Alibre Design User Guide

Copyrights

Contents

2.3.1

System Options ........................................................................... 11

3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.1.4
3.1.5
3.1.6
3.1.7

Workspace Terms ....................................................................... 20

Opening a New Workspace ........................................................ 20
Model Terms ............................................................................... 22
Work Area Color Scheme ........................................................... 22
Multiple Views ............................................................................. 24
Named Views .............................................................................. 25
Design Explorer........................................................................... 25

4.2.1
4.2.2

Entering Sketch Mode ................................................................. 42

Exiting Sketch Mode ................................................................... 43

4.3.1
4.3.2

Customizing Colors of Items in Sketch Mode .............................. 43

Customizing the Size of Nodes ................................................... 44

4.4.1
4.4.2
4.4.3
4.4.4
4.4.5
4.4.6
4.4.7
4.4.8
4.4.9
4.4.10

Line ............................................................................................. 44
Circle ........................................................................................... 46
Circular Arcs................................................................................ 47
Rectangles .................................................................................. 49
Spline Curves .............................................................................. 50
Ellipses ........................................................................................ 54
Elliptical Arcs ............................................................................... 55
Polygons ..................................................................................... 56
Sketch Shapes ............................................................................ 57
Text Figures ................................................................................ 69

4.6.1
4.6.2
4.6.3
4.6.4
4.6.5
4.6.6
4.6.7
4.6.8

Extending Figures ....................................................................... 71

Trimming Figures ........................................................................ 72
Adding 2D Fillets to Sketch Figures ............................................ 72
Adding Chamfers to Sketch Figures............................................ 73
Offsetting Figures ........................................................................ 74
Mirroring Figures ......................................................................... 77
Patterning Sketch Figures ........................................................... 78
Moving and Rotating Sketch Figures .......................................... 80

4.7.1
4.7.2
4.7.3
4.7.4
4.7.5
4.7.6
4.7.7

Dimensioning Sketch Figures ..................................................... 82

Real Time Dimensioning ............................................................. 85
Dimensioning with DOF Callouts................................................. 88
Auto Dimensioning a Sketch ....................................................... 89
Working with Sketch Dimensions ................................................ 91
Equations in Dimensions ............................................................. 91
Sketch Dimension Settings ......................................................... 96

4.8.1
4.8.2
4.8.3
4.8.4
4.8.5
4.8.6

Constraint Types ......................................................................... 99

Manually Applying Sketch Constraints ...................................... 101
Sketch Constraint Inferencing ................................................... 102
Deleting Sketch Constraints ...................................................... 102
Sketch Status and Degrees of Freedom ................................... 103
Sketch Constraint Settings ........................................................ 106

4.9.1
4.9.2
4.9.3
4.9.4

Grid and Snap ........................................................................... 110

Snapping to the Working Plane ................................................. 113
Cursor Dimension Hints ............................................................ 113
Cursor Display........................................................................... 114

4.9.5
4.9.6
4.9.7
4.9.8
4.9.9
4.9.10
4.9.11

Inference Hints .......................................................................... 114

Direct Coordinate Entry ............................................................. 115
Right-click Menu........................................................................ 116
Open and Closed Sketches ...................................................... 116
Checking Sketches for Errors.................................................... 117
Enclosed Figures ...................................................................... 118
Copying and Pasting Sketch Figures ........................................ 119

4.10.1
4.10.2
4.10.3

Editing Sketches ....................................................................... 120

Renaming Sketches .................................................................. 121
Deleting Sketches ..................................................................... 121

5.1.1
5.1.2
5.1.3
5.1.4
5.1.5
5.1.6
5.1.7

Offset Plane .............................................................................. 124

Tangent Plane ........................................................................... 125
Angled Plane ............................................................................. 125
Parallel Plane through a Point ................................................... 126
Plane at Line and Point ............................................................. 126
Three Point Plane ..................................................................... 127
Plane Normal to 3D Sketch or 3D Edge .................................... 127

5.2.1
5.2.2
5.2.3
5.2.4
5.2.5

Axis through Axis or Edge ......................................................... 128

Axis through Two Points ........................................................... 128
Axis Using Cylindrical Face ....................................................... 128
Axis through Two Planes .......................................................... 129
Axis Offset and Parallel to Axis or Edge .................................... 129

5.3.1
5.3.2
5.3.3
5.3.4
5.3.5
5.3.6
5.3.7

Point at Specified Coordinates .................................................. 130

Point at Plane and Axis/Edge .................................................... 130
Point at Axis/Edge and Axis/Edge ............................................. 130
Point at the Center of Circular Edge.......................................... 131
Point at Vertex........................................................................... 131
Point along Edge ....................................................................... 131
Point between Two Points ......................................................... 131

