Razorleaf Corporation » Composer for All Your BOMs | Razorleaf Corporation

Composer for All Your BOMs

Johnny Molica — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:39:07 +0000

With so many different perspectives on the BOM in today’s organizations, companies have come to expect that different departments will be creating and re-creating content to Read More...

Getting Great 2D from 3D with 3DVIA Composer

Johnny Molica — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:53:18 +0000

A lot of people have big ideas in mind for how they will use 3DVIA Composer to create new types of output or documents, like animations Read More...

3DVIA Composer and Language Translation

Johnny Molica — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:19:50 +0000

Global collaboration depends on communication, and since there is no universal written or spoken language, the communication part of collaboration is still a challenge for many Read More...

Neutral Properties in 3DVIA Composer

Johnny Molica — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:35:35 +0000

Neutral Properties in 3DVIA Composer are generated from the original import of the underlying CAD files. Often, the default properties such as texture, scale and location are changed for geometry actors or collaboration actors for various reasons (exploded views, animations, etc.). Fortunately, the original properties of the actors can be restored easily, saving time in creating technical illustrations, animations, and other content. Every geometry actor has an origin that positions it within the assembly - the origin comes from the inital import of the data. This origin controls the position of the part relative to the other parts in the assembly. Since 3DVIA Composer doesn’t import the assembly constraints, mating conditions, or relations from the CAD model, the origin is the position of an imported component relative to 3DVIA's global origin. When creating exploded views or animations, getting back to this original position is important. The neutral properties of an actor are all of those pieces of information made available during the import process into 3DVIA Composer, or during the creation of the actor if it wasn't imported. Neutral properties can be found in the properties pane of 3DVIA Composer and they represent a kind of "home" state for the actor. The images to the right show the different types of properties stored for geometry actors (top) and for collaboration actors (bottom). Being able to restore an actor to its neutral properties is important because it is easy to accidentally move an actor or to forget what changes you have made to an actor. Restoring to neutral properties instantly sends that actor back "home" (to "home" position, to its original color, etc.), and here are two ways to accomplish this. The first way to Restore to Neutral Properties is to use the icon found in the properties pane of 3DVIA Composer. The second, and very popular option, is using the hot key Ctrl-R. This command will also act as your undo command in many situations. Especially if you are moving geometry around and things start to get out of hand. You can multi-select components or just single select a component and use Ctrl-R and the models will go right back to where you found them. For animations, you can use neutral properties to your advantage with this time-saving trick. Say you want to make an exploded view animation of an assembly. The easiest way to get this done is to start with the end in mind. Move all of your geometry actors to the locations where you want them to be at the end of your animation (disassemble them). Since you can easily get back to the neutral properties, it is easier to start like this and let 3DVIA Composer "assemble" things for you. Just create a view of the disassembled state, restore to neutral properties and create a view of the assembled state, and animate between these using the timeline in 3DVIA Composer. Another good use of animation and neutral properties is the ability to change the scale of a geometry actor. Say you need to show how an O-ring is placed into a groove of another part. You can scale the part in multiple directions, to "stretch" the O-ring, and then use the neutral properties to get the part to “snap” back to its proper size and location. Of course, not all properties can be used for animation. 3DVIA Composer does of nice job of indicating which properties are not available for animation by placing, next to each unavailable property, a small red circle with a diagonal line through it (shown in the image below).

Many times you’ll need to change the neutral properties. This seems to happen much more frequently with collaboration actors than with geometry actors. Collaboration actors like labels, callouts and 2D text have defaults depending on how they are placed in the view window. For example, when you insert a label for a part, the name of that component appears in the label. This text can be changed in two ways. The first is from within the properties pane, where changing the value of the string property will change the label text. The second is by slowly clicking twice on the label, which allows you to change the label from the viewport. If you’re just creating a view, being able to keep the modified text is fine, but when you create an animation, the initial placement of the label and the change are both recorded. To force the text to show consistent information throughout the animation steps you need to update or set the neutral properties. The Set as Neutral Properties icon is found in the properties pane from within 3DVIA Composer. Just select the actor you want to update and then select the icon. Keep in mind that if you set the neutral properties these will be its “new” neutral properties from that moment forward. So if you use the Restore to Neutral Properties or use Ctrl-R, this will be the set of properties the actor uses. Update Geometry is another important command to know when you need to restore properties. When it comes to geometry actors, the original neutral properties can always be restored because 3DVIA gets its property information from the import of the CAD data. To reload neutral properties from the import source, just select the geometry and use the Update Geometry command inside of 3DVIA Composer. This will allow you to browse for the original CAD file and re-import it. Being able to control and use the property information of all the actors from within 3DVIA Composer is very powerful. Take advantage of all the information and flexibility the properties panes give you for both geometry actors and collaboration actors. You’ll find that being able to understand the properties of each actor is on of the keys to being successful with 3DVIA Composer.

