Creo Parametric - Relations - Design Intent

This Creo Parametric tutorial video shows you how to create Relations - mathematical expressions that control some dimensions as a function of other dimensions - to build Design Intent in your parts and assemblies.
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Thanks,
Dave

[@brettengineer6622]

This guy has the best videos on Creo hands down, don't bother going anywhere else

[@CADPLMGuy]

Wow, Brett, thanks! I really appreciate that.

[@RL-rw3di]

Great videos, I have started using Creo for the first time thru my job and these vids have been a big help...........

[@CADPLMGuy]

R L, glad I can help. Please let me know if there are any topics you're interested in that I haven't hit yet.

[@RL-rw3di]

Thanks for the reply, can you discuss family table on how to create, update and organize. Also, exploded views and how to modify lines if you move or adjust a component location. Thank you Sir.

[@CADPLMGuy]

Thanks, R L. I have a video on Family Tables for connectors, but I need to do one for more generic components like fasteners. I will put together a video on Explode Lines.

[@ahmetatasever8315]

Thank you very much for clear information and presentation. It is very helpful

[@MartinezRBA]

I see few people watching these videos on how to use a lot of features on creo even though they are so great and simple to understand. Anyway, thanks! And I would suggest a cosmetic thread video.

[@CADPLMGuy]

Thanks, Brandon! A video on Cosmetic Threads is a great idea. I will add that to the list.

[@SeanMcDonnell33]

Another awesome video! Question on dimension names, does it matter if the dimensions are named on the part level via right click "edit" the feature as you have shown in this video, or if the dimensions are re-named within the actual sketch definition environment? (if the feature happens to be a sketch). I was scanning through your top down design book on amazon and noticed you mentioned an unhealthy practice for sketches is adding relations within sketches. It's all a bit confusing, why does Creo even let you add relations in multiple 'modes' (i.e. part, asm, sketch modes)? Maybe a new video idea would be showing the risks of creating relations or naming dimensions within sketch mode? Thanks once again for all the very helpful information!

[@CADPLMGuy]

Sean, in the sketch, dimensions are given the name sd#, which become d# at the feature and part-level. In Creo 3.0 and earlier, if you renamed the dimension in the sketch, that carried over to part mode. In Creo 4.0 and later, I actually don't see a way to change the dimension names at the sketch level anymore. Regarding writing Relations at different levels or modes, they do have their uses. Variable Section Sweeps make heavy use of Relations at the sketch level. Also I have used them in very specific cases, like when I have a Datum Analysis feature evaluated higher in the Model Tree and I want to use the result to drive a Sketch. There are times when you might need Relations to be evaluated at the time the feature is regenerated, or after the part is regenerated (like with mass properties), but those tend to be edge cases. In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, they are helpful. Usually when I find someone has written Relations at the sketch level, though, they did not know that's what they were doing, and it's very hard for someone else to know Relations exist there. Good idea for a video. I want to do both more high-level modeling practices videos as well as more detailed examinations of nuances videos. I could do a high-level one on "here are Relations at different levels and why you would use one" and a more nuanced "here's how those Relations are affected by the regeneration cycle."

[@SeanMcDonnell33]

@@CADPLMGuy Those sound like two more really useful videos to me :) thanks for the clear response, this all makes sense. (also you're right, I'm new to using Creo 4, I just checked and and I can no longer find a way to re-name a dimension within a sketch like I thought I could in previous versions)

[@CADPLMGuy]

Sean, I just posted a video where I hopefully clarified the use of Relations at different modeling levels. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHXQnWp4m9l1edU

[@tiagofigueiredo2848]

I've tried to emulate what you did with d2>=2, and change the dimension to 1.5, and only appears a small message in the Message log. There is no window like you show in this video. Any particular configuration?

[@CADPLMGuy]

What version of Creo Parametric are you using? I believe it was changed in a version. For the longest time I was used to getting the error in the Message Area, and it's only recently that I've been seeing it as a dialog box.

[@tiagofigueiredo2848]

@@CADPLMGuy it's creo 5.0. But the strange thing is that I've tested in other computer, and it appeared. So it should be any config. Tomorrow I will delete all lines from my config.pro, and will insert one by one to see if any of my configurations, is blocking the window.

[@CADPLMGuy]

Sight unseen, I would guess perhaps info_output_mode, which I have set to screen.

[@tiagofigueiredo2848]

@@CADPLMGuy , found the reason. I created the relation inside a feature. When I changed the relation to the part level, it has the same behavior as your video. Thanks

[@dandy8849]

hello, can you also use flexible component function on imported step. file spring

[@CADPLMGuy]

No. There’s nothing parametric that Component Flexibility can drive.

[@dandy8849]

@@CADPLMGuy thanks!

[@Waseem_2013]

Hello, Is there a way to create a relation for points XYZ coordinates? Maybe like: PNT1=X, Y, Z I have been looking but haven’t found an answer, thank you for your help.

[@CADPLMGuy]

Not like that. You should look at my video on Prime Analysis Datums. But what are you really trying to do? Sometimes people get caught up in the mechanics and lose sight of the goal.

[@Waseem_2013]

Creo Parametric We want to place points on a part and show their coordinates on drawing tables using parameters. (Hole table) is not an option since it only works when Z is normal to screen. So I thought we can use parameters to make the tables parametric. Do you have a link to the video you mentioned?

[@CADPLMGuy]

@@Waseem_2013 Hole Table works for points. It has other issues which I'll explain in a video. But if you want to use the Hole Table... why not create Holes? I guess the more basic question is, what is the point (no pun intended) of the table of points? What are you really trying to accomplish? Let's get to the more basic problem rather than getting wrapped up into datum points, Relations, Hole Tables, and so on. You can find videos by searching from the channel home page.

[@Waseem_2013]

Creo Parametric We are creating cast inspection points, so the foundry wants us to place points on the surface of the model and get their coordinates in reference to the part’s CSYS. That is all they requested us to do, may e they want to use those coordinates to scan the model is some program.

[@CADPLMGuy]

@@Waseem_2013 Okay, so now we're starting to get to the core of the issue. (Btw, this is like 75% of consulting, trying to figure out what the customer really wants, as opposed to what they think they want.) How do you determine where those points are? Do you create datum points on model surfaces? It sounds like they want to use those points with a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). Do they want that information on the drawing or in a more useful form like an Excel or CSV file?