FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE

ENGR1025U – ENGINEERING DESIGN

SIEMENS NX 10.0 LEARNING MODULE # 1

FROM 2D SKETCHES TO 3D OBJECTS

Winter 2017

Updated By: QI SHI and CLIFF CHAN

 FROM 2D SKETCHES TO 3D OBJECTS

Learning objectives:

- How to start a new file and select - Use the Unite and Subtract
proper units Boolean operations

- Create sketches in 2D using: - Create inferred dimensions

Rectangles, Arcs, Circles, Lines
- Import an object into drafting format
- Create a 3D object from sketches
- Begin to create proper engineering
- Use the EXTRUDE function drawings

- Use the FILLET function - Present the object in 4 different

views (Top, Front, Right, Isometric)
- Use the CHAMFER function

1
STEP 1: Open up NX10.0 by clicking on the menu, click on All Programs
click on Siemens NX 10.0, and click on NX 10.0.

STEP 2: To begin a new model, click on New icon. This will open the screen
below. In the Name field (bottom of dialogue window), create a name for
the NX file that will be produced, it should follow the format
Lab1_100456789, where 100456789 is your student number. In the
Folder field (bottom of dialogue window), you need change directory to
save your part file. Make sure you choose Model under Templates
section. At the top of this window, select the Units as Millimeters and click
OK.

2
STEP 3: You should now be in the Modeling application and the screen should
be similar to the one below. On the left there is Resource Bar Option,
you can switch between several tabs to navigate through different aspects
of your model (Assembly Navigator, Part Navigator, History, etc.).

3
 If you are not in Modeling application, click File at the top left, which will
open the drop-down menu on the right. From there, select Modeling.

STEP 4: Click on the Sketch

button ( ) located at the

top left corner. You will see
the Create Sketch menu on
the right. For all lesson
modules, you will be creating
your sketch on a plane. At
the top of this menu is Sketch
Type (referring to the type of
sketch). From the drop-down
menu here, select On Plane.
Then, click the middle button
of your mouse to move on
Sketch Plane section, set
Inferred as Plane Method.

First you will select where to create your sketch. You will be creating your
sketch on a plane, and you should use the X-Y Plane for this.

(If you select On Plane, by default, NX will show Inferred in the Plane
Option field. Also by default, NX will highlight the X-Y Plane in blue on the
coordinate axes).

4
When you click OK, the sketch plane you selected (for now, the default
plane will be used) will be oriented so that you are viewing it from the top.
Along the top of the screen are buttons for sketching different entities
(Line, Circle, Arc, etc.).

The first sketch to be created

will be a rectangle. Select
Rectangle ( ). You will
see the menu (see figure on
right) for sketching rectangles
through different methods on
the left side of the screen.

(The Rectangle Menu allows 3 specific ways in which the user can create
a rectangle. The first option is by 2 points which refer to the diagonally
opposite corners of the rectangle. The second option is to create the
rectangle by 3 points which refer to 3 of the 4 corners of the rectangle.
The third option is Create from Centre, which allows the user to specify
where the center of the rectangle is to be located, and then adjusting the
length and width of the rectangle around the single center point).

Select Create From Centre ( ). Create a square 240mm x 240mm,

having the center of the square around (0, 0). First, select the original
point (0,0) as center point, then move your mouse horizontally to right side
to get the Width as 240 and click the screen, finally move your mouse up
to get the Height as 240, click on screen to finish rectangle.

5
 NOTE: If you delayed your click at the origin for more than a few seconds,
you will be presented with the QuickPick menu. This is fine (and often
useful), as you can now select the point you desire from a list of
overlaying points at the same location. This QuickPick menu will
become very useful as your sketch becomes more complex. Right now
you should select the option corresponding to “Existing Point – Sketch
Origin” which will likely be option 1 from the list, see below.

If you did not get the exact dimension for Width and Height (right figure
above), you can modify it by double clicking the dimension and then modify
it as following figure shown.

6
STEP 5: The next instructions will explain how to add an arc sketch element to the
rectangle, and you will also learn how to trim/delete a line segment. Click
on Arc ( ) icon. This will open up the Arc menu, which allows you to
create arcs either by Arcs by 3 Points or Arc by Center and Endpoints.

(The Arc sketch function allows you to create arc by two different methods:
Arc by 3 Points and Arc by Centre and Endpoints. The Arc by 3 Points will
allow you to select the 2 endpoints of the arc and then manually define the
radius of the arc. The Arc by Centre and Endpoint allows you to specify a
center point and a single endpoint with a specific radius, and then you
select the size of the angle which is required).

