Features and Benefits Overview

Transcription

1 AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX Features and Benefits Overview Introduction This preview guide provides an overview of the features and benefits of AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX. For ease of use, this guide has been organized into several sections. The first major section, AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX New Features and Enhancements Overview, introduces and summarizes the new features in this release. This section will be most useful if you are already familiar with AutoCAD Mechanical software. The second section, An Introduction to Innovative 2D Mechanical Structure, gives an overview of the main features introduced in AutoCAD Mechanical The third section, AutoCAD Mechanical Functionality Guide, may be more helpful if you are new to AutoCAD Mechanical. It contains information on features and benefits in the core functional areas of the software. Contents Introduction... 1 An Introduction to Associative Interoperability with Autodesk Inventor... 4 Visualization and Enhanced Characteristics of Intelligently Linked Parts D Layout with Associative Documentation of 3D Models... 6 User-Driven Improvements... 7 Extended View Creation of Counterbore and Countersunk Holes... 8 Enhanced Migration and Restructuring Extension... 8 Hidden-Line Improvements... 8 New Override Properties... 9 Application Programming Interface (API) Enhancements... 9 An Introduction to Innovative 2D Mechanical Structure Open Workflows Top-down Application of 2D Mechanical Structure Bottom-up Application of 2D Mechanical Structure Middle-out Application of 2D Mechanical Structure Flexible and Intuitive Mechanical User Interface

2 Part and Assembly Browser Short Learning Curve Components and Assemblies General Flexible Folders Associative Design and Detailing Associative Instancing of Parts and Assemblies Reusable Folders, Components, and Views Associative Component and Assembly Detailing Live BOM Database Associative 2D Hide Enhanced Assembly Design Capture Fully Integrated and Associative with 2D Structured Design Auto-Healing of Geometry AutoCAD Mechanical Functionality Guide Intelligent Mechanical Engineering and Design Mechanical Structure Mechanical Browser Associative 2D Hide General Design Productivity Engineering Calculations Machinery Systems Generators Associative Production Drawing and Detailing Associative Interoperability with Autodesk Inventor 3D Parts Production Drawing Creation Detailing Productivity Standards-Based 2D Content Standard Mechanical Content Standard Parts Tools

3 AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX New Features and Enhancements Overview AutoCAD Mechanical is a purpose-built 2D mechanical design solution. These three simple phrases describe the nature and purpose of AutoCAD Mechanical: Intelligent mechanical engineering and design Associative production drawing and detailing of 2D and 3D designs Standards-based content Built on the AutoCAD 2004 platform, AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX is the best choice for AutoCAD-based 2D mechanical design. Driving business through the power of design, AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX Associatively and seamlessly interoperates with and documents Autodesk Inventor part models Builds on the innovative AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 foundation AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX is today s best solution for 2D mechanical design and documentation with seamless Autodesk Inventor interoperability 3

4 An Introduction to Associative Interoperability with Autodesk Inventor New Autodesk Inventor Companion functionality in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX redefines the meaning of 3D to 2D interoperability. You can access and associatively document native 3D part models without the presence of Autodesk Inventor software. Simply browse through current Autodesk Inventor files and begin creating new, linked AutoCAD Mechanical files, which associatively gives you access to the latest, most current 3D designs. By accessing associative 3D models in AutoCAD Mechanical, you can Change shading settings of 3D part models and rotate the part onscreen to efficiently comprehend 3D design intent. Examine and use part properties assigned by Autodesk Inventor, including material type, part name, and part number. Associatively document part models quickly through AutoCAD Mechanical s standard view types using precise hidden-line removed projections, dimensions, and annotations. You can also create customized section views that query the 3D model for accuracy. 4

5 Intelligent linking to the native Autodesk Inventor part model automatically notifies you of changes and enables updating of views and annotations to keep your drawing up-to-date. The notification in AutoCAD Mechanical includes a bubble note and a change in the part browser background color. As design projects move from concept to floor production, design data can follow many different paths. For example, some departments have 3D modeling software while other departments may use 2D products despite the fact that they share responsibility for production of the same designs. In addition, suppliers, job shops, drafting departments, and subsidiaries often use 2D software tools to work with 3D models. For situations like this, AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX enables you to significantly increase your efficiency. Visualization and Enhanced Characteristics of Intelligently Linked Parts It is not necessary to have Autodesk Inventor installed to search for Autodesk Inventor files that you want to link to AutoCAD Mechanical. Once a new file is created and linked with AutoCAD Mechanical, you can use AutoCAD Mechanical to view the part in 3D. Although it has a standard AutoCAD Mechanical file extension, this linked file is called an Autodesk Inventor Companion file. Preliminary 3D views of the part enable you to review all aspects of the design and prepare the best plan for documenting the part, including the ability to shade and rotate the part. In addition, you can quickly place accurate isometric views, which are projected from the 3D model, on the drawing to convey part characteristics. AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX offers a variety of methods to manage the associative link with Autodesk Inventor, always leaving the option to access the most current data 5

6 available. The Autodesk Inventor Companion link is live, and unlike translated data, updates to the linked Autodesk Inventor part are visible. Each change in status of the original part in Autodesk Inventor notifies the Autodesk Inventor Companion file in two ways a pop-up bubble message from the message center and a change in the background color of the part browser: Orange This part is currently being modified in Autodesk Inventor. Yellow A newer version of this part is now available. Red The.ipt file cannot be found. (In this situation you can relink to a part or keep the current documented file with no additional updates.) At any point, you can manage the link by redirecting the companion file to a new Autodesk Inventor part. If documentation of a part is complete you can choose to lock the file from receiving further updates. Also, you can publish drawings in AutoCAD Mechanical, effectively removing any further influence from the Autodesk Inventor part. 2D Layout with Associative Documentation of 3D Models The current industry standard for translating 3D part definitions to 2D layout across software platforms is a one-time translation of raw data. AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX dramatically improves this standard with full associative interoperability with Autodesk Inventor. The link is a one-way association from the 3D model to the 2D drawing, resulting in Proficient standard view creation based on projections of the 3D model (similar to view creation with 3D platforms) Meta data knowledge transfer (part number, material selection, and so forth) Minimal loss of drafting effort due to revision cycles Standard AutoCAD symbology 6

