Am I using SE correctly

[Milkboy]

I work on SE version 10 to the company procedure. We do not use the 3D at all, only draft. £$£$£$£ I think
Im a big fan of SE when I comes to details where I can change a dimension and get all the dims / relatioships to react and change the entire draft - no model there you note !
I have just tried an assy - designing from scratch, say a shaft and hole. I sketched in draft a section view - I then have to setup layers to put shaft in one, hole in the other.
Dimns on the shaft OK. Dimns on the hole DRIVEN BY THE SHAFT arrrghhh. As when I sketch my desing in draft you obviously line up the diameters. If I turn of "Maint. Relations" when I mod a dimns it dosent work right.

To compound this, our details and GAs in Draft do not have a LINK. We have to design a GA then CUT AND PASTE into a detail. If the GA changes, or the detail, this is not reflected in the other.
Can a link be set up in Draft between GA and Detail ??


My gut feeling says its wrong. I have used SolWorks, AutoCAD, Bravo and KeyCAD. But this SE method says WRONG to me.
I cant understand why my company has bought v10 for £$X when SE origin is free (I got a copy for home) and dosent really omit anything we need

TIA for your comments / help / suggestions

milkboy Milkboy

 

[swertel]

I don't know that acronym GA. What does GA stand for?

Forgive me for starting the rant, but why would a company pay that much money for a 3D software only to use it as 2D? Working in that method must be cumbersome at best. Do they not know the benefits of 3D modeling since they have a modeling package? If you built a model, all the problems you are describing would go away. Of course, you would end up with entirely new problems, but that's another story.

If you are in a position to change the policy, I would recommend finishing the project you are working on using the company standards, then recreate it using 3D methods. Keep track of the amount of time spent on each one. Consider the learning curve if you haven't modeled before. If they are stuck on 2D, recommend getting a 2D CAD package. A little cheaper and a little easier to use in the 2D environment. IntelliCAD comes to mind.

--Scott

 

[Milkboy]

GA is General Assembly / Arrangement

Can details be linked from detail to GA ?

Change a detail and the GA changes ??

milkboy Milkboy

 

Solid Edge drawings will not drive the model/assembly. It's not set up that way.

The model/assembly can drive the draft. If you create the model first and then create the draft, you can insert the views you want of the model (don't use a Snapshot view, it won't work right for what you want). Then you can place your dimensions in the draft. If you change the model, you can upadte the draft view and the dimensions will change.

As for the you shaft in the hole idea, you have to use an Inner Part Copy or Part Copy. If you start with the shaft already in the assembly, and then create a plate with a hole in it, the Inner Part Copy will reside in the plate model. The Inner Part Copy is nothing more than a surface that occupies the same location as the shaft surfaces. You have to specify every surface that you will be using from the shaft. Then you should be able to link the hole geometry in the plate to the shaft (kinda).

I've heard that variable tables can be used to link dimensions, but I've never used it because it sounds like so much more work than Inner Part Copy or Part Copy.