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Commonly Overlooked Relationships About NRK
in SA: Who We Are
Frame Wizard Relationships & Pipe Applications & Solutions

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In SpatialAnalyzer (SA), Relationships are eNewsletter
far more than a method for nding the Brochures & Fact Sheets
distance between points and a nominal Events
object that will re-compute automatically.
Careers
In this article, we will review two types of
Relationshipsone new and one old that is often
overlooked. Read on to learn more about Frame Wizard Applications
Relationships and Pipe Relationships.

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Commonly Overlooked Relationships in SA: Frame Wizard Relationships & Pipe Relationships
In SpatialAnalyzer (SA), Relationships are far more than a method for nding
the distance between points and a nominal object that will re-compute
automatically. In this article, we will review two types of Relationships one
new, and one old that is often overlooked.

Dynamically Updating Frames Using Frame Wizard Relationships

Have you ever needed to create an alignment using measured features? We
all know the process: measure a set of features to dene an alignment and
then align to the nominal features. Did you know you can now delete points
or re-measure others and the Frame (alignment) will update immediately? In
addition, you can set up several dierent alignments in the same job for the
same part and continuously monitor deviations in those alignments. Frame
Wizard Relationships, added in the 2016.06.03 release, provides the ability to
do just that.

Frame Wizard has been a powerful tool in SA for quite some time. It allows
the operator to quickly dene an alignment (frame) from features measured
in the job. Geometry Relationship Frame Wizard oers the benet of re-
computing the alignment instantly with the addition or subtraction of data. It
also provides constant comparison between the measured and design frames
providing dynamic feedback on your alignment. Give it a try next time you
align. The function can be found on the Relationship tab of the SA Toolkit in
the Compare to Nominal section. The SA Toolkit Side Bar can be found by
right clicking in the blank space of the ribbon area and selecting SA Toolkit
from the menu.

Pipe Alignment and Cut Optimization through Pipe Relationships

In industry, there is often a need to align mating sections of pipe. Measuring
the location of the pipe sections is the rst step, followed by calculating the
cuts. In general, the goal is for these adjacent pipe sections to be as coaxial as
possible and share enough material overlap so that a valid cut can be made.
Pipe Relationships, available in SA Ultimate, will compute a cut plane for a
single pipe as well as optimize joining multiple pipes. With SAs Pipe
Relationships, you can compute the cut angles and locations prior to any
physical assembly; saving signicant time and money during installation.

Consider this example of replacing a steam generator:

Since a power plant must be shut down to replace a steam generatorand

because downtime at a power plant is very costlyanything that minimizes
this is extremely benecial. The replacement steam generator must be cut to
t prior to delivery. In this case, three massive pipe sections must be cut
precisely. These piping interfaces are critical to the safety and performance of
the power plant since they provide a direct barrier between the radioactive
and non-radioactive sides of the plant; they must be aligned with precision.

Pipe Relationships in SA were designed with this type of high accuracy and
complex alignment application in mind.


How to Use Pipe Relationships
Pipe Relationships can be dened between any two objects that have
positional and directional information. Typically, this refers to lines or
cylinders. The type of object does not matter, as long as the object describes
the pipes position and orientation. Once a pipe relationship is created, a
proposed cut is displayed graphically. This is drawn in three pieces, a wire
frame section representing the allowable cut region, a plane showing the
proposed cut plane, and a solid rendered tube showing the remaining pipe
section after the cut.

The allowable cut properties on each pipe can be edited in the relationship,
including setting the inner and outer diameters of the pipe, and the position
and length of each cut section (reported relative to the objects origin). These
parameters are used for the cut plane computation. As soon as the pipe
relationship can nd a valid cut plane, it will display a dashed plane indicating
the location and orientation of the cut plane, which will update dynamically
based upon any changes in the properties of the cut or the physical
positioning of the pipes in the job le.

When used in an alignment, Pipe Relationships work essentially as three

relationships in one, the weighting of which can be controlled independently:

It will try to make the pipe segments coaxial (Axis Oset).

It will try to make the pipe ends parallel or at a predened angle (Axis
Alignment).
It will try to overlap the cut regions evenly (Center Pull).

If there is more than one pipe segment that will be assembled (that is, if there
will be more than one independently moving object in the optimization), then
each moving object (pipe segment) should be placed into its own collection.
This includes the objects dening the pipe endpoint, the pipe surface/cylinder,
and anything else you want to rigidly move with that pipe segment. In this
situation, you must use Relationships > Move Collections by Minimizing
Relationships which will allow you to align segments as shown below.

Working with the Cut

Typically, the next step is to create a frame on the cut, which can then be laid
o on the real pipe for cutting. To build this frame, simply select Make the
Proposed Cut and then Create Frame on Cut from either Pipe Cut Properties
dialog.

The frame dened will be the same for both pipes (although the direction is
reversed) and the XY plane of this frame denes the cut plane. Watch windows
can then be used to lay this cut o on the real pipe.

The reason that there are separate controls for both pipes is to allow you to
follow a more exacting approach, which would involve laying o the cut on
one segment, performing the cut on the actual pipe, then measuring the
actual cut plane. The Force Cut to Frame button is provided to update the rst
cut to the actual condition so that the second cut can be updated in
accordance.

By feeding this as-built cut location back into the pipe relationship, it can then
be used to tweak the alignment once more. After the alignment is further
tweaked, a new cut plane can be laid o on the other pipe segment. This
process can be iterated as needed for each pair of pipe segments.

Relationships in SA continue to evolve in order to provide operators greater

exibility and control. They provide a way to combine the input points or
features to build a dynamically computed feature that is automatically
compared back to a nominal feature while ensuring perfect traceability. As
 such, Relationships provide the ideal user guidance tool and reporting
solution.

Questions? Contact NRK Support at support@kinematics.com.

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