7 The standard workflow for drawing creation on a 3D platform is much different than 2D methods. For example, the majority of time is spent building a comprehensive 3D model and little time spent creating views, which are quickly projected from the 3D model. With Autodesk Inventor Companion, the 3D model provides the ability to significantly reduce the time required to create views. Views are projected from the 3D model complete with automatic centerline creation, precise hidden-line projections, and associative dimensions and annotations that link to the properties stored in the 3D model. Standard views available include base, broken, multiple, detail, isometric, orthographic, full section, half section, offset section, and aligned section. Once the views are placed, you can use a variety of tools to begin customizing and quickly dimensioning the design. Dimensioning is as simple as selecting the view geometry to dimension and using familiar AutoCAD Mechanical dimensioning commands to do so. Therefore, very little ramp-up time is needed to become productive in creating Autodesk Inventor part drawings if you have previous drafting experience. You can use familiar AutoCAD symbology and other commands to add additional details to your drawings of Autodesk Inventor parts. You can annotate Autodesk Inventor parts with hole features using the AutoCAD Mechanical Note Function (AMNOTE). Notes can be added to patterned Autodesk Inventor holes as well as normal holes. Centerlines for holes are created automatically. This same hole data is available for use in creating hole charts. Tapped holes and external threads are displayed in the layout with standard thread lines. Tap lines are displayed on patterned holes also. For more information on these tools, see AutoCAD Mechanical Functionality Guide later in this document. Once a part has been fully documented for the first time, updates due to minor revisions require much less effort. All views created from the 3D model remain intact when the 3D model is updated in Autodesk Inventor. Many of the dimensions and annotations adjust to accommodate the changes. You simply update the link as desired and check the updates for accuracy. User-Driven Improvements AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX is a mature 2D design-through-manufacturing solution, with innovative 2D design tools that drive productivity. In addition to the new Autodesk Inventor Companion capability, AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX addresses many key user issues and requests. 7

8 Extended View Creation of Counterbore and Countersunk Holes AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX extends the ability to draw standard counterbore and countersunk holes on drawings by adding the capability to create bottom views of these items as illustrated below. Derivation of the bottom view from other views is also supported via use of standard commands (ampowerview). Bottom view of counterbore or countersunk hole Enhanced Migration and Restructuring Extension AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX offers an improved method for converting standard 2D data to mechanical structure. Migrations of structured standard parts and feature data from previous part references and layer group techniques have been simplified. (AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 offered a sample migration tool.) In addition, 2D structure has been enhanced to allow restructuring of an owning component. Although this is an enhanced workflow when designs undergo significant change, it is also useful when data migration assumes a layout other than that originally intended by the designer. The following figure illustrates this new capability: Component view COMP1:1 (Front) to be restructured State after restructuring Hidden-Line Improvements Updated capabilities include the ability to choose regular or inverted hide situations, resulting in significant flexibility to accurately and efficiently portray designs quickly. The 8

9 following diagram shows the effect of a regular and inverse hide with a rectangular background and a circular foreground. Background Foreground Result when selected foreground is handled as regular. Result when selected foreground is handled as inverse. New Override Properties You can now override the standard properties of select subsets of entities within standard part views. These options are based on each view instance but grant considerable flexibility to create the exact view intended. Following the example shown in the diagram below, you could select and name an entity subset (Outer circ to be hidden) and override the current visibility with the desired visibility. List of sets (filters); sets are named by user. Adds new set Modifies the selection of current set Controls property overrides for current set (filter). Color, layer, and linetype are controlled indirectly by Layer Object. Application Programming Interface (API) Enhancements The release includes several updates to enable more programmatic interface capability with the 2D structure environment. Specifically, updates include the ability to create, edit, and change 2D structure components and views relative to standard part data, features, and shafts. Both the C++ API interface and the Microsoft Visual Basic /COM interfaces for 9

10 supporting 2D structure have been updated as well. In addition, the sample applications associated with the C++ and Visual Basic/COM interfaces showing structure have been enhanced to showcase the new functionality. An Introduction to Innovative 2D Mechanical Structure More than 20 years after the introduction of AutoCAD and designers are still drawing lines and circles to represent mechanical parts. When discussing the contents of a mechanical design drawing, designers almost instinctively refer to drawn items as assemblies, parts, holes, and possibly even motion. They rarely refer to the contents as lines or circles. Through innovative 2D design enhancements, AutoCAD Mechanical provides design tools that enhance the 2D design experience and create a simpler, more natural 2D manufacturing design solution. AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 created a concept called 2D mechanical structure or just mechanical structure, for short. Although several tools are currently available to organize drawing data such as groups, blocks, layers, and layer groups they fall short for mechanical design organization. Mechanical structure functionality provides designers with a comprehensive suite of tools for drawing organization and associative data reuse. Traditional AutoCAD entities such as lines, arcs, and circles can now be organized to form components. From flexible folders to component and assembly views, mechanical designs can be quickly organized and managed, avoiding stale or out-of-date data. Mechanical structure can be created at any time during the design process, so designers can focus on designing and easily create structure as the need for reuse arises. The new tools have been designed to work with existing AutoCAD commands for ease of use. This feature set adopts instancing techniques found in many 3D mechanical CAD systems combined with 2D design requirements. Each time a structured element is copied, the copy is created from the stored definition. As a result, each copy (or instance) can have different properties, view locations, and assembly-hidden situations without affecting the basic definition or any other instances. For example, when you perform an associative 2D hide, only the selected instance is altered. When a component view requires editing, you can edit the component s view definition in place. All instances and associative 2D hide situations are updated automatically. Using structure properly reduces overall editing time and the chance of design errors. In 2D mechanical design, each component part may have several projected views. Mechanical structure allows for independent view locations for each component view instance. This capability is particularly useful in detailing, where views need to be spaced differently than in an assembly. Inserting a detail view does not add to the part quantity but maintains instance associativity. This means that editing the detail or other instances automatically updates all instances. Another benefit of working with structure is that you can generate an accurate bill of materials (BOM) based on the 2D mechanical structure. You can create parts lists from the bill of materials and insert them into drawings. Parts lists are dynamically updated as you add or delete components. With a more accurate parts list and BOM, creating balloons for assemblies can be largely automated. 10