5.4.1
5.4.2
5.4.3
5.4.4
5.4.5

Inserting Reference Surfaces .................................................... 132

Positioning Reference Surfaces ................................................ 133
Thickening Reference Surfaces ................................................ 134
Trimming a Solid ....................................................................... 134
Extruding to Geometry .............................................................. 135

5.5.1
5.5.2
5.5.3

Hiding Individual Reference Geometry Items ............................ 135

Hiding Reference Geometry Groups ......................................... 136
Hiding All Reference Geometry Groups .................................... 136

6.5.1
6.5.2

Entering 3D Sketch Mode ......................................................... 146

Exiting 3D Sketch Mode ............................................................ 146

6.6.1
6.6.2
6.6.3

Line ........................................................................................... 146

Arc............................................................................................. 147
Spline ........................................................................................ 148

6.7.1
6.7.2

Placing a Sketch Node .............................................................. 149

Inserting Sketch Nodes from a File ........................................... 150

6.9.1
6.9.2

Adding Fillets............................................................................. 151

Dimensioning 3D Sketch Figures .............................................. 152

6.10.1
6.10.2

Inferred Constraints................................................................... 155

Explicit Constraints.................................................................... 155

7.2.1

Feature Types ........................................................................... 160

7.3.1
7.3.2

Extrude Boss and Extrude Cut Feature Creation ...................... 160

Thin Wall Extrude Boss and Cut Feature Creation.................... 164

7.4.1
7.4.2

Revolve Boss and Revolve Cut Features .................................. 167

Thin Wall Revolve Boss and Cut Features ................................ 168

7.6.1
7.6.2

Sweep Boss and Sweep Cut Features ...................................... 175

Thin Wall Boss Sweep and Cut Sweep Features ...................... 176

7.8.1
7.8.2

Constant Radius Fillets ............................................................. 182

Variable Radius Fillets .............................................................. 184

7.9.1
7.9.2

Edge Chamfers ......................................................................... 185

Vertex Chamfers ....................................................................... 186

7.14.1
7.14.2

Saving Catalog Features ........................................................... 193

Inserting Catalog Features ........................................................ 193

7.15.1
7.15.2
7.15.3

Mirroring Features ..................................................................... 194

Feature Patterns ....................................................................... 196
Topology Patterns ..................................................................... 200

7.16.1
7.16.2
7.16.3

Design Boolean Editor Environment ......................................... 210

Design Boolean Feature Creation ............................................. 210
Design Boolean Feature Editing................................................ 212

7.17.1
7.17.2
7.17.3
7.17.4
7.17.5
7.17.6

Implications of Using Direct Editing ........................................... 212

Push Pull Face Sketch .............................................................. 214
Push Pull Pocket or Boss .......................................................... 216
Push Pull Radius ....................................................................... 218
Remove Faces .......................................................................... 220
Tips for Successful Direct Editing.............................................. 221

8.6.1

Sheet Metal Changes for Version 9.1 and Later ....................... 239

8.10.1
8.10.2

Rounding a Corner .................................................................... 242

Chamfering a corner ................................................................. 242

9.2.1
9.2.2
9.2.3
9.2.4

Editing Sketches and Features ................................................. 246

Suppressing Features in Parts .................................................. 246
Reordering Features ................................................................. 247
Rolling Back Features ............................................................... 248

9.9.1
9.9.2
9.9.3
9.9.4

Setting Up Excel to Drive Designs ............................................ 261

Driving Designs by Spreadsheet ............................................... 263
Modifying Spreadsheet Driven Parameters ............................... 265
Re-linking a Spreadsheet to a Part ........................................... 267

9.10.1
9.10.2
9.10.3
9.10.4
9.10.5
9.10.6
9.10.7
9.10.8
9.10.9
9.10.10
9.10.11

PDF File Creation...................................................................... 270

Continuing with an Existing PDF ............................................... 276
PDF Publishing Templates ........................................................ 276
Viewing Published PDF Files .................................................... 279
Improving the Quality of Published PDF Files ........................... 280
Publishing a Model to HTML ..................................................... 280
Printing 3D Models .................................................................... 281
Annotations ............................................................................... 281
Troubleshooting Failed Features............................................... 281
Viewing Constituents ............................................................... 282
Display Optimization ................................................................ 282

10.1.1
10.1.2
10.1.3

Lock properties represented in the Design Explorer ................. 287

Editing Properties of Configurations .......................................... 287
Regeneration of Design Configurations .................................... 289

10.2.1

Helpful Notes on Design Configurations in Parts ...................... 293

10.3.1
10.3.2
10.3.3
10.3.4

Inserting Configurations of Parts or Subassemblies .................. 298

Missing Design Configurations .................................................. 301
Configurations in Assembly Patterns ........................................ 302
Helpful Notes on Design Configurations in Assemblies ............ 305

