×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

(OP)
I'm using NX 5.0.4.1.

In modeling mode, When I measure the distance to the center of a cylinder, a centerline appears that I can pick. It's like the drafting mode centerline utility symbol. Is there any way I can turn these modeling centerline utility symbols on so that I can use them?

Thanks,

UGguy

RE: How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

Use them for what, exactly?

Perhaps you would be served by placing a datum axis using the cylindrical face as a reference.

RE: How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

(OP)
Cowski,

For everything actually... modeling, dimensioning...

Let me tell you how this all started.

I have a cylindrical bar, with a hole going thru it for a pin. the cylindrical bar was modeled in vehicle position, so it has a really strange WCS. Further more, the hole going thru it does not line up with the cylindrical bar in any way. So call that a different strange WCS.

Now you know, when you drill a hole thru a bar, you don't have an arc on the surface. You have a spline. So putting in a centerline was fun.

There are several ways to do it... extract an edge and project it onto a plane. Cut a section and draw a line midway between the two lines. Place 2 points on the spline, and connect the dots, repeat on the other side, and finally draw a line from control point to control point. I've even put the wcs on the cylindrical center, and drawn a line along the Y axis.

But that's not the question. The question is, can the utility symbol be turned on, you know, the one that appear when you do an info distance?

Thanks again...

Ugguy!

RE: How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

I still don't see what the problem is.  Attached is a model similar to what you described along with a 4 view drawing.  The 'centerlines' in the model are Datum Axis which were created by simply selecting the cylindrical FACES of the model (no need to mess with the splines).  And as for the drawing, THOSE centerlines that you see were created AUTOMATICALLY by the Drawing creation software.  And this was all done using NX 5.0.6.3.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
 

RE: How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

I am also used to seeing centerlines in models. That's how a lot of visual checking depends on (just lining stuff up). Can't understand why, if the software already intrinsically knows there are centerlines there, why can't they JUST be displayed?! (NX5)

RE: How can I show the cylindrical centerline in NX5?

It would be a matter of clutter more than anything.  Besides, having actual physical 'centerlines' would NOT add one bit to the functionality of NX since, as has already been acknowledged, whenever you need to reference the centerline of a cylindrical object, one will be displayed automatically which can be selected as needed.  And for those cases where something more 'permanent' may be needed, all you have to do is add a Datum axis (which can now be globally Hidden and Shown using new 'Show and Hide' function).

As for Drafting and views placed on a Drawing, this issue has already been addressed more than adequately.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
 

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources