Tips & Techniques

Top-Down Design Tools

Managing Complex Assemblies

Victor Remmers Holland Engineering Consultants BV

Top-Down Design Philosophy

2006 PTC

Traditional Design Approach

Bottom-Up Design

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

Component Design
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Possible example Bottom Up?

Mate

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Top-Down Design Philosophy

Top-Down Design
Method

of placing critical information in a high-level location that information to the lower levels of the product

Communicating

structure
Capturing

the overall design information in one centralized location

Design Information

Component

Component

Component

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A more integrated approach.

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Top Down Design Stages It is a concept.

6-Stage Process
1.

Conceptual Engineering Phase

Layouts and Engineering Notebook

2.

Preliminary Product Structure Phase

Pro/INTRALINK, Model Tree

3.

Capturing Design Intent Phase

Skeleton Models

4.

Manage Interdependencies Phase

Reference Viewer & Reference Graph

5.

Communication of Design Intent Phase

Copy Geoms, Publish Geoms & Shrinkwrap

6.

Population of the Assembly Phase

Automatic Component Constraints & Component Interfaces

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The Bobcat example

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Stage 1
Conceptual Engineering Phase Layouts and Engineering Notebook
Understand Existing Situation

High-level Requirements Space Allocation

Define New Space and Motion

2D Sketches

3D Models
Rapid Iteration & Convergence Animations

Capture Key Design Intent

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Parameters Notes Spreadsheets Proprietary Data

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

Quickly define product hierarchy

Before any of the components geometry is defined

Intuitive, automatic mapping to start models

Templates ensure all designs share the necessary common elements such as layers, views & parameters

Foundation for efficient task distribution Assembly Population Environments

Pro/E menus and Model Tree pop-up menus

Pro/INTRALINK and PDMLink

Component Creation Methods

Empty Components; Copy from start models Automatic assembly of default datums Unplaced, Partially- & Over-Constrained Components

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Stage 3
Capturing Design Intent Phase Skeleton Models
What needs to happen?

Capture conceptual design parameters within the context of the assembly Capture & control critical object interfaces in a single, convenient location

How? Skeleton Models

Centralized pathway for communication

Facilitate task distribution Promote well-organized design environments Enable faster, more efficient propagation of change

Special Treatment in BOMs, Simplified Reps, Drawings, Model Tree & Mass Property Calculations
Uniquely supported Scope Control Setting

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Stage 4
Manage Interdependencies Phase Reference Viewer & Reference Graph
Tools to Manage References

External Reference Control

Ensures

Top-Down Design methodology is followed design management rules directly into the design proper design reuse

Incorporate

Ensures

Pro/INTRALINK Model Tree Global Reference Viewer Reference Graph

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

Provides ability to pre-determine the geometry to be referenced by a Copy Geometry feature

Allows designers to define their interfaces to the rest of the design

Copy Geometry Features

Allows copying of all types of geometry Surfaces, edges, curves, datums, quilts, copy/publish geometry

Retains copied geometry name and layer settings

Dependency on parent geometry can be toggled Can be Externalized

External Copy Geometry

Build relationships on external models independent of an assembly

Useful for coordinate system assembly practices

Inheritance Inherit model geometry for one-way associativity Shrinkwrap (included in Foundation Advantage Package)
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Stage 6
Population of the Assembly Phase Automatic Component Constraints & Component Interfaces
What tools are available for populating the assembly?

Assembly Tools

Drag & Drop Placement

Component Interfaces

Component Creation

Within the context of the assembly Mirror Parts or Subassemblies

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How does Top Down Design relate to company goals?

Four Goals from Upper Management
1) Cycle Time Reduction. 2) Increase User Satisfaction with Software. 3) Margin Increase. 4) Cost Reduction.

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Why should you use it?

Benefits:
Reduced design time

Reduced errors (right the first time)

Increased quality Better project management visibility

Concurrent engineering
Confidence in top-level regeneration Knowledge of how modules interface

Top-level change control

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Example: to design an alternator...

What information should a designer need to work with most times?
Complete Top-Level Assembly Neighboring Subassemblies

540 MB

320MB

All Skeleton Models in Top-Level Assembly

70 MB
Subassembly, with Skeleton Model containing all required information ~ 20 MB
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What does an example look like?

