Tutorial 2 Sketching

When using Pro/E, the sketcher is the foundation for most of the 3D modeling we will do. A
clear understanding of how the sketcher mode functions will go a long way to increasing your
proficiency with Pro/Engineer. In this tutorial we will examine the following topics:
1. Basic sketcher concepts
2. Screen layout
3. Creating Sketches
1. Adding/changing geometry
2. Creating/modifying dimensions and constraints
3. Adding sketching relationships
4. Construction Geometry and Shape Pallet
2.1 Basic Sketcher Concepts
Pro/E can be described as a feature based parametric solid modeling package. What this
means in the simplest terms is that the different models you create for a design are all related,
so that a change to one type of model will be reflected in all the other model types. These
relationships begin with the simplest Pro/E model type the sketch.
When using the sketcher, its generally a good idea to follow these basic steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Sketch the basic shape, dont worry about size, just proportion.
Change and/or apply constraints
Add dimensions as necessary
Modify dimension values
Add relationships when needed.

It is also a good idea to plan out, at least in your head, how you want to create the sketch.
While doing this, try to keep 3 simple points in mind:
1. Does this reflect how the final part will be made?
2. Does this agree with how other parts in the design were modeled?
3. How will the dimension and constraints be reflected later when creating design
documentation?
2.2 Screen Layout
After you start Pro/Engineer and then create a new sketching model, you will see the
screen layout for the sketching mode. The only thing that appears to have changed
the Sketcher Tools tool bar along the right side of the screen and the Sketcher
toolbar along the top of the screen. The other change in the screen layout is there
are no view options (or 3D spinning).
The options in the Sketch Toolbar (Figure 1) are, from the top:
1. Toggle display of dimensions
2. Toggle display of sketching constraints
3. Toggle sketching grid on and off

Figure 1 Sketch

is

4. Toggle the display of vertices on and off

The options in the Sketching Tools toolbar (Figure 2) are, from the top:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Select items
Sketch line*, sketch line tangent to 2 entities, centerline
Sketch a rectangle
Sketch circle picking center and point*, sketch concentric circles, sketch a circle
by picking 3 points on the circumference, sketch a circle tangent to 3 entities, and
sketch an ellipse
5. Sketch an arc by 3 points*, sketch concentric arcs, sketch an arc by its center
and endpoints, sketch an arc tangent to 3 entities, and sketch a conic arc
6. Create a circular fillet between 2 entities*, and create an elliptical fillet between
two entities.
7. Create a spline curve
8. Create a point* and create reference coordinate system
9. Create an entity from an edge* and create an entity offset from an edge.
10. Create a dimensions
11. Modify dimensions, splines or text entities
12. Sketcher constraints
13. Create Text as part of the sketch
14. Shape pallet
15. Dynamically trim*, trim or extend geometry, or break geometry
16. Mirror* or rotate geometry.
The items marked with an * are the default, the other listed options can be selected by leftclicking on the next to the default option.
2.3 Sketching Geometry
By default when youre sketching the Pro/E Intent Manager is turned on. The Intent Manager
will try to automatically apply constraints to your sketch as it is being created. For example, if
you start to sketch a line that is close to horizontal, the
program will display a red H above the line. If you
create the line with this H displayed, the horizontal
sketching constraint will be applied to the line. Other
constraint symbols you will see as you sketch include;
V for vertical, L1 for equal length, T for tangent, and M
for midpoint.
2.3.1 The Basics
To review the basics of sketching well begin by
sketching the simple shape shown in Figure 3.
Starting with a new sketch file named tutor1 in sketching mode, create 6 lines that will define a
general L shape. While youre creating these lines, try to make the lines either horizontal or
vertical. When youve finished these lines, press the middle (wheel) mouse button. If theyre

