TopDown Design

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Tips Techniques

• Top-Down Design ToolsManaging Complex Assemblies
• Victor RemmersHolland Engineering Consultants BV

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• Top-Down Design Philosophy

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Traditional Design Approach

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

Top Level Assembly
Component Design
Component Design
Component Design
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Possible example Bottom Up?
Mate
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Top-Down Design Philosophy

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

Design Information
Component
Component
Component
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A more integrated approach.
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Top Down Design Stages It is a concept.
6-Stage Process

• Conceptual Engineering Phase
• Layouts and Engineering Notebook
• Preliminary Product Structure Phase
• Pro/INTRALINK, Model Tree
• Capturing Design Intent Phase
• Skeleton Models
• Manage Interdependencies Phase
• Reference Viewer Reference Graph
• Communication of Design Intent Phase
• Copy Geoms, Publish Geoms Shrinkwrap
• Population of the Assembly Phase
• Automatic Component Constraints Component
  Interfaces

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The Bobcat example
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Conceptual Engineering PhaseLayouts and
Engineering Notebook
Stage 1

• Understand Existing Situation
• High-level Requirements
• Space Allocation
• Define New Space and Motion
• 2D Sketches
• 3D Models
• Rapid Iteration Convergence
• Animations
• Capture Key Design Intent
• Parameters
• Notes
• Spreadsheets
• Proprietary Data

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Preliminary Product Structure Phase
Pro/INTRALINK, Model Tree
Stage 2

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

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Capturing Design Intent Phase Skeleton Models
Stage 3

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

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Manage Interdependencies PhaseReference Viewer
Reference Graph
Stage 4

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

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Communication of Design Intent Phase Publish
Geoms, Copy Geoms Inheritance
Stage 5

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

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Population of the Assembly PhaseAutomatic
Component Constraints Component Interfaces
Stage 6

• What tools are available for populating the
  assembly?
• Assembly Tools
• Drag Drop Placement
• Component Interfaces
• Component Creation
• Within the context of the assembly
• Mirror Parts or Subassemblies

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

• Benefits
• Reduced design time
• Reduced errors (right the first time)
• Increased quality
• Better project management visibility
• Concurrent engineering
• Confidence in top-level regeneration
• Knowledge of how modules interface
• Top-level change control

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Example to design an alternator...

• What information should a designer need to work
  with most times?

Neighboring Subassemblies 320MB
Complete Top-Level Assembly 540 MB
All Skeleton Models in Top-Level Assembly 70 MB
Subassembly, with Skeleton Model containing
all required information 20 MB
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What does an example look like?

• Three Phases

Pro/INTRALINK Pro/CONCEPT ISDX Pro/ENGINEER Pro/N
OTEBOOK
CAPTURE DESIGN CRITERIA
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
DETAILED DESIGN
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• Product Definition

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Product Definition Engineering Layout

• What it is

• First thing done in design cycle

• Used to evaluate key interface points

• Used to evaluate key components of project

What it is Not

• Three dimensional solids

• Fully detailed

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Advantages of Using a Layout

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

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2 Product Definition Assembly Structure

• What it is

• Virtual Assembly / BOM

• Used to organize assembly assigning of design
  tasks

• Used to input non-geometrical data up-front

What it is Not

• Three dimensional solids

• Fully detailed

• Fully constrained

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Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product
Structure

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

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Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product
Structure

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

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3 Product Definition Skeletons

• What it is

• Zero-mass geometry

• Exact location detail

• Minimized geometric detail

What it is Not

• Three dimensional solids

• Fully detailed

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And Definitely Not This!!
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Advantages of Using Skeletons

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

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Central source for information

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

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Hierarchy

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

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3D Design Finally!

• The foundation is set but topologically
  modifiable its time for 3D.
• With Reference Control Manager, you are safe to
  create your parts directly in the assembly.

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More Than Meets The Eye!

• Interchangeability
• Family of Tables
• Interchange Assembly
• Layout Declarations

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Power of Top-Down Design

• To Achieve Advanced Automation, consider using
• Relations
• Pro/Program

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Miscellaneous Tips

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

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Miscellaneous Tips

• Datums for Skeleton Models
• Consider renaming skeleton datums to sk_
• Visualization
• Use simplified reps and transparency prolifically
  to make viewing easier
• Use display states to highlight different items
  at different times
• Use surfaces to clarify meaning of centerlines
  axes
• Conceptualization
• Dont be afraid to use simple hand sketches
  before delving into complex situations its NOT
  illegal

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Pro/E Wildfire EnhancementsHigh-performance
Assembly Modeling

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

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Highlights of Top-Down Design

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

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New in Advanced Assembly in Wildfire 3.0

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

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New in Advanced Assembly in Wildfire 3.0 (2)

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

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POWER OF TOP DOWN DESIGN!!!
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