Practical Unigraphics

NX3
Modeling, Drafting and Assemblies

Basic and Intermediate

Project Oriented Learning Manual

By

Stephen M. Samuel
Anuranjini Pragada
Gautam Baksi
 COPYRIGHT © 2005 BY DESIGN VISIONARIES, INC

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, and photographic including photocopying, recording or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher. No
patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every
precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the
use of the information contained herein.

ISBN 0-9754-3772-0

Published by:

Design Visionaries, Inc

7034 Calcaterra Drive

San Jose, CA 95120

[email protected]
www.designviz.com
Toll-free: (800) 892 6655
Local Phone: (408) 997 6323
Fax: (408) 997 9667

Printed in the United States of America

Published March 2005

 Dedication

We dedicate this book to our youngsters:

The hopeful beneficiaries of all that we do.
 Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people for their tireless efforts,
without which this book would be a mere shadow of what it has become:

Vera Belenky, Manny Carrasco, Randall Diaz, Rick Jackson, Mark

Kelley, Anthony Printis, Paul Rymarz, Julia E. Samuel.
What readers have to say about our previous Unigraphics
books:

Bryan McDonald, Product Design Manager at Apple Computers

“Bottom line: this is an excellent book. If anyone wants to learn how to use Unigraphics quickly,
efficiently and practically, this is the way to do it.”

Fred Dyen, Director of St. Louis University’s Aviation Maintenance Institute (AMI)

“Practical Unigraphics NX2 Modeling for Engineers was extremely effective and much better than
[other] textbooks. I would highly recommend this book to other professors and students alike.”

Dr. Pat Spicer, Professor at Western Illinois University

“The UG NX2 textbook is well organized. Its tutorial style of learning is easy for students to utilize.
The practice exercises are essential. From my experience in teaching students to use UG software, I
have found that this is the best textbook currently on the market for teaching UG NX2.”
 Preface

Dear reader,

Thank you for purchasing our Unigraphics NX3 basic and Intermediate book, the newly revised
version of our previous book entitled Practical Unigraphics NX2 Modeling for Engineers. We have
greatly expanded the content, detail, and exercises included in this edition. Design Visionaries is an
engineering consulting firm that performs many design projects great and small, including industrial
design, product design and engineering analysis. Our customers entrust us with the design of medical
devices, aerospace components, heavy machinery, consumer products, etc. The methods outlined in
this book go beyond an academic use of NX3. They are tricks of the trade that come from thousands of
hours of actual use of UG to design some of the most difficult products in the world. In addition,
Design Visionaries offers world class on-site training which enables us to develop and evolve our
training material so that they provide the maximum benefit. Please enjoy this text, and we invite you
to log on to our new website – www.designviz.com where you can find additional free materials, other
advanced materials, products, and goodies.

Thank you,

Stephen Samuel
February 3, 2005
 Table of Contents

1. An Overview of NX3................................................................................. 1
1.1 THE PHILOSOPHY OF THIS BOOK ...................................................................................................... 1
1.2 BASIC CONCEPTS OF NX3................................................................................................................ 1
1.3 A BASIC MODELING PROCEDURE .................................................................................................... 5

2. The NX3 Interface .................................................................................... 7

2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 7
2.2 USING THE THREE-BUTTON MOUSE FUNCTIONALITY ...................................................................... 7
2.3 THE NX3 GRAPHICS WINDOW ......................................................................................................... 9
2.4 SELECTING GEOMETRY .................................................................................................................. 13
2.5 THE WCS ...................................................................................................................................... 15
2.6 FILE MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 17

3. Fundamental Curves .............................................................................. 21

3.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 21
3.2 BASIC CURVES ............................................................................................................................... 23
3.3 BASIC CURVES WITH GEOMETRIC RELATIONS TO OTHER CURVES ................................................ 26
3.4 BASIC CURVES WITH SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS .................................................................................. 28
3.5 BASIC CURVE TRIM OPERATIONS .................................................................................................. 30
3.6 ASSOCIATIVE LINES AND ARCS...................................................................................................... 34
3.7 HELIX ............................................................................................................................................ 38
3.8 TEXT CURVES ................................................................................................................................ 40
3.9 SELF-TEST ..................................................................................................................................... 42
3.10 TEST ANSWERS ............................................................................................................................ 43

4. Editing Entities........................................................................................ 44
4.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 44
4.2 DELETING ENTITIES ....................................................................................................................... 44
4.3 BLANKING ENTITIES ...................................................................................................................... 46
4.4 CHANGING AN ENTITY’S APPEARANCE .......................................................................................... 48
4.5 SELF-TEST ..................................................................................................................................... 51
4.6 TEST ANSWERS .............................................................................................................................. 52