11.3.1
11.3.2
11.3.3
11.3.4
11.3.5
11.3.6
11.3.7
11.3.8
11.3.9
11.3.10
11.3.11
11.3.12
11.3.13
11.3.14
11.3.15

Opening a New Assembly and Inserting Existing Parts ............ 315

Anchored Parts ......................................................................... 316
Inserting an Existing Design Into an Open Assembly................ 316
Selecting Parts in the Assembly ................................................ 317
Part Display Options ................................................................. 318
Inserting a Duplicate Design Into an Open Assembly ............... 319
Inserting a Pattern of Parts in an Assembly .............................. 319
Moving and Rotating Parts Freely ............................................. 322
Moving and Rotating Parts Precisely ........................................ 324
Moving Parts to Simulate Assembly Physical Motion .............. 325
Hiding a Part ............................................................................ 326
Suppressing a Part .................................................................. 326
Applying Color Properties to a Part.......................................... 327
Checking Measurements ......................................................... 327
Viewing Part Reference Geometry .......................................... 328

11.4.1
11.4.2
11.4.3
11.4.4
11.4.5
11.4.6

Assembly Constraint Types ...................................................... 328

Inserting Assembly Constraints - Quick Constraint Mode ......... 329
Inserting Assembly Constraints - Manual Method ..................... 334
Inter-Design Constraints ........................................................... 335
Managing Assembly Constraints ............................................... 335
Failed Assembly Constraints ..................................................... 337

11.7.1
11.7.2
11.7.3
11.7.4

Inserting an Exploded View Using Auto Explode Mode ............ 342

Inserting an Exploded View Using Manual Explode .................. 344
Viewing and/or Editing an Exploded View ................................. 346
Exploded View Steps ................................................................ 347

11.10.1

Creating a New Part within an Assembly ................................. 349

11.10.2
11.10.3

Editing a Part in an Assembly .................................................. 350

Improving Assembly Performance when Editing Parts ............ 351

12.1.1
12.1.2
12.1.3
12.1.4
12.1.5
12.1.6

Opening a New Drawing ........................................................... 355

Selecting a Drawing Template .................................................. 355
Selecting the Model................................................................... 356
Inserting Standard Views .......................................................... 357
Inserting Additional Standard Views .......................................... 359
Fast Views ................................................................................ 361

12.2.1
12.2.2
12.2.3
12.2.4
12.2.5
12.2.6
12.2.7
12.2.8
12.2.9
12.2.10
12.2.11
12.2.12
12.2.13
12.2.14
12.2.15
12.2.16
12.2.17
12.2.18
12.2.19
12.2.20

Drawing Mark-Up Mode ............................................................ 362

Renaming Sheets & Views ........................................................ 365
Changing the Drawing Template ............................................... 365
Deleting Views .......................................................................... 366
Hiding Views ............................................................................. 367
Drawing Selection Filters .......................................................... 367
Moving Views on the Sheet....................................................... 368
Updating Drawing Views ........................................................... 369
View and Sheet Boundaries ...................................................... 369
Changing the View Scale ......................................................... 370
Line Display in Views ............................................................... 370
Centerlines and Centermarks .................................................. 371
Optimizing the Drawing Display ............................................... 373
Layers ...................................................................................... 374
Adding Sheets ......................................................................... 378
Reordering Sheets ................................................................... 379
Moving a View to Another Sheet ............................................. 379
Hiding Parts in a View (Assemblies Only)................................ 379
Inserting Images in a Drawing ................................................. 380
Printing a Drawing ................................................................... 381

12.3.1
12.3.2
12.3.3
12.3.4
12.3.5
12.3.6
12.3.7

Placing Additional Dimensions on a View ................................. 382

Dimensioning Slots and Holes .................................................. 383
Placing Ordinate Dimensions on a View ................................... 384
Modifying Driving Dimension Values ......................................... 384
Dimension Properties ................................................................ 385
Dimension Styles ...................................................................... 386
Aligning Dimensions.................................................................. 389

12.4.1
12.4.2
12.4.3

Standard View ........................................................................... 389

Auxiliary View ............................................................................ 390
Detail View ................................................................................ 391

12.4.4
12.4.5
12.4.6
12.4.7
12.4.8

Section View ............................................................................. 393

Broken View .............................................................................. 397
Partial View ............................................................................... 399
Exploded View .......................................................................... 401
Flat Pattern View of a Sheet Metal Part .................................... 402

12.5.1
12.5.2
12.5.3
12.5.4
12.5.5
12.5.6

Creating a Custom Template .................................................... 402

Customizing an Existing Template ............................................ 403
Saving and Using a Custom Template as a Drawing ................ 404
Saving and Using a Custom Template as a Symbol ................. 405
Automatically Filling Title Block Information .............................. 406
Managing Design Property Value Fields ................................... 408

