user interfaces for the Relations and Parameters menus. Learn a fast method to save views and assign mapkeys to speed the process. How to ensure that relations reflect changes in unit systems. Use Pro/ SHEETMETAL to generate linear noncircular helixes. Use configurations to easily create exploded views for assembly drawings. Use pre-supplied templates from Microsoft PowerPoint to create snazzy backgrounds for Pro/ENGINEER presentations. This enhancement to the merge geometry is a new feature of Release 2001 Save screen real-estate by implementing customized cascading drop-down menus Use skeleton models to allow creation, reordering and replacement of components in assemblies without initial features such as default datum planes.
Summer 2002
Florin Neamtu
Summer 2002
Erik Sherwood
Summer 2002
Using Saved Views
Ron Grabau
Spring 2002
Updating Relations When the Units Are Changed Generating NonCircular Helixes
Michael Gallagher
Spring 2002
Bruce W. Bodnyk
Spring 2002
Creating Exploded Views in Pro/ DESKTOP Jazz Up Your Presentations the Easy Way
Bobbe Singer
Spring 2002
John Randazzo
Spring 2002
Design Using Inheritance Features
Thomas Braxton
Winter 2001 Customized Cascading Scott Blackman Drop-Down Menus in 2000i2 Winter 2001 What to Do When the First Feature is the First Component Claes Albertson
Winter 2001 Modifying Many Dimensions at Once in Pro/ENGINEER 2001 Winter 2001 Adding to Your Color Palette Winter 2001 What is Pro/ INTRALINK Branching
Aron J. Oler
This Release 2001 workaround lets you use a bounding box to select and modify many dimensions at the same time. How to "borrow" existing color definitions from other parts or assemblies. Branching is a useful design tool that allows several team members to work on the same object at once. What to do with views that don't show any datums. Save time modifying dimensions and regenerating assemblies that have movable parts. Create triangular patterns that can be dynamically modified using a parameter. Tweak PTC's .bat files to improve their usability to diagnose problems or provide runtime information. In Pro/ENGINEER 2000i and 2000i2, open objects by drag-and-drop A shortcut to modify most dimensional entities quickly. Massively reduce regeneration times for large patterns (thousands of instances). "How to develop a Pro/ ENGINEER model using scanned/digitzed data." "User-defined Features (UDFs) provide an efficient means for creation of pipeline assemblies in Pro/ PIPING"
Steven Frey
Karen Dougherty
Winter 2001 Using Datum Targets in a View When Datum is Inaccessible
Normand Roy
Winter 2001 Viewing Assemblies in Marty Holman Multiple Positions
Winter 2001 How to Create Triangular Patterns
Sanjay Kinger
Fall 2001
Make PTC .BAT Files Usable in Windows
Blaine Prout
Fall 2001
Open Objects by Drag Rakesh Thukral and Drop in Pro/ ENGINEER Quickly Modify Drawing Entities Speeding Up Large Patterns Dennis Sledge
Fall 2001
Fall 2001
Bruce Bodnyk
Summer 2001 Summer 2001
Reverse Engineering Action Man into Pro/ ENGINEER Creating Reusable Pipelines with UDFs
Grant Cameron
Anthony Stewart
Summer 2001
Recovering from Copy Thomas Braxton Geometry Failures
"Recovery techniques to resolve regeneration failures when using Copy Geometry features." "Use bounding boxes to flex, shrink or grow your model to make quick modifications to size." A simple technique to gain access to parameter values when working in 2000i2. How to use Pro/ ENGINEER's spinal bend feature to create living hinges
Summer 2001
Add Bounding Surfaces to Your Bounding Boxes Make Parameters More Accessible
Mark Zaveson
Spring 2001
Lorraine Dennis
Spring 2001
Using Spinal Bends for Living Hinge Design
John F. Gill
Past Issues of Profiles Magazine - Available Online

