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conditional variables

conditional variables

conditional variables

(OP)
Hello,

i have difficult situation in NX 7.5
i have two different parameters in model, but they depend on where part is... position of part is somehow defined by name, actually name have two-digit number at end and that number define position.
so i have situation A and situation B... let say for example that it is one offset inside part and it have value A and value B... i need to make array like [5,13,17,33] and only the parts that have this numbers in part name should have offset B others have to have offset A. is this possible to be done?

even more, is this possible to be done in TC?

Thank You!

RE: conditional variables

When you say this depends on a "part number", are we talking about a single part file which might have different names or are we talking a part which is used as a Component in an Assembly where it's the Assembly name that you're talking about? That is, you have a part (Component) that will have a different parameter depending on the NAME of the Assembly that the Component is used in?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

RE: conditional variables

(OP)
yes, parts has different names and parts are different in same assembly depending on name of part.

example:
command_part //here i hold most repetative expressions and elements that are used in all these parts, and i use wave and expression links to use them in parts
part_01 variant A
part_02 variant A
part_03 variant B
part_04 variant A
part_05 variant A
part_06 variant A
part_07 variant A
part_08 variant B
part_09 variant A
part_10 variant A
part_11 variant A
part_12 variant B

so assembly will have all this parts inside, and i will make array that say [3,8,12] in command part, but i need expression inside pat that will check if part have to be variant A or variant B

RE: conditional variables

This sounds like a job for a 'Family Table'. This will allow you to take a parametric 'master' model and using a Spreadsheet interface, create basically a 'truth table' showing, based on the part number that will actually be used when placing a 'family member' into an Assembly as a Component, what values are to be used for the parameters of that particular 'family member'. Attached below is an example of how this works (in this case it's a simple 'Eye-Bolt'). To see how this is implemented, open the part file and first look at the features and the expressions and you will see that it looks like any typical 'parameteric' model. Now go to...

Tools -> Part Familes...

...and when the dialog opens, select the 'Edit' buttong below where it says 'Part Family Spreadsheet'. An Excel spreadsheet will open showing the various family members and the values of the Paratmeters and Attributes which are to be applied to each member of the family as well as the name that that family member will be created when it's used.

Now close the spreadsheet and when the Part Families dialog is displayed again, hit 'Cancel' and close the part file.

Now to see how this works open an assembly and add this part file, 'Eye Bolt, in.prt' as a Component to the Assembly and you will be presented with a dialog where you will be able to explicitly select which 'Eye Bolt', based on either picking its size, description, etc. that you wish to add to your Assembly and when you do it will be created using the specific 'parameters' that were recorded in the Spreadsheet in that master Family template part file.

Anyway, look this over and see if this will do what you're looking for.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

RE: conditional variables

(OP)
no. it is not family part.
i need exactly solution i am asking for.

i need to make this easy for user so he/she have to edit array only to make changes to project. this is much more difficult then what i explained, this project work completely different then family parts.

so is there expression that can check array and expression that can get last two digits from part name? and is it possible to put that in kind of if then loop?

RE: conditional variables

You could always write an NX Open program that could do that, but I can't think of a way to do that from within NX itself so that this would happen automatically without some outside (i.e. custom program) help.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

RE: conditional variables

I understand what you're saying, and it might even be true, but so far it does not appear that he's actually broken any of the 'rules', however, I am going to pay closer attention to any future issues which he may bring up, and how he responds to legitimate comments (which I have to admit now that I've gone back and reviewed his replies, your argument is starting to look much stronger), watching for hints that his motives just might be something other than what Eng-Tips Forums has always shrived for.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

RE: conditional variables

(OP)
ok. i ma working on big live assembly that have to update on change of basic shape. so first part is basic shape... like plane wing, now i have to make special lab equipment that goes around wing. that equipment is something that is made for every wing that is tested, and till now it was made from scratch every time. i made cad templates for most of equipment, and now they just have to change wing, change links of wing and all equipment update.

now there is special stand, that have two variants, and it is not on same place every time, so variant A is default and variant B is special and it is moved depending on some calculation. so when they make calculations and say that special have to be on positions 3, 6, 15 and 19 i need just to put that somehow, i imagined array, if you have better idea tell me, in equations and it will make changes to certain parts that have names that are connected to positions.
 

RE: conditional variables

OK, have you looked into your 'Deformable Components' instead? This will allow you to create a component where one or more of it's parameters could be edited/modified at the assembly level. These parameters could be used to control the size of shape of the component's solid/sheet bodies. If you linked the common parameters of each Component to the same expression in the Assembly you could easily update all of the relevant components via a single edit. One of the advantages of this is that while all of the 'Deformable Components' added to an Assembly could be based on the same 'master' part file, once it has been added to an Assembly each one can be modified independent of any other Component thus allowing you to adjuste the parameters, and thus the size/shape, of each Component as required.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

RE: conditional variables

(OP)
ok. i will try deformable components.

but this involve user in to template, and that is what i want to eliminate. user have to edit from finished template and i want them just to put info they got from calculations at the beginning and to let NX finish design for them.

is there any way to use array in NX, in any way similar to what i need?

RE: conditional variables

Can you be more clear as to what you mean by an "array"?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

RE: conditional variables

(OP)
array as set of numbers and it can be 3 or 4 or 5 numbers in that array... problem is that i do not know how many numbers will be in that set. if it is always same amount of numbers (this sound silly) then it would be easy to make expressions with them, but as it is unknown amount i can't predict how many numbers will be there in future.
with fix amount of numbers in set and fixed amount of stand elements (construction that hold wing during tests is assembled of some number of same element that just change shape along wing, but not basic structure, so only lengths and positions of elements in one stand is different but all have same structure, except few that have A and B variants), kind of solutions would be to assign one expression in every stand element with value that is same as last two digits of name of part, and then to compare it in loop with these fixed amount of numbers... it would be easy. but as wings are changing over time, it will be more and more stands and more and amount of special stands would change.
too bad i can't share images.

so for user, it would be perfect just to change wing and to put in array in PTS form and then to print documentation. and i can't solve only this last problem with array.

RE: conditional variables

May I suggest that you contact either Siemens PLM or your local support provider and have someone look at what you're doing. This is more complex than what can be done on a help message board. Good luck.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

RE: conditional variables

(OP)
Thank you John, i contacted Siemens PLM and i am waiting answers :)
but i thought this is interesting problem and i had hopes that maybe somebody here can give me just a little boost so i can solve this mostly myself. it is not interesting if PLM guys do all the fun :)

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