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Modeling Decals?

Modeling Decals?

Modeling Decals?

(OP)
What is the best way to model a decal? Basically I am looking for a way to design a 2D design that I would then apply to a 3D surface.

I am currently on NX5 but I anticipate moving to NX7.5 soon so if there are some new options in newer versions, that would be of some help as well.

Ed Gray NX5

RE: Modeling Decals?

we've always made them out of curves and projected them to the surface

RE: Modeling Decals?

(OP)
I was hoping to do it in a more assembly like fashion.

RE: Modeling Decals?

You can use the...

View -> Visualization -> Decal...

...function to place an image (JPG, PNG or TIF) on the face(s) of a model.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

(OP)
Thanks John, that sounds good.

RE: Modeling Decals?

The View -> Visualization -> Decal...need a special license named 'Studio...'

For decal I would like a support without extra license and supported in drafting.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC8.3

RE: Modeling Decals?

Sorry, since the added decal will only show up in a rendered state, software- or hardware-based, and since those states are only available as part of the Studio application, why would you need to place a 'decal' in normal modeling if there's no way that you would ever see it?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

Well, hm, this is one point where our dear development team haven't thought the full length of the design process, -In the end that decal / label also needs to be documented somehow...- maybe shown or somehow illustrated on a drawing. And since drawings cannot display Studio rendered shaded views, ...

Regards,
 Tomas

RE: Modeling Decals?

All you have to do is capture a raster image of the "Studio rendered shaded view" in either JPG, PNG or TIF format and the use the...

Insert -> Image...

...function to place that image on the face of the Drawing.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

- And probably add a note/ dimension where this label should fit, so what one has to do is either vectorize the label and project that as well such that there is something that can be annotated.
 Or extract the faces where the label goes and trim these into the same position / shape as the decal, then annotate the extracted sheet.

Regards, Tomas

RE: Modeling Decals?

If the positioning of the 'decal' is critical, you may find it useful to create a sketch on the face where the decal will be placed and in the sketch create a rectangle representing the size and location of the area where the decal is to be placed.  Once you leave the sketch use it to sub-divide the face and then place the decal on just this face using the 'Full Face' option to fit the logo.  Now you will not only have some edges which will appear in your drawing views, which could be view-dependently edited to be dashed or dotted so as to help identify it for what it is and which can even be dimensioned if that's needed, but also, if you ever wish to move the decal, all you have to do is edit the sketch.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

John, I like your workaround for decals; do you have any tips for working with artwork applied directly to a model - such as pad printing applied to a surface with compound curvature (molded plastic parts)?

www.nxjournaling.com

RE: Modeling Decals?

In the example below, instead of a sketch I created a set of isoparametric curves on the face of the model and used them to defined the boundaries of the sub-divided face:

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

There is no special hardware except perhaps that entry level home systems just don't cut it.  However, anything you buy today which is identified as a 'workstation' will have adequate graphics hardware.

As for the license issue, that has NOTHING to do with technology, that's a business issue, which means you're talking to the WRONG guy in the WRONG forum (Meaning that Eng-Tips is NOT the place to discuss issues which are related to pricing & policy.  You need to take that up with your Siemens PLM rep or the VAR that you normally deal with.).

As for making this work in the context of a Drawing, now that's technical but since it's clearly not supported now, your best bet it to contact GTAC and have them open an ER.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

Hi John,
you have right, sure it's not the place to discuss.
But you are a good guy, very important for NX user and a NX employee.
You are the person were NX user transfer their opinions and needing.
Maybe in some your SIEMENS reunion talk about suggestion discusses in this forum.    

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC8.3

RE: Modeling Decals?

those are not as percise as you'd like to think

RE: Modeling Decals?

(OP)
Considering the number of responses and the heat of this discussion, it really sound like there is reason for an enhancement request.

I would like to see a "module"(?) designed for creating 2D "parts" that could be assembled to "flat"(planar, cylindrical, or conic) faces in an assembly, using "apply" and "orient" constraints.