11 Many additional comprehensive tools have been added to AutoCAD Mechanical that take advantage of mechanical structure. A browser provides an intuitive interface for creating, viewing, and accessing the structured design data. Many functions are available and can be easily accessed from the browser. Right-click options are available for the most common functions, such as highlighting, zoom to, properties, visibility, and creating, deleting, and inserting instances. Mechanical structure creates a more intuitive mechanical design environment. Lines, arcs, and circles come together to form subassemblies and part views. Since the drawing structure is displayed in a browser, design intent is exposed and more easily accessible. The innovative 2D design tools in AutoCAD Mechanical Eliminate the creation of stale data Enhance accurate BOM and parts lists Reduce detailing time Reduce editing Reduce design errors associated with stale data Open Workflows All geometry remains selectable and editable at all times. AutoCAD geometry creation and editing commands function correctly on structured entities, so you don t need to learn a new command vocabulary for Copy, Fillet, Stretch, and so forth. Although folders can be set so that new geometry is placed in the current folder, structure is not restrictive: you can store data in traditional model space at any time. The innovative mechanical structure tools in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX are flexible. They work the way you want them to. The following sections show realworld examples that demonstrate the workflow and highlight the usefulness of these tools. Top-down Application of 2D Mechanical Structure The top-down workflow is well defined and is depicted in the adjoining figure. It is probably the easiest to support with mechanical structure, but it is also the least flexible because you must have a good idea of the required assembly layout early in the design process. The top-down workflow starts with creating the main assembly component. Part and subassembly components are created within that assembly. Additional part and subassembly components are 11

12 AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX Features and Benefits Overview created within nested subassemblies as needed. Although AutoCAD Mechanical supports this workflow, it is not the primary workflow. Bottom-up Application of 2D Mechanical Structure The bottom-up workflow, depicted in the following figure, is the inverse of the top-down workflow. The bottom-up workflow is more flexible than the top-down workflow because assembly structure is applied later in the design cycle. AutoCAD Mechanical fully supports this workflow. In a bottom-up workflow, part components are first defined and then grouped into subassembly and assembly components as needed. Bottom-up workflow is also supported in structure. Middle-out Application of 2D Mechanical Structure The middle-out workflow combines elements of both the top-down and bottom-up workflows. The middle-out workflow is the most flexible, and it is arguably the most commonly used 2D workflow. This workflow demonstrates why and when structure is applied and the benefits of applying different levels of structure. AutoCAD Mechanical fully supports this highly flexible workflow. As in the top-down and bottom-up workflows, you can draw geometry in model space using basic AutoCAD and AutoCAD Mechanical commands at any time. You can also create geometry directly in the definition of a component view or folder. In addition, you can move 12

13 geometry to and from model space, folders, and views. This flexibility frees the design process. Flexible and Intuitive Mechanical User Interface Part and Assembly Browser AutoCAD Mechanical uses a browser as the primary interface to the innovative 2D design tools. The familiar, highly visual interface is intuitive and easy to learn. As illustrated in the adjoining figure, the browser displays the structure of the design visually by distinguishing between parts, assemblies, and folders. The hierarchical structure of the design is also clearly depicted by the nesting of parts and subassemblies and their associated data, such as views and folders. The active view or folder is highlighted in much the same way that the active layer is indicated in AutoCAD, ensuring that you know where the data being created is stored. In the graphics viewport all nonactive data (structured and model space) is grayed out, as shown in the following figure. This directs your focus to the view or folder being edited. The browser is flexible in the way it displays design content. In addition to being able to expand and collapse nodes, you can set an assortment of predefined views and filters to control the type and level of detail of information displayed. For example, you can set filters to hide views, features, and 2D hide situations so that the browser displays only components and assemblies. The reduced level of detail provides a highlevel view of the structured design hierarchy. The browser, as well as the information it displays, is configurable. The browser can be docked on the left or right side of the screen. It can also be set to automatically hide when not in use. This setting scrolls the browser off the edge of the screen and out of view. To bring it back, you simply move your mouse point to the edge of the screen; the browser reappears 13

14 and stays visible while the pointer is over it. This makes the maximum amount of screen space available for graphical design data. Similarly, another useful mode works like a window shade. The browser rolls up when not in use to occupy a small amount of space. To further simplify the interface, context-sensitive shortcut menus are displayed when you right-click an object or the background of the browser. This simple and efficient design reduces clutter by presenting commands only when they are needed. Short Learning Curve The innovative 2D design tools in AutoCAD Mechanical introduce many of the concepts and powerful capabilities found in 3D mechanical design systems such as Autodesk Inventor software. It does this in 2D while maintaining a short learning curve. Although hundreds of features are improved in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004, relatively few new commands have been introduced. About 12 new commands are included in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 and 4 new commands in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX. Yet nearly every feature and function of AutoCAD Mechanical benefits from 2D mechanical structure. As a result, you can take full advantage of existing AutoCAD and AutoCAD Mechanical vocabularies. All geometry remains selectable and editable at all times. AutoCAD geometry creation and editing commands like Copy, Stretch, Move, and Mirror are fully integrated in 2D structure. You don t need to learn a new command to mirror parts, for example, to benefit from the associative nature of mechanical structure. Mirrored components, assemblies, and folders remain fully associative with the object s definition. Existing AutoCAD Mechanical commands and features are also fully integrated into 2D structure. Standard parts and elements of design such as hole features are automatically tracked by the browser. The tight integration of existing AutoCAD Mechanical functionality with the new tools creates a powerful and comprehensive 2D mechanical design solution. Components and Assemblies Innovative 2D design tools enable mechanical engineers and designers to design in a natural, intuitive fashion. In the familiar 2D environment you can truly capture your design intent. Not only are parts and assemblies represented graphically by drawing elements in the graphics viewport, they are organized, structured, and related in the assembly browser, as shown in the figure to the right. Standard parts such fasteners, bearings, and structural shapes are also automatically organized and managed in the assembly browser. Icons representing standard parts make it easier to interpret visual data. Components that contain other components constitute an assembly. Because of diverse mechanical design requirements, AutoCAD Mechanical fully supports 14

15 component reordering. You can drag components in the browser to reorder the list or organize functional design data into subassemblies. Whether they are parts or subassemblies, components actually act as a folder or collector for one or many design views that define the part or assembly. This way you can organize all the graphical data associated with a component and manage it for downstream needs such as reuse and detail drafting. As shown in the adjoining figure, front, top, and right side views have been defined to organize the respective design data for each part in the assembly. AutoCAD Mechanical is flexible. You can define as many or as few component views as you want, depending on how you want to organize your design data. Organizing components into views has many benefits. For example, you can instance views individually as needed for design and detailing by setting individual properties such as associative hide, color, and rotation angle by view. In addition, because AutoCAD Mechanical maintains a live BOM database, it won t count individual views as more than one component. This ensures that a component with three views isn t counted as three separate components in a parts list. The ability to override properties is particularly useful when you need to show alternate positions of the same part or subassembly in a drawing. AutoCAD Mechanical maintains the proper count of the components in the BOM database. General Flexible Folders In addition to components and assemblies, AutoCAD Mechanical also puts general flexible folders at your disposal. Flexible folders provide all the associative instancing benefits of components, but they do not register as items in the live BOM database. Also, flexible folders are similar to the component views in that they can contain geometry. You can use flexible folders on their own as a powerful means of organizing drawing data, or you can combine them with components and assemblies. Flexible folders are typically used to capture elements of design for reuse. The preceding figure illustrates the use of flexible folders to represent a design feature. In this case, the folder contains geometry representing a T-slot. The folder has been renamed t-slot and is instanced six times in the side view of the channel component. Because folders, like 15

16 components, are fully associative, changes to one of the six T-slots are instantly reflected in the other five instances. Associative Design and Detailing Associative Instancing of Parts and Assemblies The innovative 2D design tools in AutoCAD Mechanical make it easy to manage and reuse data in the design phase and in the detail drafting stage. Components and assemblies can be instanced multiple times, and AutoCAD Mechanical automatically keeps track of the quantity of each part or assembly used. The figure to the left illustrates how the browser keeps track of the multiple instances of each component. For example, there are two shims, two side plates, and four instances of the washer in the trolley assembly. AutoCAD Mechanical recognizes that each of these components is defined by the same information. So changes made to either instance of the side plate are automatically reflected in the other instance. The same is true of the shims, washers, and any other components in the assembly that have multiple associative instances. This capability greatly reduces the opportunity for errors to be introduced in the design phase. You can also spend more time designing, since changes are made automatically to all associative copies of parts. AutoCAD Mechanical does this not only with user-defined components and assemblies but with built-in standard parts and elements of design, such as structural shapes, fasteners, holes, and shaft components. It manages them in the browser and in the BOM database so that changes are automatically updated. The fastening hardware shown in the browser in the preceding figure came from the standard parts library in AutoCAD Mechanical. The standard parts are enhanced and fully integrated into 2D structure. Design elements such as holes are managed by mechanical structure as well. The browser shows them as design features. The adjacent figure illustrates how AutoCAD Mechanical manages the standards-based hole feature in each view of the Top Plate component. The hole was initially placed in the front view and then created in the top view using the Power View command. AutoCAD Mechanical recognizes that they represent the same hole in different views of the design, so a size change to one view of the hole is automatically 16

17 reflected in the other view. This reduces the chance of errors by keeping all views of the hole in sync. It also reduces the amount of time required to edit designs. Reusable Folders, Components, and Views Parts and assemblies are often used more than once in a mechanical design. AutoCAD Mechanical is designed to make it easy to reuse data. Folders, components, and individual views of components can be reused as needed, and they maintain full associativity with each other. The figure to the right illustrates the benefit of this capability. Here, a flexible folder has been used to define the half-profile of the wheel being designed. Copies of the folder including mirrored copies are managed in the browser and are fully associative. Changes made to either instance are automatically reflected in the other instance. The numbering at the end of the folder name indicates the instance number. This is part of the live BOM database that AutoCAD Mechanical builds for the design. For parts and assemblies, these counts are related to quantities of parts used in the design. Although flexible folders do not contribute quantity information to the BOM database, they do provide the same associativity benefits as components and assemblies. In this case the folder is used to define an associative design feature. Associative Component and Assembly Detailing One of the long-standing strengths of AutoCAD Mechanical has been the production-proven drafting and detailing capabilities it offers mechanical designers. AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 enhances these capabilities by extending those innovative tools into the detail drafting arena. Annotation views take full advantage of the associative nature of 2D mechanical structure. They can be created for components and assemblies to fully document the design. Annotation views are generated by the underlying definition of the component or assembly they represent. This capability makes it easy to detail a part without the usual need to clean up lines and circles that may have been broken or hidden because of their placement in the assembly layout. The following figure illustrates this powerful capability. The stair-stepped part is partially hidden in the assembly layout on the left. The annotation view of the same part on the right does not show any hidden line elements, yet the annotation view is fully associative to the component design view in the assembly. You can detail the part much faster this way than using a more traditional method, which might entail redrawing the part from scratch or using WBLOCK to block it out to a file and then inserting it for detailing. This method would also require extensive cleanup of broken edges from the assembly layout and would not be associative to the model. 17

