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[previous article] [next article]Rene Ketterer
A quick glance at Pro/ENGINEER (Parametric Technology Corporation) in Mechanical Engineering, might lead the user to believe that it is just another computer-aided drafting program. Not so! With the help of Professor Ramani and Dave Henderson (ME444), I was led through the world of parametric modeling.
Pro/ENGINEER is a package of modules that are designed to build, mesh, and analyze parts, assemblies of parts, and assemblies of assemblies. Pro/ENGINEER's fifteen menu-driven modes work in concert from design to analysis to assembly. Below is a table taken from the manual, Fundamentals of Pro/ENGINEER, page 3-1.
MODE DESCRIPTION
Assembly Model assemblies of parts and other assemblies
Cabling Accessed from within Assembly mode, it is
used to route cables between connectors
and other electrical terminators
with Pro/CABLING).
Composite Create and document parts made of composite
materials (with Pro/COMPOSITE)
Diagram Create 2-D schematic representations of
electrical, piping, power, heating,
and ventilation assemblies.
Dieface Design stamping dies for forming sheet metal
Drawing Create engineering drawings using parts and
assemblies or simple 2-D drafting entities.
Format Create and modify drawing formats used by
other Pro/ENGINEER products (Pro/DETAIL)
Layout Create 2-D conceptual assembly sketches
with Pro/DESIGN license).
Manufacturing Create data for driving Numerical Control
machines (with Pro/Manufacturing).
Markup Mark up a drawing without changing the
drawing itself (with basic Pro/ENGINEER
and Pro/DETAIL)
Mold Create and analyze molds and moldings
with Pro/MOLDESIGN).
Part Create solid models of parts.
Report Create custom reports for assembly Bill of
Materials and Project Engineering (with
Pro/REPORT).
Sheet Metal Create solid models of sheet metal parts
and to develop the NCL data necessary to
manufacture them (with Pro/SHEETMETAL)
Sketcher Sketch feature sections and parametric
drawing formats. This can be accessed from
the MODE menu as well as from Part and
Assembly modes.
Installed on the Hewlett Packard 9000 series model 715 machines
located in Mechanical Engineering Room 236, Pro/ENGINEER is
currently available to any ME student with an account on these
machines (driver et al.). Since the package is X-based, however,
it can be run on a remote server.
Pro/ENGINEER is located in /usr/local/bin/pro and is started by
typing "pro" at the prompt. The current preferred method of
printing is saving the output to a postscript file via the
Interface menu and then sending the file to the printer of
choice. For the advanced users much of Pro/ENGINEER's
environment is adjustable.
Of particular note is the manner in which Pro/ENGINEER creates parts, not merely drawings, but rather, working with volumes. In sketcher mode, the user determines the geometry of the section in question then adds dimensionality and orientation, rotating or extruding the geometry along a particular axis.
Once the assembly is created, the user may then employ a tool called ANSPro to communicate with ANSYS. Pro/ENGINEER meshes the assembly, sends it to ANSYS for finite element analysis. The results are then sent back to Pro/ENGINEER to adjust the model and resubmit to ANSYS. The user has the ability to set bounds, constraints, and/or number of iterations on this process.
The extensive documentation for Pro/ENGINEER is available for perusal in ME 242. The manuals that have proven most useful thus far are:
Fundamentals of Pro/ENGINEER
Pro/ENGINEER Modeling User's Guide
Pro/ENGINEER Drawing User's Guide
Pro/ENGINEER FEM User's Guide
Look for Pro/ENGINEER to appear in the following courses: ME 444
COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN and the upcoming AGEN 591P PARAMETRIC AND
SOLID MODELING.
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