Profiles Magazine is available in electronic format for all issues published from issue 15 to the present. To view each issue's table of contents, click on the links below.
Newsletter Archive
We also have access to past issues of our monthly newsletter. 2005
Issue 31 Spring 2005
Issue 32 Summer 2005
Issue 33 Fall 2005
Issue 34 Winter 2006
January February March April May June July 2004 March April May June July August September October November December
"Configuring and Using ModelCHECK in Wildfire 2.0"
"PTC/USER 2005: Better than Ever"
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Issue 29 Fall 2004
"Reverse Engineering Pro/ ENGINEER Models"
"Tools for Controlling Model Quality"
"More Top-Down Design"
"Creating Pro/ ENGINEER Geometry with User-Defined Features"
Issue 25 Fall 2003
Issue 26 Winter 2003-04
"Put An End to Endless Iterations with Behavioral Modeling"
"Jell-o Molds and Cookie Cutters: Shrinkwrap is Not Just for Leftovers"
"The Do's and Don'ts of Family Tables and Pro/ INTRALINK"
"Work Smarter, Not Harder"
Issue 21 Fall 2002
"Pro/ANATOMY: Modeling Body Parts in Pro/ ENGINEER"
"Wildfire: WOW!"
"A Vision with World in Mind"
"Pro/ INTRALINK and Family Tables"
Issue 17 Fall 2001
"Trucking Turns Pro"
"L3: The Ultimate Engineering School Odyssey"
"Options: What to Do With More Than Two"
"Managing HighProfile Industrial Design with Pro/ ENGINEER"
Issues 1-14 are not available electronically; however, some printed copies are still available for order as a back issue. Please contact Rhona Hill (rhona@profilesmagazine. com) for information. Cost of each back issue is $10 including postage and handling.
Issue 13 Fall 2000
"Capturing Design Intent with Layouts"
"Mapping Your Good Intentions"
"John Deere Reaps Top Award"
"Optimizing Run Times in Pro/ MECHANICA"
Issue 7 Spring 1999
Issue 8 Summer 1999
Issue 9 Fall 1999
"Every Bit of the Way: Automating Design through Manufacturing with Pro/E"
"Putting Pro/ CONVERT to the Test"
"The Road to Successful Top Down Assembly Design"
"Assembly Maze or Amazing Assemblies?"
Issue 3 Spring 1998
Issue 4 Summer 1998
Issue 5 Fall 1998
"Pro/ ECAD: Building Bridges in Electronic Product Design"
"Using Pro/ ENGINEER as an Instrument for Learning"
"Caterpillar Scoops Top Pro/AWARD"
"The Sky's the Limit: Pro/ E Contributes to the Mapping of the Universe"
Issue 1 Fall 1997
"Speaking the Same Language: Linking MCAD and ECAD with Pro/ENGINEER"
"Morphing Your Models: How to Make the Most of a Model's Flexibility"
Profiles Magazine Staff

Editor-In-Chief Marcia Fernald
Additional Information
For more information or assistance, please contact Rick Snider.
Customer Service Rhona Hill
Art Department & Webmaster Rick Snider
Article Submission Click here for information
Profiles began life in 1991 as a newsletter for PTC/USER members. It evolved into its current magazine format in 1997, and has been published quarterly since then.
Beginning in the summer of 2002, Profiles has been published exclusively on the web, and is no longer available as a printed magazine. The new electronic edition will allow Profiles to provide new services to readers, such as downloadable files to accompany articles, international edition for non-English speaking readers, and much more

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This quarter's issue of Profiles Magazine is absolutely packed with great information.

Being Innovative by Evan Caille, PTC/USER President

Designing with StyleTurning Sketches into Successes

More information about RUGs is available at our web site...

applying the same changes to both.

3. Inserting Datum Curve Features into the Style Feature

Creating the Profile Curves

5. Creating the Style Surfaces

by Evan Caille, President of PTC/USER

All About Arbortext

A Student's Eye View of the PTC/USER World Event

Reevaluating the PTC/USER Member Portal

A Brief Look Back

Where We Are Now

I Want MOM Back!

Tip 1: Moving Items in a Drawing

Tip 2: Adding Text to a Table

Tip 3: Editing a Single Line of Text

Creating Gears and Splines in Wildfire 2.0

General Procedures for Involute Curve Creation

Deriving the Involute Datum Curve Equations Cartesian Coordinates

From basic trigonometry:

From the geometry, the equation for XR and YR can be derived:

From the Pythagorean Theorem:

Substitute for Yc and SR in the original equation for YR:

Expand the squared terms:

Consolidate terms that have Ri2, and Ri2 * :

Remember a basic trigonometric identity formula:

Combining terms that have Ri2:

Squaring Ro gives us:

Squaring the square root term:

Rearranging the equation to isolate :

But since we want radians, we multiply by 2* /360:

Deriving the parametric equation for X:

Deriving the parametric equation for Y:

Finally, Z = 0 (since we wish to create a 2-D planar curve)

Deriving the Involute Datum Curve Equations Cylindrical Coordinates

Again, we are setting the start angle to 0 for simplicity.

By observation and the Pythagorean Theorem:

Substituting (SRo * t) for SR into the equation defining R:

Isolate the term and substitute (SRo * t) for SR:

Solving the equations to get :

Substitute (SRo * t) for SR:

Substituting for and in the equation for :

Substituting for SRo:

Substituting for SRo into the equations for R gives us:

A similar substitution for SRo in the equation for :

Note: to account for a start angle 0, use:

Using the Cylindrical Coordinate System to Create an Involute Curve

For Further Reference

presentation at the 2005 PTC/USER World Event.

Visualizing the Air Space of a Complex PSU

Creating a Merged Solid Shrinkwrap of the PSU

Figure 1. Shrinkwrap Dialog Box

Figure 2. PSU Assembly

Figure 3. Merged Solid Shrinkwrap Part of PSU Assembly

Making the Cutout

Performing the User Defined Analysis

Figure 5. Datum Plane Through Field Point Normal to Airflow Direction

Figure 6. First Page of Analysis Dialog Box

9. Click Compute to the mass.

10. Click Close.