These parts would be designed on a "modeling" side and have drawings made on a "drafting" side.

I would think the modeling side could leverage some popular graphics application but this might make it difficult to port to multiple platforms. One would really like to have a rich graphics toolset. Not for my work but I could see where one might.

comments? flame?

RE: Modeling Decals?

I'd like to add my voice to those requesting "decals" be shown in drafting views.  Would have come in handy several times that I can think of.

Also John, I'd like to see more detail in how you made that curved siemens logo several posts up.  That's cool.

RE: Modeling Decals?

I already explained that I created 4 Isoparamertic curves (2 in the 'U' direction and 2 in 'V' direction) which were then used to define the rectangular boundary for the Divide Face which I then applied a .jpg file as a Decal using the Scaling Method of 'Face Size'.  Note that until NX 8.0, Isoparametric curves were not associative, but they are now.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

OK guys,
add an ER :
- Add support for decals on modeling without special license and show them in drafting, on export to PDF or as images (png, jpg, bmp, etc.) like in SolidWorks, Solid Edge and Inventor.
 

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC8.3

RE: Modeling Decals?

You have a telephone, don't you?  Call GTAC yourself.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

John,
I've made what you have suggest.
I wrote this to stimulate to open an ER, because write only here don't improve NX.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC8.3

RE: Modeling Decals?

(OP)
I have entered an ER for this.

It has been given ER number 6696553

RE: Modeling Decals?

ER accepted.
The number is 1894359.

Thank you...

Using NX 8 and TC8.3

RE: Modeling Decals?

(OP)
This is what I requested:

I would like to propose new functionality for the handling of decals.
Decals are parts that are handled in the factory like any other part

I would like to be able to create a 2D part which is the decal.

I would like to see a rich graphical tool set for creating the decals.

I would like to see the decals documented via the current drafting functions.

I would like the decals to be added to the assembly through the current assembly functions, possibly with some new simplified constraints. for the first iteration I would be happy with the restriction of only being able to apply decals to planar, cylindrical, or conic faces, to remove the complication of stretching .
 

RE: Modeling Decals?

I tend to agree with all of your proposals except one:

"I would like to see a rich graphical tool set for creating the decals."

I'm not sure that people would be happy if we invested our limited R&D dollars reproducing even a subset of the functionality of something like 'Adobe Illustrator', even if it was integrated with NX, just so that you wouldn't need to purchase a 3rd party graphics creation product.

We shouldn't be expected to try and duplicate something which is already being done much better using readily available commercial tools.  That being said, this new functionality WOULD need to be able to directly accept any of the current graphic standard file formats.  After all, in many instances, the engineer will be supplied the 'artwork' which has already been created in some other part of their organization or even by an outside design firm.

Other than that, I think you've pretty well covered the topic.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

RE: Modeling Decals?

(OP)
Yes was going to suggest an interface with some outside application like we do with Excel but I thought that might be forcing the customers hand.

Maybe this could place the image file on a shape template?

A big part of my request is that this be handled like any other part in the assembly.

Thank you for your input.

RE: Modeling Decals?

So in the meantime, create labels and decals with sketches and then divide face. Shows up nice in Modeling and Drafting. Can be very time consuming so... has anybody created any UDFs of sketches for some of the common decal symbols that they would be willing to share?

RE: Modeling Decals?

Starting with NX 8.0 we've added a couple of new categories to the Reuse Library which has some limited content but which might help lead the way for something like this by our customers. Attached is a couple of images which shows the current content. Note that the 'Mark' example is to actually create features which can be added to a model either as an embossed/raised geometry. The '2D Section' examples are simply sketches (note that this is also available in NX 7.5 just in the different location within the Reuse Library folders.

I'm not saying that these samples are a solution, but they might get someone thinking about how they could leverage this new and evolving scheme.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum: http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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

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