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Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

(OP)
I am having trouble creating a simple axis system. I wish to recreate the drawing defined Datums on a part so I may verify hole vectors against a table. The file is using airplane coordinates which are useless to me. So the file coordinate system has no common vector or origin with the defined datums.

I want to use two planes (-A-, -happy shades to orient (XYZ) and origin (XZ) and I want to use a point to origin the Y axis. (-C- is a target, not a flat surface).

CATIA only allows me to specify X,Y, or Z vectors and then pick an origin. I have tried to select the `coordinates` option in the origin box but these numbers are always from the airplane coordinates. Even if I `set as current` another axis system, the values used as `coordinate` of a new axis system are relative to the airplane coordinates.

So my goal would be something like this: I am looking for the option to specify vectors (which CATIA has), and the option to select AND offset from geometrical elements on the part for each axis in order to make an axis system.

This seems like it should be so simple. Along with a little help (please), can someone please validate or deny my notion that many things in CATIA are just not intuitive? This is a workflow interruption that should never have happened.

Nick

Light structural commercial aircraft parts
PCDMIS 4.3 CAD++, CATIA V5 R20
APM Consortium Inc.
Ontario, Canada

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

hi,

Thats simple. just click on the corresponding geometrical element ( edge ) or right click in the vector to get a contextual menu to create your own lines . Hope this helps.


Sudhakar.N

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

(OP)
That answer did not help me. I'll provide a picture.

I want the X axis normal to the blue surface. this is also X0.
I want the Z axis normal to the green surface. this is also Z0.
I want the Y axis origined on the pink point.

I see no way of accomplishing this using the axis system dialog because you can only select one element as an origin.

If you right click in the origin box and choose coordinates, then I can position the origin relative to the airplane coordinate which I said above is useless to me.

Nick

Light structural commercial aircraft parts
PCDMIS 4.3 CAD++, CATIA V5 R20
APM Consortium Inc.
Ontario, Canada

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.



Axis origine is on selected Point.2
X is normal to blue face
Y is normal to green face
Z is defined by system...

Eric N.
indocti discant et ament meminisse periti

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

(OP)
Getting closer...Ok, so using your picture (itsmyjob), I'd want the X axis origined on the blue face (as well as normal to it) and I'd want the Y axis origined on the green face (as well as normal to it). Meaning that the distance from the axis system X0 to the blue face is 0. and the the distance from the axis system Y0 to the green face is 0.

The only thing I want the point to affect is the Z position. Do you see what I mean?

In your picture, you have XYZ all origined on the point.

Nick

Light structural commercial aircraft parts
PCDMIS 4.3 CAD++, CATIA V5 R20
APM Consortium Inc.
Ontario, Canada

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

create origin point by projecting your point on the intersection of blue and green face.

Eric N.
indocti discant et ament meminisse periti

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

(OP)
Can you please be more specific? At what time do I project a point to the intersection of the blue and green face? Where is that option? Is it in the axis system dialog?


Nick

Light structural commercial aircraft parts
PCDMIS 4.3 CAD++, CATIA V5 R20
APM Consortium Inc.
Ontario, Canada

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

(OP)
I am aware of the contextual menu. It must be my experience level preventing me from using these options successfully.

When I right click the origin box click I find: Create- point, midpoint,endpoint, coordinates, and no selection. The Point, midpoint,endpoint options will all get me an origin that is on the part- actually touching the geometry. This will not be what is desired. The coordinate option cannot be used because these coordinates are in the airplane coordinate system (which I noted above). The X,Y,and Z offsets move the point in all kinds of vectors not related to the drawing datums.

I have attached another picture showing pictorially where I expect my axis system to end up based on all of the info I have provided prior. I have the axis system in the right place only because I made other axis systems and created points offset from those. My goal is to get it done in one step.


Nick

Light structural commercial aircraft parts
PCDMIS 4.3 CAD++, CATIA V5 R20
APM Consortium Inc.
Ontario, Canada

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

i don't think its possible !

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

(OP)
I can't possibly be asking too much here...

Nick

Light structural commercial aircraft parts
PCDMIS 4.3 CAD++, CATIA V5 R20
APM Consortium Inc.
Ontario, Canada

RE: Axis system creation troubles; guidance please.

like i said, first create the point (using the intersection, then projection functions)... then create the axis. you will see that once you select 2 face for X and Z orientation, nothing is required for the last vector.

Eric N.
indocti discant et ament meminisse periti

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