Select Arc by Centre and Endpoints ( ). Locate the midpoint of the

bottom edge of the rectangle and select it as the center of the arc. Then
move your mouse to select one of the bottom corners for the first endpoint,
and then the second endpoint (figure below) to get the semi-circle.

Second End Point Center Point First End Point

7
 Once the arc is created, delete
the line of the square that is
between the arc and the
remainder of the square, as
depicted by the figure on right.
To do this, click the middle
button of your mouse to exit Arc
sketching, and then select the
line and Delete it. Once that is

all done, click Finish Sketch (

) to exit the sketch mode.

(Note that if you have exited Sketch function, you can always get back
into it by double-clicking the sketch you have just created. This way, you
can edit or delete lines, curves, etc. from that particular sketch by selecting
them one by one or you can use the Quick Trim function ( ) which allows
you to trim an object to the closest intersection or to a selected boundary
in either direction.)

STEP 6: Now that you have created a 2D sketch, the next instruction will explain
how to convert the 2D sketch to a 3D solid body (with an associated
volume).

NOTE: Before we get started, it is helpful to change your view from Top to
Trimetric . Remember the view options are available in the View tab.
Trimetric view will help us to see 3D models.

One of the tools for creating a 3D body from a 2D sketch is the Extrude
function. Extrude can be found under Home tab, see below.

Click Extrude ( ) feature.The Extrude menu will appear, and the first
field in the menu is Section, and the option for Select Curve will be
highlighted in orange. You now need to indicate what sketch you wish to
extrude by clicking on it. Again you can click on the sketch in the window,

8
 or from the Part Navigator to select it. After clicking on the sketch, notice
how the sketch profile is swept upwards into 3D.

There are two main parameters we need to define; the direction vector for
the extrude, and the distance of the extrude. By default, the direction
vector should be the positive Z direction, and this is what you want. For
the distance of the extrude, by default there are 2 values, the Start
Distance and the End Distance. These values represent the distance
away from the sketch plane, which in our case is the XY plane. Set your
Start Distance to 0 mm and your End Distance to 20 mm. If done
correctly, your model should look like below and result in a thickness of 20
mm. Then click OK.

STEP 7: Now you will create a new rectangle sketch on top of the solid modeling,
then you will extrude it into a solid body. Click Sketch, and when the
Create Sketch menu appears, select On Plane for Type, Inferred for
Plane Method. Move your mouse close to the corner (red circled) so
you can get the same original point, and click on the top surface of the
object (this process will infer the top surface as your sketch plane).).
Click OK.

9
STEP 8: Create a rectangle on the non-curved side of the object 20mm x 240mm.
Click Rectangle icon, choose By 2 Points method, click top-right corner
point as the first point for rectangle, then move your mouse to second
point which is located at bottom edge as shown on the following left
figure, click the point as the second point for rectangle. Close Rectangle
menu. Double click the dimensions to modify the dimension as 20 mm
and 240 mm respectively as shown on the following right figure. Finally
click Finish Sketch.

STEP 9: Click Extrude and then click on the rectangle you have created in Step
8. Extrude 190 mm upward, set Unite in Boolean drop-list and click the
highlighted section for Select Body. Click OK.

(The Boolean operations include Unite, Subtract, and Intersect. Each

Boolean operation requires the same procedure of selecting which two

10
 objects require Boolean operations. These other Boolean operations
can be accessed by clicking on the arrow pointing down beside the Unite
button. Also, Boolean operations can be performed directly from the
Extrude Menu by selecting the appropriate operation under Boolean).

STEP 10: In STEP 5 you created an arc and extruded it into a solid body. Now you
will use a different method to create a similar feature on your model. This
time you will utilize the Revolve feature, by creating a rectangular 2D
sketch that will be revolved by 180 degree. The area in space the
rectangle sweeps during the rotation will define the 3D solid body in the
shape of an arc.

Start a new sketch on the upper face of the extrusion you just created.
The sketch should be a rectangle with the dimensions 20mm X 120mm.
The rectangle should be exactly half the length of the top face, see the
picture below showing the sketch in Top view and Trimetric view. Click
Finish Sketch when complete. (Refer Step 8 to know how to sketch
the rectangle on the upper surface).

STEP 11: Now that you have created the sketch, it can now revolved to define a
3D body. In the Home tab, under the Extrude button there is an arrow,
clicking it will open a small function list including the Revolve feature.

Select the Revolve feature and the Revolve menu will appear.