5. Sketches ................................................................................................... 53
 5.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 53
5.2 CREATING A SKETCH ..................................................................................................................... 55
5.3 DEFINING GEOMETRIC CONSTRAINTS ............................................................................................ 66
5.4 MIRROR SKETCH OPERATION ........................................................................................................ 75
5.5 SELF-TEST ..................................................................................................................................... 77
5.6 TEST ANSWERS .............................................................................................................................. 78

6. Design Features....................................................................................... 79
6.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 79
6.2 EXTRUDED FEATURES .................................................................................................................... 80
6.3 REVOLVED FEATURES .................................................................................................................... 89
6.4 PRIMITIVE FEATURES ..................................................................................................................... 93
6.5 PRACTICE: THE POOL RACK........................................................................................................... 97
6.6 ADVANCED DESIGN FEATURES ...................................................................................................... 99
6.7 PRACTICE: THE HINGE ................................................................................................................. 110
6.8 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................... 113
6.9 TEST ANSWERS ............................................................................................................................ 114

7. Detail Features ...................................................................................... 115

7.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 115
7.2 EDGE AND FACE BLEND FEATURES ............................................................................................. 116
7.3 TAPER FEATURES ......................................................................................................................... 127
7.4 CHAMFER FEATURES ................................................................................................................... 134
7.5 BRIDGE SURFACES ....................................................................................................................... 138
7.6 PRACTICE: THE POOL RACK, PART 2 ........................................................................................... 141
7.7 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................... 142
7.8 TEST ANSWERS ............................................................................................................................ 143

8. Other Basic Techniques........................................................................ 144

8.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 144
8.2 SKETCHING ON A SOLID FACE ...................................................................................................... 144
8.3 POSITIONING DIMENSIONS ........................................................................................................... 147
8.4 HOLLOW FEATURES ..................................................................................................................... 150
8.5 INSTANCE FEATURES ................................................................................................................... 152
8.6 OFFSET FACE FEATURES .............................................................................................................. 161
8.7 THE TRIM FEATURE AND THE SPLIT OPERATION ......................................................................... 163
8.8 THICKEN SHEET ........................................................................................................................... 169
8.9 TUBE FEATURES .......................................................................................................................... 172
8.10 SHEET METAL FLANGE .............................................................................................................. 175
8.11 EXTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 178
8.12 PRACTICE: ATTACHMENT ARM .................................................................................................. 181
8.13 PRACTICE: THE CLIP .................................................................................................................. 183
 8.14 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 185
8.15 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 186

9. Intermediate Curves............................................................................. 187

9.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 187
9.2 SPLINE CURVES ........................................................................................................................... 187
9.3 OFFSET CURVES ........................................................................................................................... 190
9.4 BRIDGE CURVES .......................................................................................................................... 192
9.5 JOIN CURVES ............................................................................................................................... 195
9.6 PROJECT CURVES ......................................................................................................................... 198
9.7 PRACTICE: CREATING CURVE GEOMETRY ................................................................................... 202
9.8 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................... 203
9.9 TEST ANSWERS ............................................................................................................................ 204

10. Combine Bodies .................................................................................. 205

10.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 205
10.2 UNITE AND SUBTRACT ............................................................................................................... 207
10.3 INTERSECTION............................................................................................................................ 211
10.4 SEW OPERATION ........................................................................................................................ 215
10.5 PRACTICE: THE STEPPED PLUG .................................................................................................. 218
10.6 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 219
10.7 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 220

11. Expressions.......................................................................................... 221

11.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 221
11.2 PRE-DETERMINED EXPRESSIONS ............................................................................................... 222
11.3 CREATING EXPRESSIONS DURING MODELING ............................................................................ 227
11.4 RENAMING EXISTING VARIABLES .............................................................................................. 233
11.5 PRACTICE: THE DOOR LATCH .................................................................................................... 236
11.6 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 237
11.7 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 238

12. Reference Entities ............................................................................... 239

12.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 239
12.2 DATUM PLANE ........................................................................................................................... 241
12.3 DATUM AXIS FEATURES ............................................................................................................ 248
12.4 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 249
12.5 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 250
13. Edit Feature Operations..................................................................... 251
13.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 251
13.2 THE PART NAVIGATOR .............................................................................................................. 251
13.3 EDITING FEATURE PARAMETERS ............................................................................................... 257
13.4 DELETING, SUPPRESSING, AND REORDERING FEATURES............................................................ 260
13.5 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 264
13.6 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 265

14. Layers .................................................................................................. 266

14.1 INTRODUCTION TO NX3 LAYERS ............................................................................................... 266
14.2 USING LAYERS ........................................................................................................................... 266
14.3 COPY TO LAYER ......................................................................................................................... 270
14.4 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 272
14.5 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 273