not horizontal or vertical, dont worry, the constraint can be applied manually. When finished
your sketch may look similar to the one to shown to the left. .
Notice that one of the lines in the figure to
the left isnt quite completely vertical. To fix
this you would, select the Constraints tool
from the toolbar, select the vertical tool, and
then click on the line. After youve applied
any necessary horizontal and/or vertical
constraints, click on the Close button.
To add the top arc to the sketch:
1. click on the next to the default
arc tool and select the create arc
by its center and endpoints option
2. Move your mouse to near the midpoint of either
the top horizontal line, when you see the M
constraint, left-click.
3. Move your mouse toward one of the vertical lines,
when you see a red circle at the endpoint left click
4. Move your mouse toward the other endpoint, when you see the red
circle, left click again.
You should be able to repeat this process to create the
arc on the left side of the sketch. When youve finished
click the middle mouse button. Youre sketch should
look similar to the one shown to the right.
To create the first of the two circles:
1. Select the default circle tool.
2. Move your mouse toward the midpoint of the top
arc, when you see a red circle, left click.
3. Move the mouse a bit and left click again to
place the circle.
To create the other circle:
1. Click on the next to the default circle tool and select the concentric circle option.
2. Left click on the arc on the right side of the piece; this will set the center point for this
circle.

3. Move your mouse until you see a red R1 appear both

where you sketching the circle and by the circle
youve already placed and left click.
4. Middle mouse click. Your figure should be similar to
the one shown to the right.
To add the fillet and round to the sketch:
1. Select the fillet tool
2. Select the horizontal and vertical line that form one of
the pieces corners. Notice the fillet is placed and the
selected lines are automatically trimmed.
3. Repeat the procedure for the remaining corner
4. Click the middle mouse button. Your sketch should now appear similar to the one shown
to the right.
We can now clean up the sketch. To remove the top
horizontal like, make sure the Select tool is chosen, left click
on the line and then press the delete key on the keyboard.
After the line has been deleted, you will notice that two T,
tangent, constraints appear.
Unlike some other CAD package, Pro/E will allow you to trim
entities out of existence. To illustrate this concept, lets trim
away the right vertical line. Start by selecting the dynamic
trimming tool. As you move your mouse toward the vertical
line along the right side of the
figure, you should notice one of
three segments along the line
highlighting. When a segment of
the line is highlighted, left click to
perform the trim. Repeat this
process for the remaining
segments of the line. Once again,
there should now be two tangent
constraint markers where the line
used to be.
2.3.2 Dimensions/Constraints
We are now at the point in the process where we will add and/or change the constraints on the
part. To make the two end arc have the same radius, click on the Constraint tool, select the
Equal Length tool (middle icon, bottom row), click on the two arcs and then the Close button.
Notice that the arcs both changed size when this constraint was applied.

The dimensions that automatically appear when you are sketching appear in a grey shade. In
Pro/E language these dimensions are considered weak, or they will be the first thing to change
or be removed when either conflicting dimensions or constraints are added to the sketch. You
can make a dimension strong, or fixed, by either creating a dimension or modifying the value
of an existing weak dimension.
In our piece the two given dimensions would be better if they gave the horizontal and vertical
distances between the centers of the arcs (or holes). To
create these dimensions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Select the Dimension tool

Left click on the center of one of the arcs
Left click on the center of the other arc
Middle click to the right of the piece to place the
vertical dimension. Notice that the existing weak
vertical dimension is gone and this dimension
appears in yellow.
5. Repeat the process Middle clicking above the piece
to create the horizontal dimension.
To place radius and diameter dimensions you click directly
on the arc. If you want to place a dimension as a radius,
left click on the arc once and then middle click to place the
dimension. If you want to place a diameter dimension, left
click twice on the arc and then middle click to place the
dimension.
There are two ways you can modify existing weak
dimensions. You can double left click on a dimension and
you should see an edit box appear for the dimension. You
can then edit the dimension in the box and press the Enter key to accept the change. This
method is useful when you only need to change a few dimensions in the sketch.
The other method you can use to change sketch dimensions is to use the Modify Dimensions
tool. To use this tool,
1. Select the dimensions you want to change. If youre selecting mu ltiple dimensions,
hold the Ctrl button while left clicking on them. (Note:
If you want to modify all the dimensions in a sketch,
you can box select all the dimensions)
2. Select the Modify tool and you should see a pop up
window like the one shown to the right.
3. With the Regenerate option check, your sketch
should change as you update the values of the
dimensions. Be careful, if the values of the
dimensions need to change by a large amount, this
may cause you sketch to drastically change shape.

