Design in Context

External References

Speaker: Eckart Khler and Thomas Bach

created by: Eckart Khler

Part instance A Part can be used more than one time in a Product. Nevertheless the Part model is stored only once. The system handles Part positions and links on Product level. The representations of the Parts are named instances. Design in context Design in context is the methodology of designing inside of a Product structure.
Product Product Part Instance Part Document

Publication Publication is the capability to give a name to a geometrical element of a Part. New Parts can be positioned and/or designed using published Elements, avoiding direct access to geometry and independently of the product structure. Publication is a method to work within design in context.

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External References
General 01

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The following options should be selected before the start:

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modifications in the reference Part will imply an automatic update of the contextual links

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1) Open the Product External References.CATProduct

2) Activate Part Body of PLM_0114 by double click.

3) Select the plane as shown below and activate the sketcher.

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4) Select the red geometry as shown in the picture. These lines are from the Part PLM_0115_2 Fertigteil. 5) Select function Project 3D Elements. The selected geometry will be projected on the sketch plane of the Part PLM_0114.

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Also the icon in the tree changes from yellow to green.

Take a look at the tree of Part PLM_0114 - a new folder with the name External References was created automatically by CATIA. The green point of the curve icon indicates that the link is synchronized.

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6) Close the sketch profil as shown below.

7) Repeat the steps 4 to 6 on the other groove.

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8. Create a pad. The First Limit should be up to plane. Select this plane as limitation plane.

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9. The result looks like this:

Each external reference can be isolated or deactivated by the contextual menue.

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Repeat the steps 1 to 9.

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External References
General 02

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Detect and analyze links

Product level (Icon (gear symbol) in front of a part instance) keine externen Links no external link Part level Link zu einem element ist aktualisiert Linked element is updated Link zu einem element ist nicht aktualisiert Linked element is not updated

R8/R9

externe Links: Kontextbauteil ist in seiner Erzeugungsumgebung geffnet external link; contextual part is opened in the creation environment externe Links: Kontextbauteil ist nicht in seiner Erzeugungsumgebung geffnet external links; contextual part is not opened in the creation environment

Element nicht mit Link versehen oder Link unterbrochen element not linked or link broken Referenz Element nicht geladen Referenz element not loaded

Link zu einem published element ist aktualisiert Link to published element updated Link zu einem published element ist nicht aktualisiert Link to a published element not updated

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10. Change into Part PLM_0115_2 Fertigteil by double clicking the face as shown below. Once more and the pocket definiton panel appears.

The parameter of the sketch can be edited directly by clicking the single values - without opening the sketch.

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11. Change parameter length 60mm to 62mm (double click Pocket.3). Also the parameter 2.5mm to 4.5mm (double click Pocket.4).

After leaving to pockets definition panels by clicking ok, the geometry colour of PLM_0115_2 Fertigteil turns to red. Press update button. After that, the geometry of PLM_0115_2 Fertigteil turns to gray, but the colour of PLM_0114 turns to red, because the changes of PLM_0115 ... causes a change of PLM_0114.
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12. Update the Part PLM_0115... . The result looks like this:

Before updating the Part PLM_0114 check the result in the geometry (red circles).
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12. Update the Part PLM_0114. The result looks like this:

The geometry of Part PLM_0114 changes, because of the used External References.
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13. Activate PLM_0114

14. Select the function Edit/Links:

The External References are listed in this spreadsheet. To see the pointed documents, switch to Pointed documents.
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Repeat the steps 10 to 14.

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External References
Loop design between geometry and constraints

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1) Open Product External References_1.CATProduct and activate Assembly Design workbench if required. 2) Select the two faces as shown below:

3) Select function offset constraint. The following message appears:

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CATIA doesnt create an assembly constraint, if a geometrical dependency already exists BUT this limitation is limited to the direction/axis in which the geometrical dependency (by External References) was created. 4) Select the two faces as shown below: 5) Select function offset constraint. The following panel appears:

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Now CATIA can create an assembly constraint, because there is no geometrical limitation in this direction/axis.

6) Change the offset value to 20 mm. The position of Part PLM_0114 will be changed.

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7) Select the following face and double click on it to activate the Part PLM_0115 ... .

8) Activate the sketcher on this face.

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9) Select the function Project 3D Elements.

10) Move the cursor over the geometry of Part PLM_0114 - a black sign appears.

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CATIA cannot create a second reverse dependency from Part PLM_0114 to Part PLM_0115..., because it already exists a dependency from Part PLM_0115... to Part PLM_0114.

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Open the file/desk function, to see the following picture:

MetricThinPitch.txt PLM_0114_1.CATPart * External_References_1.CATProduct PLM_0106_2_Fertigteil_1.CATPart MetricThickPitch.txt PLM_0105_2_Fertigteil_1.CATPart

In the tree you can see, that PLM_0115_2 Fertigteil_1 is a child of PLM_0114_1. Than PLM_0114 cannot also be a child of PLM_0115... (as in real live also).

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Repeat the steps 1 to 10.

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External References
General 03

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11) Exit the sketcher.

12) Select the face and double click on it.

13) Activate sketch function

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14) Select geometry as shown below and the function Project 3D Elements

15) Create a pocket with the depth of 1mm.

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16) Create a chamfer with the lenght.1 = 1mm and the angle 45deg.

The result should look like this:

17) Repeat the steps 12 to 16 on the hole of the other groove.

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18) Activate the main Product.

19) Edit the offset - new value = 30mm

20) Check the result. The two new holes in Part ... 114 have a new position - also the chamfers moved with the holes.

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Repeat the steps 11 to 20.