12.6.1
12.6.2
12.6.3
12.6.4
12.6.5
12.6.6
12.6.7
12.6.8
12.6.9
12.6.10

Note .......................................................................................... 410

Datums ...................................................................................... 412
Datum Targets .......................................................................... 413
Feature Control Frames ............................................................ 415
Surface Finish Symbol .............................................................. 418
Weld Symbol ............................................................................. 419
Balloon Callouts ........................................................................ 420
Thread and Hole Callouts ......................................................... 421
Tables ....................................................................................... 425
Working with Annotations ........................................................ 428

13.2.1
13.2.2

BOM Creation ........................................................................... 430

Custom BOM Templates ........................................................... 432

13.3.1
13.3.2
13.3.3
13.3.4
13.3.5
13.3.6
13.3.7
13.3.8
13.3.9
13.3.10

Inserting a BOM View into a Drawing ........................................ 433

Linking a BOM to a Drawing ..................................................... 435
Unlinking a BOM from a Drawing .............................................. 436
Editing a BOM ........................................................................... 436
Moving the BOM View on the Sheet ......................................... 436
Hiding the BOM View ................................................................ 437
Deleting the BOM View ............................................................. 438
Moving a BOM View to Another Sheet ...................................... 438
Splitting a BOM View ................................................................ 438
Adding Callout Balloons ........................................................... 439

13.4.1
13.4.2
13.4.3
13.4.4

Adding and Deleting Columns in a BOM ................................... 443

Adding and Deleting a Row in a BOM ....................................... 445
Hiding a Row ............................................................................. 445
Resizing Rows and Columns .................................................... 446

13.4.5
13.4.6
13.4.7
13.4.8
13.4.9
13.4.10
13.4.11
13.4.12
13.4.13
13.4.14
13.4.15

Adjusting Column Header and Data Alignment ......................... 447

Moving Rows and Columns in a Table ...................................... 448
Sorting Data in Ascending or Descending Order ...................... 449
Changing the Header Display Orientation ................................. 449
Customizing Header and Data Font Properties ......................... 450
Overriding Design Values ........................................................ 450
Modifying the BOM View Style ................................................ 451
Resequencing Data ................................................................. 451
Updating the Table .................................................................. 452
Exporting a BOM ..................................................................... 453
Printing a BOM ........................................................................ 453

14.1.1
14.1.2

Opening Files from the File System .......................................... 455

Opening Files from the Alibre Vault........................................... 455

14.2.1
14.2.2
14.2.3
14.2.4

General Saving Principles ......................................................... 456

Single Item Save vs. Multi-Item Save........................................ 457
Saving Files to the File System ................................................. 457
Saving Files to the Alibre Vault ................................................. 459

15.1.1
15.1.2
15.1.3

Supported File Types ................................................................ 463

Importing a File ......................................................................... 464
Import Settings and Import Advisor ........................................... 466

15.2.1
15.2.2

Supported File Types ................................................................ 469

Exporting a File ......................................................................... 470

16.3.1
16.3.2
16.3.3
16.3.4
16.3.5

Alibre Motion, Main Menu ......................................................... 476

Alibre Motion Explorer ............................................................... 477
Motion Explorer Groups ............................................................ 478
Motion Settings ......................................................................... 479
Playback Deck .......................................................................... 485

16.5.1
16.5.2
16.5.3
16.5.4
16.5.5

Adding Physical Elements (Motors and Actuators, Springs and Dampers)

489
Actuators (Motors and Linear Actuators) ................................... 490
Springs ...................................................................................... 497
Dampers ................................................................................... 498
Gravity ....................................................................................... 499

16.6.1
16.6.2
16.6.3
16.6.4
16.6.5
16.6.6
16.6.7
16.6.8
16.6.9
16.6.10
16.6.11

Simulation Types....................................................................... 502

Producing Efficient and Useful Simulations ............................... 502
Automatic Constraint Mapping (ACM) in Alibre Motion ............. 504
Moving and Fixed Parts ............................................................ 504
Creating Simulations ................................................................. 505
Renaming Simulations .............................................................. 505
Running Simulations ................................................................. 506
Simulation Warnings ................................................................. 507
Maintaining Multiple Simulations ............................................... 507
Deleting Simulations ................................................................ 508
Activating a Different Simulation .............................................. 508

16.7.1
16.7.2
16.7.3

Traces - Visualizing Paths and Vectors..................................... 509

Video Generation with Alibre Motion ......................................... 513
Generating X-Y Plots from Simulation Data .............................. 516

16.8.1

Interferences Dialog .................................................................. 519

17.6.1
17.6.2

Searching .................................................................................. 526

Views ........................................................................................ 529

17.11.1
17.11.2
17.11.3
17.11.4

Versioning Concepts................................................................ 534