18 Live BOM Database The figure also illustrates how the browser manages the annotation views. For efficiency, AutoCAD Mechanical automatically provides a default customizable suffix to the annotation view name. This name, along with the annotation view specific browser icon, makes it easy to identify the information presented in the browser. Annotations in AutoCAD Mechanical also take full advantage of the associative dimensioning capabilities in AutoCAD. Changes to geometry are automatically reflected in associative dimensions. The figure at left illustrates this flexibility. For example, you could stretch the length of Part1 in either the assembly layout or the annotation view, and the associated geometry in the other view would be updated, as would the associative dimensions. The benefit is greatly reduced time in editing designs and associated detail drawings. AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 builds on the comprehensive bill of materials, ballooning, and parts list tools of previous releases. The BOM database is tightly integrated into mechanical structure. AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 now automatically manages part references to ensure accurate part counts. This live BOM database greatly reduces the chance of having inaccurate part counts in the bill of materials and associated parts lists. Placement of balloons to identify parts in an assembly layout has also been enhanced. New algorithms dynamically arrange balloons so that their leaders do not cross. In addition, the arrowheads on the balloon leaders track around the outer perimeter of the component, although an offset value can be set to place the arrowhead within the perimeter if you prefer. The figure at right illustrates how AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 handles leaders and balloons. These productivity enhancements reduce the time needed to finalize a drawing and make it easier to ensure consistency across design documentation. 18

19 Associative 2D Hide Enhanced Assembly Design Capture The devices, machines, and tools that are designed in 2D represent real-world 3D objects. Two-dimensional design involves capturing the design of a 3D object in an assortment of 2D projections, including normal orthographic views, section cuts, details, and so on. Traditional 2D CAD design requires a lot of geometry manipulation to accurately represent parts and features that are partially or completely hidden in drawing views. Even in the simplest of situations where one plate partially obstructs the view of another plate, you must break several lines and then manipulate them in the drawing view. This process is labor intensive and tedious, and it reduces the time available for mechanical design. The illustration to the right shows a simple example. Originally, two solid or continuous-line rectangles represented two plates in the design. The lower plate is behind the upper plate. To show this relationship correctly, the rectangle representing the lower plate has been broken into line segments where it intersects with the upper plate. The individual line segments were then adjusted to display as hidden lines. Not only is this process time consuming, it also makes editing the design difficult, since the lower plate is now a collection of line segments rather than a rectangle. AutoCAD Mechanical simplifies this process by combining the benefits of 2D structure with an advanced and associative 2D Hide tool. The result is an enhanced design capture experience that affords more time for design because less time is spent on tedious, routine tasks. In addition, the innovative 2D design tools in AutoCAD Mechanical make editing designs much easier, as will be demonstrated in the sections that follow. Fully Integrated and Associative with 2D Structured Design AutoCAD Mechanical has long had a powerful 2D Hide Situations tool for expediting and managing the assembly design process. By automating the process, this tool greatly reduces the time required to capture design intent. AutoCAD Mechanical has enhanced this capability by fully integrating with 2D mechanical structure. The adjoining figure illustrates how the browser manages associative hide situations. Design intent is quickly captured using the combined power of the associative 2D Hide, 2D structure, and the standards-based screw connection tool in AutoCAD Mechanical. The 2D hide situation in this example is automatically managing the display of the plates (Top Plate and Base), which are visually obstructed by the screw connection. The designer simply selected the type of screw connection desired, and AutoCAD Mechanical automatically created the drill holes in each plate, added the fastener and hardware, and correctly hid the underlying geometry all with one efficient and powerful command. 19

20 Auto-Healing of Geometry A key enhancement to the 2D hide capability in AutoCAD Mechanical is its ability to automatically heal geometry. As discussed earlier, the traditional method of capturing a hide situation involves breaking objects into lines and arcs. AutoCAD Mechanical does not alter the underlying geometry when creating an associative hide situation. The figure to the right illustrates how AutoCAD Mechanical retains the lower plate as one rectangle or polyline object. Compared to the traditional method, in which the rectangle is broken into multiple line segments, AutoCAD Mechanical offers several benefits. For instance, you can now select and edit the original geometry. Rather than having to select multiple entities to perform an edit operation such as a stretch or a grip edit, you are presented with a selection of the original object. AutoCAD Mechanical then updates the associative hide automatically on completion of the edit operation. The industrial machine footing assembly shown in the figure on the right further illustrates the advanced capabilities of the associative Hide tool. Even though the geometry is hidden, AutoCAD Mechanical recognizes that Insert is a component in the mechanical structure. To provide feedback, a tooltip displays the name and view of the component. AutoCAD Mechanical Functionality Guide AutoCAD Mechanical is a purpose-built 2D mechanical design system. Built on the AutoCAD 2004 platform, it is the AutoCAD software product for 2D mechanical design and engineering. The following sections explore the key phrases that describe AutoCAD Mechanical: Intelligent mechanical engineering and design Associative production drawing and detailing of 2D and 3D designs Standards-based content The functionality discussed is tightly integrated with the innovative new 2D design tools and user-driven enhancements in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX that are discussed in the first and second sections of this guide. To provide a complete high-level summary of AutoCAD Mechanical software, the new functionality is briefly described in the sections that follow. Intelligent Mechanical Engineering and Design The following AutoCAD Mechanical features help you capture and manage 2D design intent. Mechanical Structure Mechanical structure, the primary new design tool introduced in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004, provides a more intuitive mechanical design environment. Lines, arcs, and circles come together to form subassemblies and part views. Since the drawing structure is displayed in a browser, design intent is exposed and more easily accessible. 20

