Creo Parametric - Skeleton Models - Top Down Design (Part 2)

This Creo Parametric tutorial follows up on the previous Skeletons video to show you other techniques for creating a Skeleton: building native geometry like datums and surface features, as well as a Publish Geometry feature.
For more information about Top Down Design in Creo Parametric, please visit www.creowindch....
"Top Down Design in Creo Parametric" is available to read for free with Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.com here:
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Thanks,
Dave

[@SeanMcDonnell33]

What are the benefits of modeling skeleton part features as surfaces as opposed to solids?

[@CADPLMGuy]

Sean, great question. I find there are three main reasons. (1) Surfaces are "lighter" than solids for regeneration, and (2) I find it easier to select surfaces and quilts for referencing in Copy Geoms and Publish Geoms. But (3) is the big one: surfaces don't automatically "merge" upon intersect like solids do (the multi-body issue). For example, let's say you extrude two circles at 90 degrees to each other. If you create the extrudes as surfaces, you get two separate quilts that you can select and control. If you create them as solids, Creo merges them into a single continuous solid. Sometimes you don't want this. Some aspects of this should be solved (hopefully) in Creo Parametric 7.0 when Mult-body functionality is introduced.

[@SeanMcDonnell33]

@@CADPLMGuy Whoaa! did not know that was in the works, really liked that about Solidworks in the past, Creo 7 seems so far away now :) Thank you for yet another insightful answer. Using surfaces in the skeleton makes complete sense to me now.

[@eriktoft7746]

Great video! Skeleton models are new to me, I have one question. When creating planes that are referenced off a plane other than the default "Top" "Front" "Right" I am unable to "Edit Dimension", I have to "Edit Definition" to change that dimension. I am using Creo Parametric 4.0 M090. Is this a bug or SOP in a Skeleton model?

[@tomaszs.5071]

Is there a way to create skeletons without having them placed permanently in one spot in an assembly?

[@CADPLMGuy]

See my video on Top Down Design and Mechanisms.