Viewing Version History ........................................................... 535
Version Label Creation ............................................................ 536
Rolling Back to Previous Versions ........................................... 537

Installation

1.1 System Requirements

1.2 On the DVD

1.3 Installing Alibre Design

1.4 Uninstalling Alibre Design

Getting Started With Alibre Design

2.1 Initial Launch of Alibre Design

2.2 Tutorials

2.3 Home Window

2.3.1

System Options

2.4 Workspaces

2.5 Common Terms

2.6 Toolbars

Introduction to the Design Interface

3.1 Workspaces

3.1.1

Workspace Terms

3.1.2

Opening a New Workspace

3.1.3

Model Terms

3.1.4

Work Area Color Scheme

3.1.5

Multiple Views

3.1.6

Named Views

3.1.7

Design Explorer

3.2 Selection Methods

3.3 Standard Toolbars

3.4 Custom Toolbars

3.5 View Manipulation

3.6 Getting Help

3.7 Keyboard Hot-Key Descriptions

Sketching

4.1 Sketching Interface

4.2 Sketch Mode

4.2.1

Entering Sketch Mode

4.2.2

Exiting Sketch Mode

4.3 Customizing the Look of Sketch Figures

4.3.1

Customizing Colors of Items in Sketch Mode

4.3.2

Customizing the Size of Nodes

4.4 Sketch Figures

4.4.1

Line

4.4.2

Circle

4.4.3

Circular Arcs

4.4.4

Rectangles

4.4.5

Spline Curves

4.4.6

Ellipses

4.4.7

Elliptical Arcs

4.4.8

Polygons

4.4.9

Sketch Shapes

4.4.10

Text Figures

4.5 Reference Figures and Sketch Nodes

4.6 Working with Existing Sketch Figures

4.6.1

Extending Figures

4.6.2

Trimming Figures

4.6.3

Adding 2D Fillets to Sketch Figures

4.6.4

Adding Chamfers to Sketch Figures

4.6.5

Offsetting Figures

4.6.6

Mirroring Figures

4.6.7

Patterning Sketch Figures

4.6.8

Moving and Rotating Sketch Figures

4.7 Sketch Dimensions

4.7.1

Dimensioning Sketch Figures

4.7.2

Real Time Dimensioning

4.7.3

Dimensioning with DOF Callouts

4.7.4

Auto Dimensioning a Sketch

4.7.5

Working with Sketch Dimensions

4.7.6

Equations in Dimensions

<
<

<

4.7.7

Sketch Dimension Settings

4.8 Sketch Constraints

4.8.1

Constraint Types

4.8.2

Manually Applying Sketch Constraints

4.8.3

Sketch Constraint Inferencing

4.8.4

Deleting Sketch Constraints

4.8.5

Sketch Status and Degrees of Freedom

4.8.6

Sketch Constraint Settings

4.9 Working in a Sketch

4.9.1

Grid and Snap

4.9.2

Snapping to the Working Plane

4.9.3

Cursor Dimension Hints

4.9.4

Cursor Display

4.9.5

Inference Hints

4.9.6

Direct Coordinate Entry

4.9.7

Right-click Menu

4.9.8

Open and Closed Sketches

4.9.9

Checking Sketches for Errors

4.9.10

Enclosed Figures

4.9.11

Copying and Pasting Sketch Figures

4.10 Sketches and the Design Explorer

4.10.1

Editing Sketches

4.10.2

Renaming Sketches

4.10.3

Deleting Sketches

Reference Geometry

5.1 Reference Planes

5.1.1

Offset Plane

5.1.2

Tangent Plane

5.1.3

Angled Plane

5.1.4

Parallel Plane through a Point

5.1.5

Plane at Line and Point

5.1.6

Three Point Plane

5.1.7

Plane Normal to 3D Sketch or 3D Edge

5.2 Axes

5.2.1

Axis through Axis or Edge

5.2.2

Axis through Two Points

5.2.3

Axis Using Cylindrical Face

5.2.4

Axis through Two Planes

5.2.5

Axis Offset and Parallel to Axis or Edge

5.3 Points

5.3.1

Point at Specified Coordinates

5.3.2

Point at Plane and Axis/Edge

5.3.3

Point at Axis/Edge and Axis/Edge

5.3.4

Point at the Center of Circular Edge

5.3.5

Point at Vertex

5.3.6

Point along Edge

5.3.7

Point between Two Points

5.4 Reference Surfaces

5.4.1

Inserting Reference Surfaces

5.4.2

Positioning Reference Surfaces

5.4.3