4. Once all the dimensions have been modified, you can click on the check box to accept
the changes.
If we want to keep the two 8 dimensions on our sketch
the same, we could have added an equal length
constraint to any pair of lines that form the filleted
corners. If we try to add this constraint now, we will get
a message tell us that we are attempting to over const
rain the sketch. The Resolve Sketch dialog box that
appears will show all the dimensions and constraints that
adding this constraint would conflict with. In the dialog
you have 3 options for resolving the conflict, they are:
1. Undo This option will undo the constraint (or
dimension) that caused the conflict(s).
2. Delete You can select from the listed
dimensions and constraints a dimension or
constraint to delete.
3. Dim > Ref Select and change one of the
dimensions to a reference dimension.
Since we will probably want to have both the 8
dimensions appear automatically when we go to create a
drawing, select the Undo option. Your sketch should return
to how it appeared before.
2.3.3 Relations

Another option for keeping these lengths equal would be to add a sketching relation. A relation
is one or more equations that can be used to define how a model will behave. When you create
relations in the sketcher, the equations are
relative to just the entities in the sketch. To

create a relation use the menu command sequence ToolsRelations. You should now see
the Relations editor as shown to the left. The dimensions in the sketch will change from their
numeric format to a symbolic format as shown in the figure to the right of the Relations editor.
When you enter a relation, keep the following in mind:
1. Each equation can have only 1 unknown value
2. The unknown value must be isolated on the left side of the equation
3. The normal order for the evaluation of operators in the equations apply (i.e. parenthesis
first, exponentiation, multiplication, )
4. Relations are interpreted one at a time, so order will be important.
For this example, we could then simply enter the equation sd20=sd16 (sd stands for sketch
dimension) and click on the OK button. Please note, that your numbers may be different
depending on how you sketched, constrained and dimensioned your sketch. In this example,
the horizontal 8 dimension is now set by the vertical 8 dimension. If you move your mouse
near the horizontal 8 dimension, you will see a tag stating:
sd20=8.000 (Relation Driven)
If you try to modify this dimension, you will see a yellow yield sign in the Message window with
the message:
This dimension is governed by a relation and can not be modified
You should save your sketch using the name tutor1.
2.4 Construction Geometry and Shape Pallet

Especially if you are more familiar

with CAD packages like
AutoCAD, you should be aware
of how Pro/E works with
construction geometry. In a
number of packages construction
geometry (i.e. the AutoCAD xline)

becomes a part of the drawing. In Pro/E construction

geometry is for construction purposes only and will be
represented in the sketch as a dashed line. While you can
dimension, constrain and add relations to construction
geometry, it will not appear when the sketch is made into a
part feature.
The simplest way to illustrate the use of construction
geometry, is to do a simple geometric construction. Lets
create a hexagon with a 1 distance across its flats. To do this:
1. Start a new sketch model named hexagon
2. Sketch a circle
3. While the circle is still red on the screen use the menu command sequence
EditToggle Construction (alternatively you can use the Ctrl-G keyboard sequence)
The circle should now appear dashed.
4. Double click on the circles diameter dimension and change it to 1
5. Draw six lines around the circle with the top and bottom lines sort of close to horizontal.
6. Using the Constraint tools, make each of the six lines tangent to the construction circle.
7. If they arent already, add horizontal constraints to the top and bottom lines.
8. Using the equal length constraint, make 5 of the six lines the same length. When
finished with this step, the only dimension in you sketch should be the 1 diameter for the
construction circle.
You can save this sketch using the name hexagon.
Fortunately, Pro/E includes a Pallet of predefined sketches
for commonly used shapes. To access this pallet select the
Pallet tool from the Sketching Tools toolbar. When the
Sketcher Pallet appears, youll see tabs for:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The current working directory

Polygons
Profiles
Shapes
Stars

In the area below tabs you can see a list of the available
shapes (sketches). When you click on a shape, it will appear
in the preview window above the tabs. To place a shape from
the pallet into your sketch:
1. Double click on the selected shape
2. Your pointer will now change to an arrow with a + sign
beneath it. Move your mouse to about where you
would like to place the shape and left click again.
3. The shape will appear in the sketching window and you
will see the Scale Rotate box (as shown to the right).
4. Enter a scale and rotation factor (hint: most polygons
are created with a side length of 1)
5. Click the check mark to place the shape from the pallet
into the sketch.
6. Once placed, you can modify the shape just like any
other entity within a sketch.