Three Phases
Pro/INTRALINK Pro/CONCEPT ISDX Pro/ENGINEER Pro/NOTEBOOK

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
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CAPTURE DESIGN CRITERIA

DETAILED DESIGN
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Product Definition

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Product Definition: Engineering Layout

What it is:

First thing done in design cycle Used to evaluate key interface points Used to evaluate key components of project

What it is Not:

Three dimensional solids Fully detailed

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Advantages of Using a Layout

Document

design information in one centralized location

Document

design information before creating solid models

design options without involving the entire assembly

Investigate

Easily

make design changes because all of the design information is contained in one location

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#2 Product Definition: Assembly Structure

What it is:

Virtual Assembly / BOM Used to organize assembly & assigning of design tasks Used to input non-geometrical data up-front

What it is Not:

Three dimensional solids Fully detailed Fully constrained

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Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product Structure

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

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Advantages of Defining Preliminary Product Structure

Cont

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

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#3 Product Definition: Skeletons

What it is:

Zero-mass geometry Exact location detail Minimized geometric detail

What it is Not:

Three dimensional solids Fully detailed

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And Definitely Not This!!

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Advantages of Using Skeletons

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

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Central source for information

Benefits of Communicating Information From a Central Source

Task distribution Concurrent Modeling Managing External References

Tools Declaration

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Publish Geometry
Copy Geometry
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Hierarchy
Top_level.asm

Top_level_skeleton.prt Sub_assy_1.asm
Sub_assy_1_skeleton.prt

Sub_assy_2.asm
Sub_assy_2_skeleton.prt

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Sub_assy_x.asm
Sub_assy_x_skeleton.prt
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3D Design Finally!

The

foundation is set but topologically modifiable its time for 3D.

With

Reference Control Manager, you are safe to create your parts directly in the assembly.

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More Than Meets The Eye!

Interchangeability:

Family of Tables

Interchange Assembly

Layout Declarations

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Power of Top-Down Design

To Achieve Advanced Automation, consider using:

Relations

Pro/Program

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Miscellaneous Tips
Separate Part Versus Assembly for Skeleton Features

Avoid constructing assembly-level skeleton features since the system requires that you perform all edits of these features in Assembly mode.
The

components can become an obstruction and degrade performance.

Furthermore,

you cannot easily reuse skeleton features at the assembly level in other subassemblies. By using a separate part file, you can edit the feature in Part Mode and reassemble it into many different assemblies.

Geometry Features

Place all static information in a skeleton as early as possible and place all dynamic information later in the design process cycle.

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Miscellaneous Tips
Datums for Skeleton Models

Consider renaming skeleton datums to sk_

Visualization

Use simplified reps and transparency prolifically to make viewing easier Use display states to highlight different items at different times Use surfaces to clarify meaning of centerlines & axes

Conceptualization

Dont be afraid to use simple hand sketches before delving into complex situations its NOT illegal

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Pro/E Wildfire Enhancements

High-performance Assembly Modeling

Lightweight Components

Represent common components with lightweight graphics for optimum display speed Accurate mass properties and BOMs

Customizable symbolic representations

Flexible Components

Represent multiple states of a single component in an assembly

Addresses critical need for consistency between BOM and assembly model

Intelligent Regeneration

Assembly regeneration is up to 80% Faster!

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Highlights of Top-Down Design

Capture knowledge, or design intent, allowing you to concentrate on significant issues by making the software perform tedious, repetitive calculations.

Enable the framework for interchangeability of components allowing for high-velocity product development by supporting rapid iterations of product variations.

Create a concurrent design environment by spreading project design responsibility across many organizational levels.

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New in Advanced Assembly in Wildfire 3.0

Data Sharing Dashboard
The Data Sharing dashboard consolidates the Merge, Cutout, and Inheritance features in a modern user interface. Enhancements to Data Sharing features in a new dashboard offer many benefits:

Allows changing of multiple feature types at any point Offers a user-friendly user interface with easy access to commands Supports object-action workflow for increased productivity Consolidates Data Sharing features, such as Merge, Cutout, and Inheritance

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New in Advanced Assembly in Wildfire 3.0 (#2)

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

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POWER OF TOP DOWN DESIGN!!!

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