21 Structure-based design eliminates the creation of stale data, enables associative BOM and parts lists, reduces detailing time, reduces editing (one place), and reduces design errors associated with stale data, saving you time and money. Mechanical Browser An integral part of mechanical structure in AutoCAD Mechanical, the mechanical browser provides a highly visual and intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) for drawing structure. This browser is similar in concept to browsers in Autodesk Mechanical Desktop, Autodesk Inventor, and other 3D products. Shortcut menus allow access to object creation, editing, properties (color, visibility, BOM data), and methods (copying, instancing, editing) of structured objects. Drag-and-drop functionality allows for easy and intuitive restructuring. You can organize your 2D data to match your design intent faster, easier, and more intelligently. Associative 2D Hide Engineers spend many hours or even days creating and cleaning up hidden lines to properly convey their design intent. The associative Hide command which is tightly integrated with mechanical structure and the browser enables you to perform 2D hiddenline calculations based on user-defined foreground and background objects. Hidden-line situations are highly editable. This feature makes it easier to generate hidden lines, helps clarify the design, and helps communicate design intent, reducing the chance of manufacturing errors. General Design Productivity Layer Management AutoCAD Mechanical offers an intelligent, customizable layer management system that automatically puts objects on the appropriate layers. This system reduces the amount of setup time required before starting a drawing and reduces the amount of time spent creating, editing, and managing layers. The layer management system, which is integrated with the mechanical structure tools, alleviates the burden of manually managing and maintaining the specific elements that represent your products. Where traditional 2D drafting systems require the user to maintain the properties of the elements (lines, arcs, circles, dimensions, text) that together represent a design, the layer management system does this automatically. This functionality enables you to think more about the mechanical design itself than about how to represent it. Power Commands The Power Edit command provides a single command for editing any object in a drawing. Simply choose Power Edit and then select the object to edit, and AutoCAD Mechanical provides only those editing options that are relevant to the selected object. Similar power commands are available for copying the intelligence and geometry of an object (Power Copy), updating all parts and hole lists (Power Update), and executing the command used to create another object (Power Recall). 21

22 The power commands are integrated with the design tools introduced in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX. They increase productivity by eliminating the need to remember and use multiple commands to create, update, and edit objects. Double-Click Power Edit Double-click any entity in AutoCAD Mechanical to invoke the appropriate function needed to edit that entity. This functionality reduces the number of commands you need to learn, simplifies the change process, and makes using the product quicker and simpler. Mechanical Line Objects Mechanical line objects provide an easy way to create the different types of geometry typically found in mechanical drawings, such as centerlines and centercrosses, construction lines, symmetrical lines, section lines, breaklines, and others. These objects purpose-built for the mechanical user increase productivity by eliminating the need to create geometry from scratch. Linear/Symmetric Stretch The Linear/Symmetric Stretch command enables you to modify dimensioned geometry by changing the dimension value. You can use this command to perform simple 2D parametric design. Integrated with the mechanical structure tools in this release, this command provides a handy tool when used with a component instance. It boosts productivity by making it easier to incorporate changes in a drawing. Hatching AutoCAD Mechanical provides several quick ways to include intelligent hatching in a design. Using toolbars and menu picks containing predefined hatch patterns, with just two clicks you can add the right hatch pattern to an area of the design. Enhanced in AutoCAD Mechanical, these hatches now take advantage of the associative AutoCAD hatch capability, making the task of adding and editing hatches in a design quicker and easier. Engineering Calculations 2D FEA The 2D finite element analysis (FEA) feature is a powerful yet easy-to-use tool for determining the resistance capability of an object put under a static load. This function enables you to add movable and fixed supports to the part to be analyzed as well as enter stress points, lines, and areas. Many companies experience warranty or field problems and expenses because of underdesigned parts. Doing basic 2D FEA helps verify designs before they are built. This feature gives engineers the ability to quickly determine potential areas of failure on designs as well as analyze their integrity under various loads. 22

23 Moment of Inertia and Beam Deflection Calculations Several moment-of-inertia and beam calculations are available in AutoCAD Mechanical. Among these are commands to perform the following engineering calculations (an example is shown in the following figure): Moment of inertia of a cross section (including several predefined cross sections) Deflection of a profile, given forces, and supports Companies are concerned about liability for choosing the wrong beam for a given application. AutoCAD Mechanical provides designers with the tools to make engineering calculations. With quick access in the design software, it is easy to ensure that you select the right structural element for a job. This capability reduces risk, minimizes concerns, and provides time savings for anyone who needs to conduct these types of calculations. Shaft, Bearing, and Screw Calculations AutoCAD Mechanical offers several functions for performing additional engineering calculations, including Shaft calculations, such as deflection line, bending moment, torsion moment, supporting force, torque rotation angle, equivalent tension, and safety factor for shafts Bearing calculations for load and life ratings Screw calculations to select the right-size screw based on given forces, materials, and methods of tightening 23