There are 3 main steps to defining a Revolve. First you must select the
Section you wish to revolve, in this case, it is the rectangle you created
– click on it.

Next you must highlight the Specify Vector field in the Axis section of
the menu. Once the Specify Vector field is active, you can select the
appropriate line segment in your sketch window that the rectangular
sketch will rotate around. Think of this vector as the “hinge location”, it is
indicated in the picture below. Third, click Specify Point, select the

11
middle point of the top line as circled. Notice that the Start Angle and
End Angle are 0 deg and 180 deg respectively, creating a semi-circular
revolve. Finally, set Unite under Boolean section and choose the solid
modeling. Click OK to finish.

NOTE: If by chance your revolve is oriented downwards instead of the

position indicated above, simply reverse the direction by clicking on the
Reverse Direction toggle beside Select Curve section.

Click OK and the resulting model will appear as below.

12
STEP 12: The next step describe the addition of two gussets to the part. Designers
often add gussets to structural members for strength and to prevent
bending. Often they are triangular in shape like the ones you will add to
your model.
Begin by creating a sketch on the top surface of your part, with the origin
at a corner or another convenient location of your choosing, see below.

Create 2 rectangles 20 mm x 100 mm on the plane, modify the

dimension. Click Finish Sketch.

NOTE: If you are unsure how to begin, refer to STEP 8. Refer Step 4 to
modify the dimension.

13
STEP 13: With the two sketches complete, it is time to create solids with Extrude
feature. From the Home tab, click Extrude, then select the sketch
containing the two rectangles. Enter Start Distance of 0 mm and End
Distance of 100mm. Under Boolean section, set Unite and select the
base model for Select Body, and finally click OK to finish.

Now you will use a new command called Chamfer . It will

remove the protruding corner of the rectangles that were just extruded.
Locate the Chamfer tool from the Home tab—Feature group and select
it.

On the Chamfer menu, set Symmetric as the Cross Section option, set
Distance as 100 mm. Then, select two edges circled on the following
figure. Click OK to finish.

14
 You will get the model as below.

STEP 14: The next instruction will explain the addition of two holes in the
model. There are many ways to create a hole, this lab will use the most
basic method which is to make a circular sketch and Extrude –
Subtract it from the model.

Begin by creating a new sketch on the model as shown below. When

selecting the origin of the sketch, change the Specify Point option to

15
Arc/Ellipse/Sphere Centre. With this option selected, NX will snap to
the center of circular features. This setting makes it easy to specify
locations and can save you time during the sketching process.

Now hover the curser over the edge of the semicircle (it will change
color), then click your mouse. The sketch origin will be located at the
center which will also be the location of our first hole. Click OK.

Select the Circle feature from the Home tab. The Circle feature has
two methods which will allow the user to create circles: Circle by
Center and Diameter and Circle by 3 Points. Using the Circle by
Centre and Diameter method, the user selects the center location of
the circle and then specifies the desired diameter. For Circle by 3
Points, the user selects two points to represent the edge of the circle
and the third point to define the diameter.

NOTE: Practice using both methods to create circles to familiarize

yourself. You can simply undo the last few steps before you move on to
create your final circle.

Using the Circle by Centre and Diameter method, locate the center of
the circle at the sketch origin (the new circle has the same center point

16
 with the semi-cylinder). Manually enter a Diameter of 50mm. Click
Finish Sketch.

STEP 15: Now click Extrude feature, and select the circle sketch. This time you
will use extrude to subtract away from the model. To achieve this, change
the Boolean operation to Subtract. Also change the Start and End
Limits to Through All - this option negates the need to define an
extrusion dimension. When complete, click OK.

17
STEP 16: Now repeat Step 14 and 15 to create the second hole on the other face
of the model, as shown below. The circle should have the same center
as the semi-cylinder. The diameter should be 50mm. Congratulations,
the build process is now complete on your first CAD model using NX.

THE FINAL PART

You will notice that the sketches you created are visible within the model
(in blue). These sketches should be hidden to give the model a more
realistic look. In the Part Navigator on the left, right click on each of your
sketches, and choose the Hide option. Repeat this for all 6 sketches as
well as the Datum Coordinate System.

Also you notice there are smooth lines shown in the left figure below, in
order to hide them, Click View tab – Preference, then expand the Edge
Display Settings option. Uncheck the Smooth Edges box. Click Apply.

The following figure is the model you should get.

Make sure you save the file before you move on to next step.