15. Direct Modeling .................................................................................. 274

15.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 274
15.2 CONSTRAIN FACE....................................................................................................................... 274
15.3 RESIZE FACE .............................................................................................................................. 277
15.4 OFFSET REGION ......................................................................................................................... 278
15.5 REPLACE FACE........................................................................................................................... 279
15.6 MOVE REGION ........................................................................................................................... 280
15.7 PATTERN FACE .......................................................................................................................... 282
15.8 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 284
15.9 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 285

16. Surface Features ................................................................................. 286

16.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 286
16.2 SURFACE FEATURE – BOUNDED PLANE ..................................................................................... 288
16.3 SURFACE FEATURE - THROUGH CURVES.................................................................................... 291
16.4 SWEEP ALONG GUIDE ................................................................................................................ 293
16.5 SWEPT SURFACE FEATURES ....................................................................................................... 296
16.6 THROUGH CURVE MESH ............................................................................................................ 299
16.7 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 305
16.8 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 306

17. Basic Assemblies ................................................................................. 307

17.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 307
 17.2 BOTTOM-UP ASSEMBLY DESIGN ............................................................................................... 307
17.3 TOP-DOWN ASSEMBLY DESIGN ................................................................................................. 318
17.4 THE ASSEMBLY NAVIGATOR ..................................................................................................... 322
17.5 ADDING AND EDITING ASSEMBLY MATING CONDITIONS .......................................................... 324
17.6 MODIFYING ASSEMBLY COMPONENTS....................................................................................... 330
17.7 EXPLODED VIEWS IN AN ASSEMBLY .......................................................................................... 337
17.8 SELF-TEST ................................................................................................................................. 341
17.9 TEST ANSWERS .......................................................................................................................... 342

18. Basic Drafting...................................................................................... 343

18.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 343
18.2 CREATING DRAWINGS................................................................................................................ 343
18.3 CREATING DRAWING BORDERS ................................................................................................. 347
18.4 ADDING BASIC DRAWING VIEWS............................................................................................... 354
18.5 EDITING DRAWINGS AND VIEWS................................................................................................ 360
18.6 ADVANCED DRAWING VIEWS .................................................................................................... 365
18.7 CREATING DIMENSIONS ............................................................................................................. 374
18.8 CREATING AND EDITING NOTES................................................................................................. 384
18.9 DRAWING SYMBOLS .................................................................................................................. 389
18.10 SELF-TEST ............................................................................................................................... 396
18.11 TEST ANSWERS ........................................................................................................................ 397

19. Master Modeling................................................................................. 398

19.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 398
19.2 CREATING A NON-MASTER FILE ................................................................................................ 399

20. How to Make NX3 Run Great!.......................................................... 408

20.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 408
20.2 FULL MENUS .............................................................................................................................. 408
20.3 SAVE LAYOUT ........................................................................................................................... 409
20.4 SELECTION DELAY ..................................................................................................................... 411
20.5 SMOOTH VIEW CHANGE ............................................................................................................ 412
20.6 SHADED FACE EDGES ................................................................................................................ 413
20.7 ASSIGNING FEATURE NAMES IN A PART .................................................................................... 414
20.8 USING GRID ............................................................................................................................... 416
20.9 INTRODUCTION TO CUSTOMER DEFAULTS ................................................................................. 417

21. Practice Projects ................................................................................. 418

21.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 418
21.2 FREE FORM SOLID USING SWEPT ............................................................................................... 418
 21.3 THE PRODUCT HOUSING ............................................................................................................ 422
21.4 ADVANCED FACE BLEND FEATURES .......................................................................................... 429
21.5 FACE BLENDING - TANGENCY CONTROLLED ............................................................................. 434
21.6 A BRIDGE SURFACE USING THE WAVE GEOMETRY LINKER....................................................... 436
21.7 APPLYING SHRINKAGE WITH NON-UNIFORM SCALE.................................................................. 440
21.8 COIL SPRINGS ............................................................................................................................ 442
21.9 NX3 FINAL PROJECT.................................................................................................................. 447

22. Goodies................................................................................................. 455

22.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 455
22.2 CREATIVE 3D MODELS .............................................................................................................. 455
22.3 UG KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS ...................................................................................................... 458
22.4 THE CAD CROSS-REFERENCE TOOL FOR PRO/E AND SOLIDWORKS USERS ............................... 459
22.5 DPET (DESIGN PROJECT ESTIMATION TOOL)............................................................................ 459

Glossary ..................................................................................................... 461

Index .......................................................................................................... 473