24 Engineers must specify, design, and draw the right shafts, bearings, and screw connections in machines every day. It is beneficial for the design software to help specify these types of crucial features, based on the loads and requirements of the job, as well as input these items into drawings. Most machine designs include 50 percent to 70 percent purchased parts, so these calculations can provide significant time savings and help your company avoid design mistakes that lead to field engineering work. Machinery Systems Generators Shaft Generator Engineers must specify, design, and draw complex shafts and bearings in machines. This is a time-consuming process in 2D, and changing these designs is also slow and susceptible to error. The Shaft Generator command provides a quick and easy way to design and incorporate shafts in a design. It enables you to create drawing views of solid and hollow shafts. Plus, features commonly found in shafts center holes, chamfers, cones, fillets, grooves, profiles, threads, undercuts, and wrench fittings are supported, as are standard parts commonly found in shafts, such as bearings, gears, retaining rings, and seals. The Shaft Generator is tightly integrated in AutoCAD Mechanical. Shafts are created as components in the browser. Side views of the shaft can be generated automatically from the front view and remain associated to the front view of the shaft. Spring Generator The spring generation functionality provides a set of robust spring design and calculation tools. Calculating and generating compression, extension, torsion, and Belleville springs are accomplished from one simple and intuitive dialog box. On completion of the necessary calculations, you can place spring specification tables on the drawing to document the design. Designing springs to meet the exacting requirements of a design is simple. The interface is easy to use and provides excellent control to the designer. Adding to the increased 24

25 productivity of this feature set is the ability to manage springs using the standard parts library. Drive System Generator (Belt and Chain) The Belt and Chain Generator function provides features to create chain-and-sprocket systems and belt-and-pulley systems, calculate optimal lengths for chains and belts, and insert these systems into your design. You can select belts and chains from standard libraries. This feature is a must-have for anyone incorporating belts and chain systems into their designs. AutoCAD Mechanical has robust and flexible tools for designing and optimizing drive systems. Automating this one task alone can save you hours, or even days, of work and rework. Cam Generator The Cam Generator is an engineering design tool that aids in the creation of many different types of cams linear, circular, and cylindrical. You can generate numerical control (NC) data from a cam design and render output in DXF or ASCII text format. You can generate a calculation chart detailing all crucial design data, including acceleration, velocity, displacement, and more. Cam followers are generated and used in the design of the cam. Cam follower data representing the follower s position, size, and direction of movement is also included. Additional design data reported includes diagrams of movement, velocity, and acceleration. A table of base strength results and description of used motions can be charted in drawings. The cam generator functionality greatly enhances designer productivity by allowing great flexibility and ease of use in cam design. Cam designers also have access to crucial information about the cam s functionality. Associative Production Drawing and Detailing Associative Interoperability with Autodesk Inventor 3D Parts AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX now operates seamlessly with Autodesk Inventor, so you can quickly and efficiently use 3D part models even if you don t have access to a 3D platform. This new capability, the main addition to AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX, is discussed in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 DX New Features and Enhancements Overview, earlier in this document. 25

26 Production Drawing Creation Balloons and Bills of Material AutoCAD Mechanical contains several commands for creating balloons and bills of materials (BOM). Multiple parts lists per drawing are supported, as well as features such as summation and position lists and report generators. The parts lists automatically recognize standard parts inserted from AutoCAD Mechanical. This functionality is tightly integrated with the new structure tools. It is easy to create parts lists in drawings. In 2D design, BOM information is typically managed by hand and manually input into an MRP system. In AutoCAD Mechanical, BOM information is associative to mechanical structure and is dynamically updated throughout the design process. You can even export BOM data to a manufacturing resource planning (MRP) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. You can also group a parts list to combine similar items into a consolidated list. This capability enables companies to quickly generate reports for ordering stock and combine selected items to calculate the total length required for an order. Engineers and designers alike can benefit from automatically maintained parts lists in their company s format. Downstream users of design data also benefit from this capability. For example, they can create materials cuts lists from a selected parts list. Cuts lists are typically used by purchasing and manufacturing to procure material and cut raw stock into the required lengths for a particular design. Detail The Detail command allows for the creation of detailed views of a portion of a design. Simply outline the area to be detailed (with either a circle or a closed polyline) and then specify the scale, location, or a detail view name, and AutoCAD Mechanical creates the appropriate detail view. The detail view is fully associative with the original geometry. This is the quickest way to create detail views, which are common in mechanical design, where more detail is required to sufficiently document a part or assembly. Drawing Border and Title Block Nearly all mechanical drawings use a drawing border and title block. This command streamlines the process of creating them and helps ensure that designs are documented consistently and according to the company s drawings requirements. The borders conform to standard sizes, and the title blocks can be easily customized. 26

27 Hole Charts The Hole Chart command in AutoCAD Mechanical creates two intelligent and associative lists to document the holes in a design drawing. A hole table showing a total count and description of each type of hole is the first list created. The second table is a list of coordinates for each of the holes selected. These lists are dynamically linked to the data in the model, which means that any update to the holes is reflected in the charts. The design of large machines and complex machine parts involves the use of many holes of various types. Detailing and documenting these types of designs has never been easier, faster, or more powerful than with the hole chart feature. This functionality also provides clear and concise machining instructions. Language Converter The language converter feature translates text on a drawing into one of 17 different languages. This feature is a tremendous time saver for anyone needing to display drawing text in more than one language. Revision Control AutoCAD Mechanical includes a command to track drawing revisions and add revision lines with comments to a drawing. This feature set is necessary for anyone who wants to include revision control tables in drawings. It automates the process of creating and maintaining revision blocks. Fits Lists Fits lists are used widely in mechanical design. The Fits Lists command enables you to quickly and accurately create a chart of all the fits used in a drawing. Detailing Productivity Although AutoCAD Mechanical offers many productivity enhancements, many of which are automated, it also offers flexible methods to customize items. Property overrides for standard part subentities and restructuring extensions for 2D structure are two such features that are quick and easy to use. 27