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External References
General 04

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Weeks later its not easy to remember which external reference points the which Part or geometry. You can avoid this by using the parent children command. a) Open the folder External References of the Part ...0114 b) select curve.43 c) press right mouse button and select parent children.

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The following panel appears:

The message: Curve.43 has a parent edge which is located in Part PLM_0105_2_Fertigteil_1.CATPart and a child, which is inside the active Part with the name Setch.42.

Activate the edge and press the right mouse button - select reframe on and the curve is highlighted in the 3D workspace - select center graph, to visualize the corresponding feature in the tree

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As we have seen by the last command, hole.14 is the parent of curve.43. 21) Activate Part PLM_0105... and select hole.14 in tree. 22) center the tree, that the External References are visible (be sure that hole.14 is still selected) 23) Press delete on the keyboard. An update is requested - update Part PLM_105....

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24) After the update of Part PLM_105... the Product looks like this:

The icons of the External References has been changed. The icons of the curves 26 to 42 are red which means, that they have to be synchronized (which happens automatically after the update of Part PLM_0114...). The icon of curve.43 is different. This symbol indicates, that the reference is lost - in this case because of the hole.14, we deleted in the last step.

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25) Activate Part PLM_0114... and update it. The following message appears:

Curve.43 is now whithout any connection to a parent geometry. But the children (pocket.14 and chamfer.14 - check by parent/children) are still connected. To reconnect the curve with a new external reference do the following: a) create a new hole in Part PLM_0105... with a thread M3 inside and the option up to next. b) activate Part PLM_0114... c) create a new external reference. An easy way to do so is to create a point on the selected new curve, which should be the new external reference. After that, delete the point and the new external reference is in the Part. d) select curve.43 and activate by right mouse button the replace command select the external reference which was created in step c). e) curve.43 can know be deleted.
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The tree than looks like this:

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26) Open a new Product an insert the existing Part PLM_0114_1.

The green wheel turns into brown. That means, this Part is a contextual Part, but it is inserted in a Product which is not the base contextual environment.

Therefore this error message also appears:

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To find the name and path of the base contextual environment do the following: a) activate PLM_0114_1

b) Select Edit/Links from the menue and change to pointed documents:

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A child always knows its parent, even if they are located in other Part/Product BUT a parent feature/geometry doesnt know its children, if they are not in the same Part. Example: a) Open the Product External References_2 b) Open the tree of the Part PLM_0114_2 and the folder External References c) Select curve.44 and select in the contextual menue the Parent/Children command

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d) Parent of curve.44 is one edge of the Part PLM_0105_2 Fertigteil. e) Select the edge in the panel an press right mouse button/center graph - hole.18 of the Part PLM_0105_2 Fertigteil is highlighted. f) close window, double click on hole.18 and select in the contextual menue the Parent/Children command - hole.18 knows nothing about its child curve.44.

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- repeat the steps 21 to 26 - check the hints and tips

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External References
Reference links and Instance links

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Reference links

The difference between an instance link and a reference link will be explained on the following example: 1) Open the Parts Reference link_PLM_0105 and Reference link_PLM_0114. HINT: These Parts are opened without a Product.

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Reference links 2) Activate the Part Body of the Part Reference link_PLM_0105, select Sketch.40 of Pocket.3 and press right mouse button/copy.

3) Activate the Part Body of the Part Reference link_PLM_0114, and press right mouse button/paste special. Select the option as result with link.

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Reference links

CATIA has inserted the sketch.40 of the Part Reference link_PLM_0105 with a reference link. Check the icon of the inserted sketch - the green point indicates, that a link exists.

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Reference links

4) Create a pad as shown below.

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Reference links

5) Select Window/tile horizontaly. Activate the Part Body of the Part Reference link_PLM_0105, select Sketch.40 of Pocket.3 and edit the parameter with the value 60mm to 62mm and exit the sketch.

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Reference links

Both geomtries turns to red 6) Update both Parts The groove in Part PLM_0105 and the pad in the other Part changes because of the reference link.

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Repeat the steps 1 to 6.

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Reference links

Using a reference link results in a geometrical Parent/Children dependency between two Parts BUT the positions of these Parts in an assembly have no effect on this kind of links.

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Instance links 1) Open the Product External_References_2. This is the Product we created already. Remember, the geometrical dependencies between the grooves/pads and the holes were created in the Product environment.

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Instance links

2) Double click on the face below:

3) Change 62mm to 60mm and press ok. Update the complete Product. The gemetrical dependency between both Parts is still alive.

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Instance links 4) Now select the instantiation of PLM_105... in the tree:

5) Select the compass and place it on the Part PLM_0105.... The compass turns to green.

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Instance links 6) Move the compass (Part) -2mm in x-direction as shown below and update the Product. HINT: To do so activate the contextual menue of the compass.

Result:

We have just changed the relative position of the Parts to another with the effect, that the geometry changes in the child Part PLM_0115... .

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Repeat the steps 1 to 6.

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Reference links Using a reference link results in a geometrical Parent/Children dependency between two Parts. BUT The position of the Parts in an assembly has no effect.

Instance links Using an instance link results in a geometrical Parent/Children dependency between two Parts. AND The position of the Parts in an assembly has an effect.

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In the examples of this chapter we have always created external references which were based on edges, faces and vertexes. Depending on the assembly that has to be created, it can be usefull to create a Master Part, that includes lines, points and surfaces, which drives other connected Parts. The advantages of this method are: - clearly arranged structur within the assembly - problems with missing edges, faces or vertexes (caused by some specific geometrical changes) can be avoided The disadvantage is: - each driving geometry has to be transfered into the Master Part

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