Thickening Reference Surfaces

5.4.4

Trimming a Solid

5.4.5

Extruding to Geometry

5.5 Reference Geometry Visibility

5.5.1

Hiding Individual Reference Geometry Items

5.5.2

Hiding Reference Geometry Groups

5.5.3

Hiding All Reference Geometry Groups

5.6 Renaming Reference Geometry

5.7 Deleting Reference Geometry

5.8 Editing Reference Geometry Properties

3D Sketching

6.1 3D Sketching Interface

6.2 3D Sketching Context

6.3 Current Coordinate System

6.4 Sketch Plane, Guide Lines, and Elevation

6.5 Entering and Exiting 3D Sketch Mode

6.5.1

Entering 3D Sketch Mode

6.5.2

Exiting 3D Sketch Mode

6.6 3D Sketch Figures

6.6.1

Line

6.6.2

Arc

6.6.3

Spline

6.7 3D Sketch Nodes

6.7.1

Placing a Sketch Node

6.7.2

Inserting Sketch Nodes from a File

6.8 Project to 3D Sketch

6.9 Working with Existing 3D Sketch Figures

6.9.1

Adding Fillets

6.9.2

Dimensioning 3D Sketch Figures

6.10 3D Sketch Constraints

6.10.1

Inferred Constraints

6.10.2

Explicit Constraints

6.11 Other 3D Sketch Functions

Feature Creation

7.1 Part Modeling Interface

7.2 Feature Terminology

7.2.1

Feature Types

7.3 Extrude Boss and Extrude Cut

7.3.1

Extrude Boss and Extrude Cut Feature Creation

7.3.2

Thin Wall Extrude Boss and Cut Feature Creation

7.4 Revolve Boss and Revolve Cut

7.4.1

Revolve Boss and Revolve Cut Features

7.4.2

Thin Wall Revolve Boss and Cut Features

7.5 Loft Boss and Loft Cut

7.6 Sweep Boss and Sweep Cut

7.6.1

Sweep Boss and Sweep Cut Features

7.6.2

Thin Wall Boss Sweep and Cut Sweep Features

7.7 Helical Boss and Helical Cut

7.8 Fillet

7.8.1

Constant Radius Fillets

7.8.2

Variable Radius Fillets

7.9 Chamfers

7.9.1

Edge Chamfers

7.9.2

Vertex Chamfers

7.10 Shells

7.11 Draft Faces

7.12 External Cosmetic Threads

7.13 Holes

7.14 Catalog Features

7.14.1

Saving Catalog Features

7.14.2

Inserting Catalog Features

7.15 Copying Existing Features

7.15.1

Mirroring Features

7.15.2

Feature Patterns

7.15.3

Topology Patterns

7.16 Design Boolean Features

7.16.1

Design Boolean Editor Environment

7.16.2

Design Boolean Feature Creation

7.16.3

Design Boolean Feature Editing

7.17 Direct Editing

7.17.1

Implications of Using Direct Editing

7.17.2

Push Pull Face Sketch

7.17.3

Push Pull Pocket or Boss

7.17.4

Push Pull Radius

7.17.5

Remove Faces

7.17.6

Tips for Successful Direct Editing

7.18 Scaling Parts

7.19 Managing Features in the Design Explorer

Sheet Metal Feature Creation

8.1 Sheet Metal Part Modeling Interface

8.2 Sheet Metal Part Parameters

8.3 Tab

8.4 Contour Base Flange

8.5 Lofted Flange

8.6 Flange

8.6.1

Sheet Metal Changes for Version 9.1 and Later

8.7 Closed Corner

8.8 Dimple

8.9 Cut

8.10 Corner Rounds and Chamfers

8.10.1

Rounding a Corner

8.10.2

Chamfering a corner

8.11 Holes

8.12 Unbend and Rebend

8.13 Catalog Feature

8.14 Copying Existing Features

8.15 Managing Features in the Design Explorer

Working with Parts

9.1 Design Explorer

9.2 Modifying a Part

9.2.1

Editing Sketches and Features

9.2.2

Suppressing Features in Parts

9.2.3

Reordering Features

9.2.4

Rolling Back Features

9.3 Measurement Tool

9.4 Part Display Options

9.5 3D Section Views

9.6 Part Physical Properties

9.7 Color Properties

9.8 Project to Sketch

9.9 Spreadsheet Driven Designs

9.9.1

Setting Up Excel to Drive Designs

9.9.2

Driving Designs by Spreadsheet

9.9.3

Modifying Spreadsheet Driven Parameters

9.9.4

Re-linking a Spreadsheet to a Part

9.10 3D PDF Publishing

9.10.1

PDF File Creation

9.10.2

Continuing with an Existing PDF