3DVIA Sync and Automated Deliverables

Johnny Molica — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:00:36 +0000

A common problem many companies face is the ability to have deliverable documents, like web images, catalogs, and technical illustrations, mirror their final product. Because of Read More...

Positioning Geometry Actors in 3DVIA Composer

Johnny Molica — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:25:01 +0000

If you're a veteran CAD designer getting to know 3DVIA Composer, you've probably already asked yourself the question, "Why doesn't this tool let me maintain my CAD assembly constraints?" There's actually a very good reason - they're going to be more hindrance than help. 3DVIA Composer allows you to create and move geometry actors (parts and assemblies), as necessary to show how products are assembled, regardless of how the models were built in the original CAD system. The way a product is physically built is typically different than how the model was assembled in the CAD system. Additionally, CAD designers often build assembly constraints into their models for simulation or analysis purposes that have no meaning outside Engineering. By removing the CAD assembly constraints, users generating animations are able to more clearly communicate their ideas. The most common question concerning 3DVIA Composer animations is, "How can I get geometry actors to move in a specific direction?" To get the actors to move is a specified direction 3DVIA Composer gives you three methods, Translation, Rotation, and Free Dragging. Free Dragging will allow an actor, or a selected group of actors, to move without reference to any other actors. Translation mode will allow the actor(s) to move in a linear X, Y, or Z direction. Rotational mode will allow the radial movement of the actor(s) about the same three axes. The actor's neutral coordinate system is normally in the center of the actor, so the linear and radial movements are from that set location. To have the actor move relative to a selected edge or axis, hold down the ALT key. The ALT key will allow you to select a linear edge to translate along or to use as an axis of rotation. You can also select a circular or cylindrical edge to move the actors based on the center axis of that edge. Being able to select edges and axes gives you the ability to create real movement when creating animations. For example, an entire door assembly can be put into a selection group and the selection can be rotated about the hinge axis to show the door's movement. When loading CAD data into 3DVIA Composer, the application will import the 3D geometry with the components in the same exact relative location as they are in the original CAD models. For example, when a model is imported from CATIA or SolidWorks, the geometry will look exactly the same in 3DVIA Composer. However other assemblies and parts can be imported into the same file or created from within Composer. 3DVIA Composer will also allow you to create relationships between actors to get them in an exact location. The object alignment tools on the Navigation menu give you several options to get models into position. The point to point object alignment tool connects two vertexes of two different geometry actors. Line (axis) to Line (axis), and Plane to Plane, can both be used to center a bolt to a hole and make the contact faces touch. You can connect other pieces of geometry by using Point to Plane or Line (axis) to Plane commands. Always select the actor that you want to move first. 3DVIA Composer assumes that the first selection is the actor that needs to be positioned, so it will hold the second actor still while relocating the first actor. Also note that the alignment tools in 3DVIA Composer only translate the actors to a new position, the tools will not reorient the actors. Why is losing all the constraints from the CAD model good? It may take more time to dissect and understand someone else's CAD assembly constraints than it would to build your own constraints and positions. Even modifying a solid model that was built by another person can have puzzling results. Chances are not good that the way a product was designed is necessarily the way that it needs to be assembled or serviced. So do yourself a favor, let go of your constraints and take advantage of 3DVIA Composer's tools for positioning geometry actors. Please contact us if you want help with 3DVIA Composer or any of these concepts.

Leveraging 3D CAD Downstream

Johnny Molica — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:29:39 +0000

Engineering isn’t done just for engineering’s sake, so it is critical for engineering deliverables to make it outside to marketing, sales, and even out to the Read More...