18
CREATING ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

Now you will create basic engineering drawings for this part. Full engineering
drawings will not be required for this lab; this is only to introduce engineering
drawings and you will continue to learn aspects of engineering drawings in the
future.

For these drawings only the respected views are required (Top, Front, Right, and
Isometric).

STEP 17: From the File tab, under Start section, select Drafting. The software will
now switch from Modeling application to Drafting application, but you
can use the same process to switch back and forth. The first menu you
are presented within Drafting application is the Sheet menu. Under Size
section, select Use Template, and ensure A4 – Size option is
highlighted. Click OK.

19
 The next menu that appears is the Populate Title Block which is used
to fill information that will be displayed in the lower right of your drafting
sheet. There are 5 fields, fill them in with appropriate information as you
see fit. Click Close when finished.

Next, the View Creation Wizard menu will appear. Click Cancel to skip
this process.

STEP 21: Now, select BASE VIEW ( ) located at the top Tool Bar just under
Home tab. This will open a new set of functions which are important in
creating proper engineering drawings (e.g. Front, Top, Right…etc.).
The menu will look like the one below.

20
(The buttons listed above are the following from left to right: Part, View,
Scale, and Settings. Part allows you to select a part from the list to
create an engineering drawing for it. Model View allows you to change
the type of view you are working with, and Settings allows you to change
various attributes of the engineering drawing. .

In the Model View section, set Model View to Use as Front. This will
be the view that you will place in the bottom left of the drawing sheet and
the top view and right view will be based on the front view.

21
 Under Scale section, set Ratio from the drop list and set the Ratio as
1.000:7.000. After that, move your mouse to lower left area and click
your left button to leave the front view in drafting area. Then move your
mouse up and click left button to set the top view; finally move to right
side of your Front view and click left button to set the right view. You
should get the similar figure as following.

STEP 22: In this step, you will add 4th view, Isometric View. From the Home tab,
select Base View again. In the Model View to Use field, select
Isometric. In the Scale field, again select Ratio and define it as 1.0000
to 7.0000, the same as your other views.

Now move your curser over to the drafting window, and you will see the
isometric view following it. Position the isometric view as shown below,
then click your mouse to locate it. You will notice that another view will
follow your curser after positioning the isometric view, simply hit esc on
your keypad to exit.

22
If you want to hide the border of the view, from Menu—Preferences—
Drafting, click Workflow under View, uncheck Display under Border,
then click Apply.

23
 In order to hide the smooth edge as in Modeling, Move your mouse to
Isometric View and click to highlight it, then right click. Select Setting
option, then click Smooth Edges under Common, uncheck Show
Smooth Edges, and click Apply. Repeat this process for Right View.

STEP 23: The next instructions will show you how to add 2 types of dimension

lines to your drawings. From the Home tab, select Rapid

dimension tool.

The Rapid Dimension menu will open. For the Measurement Method,
select Diametral. This is used to indicate a dimension on a rounded
feature, either a hole or curved surface. Hover your curser over the
edge of the hole in the Front View (parent view), you will notice the
hole edge highlights, click your mouse. Drag the end of the dimension
line as shown below, then click again. You can add the diametral
dimension for the Top View too.

24
 Now for the Measurement Method, set it as Radial. This is used to
indicate a dimension on a semi-circle feature. Hover your curser over the
edge of the semi-circle in the Front View or Top View, you will notice
the semi-circle edge is highlighted, click your mouse to add the
dimension. Drag the end of the dimension line and click again to leave
the dimension to the proper location.

STEP 24: Now add a linear horizontal dimension by changing the Measurement
Method to Horizontal. To use the Horizontal method, 2 points need to
be selected, and the software will indicate the horizontal dimension

25
 between them. Select the 2 lower corners of the part in the front view as
shown below, then position the dimension like at an appropriate distance
from the part.

STEP 25: Practice adding dimensions of various types. Vertical dimensions are
applied the same as Horizontal, but don’t forget, changing the
Measurement Method is necessary whenever you change types. Add
some of the dimensions shown in the figure on last page.

STEP 26: On the right lower corner, there is a Scale in the Title Block area which
shows 1:1. For this lab, we use Scale as 1:7. So we need modify the
scale. First, right click Sheet “Sheet 1” under Drawing in Part
Navigator, then select Edit Sheet.

Then set Scale as Custom Scale under Size section, and input ratio as
1:7. Click OK to finish.

26
NOTE: It is poor practice to add dimensions to the Isometric view, and
should be avoided whenever possible. It is also poor practice to display
a dimension of the same feature in more than one view.

27