9.10.3

PDF Publishing Templates

9.10.4

Viewing Published PDF Files

9.10.5

Improving the Quality of Published PDF Files

9.10.6

Publishing a Model to HTML

9.10.7

Printing 3D Models

9.10.8

Annotations

9.10.9

Troubleshooting Failed Features

9.10.10

Viewing Constituents

9.10.11

Display Optimization

Design Configurations

10.1 Design Configurations Overview

10.1.1

Lock properties represented in the Design Explorer

10.1.2

Editing Properties of Configurations

10.1.3

Regeneration of Design Configurations

10.2 Configuration Creation for Parts and Sheet Metal Parts

10.2.1

Helpful Notes on Design Configurations in Parts

10.3 Assembly Configurations

10.3.1

Inserting Configurations of Parts or Subassemblies

10.3.2

Missing Design Configurations

10.3.3

Configurations in Assembly Patterns

10.3.4

Helpful Notes on Design Configurations in Assemblies

10.4 Configurations in Drawings

10.5 Configurations in a BOM

10.6 Configurations and the Equation Editor

Assembly Design

11.1 Assembly Design Methodology

11.2 Assembly Design Interface

11.3 Assembly Basics

11.3.1

Opening a New Assembly and Inserting Existing Parts

11.3.2

Anchored Parts

11.3.3

Inserting an Existing Design Into an Open Assembly

11.3.4

Selecting Parts in the Assembly

11.3.5

Part Display Options

11.3.6

Inserting a Duplicate Design Into an Open Assembly

11.3.7

Inserting a Pattern of Parts in an Assembly

11.3.8

Moving and Rotating Parts Freely

11.3.9

Moving and Rotating Parts Precisely

11.3.10

Moving Parts to Simulate Assembly Physical Motion

11.3.11

Hiding a Part

11.3.12

Suppressing a Part

11.3.13

Applying Color Properties to a Part

11.3.14

Checking Measurements

11.3.15

Viewing Part Reference Geometry

11.4 Assembly Constraints

11.4.1

Assembly Constraint Types

11.4.2

Inserting Assembly Constraints - Quick Constraint Mode

11.4.3

Inserting Assembly Constraints - Manual Method

11.4.4

Inter-Design Constraints

11.4.5

Managing Assembly Constraints

11.4.6

Failed Assembly Constraints

11.5 Flexible Subassemblies

11.6 Checking for Interferences

11.7 Inserting an Exploded View

11.7.1

Inserting an Exploded View Using Auto Explode Mode

11.7.2

Inserting an Exploded View Using Manual Explode

11.7.3

Viewing and/or Editing an Exploded View

11.7.4

Exploded View Steps

11.8 Deleting an Exploded View

11.9 Duplicating an Exploded View

11.10

Editing and Designing Parts in the Assembly

11.10.1

Creating a New Part within an Assembly

11.10.2

Editing a Part in an Assembly

11.10.3

Improving Assembly Performance when Editing Parts

11.11

Importing Parts into an Assembly

11.12

Joining Parts & Removing Material in an Assembly

Drawings

12.1 Drawing Creation

12.1.1

Opening a New Drawing

12.1.2

Selecting a Drawing Template

12.1.3

Selecting the Model

12.1.4

Inserting Standard Views

12.1.5

Inserting Additional Standard Views

12.1.6

Fast Views

12.2 Working in a Drawing

12.2.1

Drawing Mark-Up Mode

12.2.2

Renaming Sheets & Views

12.2.3

Changing the Drawing Template

12.2.4

Deleting Views

12.2.5

Hiding Views

12.2.6

Drawing Selection Filters

12.2.7

Moving Views on the Sheet

12.2.8

Updating Drawing Views

12.2.9

View and Sheet Boundaries

12.2.10

Changing the View Scale

12.2.11

Line Display in Views

12.2.12

Centerlines and Centermarks

12.2.13

Optimizing the Drawing Display

12.2.14

Layers

12.2.15

Adding Sheets

12.2.16

Reordering Sheets

12.2.17

Moving a View to Another Sheet

12.2.18

Hiding Parts in a View (Assemblies Only)