28 Dimensioning Smart Dimensions: Dimensions created with AutoCAD Mechanical have extra intelligence about their spatial relationship with one another. For instance, if you delete the middle dimension in a group, the others automatically arrange themselves to fill the gap. The smart dimensions feature saves time by automatically making the appropriate changes to dimensions to ensure they are at proper offset distances from the part and from each other. Power Dimension: The Power Dimension command creates any type of linear, radial, or diametrical dimension, depending on the geometry selected. It enables you to completely format the dimension and add fits or tolerances either on the fly or after the fact using the same Power Dimension command. Having a single command for creating and editing dimensions simplifies and speeds up crucial dimension-creation and dimension-editing tasks. Automatic Dimensioning: This command automatically dimensions 2D geometry with either ordinate or baseline dimensions, saving you time and effort. Arrange Dimensions: You can use the Arrange Dimensions command to quickly clean up and arrange dimensions in 2D drawings. It arranges all the selected dimensions at the correct offset distances from the part and from each other. This capability reduces the need for time-consuming downstream detail checking and increases the time available for ensuring that the design itself is correct. Dimensioning Align, Break, Insert, and Join: In addition to the Power Dimension and other dimensioning and annotation commands, AutoCAD Mechanical offers commands to make the task of dimensioning a drawing easier. These include commands to align multiple dimensions, break a dimension line at another line, insert a new dimension into existing dimensions, and join two or more dimensions into one. These commands increase accuracy and reduce the time needed to dimension a drawing. Annotations Hole Notes and Notes for Standard Parts: This command enables you to create hole notes for standard holes and parts. The note is formatted based on the current drawing standard and the selected item. You can quickly generate custom notes that are fully associative to the hole or standard part they document. Designers spend a great deal of time annotating drawing layouts. This feature simplifies the task by creating the right note while maintaining fully parametric data in the note. This capability also helps achieve consistent formatting for drawing layouts within a company. Mechanical Symbols: AutoCAD Mechanical includes commands to create standards-based surface texture symbols, geometric dimensioning and tolerances, targets, and weld symbols. Drawings often contain views of differing scales. Settings in AutoCAD Mechanical enable automatic scaling of mechanical symbols. You don t need to make manual adjustments to compensate for the scale difference. A single system setting 28

29 controls the drawing symbols scale. This capability eases the handling of scaled views and helps ensure that the drawing conforms to a company standard. Weld symbols, notes, and dimensions in detail views are scaled correctly and automatically, thereby improving productivity. Fits Description: This command enables you to quickly and easily create fits descriptions for standard holes. Leader: The Leader command provides a quick and easy way to create the intelligent balloons, leaders, and callouts commonly found in mechanical drawings. Standards-Based 2D Content Standard Mechanical Content 2D Standard Parts AutoCAD Mechanical contains about 600,000 standard parts that you can quickly incorporate into any design. These include predrawn screws, nuts, washers, pins, rivets, bushings, rings, seals, bearings, and keys. This standard parts functionality is integrated into the mechanical structure functionality. Parts placed into a design are automatically managed and tracked in the browser and the BOM database. Using predrawn, standardsbased components can yield great productivity gains over drawing parts from scratch. 2D Standard Features AutoCAD Mechanical contains 100,000 predrawn standard features that you can quickly incorporate into any design. These include center holes, undercuts, keyways, and thread ends. When you incorporate one of these features into a design, it automatically cleans up the area of the drawing where it is inserted, so you don t have to edit the area. These standard features are integrated with the mechanical structure functionality in AutoCAD Mechanical The figure at right illustrates how the browser tracks these features. In this example, SHAFT1 contains an undercut feature as well as a center hole feature. By using predrawn geometry, you can realize a significant productivity gain over creating features from scratch. 2D Standard Holes AutoCAD Mechanical contains more than 8,000 predrawn standard holes that you can quickly incorporate into any design. These include through holes, blind holes, counterbored holes, countersunk holes, oblong holes, and others. When incorporated into a design, these holes clean up the area where they are inserted, so you don t have to edit the area. The standard holes in AutoCAD Mechanical are integrated with mechanical structure. The preceding figure illustrates how the browser tracks a hole that has been placed into the PLATE component. Used with the Power View command, a single edit to this hole updates automatically in each view in which it was placed. By using predrawn, intelligent geometry, you can realize significant productivity gains over drawing the holes from scratch and editing the geometry later. 29

30 2D Standard Structural Steel Shapes AutoCAD Mechanical contains more than 11,000 predrawn standard structural steel shapes that you can quickly incorporate into any design. These include common structural shapes such as U, I, T, L, Z, rectangular tube, round tube, rectangular full beam, and rectangular round beam. Structural shapes are integrated with the mechanical structure functionality in AutoCAD Mechanical When these shapes are placed in a design, the browser automatically creates a component definition. As with standard holes, you can use Power View with structural shapes to quickly create alternate views of the components to complete the design documentation. Standard Parts Tools Screw Connection With this feature you can create entire fastener assemblies at once. You pick the type of screw required, the washers (if any), and the type of nut. Appropriate sizes for the nuts, washers, and hole are presented depending on the screw selected. The hole is added to the part where specified, and the entire fastener assembly is inserted into the hole. This functionality is integrated with the innovative 2D design tools in AutoCAD Mechanical AutoCAD Mechanical modifies the geometry of each component associated with the screw connection. It also creates and tracks the standard fastening hardware in the BOM database to generate accurate parts lists. Change Representation AutoCAD Mechanical provides the ability to switch between normal, simplified, and symbolic representations of a standard part. Integration with mechanical structure in AutoCAD Mechanical 2004 makes this capability especially powerful. It makes the use of standard parts an even greater time-saver by enabling you to quickly and accurately change the representation of a standard part. Power View The Power View functionality in AutoCAD Mechanical enables you to automatically generate a different view of a standard part. For example, you can create the top view from the front. Quickly and accurately creating alternate views of standard parts and 30