12.2.19

Inserting Images in a Drawing

12.2.20

Printing a Drawing

12.3 Dimensioning

12.3.1

Placing Additional Dimensions on a View

12.3.2

Dimensioning Slots and Holes

12.3.3

Placing Ordinate Dimensions on a View

12.3.4

Modifying Driving Dimension Values

12.3.5

Dimension Properties

12.3.6

Dimension Styles

12.3.7

Aligning Dimensions

12.4 Inserting Additional Views

12.4.1

Standard View

12.4.2

Auxiliary View

12.4.3

Detail View

12.4.4

Section View

12.4.5

Broken View

12.4.6

Partial View

12.4.7

Exploded View

12.4.8

Flat Pattern View of a Sheet Metal Part

12.5 Custom Templates

12.5.1

Creating a Custom Template

12.5.2

Customizing an Existing Template

12.5.3

Saving and Using a Custom Template as a Drawing

12.5.4

Saving and Using a Custom Template as a Symbol

12.5.5

Automatically Filling Title Block Information

12.5.6

Managing Design Property Value Fields

12.6 Annotations

12.6.1

Note

12.6.2

Datums

12.6.3

Datum Targets

12.6.4

Feature Control Frames

12.6.5

Surface Finish Symbol

12.6.6

Weld Symbol

12.6.7

Balloon Callouts

12.6.8

Thread and Hole Callouts

12.6.9

Tables

12.6.10

Working with Annotations

Bills of Material

13.1 Specifying BOM Data

13.2 Bills of Material Generation

13.2.1

BOM Creation

13.2.2

Custom BOM Templates

13.3 BOMs within 2D Drawings

13.3.1

Inserting a BOM View into a Drawing

13.3.2

Linking a BOM to a Drawing

13.3.3

Unlinking a BOM from a Drawing

13.3.4

Editing a BOM

13.3.5

Moving the BOM View on the Sheet

13.3.6

Hiding the BOM View

13.3.7

Deleting the BOM View

13.3.8

Moving a BOM View to Another Sheet

13.3.9

Splitting a BOM View

13.3.10

Adding Callout Balloons

13.4 BOM Workspace Interface

13.4.1

Adding and Deleting Columns in a BOM

13.4.2

Adding and Deleting a Row in a BOM

13.4.3

Hiding a Row

13.4.4

Resizing Rows and Columns

13.4.5

Adjusting Column Header and Data Alignment

13.4.6

Moving Rows and Columns in a Table

13.4.7

Sorting Data in Ascending or Descending Order

13.4.8

Changing the Header Display Orientation

13.4.9

Customizing Header and Data Font Properties

13.4.10

Overriding Design Values

13.4.11

Modifying the BOM View Style

13.4.12

Resequencing Data

13.4.13

Updating the Table

13.4.14

Exporting a BOM

13.4.15

Printing a BOM

Opening and Saving

14.1 Opening Files

14.1.1

Opening Files from the File System

14.1.2

Opening Files from the Alibre Vault

14.2 Saving Files

14.2.1

General Saving Principles

14.2.2

Single Item Save vs. Multi-Item Save

14.2.3

Saving Files to the File System

14.2.4

Saving Files to the Alibre Vault

Importing and Exporting Data

15.1 Importing Data

15.1.1

Supported File Types

15.1.2

Importing a File

15.1.3

Import Settings and Import Advisor

15.2 Exporting Data

15.2.1

Supported File Types

15.2.2

Exporting a File

15.3 Special Options for IGES and STL Files

Alibre Motion

16.1 An Overview of Simulation

16.2 Installing and Enabling Alibre Motion

16.3 Alibre Motion User Interface

16.3.1

Alibre Motion, Main Menu

16.3.2

Alibre Motion Explorer

16.3.3

Motion Explorer Groups

16.3.4

Motion Settings

16.3.5

Playback Deck

16.4 Overview of Simulating and Playing

16.5 Forces and Torques in Simulations

16.5.1

Adding Physical Elements (Motors and Actuators, Springs and Dampers)

16.5.2

Actuators (Motors and Linear Actuators)

16.5.3

Springs

16.5.4

Dampers

16.5.5

Gravity

16.6 Simulation Types and Parameters:

16.6.1

Simulation Types

16.6.2

Producing Efficient and Useful Simulations

16.6.3

Automatic Constraint Mapping (ACM) in Alibre Motion

16.6.4

Moving and Fixed Parts

16.6.5

Creating Simulations

16.6.6

Renaming Simulations

16.6.7

Running Simulations

16.6.8

Simulation Warnings

16.6.9

Maintaining Multiple Simulations

16.6.10

Deleting Simulations

16.6.11

Activating a Different Simulation

16.7 Results and Feedback from Alibre Motion Simulations

16.7.1

Traces - Visualizing Paths and Vectors

16.7.2

Video Generation with Alibre Motion

16.7.3

Generating X-Y Plots from Simulation Data

16.8 Detecting Interferences

16.8.1

Interferences Dialog

16.9 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Alibre Vault, by M-Files

17.1 Critical Notes for Installation or Modification of the Vault

17.2 Description of Metadata

17.3 Differences Between the Vault and the File System

17.4 Enabling or Disabling the Alibre Vault

17.5 Checking Items In and Out of the Alibre Vault

17.6 Finding Items in the Alibre Vault

17.6.1

Searching

17.6.2

Views

17.7 Renaming Files

17.8 Copying Items

17.9 Permissions

17.10

Setting Up Notifications

17.11

Versioning

17.11.1

Versioning Concepts

17.11.2

Viewing Version History

17.11.3

Version Label Creation

17.11.4

Rolling Back to Previous Versions

17.12

Relationships

17.13

Getting Help

Index