Catia V5 R14

CATIA V5 R14
By Tony Harris
November 2005
Catia V5 R14 November 2005
by
Tony Harris
1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................................4 1.1 Starting CATIA..........................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Use of the mouse. ........................................................................................................................................4 1.3 Assignment submission or copying/moving catia files ............................................................................5 2. PERSONAL SETTINGS, CUSTOMISATION AND TOOLBARS ..........................................................5
3. CATIA HELP .................................................................................................................................................5 3.1 Example Getting Help on Mechanical and Part Design.......................................................................5 4. PART DESIGN EXAMPLE CREATING A PISTON AND GUDGEON PIN ASSEMBLY ...............6 4.1 Creating the Piston.....................................................................................................................................6 4.2 Creating the Gudgeon Pin in an Assembly using parameters and publish ...........................................9 4.3 DMU Space Analysis real time sectioning of your Product ...............................................................11 4.4 Drafting Example Creating an engineering drawing of the Piston...................................................11 5. PART DESIGN AN EXAMPLE OF GOOD PRACTICE.....................................................................12
6. COMPLEX SURFACE CREATION .........................................................................................................14 6.1 Reading data points from Excel ..............................................................................................................15 6.2 Creating the wing curves .........................................................................................................................15 6.3 Using Free Style workbench for curve smoothing.................................................................................16 6.4 Creating the edge fuselage curves ...........................................................................................................17 6.5 Creating the fuselage surface ..................................................................................................................17 6.6 Creating the wing .....................................................................................................................................18 6.7 Filleting the wing to the fuselage.............................................................................................................18 6.8 Adding the tail area of the aeroplane .....................................................................................................19 6.9 Creating a window for the pilot ..............................................................................................................19 6.10 Creating the other symmetrical half.......................................................................................................20 6.11 Closing the end .........................................................................................................................................20 6.12 Joining everything together.....................................................................................................................20 6.13 Modifying a definition curve ...................................................................................................................20 6.14 Creating Multiple Holes in a Surface .....................................................................................................21 7. CNC MILLING (3 AXIS)............................................................................................................................22 7.1 Simple 3 Axis Machining .........................................................................................................................22 7.1.1 Facing the Top....................................................................................................................................23 7.1.2 Machining the pocket .........................................................................................................................24 7.2 Drilling, Boring, Helical Milling and Tapping.......................................................................................25 7.3 Surface Machining (3 axis) ......................................................................................................................26 7.3.1 Preparing the model for machining ....................................................................................................26 7.3.2 Machining the top wing surface .........................................................................................................28 7.3.3 Machining the bottom wing surface ...................................................................................................30 8. 9. 10. 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 11. 11.1 11.2 12. 13. 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 GENERATING NC CODE (3 AXIS) .........................................................................................................31 VERIFICATION OF TOOL PATHS USING VERICUT (3 OR 5 AXIS)..............................................32 DMG 5 AXIS MACHINING ...................................................................................................................33 Basics .........................................................................................................................................................33 Simple 5 axis machining ..........................................................................................................................34 A possible problem with 5 axis variable tool angle programming .......................................................36 Vertical Orientation Blade or Wing 5 Axis Machining.........................................................................37 KINEMATIC MECHANISM .................................................................................................................39 Single Degree of Freedom Mechanism ...................................................................................................39 Example of a Cabling Mechanism ..........................................................................................................41 CREATING A KINEMATIC SIMULATION.......................................................................................41 CATIA KNOWLEDGE...........................................................................................................................42 Parameters ................................................................................................................................................42 Rules ..........................................................................................................................................................42 Product Knowledge Template.................................................................................................................42 Design Tables............................................................................................................................................42
by
Tony Harris
13.5 Optimisation .............................................................................................................................................42 13.6 A Simple Example of Knowledge Use.....................................................................................................42 13.6.1 Creating Parameters, Formulae and Rules .........................................................................................42 13.6.2 Adding a Design Table.......................................................................................................................43 13.6.3 Importing a Design Table...................................................................................................................44 13.6.4 Controlling Feature Activity ..............................................................................................................44 14. 15. 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 16. 17. 18. 19. 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 20. CAPTURING IMAGES ..........................................................................................................................45 STUDIO RENDERING ...........................................................................................................................45 Adding texture to your surfaces..............................................................................................................45 Creating an environment.........................................................................................................................45 Creating the shot ......................................................................................................................................45 Taking the picture ....................................................................................................................................45 EXPORTING PARTS FOR RAPID PROTOTYPING ........................................................................46 MAKING A VIDEO.................................................................................................................................46 3D VIEWING OF CATIA FILES WITHOUT CATIA........................................................................46 ADVANCED CATIA THE USE OF SKELETONS AND PUBLICATION ....................................47 Principles of skeletons..............................................................................................................................47 Benefits of skeletons .................................................................................................................................47 What is in a skeleton? ..............................................................................................................................47 Product Skeleton ......................................................................................................................................47 Publication ................................................................................................................................................48 QUIZ SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW CATIA NOW........................................................................49
by
Tony Harris
1. Introduction The CATIA V5 package consists of modules which contain various workbenches (eg Part Design, under Mechanical Design in Start menu) containing icons which access menu operations. The most commonly used workbenches are the Part Design workbench for creating solids, Generative Shape Design workbench (under Shape in Start menu) for creating so called geometrical sets which are surfaces, lines, points, planes etc. These workbenches create Parts which can be assembled into Products using the Assembly Design workbench. Products can also contain other assembled Products. Parts are saved as filename.CATPart and assemblies or Products are saved as filename.CATproduct. When creating your design it is best to arrange it to be an assembly of relatively simple parts. You can then open the product and work on each part in the context of the assembly. Hence you can create wing rib parts from a wing shape where the wing surface is one part and the rib another part in the same assembly. There is an example of a simple assembly after the piston example and later a more involved assembly which is achieved via the Kinematics workbench. This workbench creates the assembly and mechanism definition simultaneously and is very similar to using the Assembly Design workbench. Note that there is now a new method of allowing display of Catia models and products which can be panned and zoomed in the same way as in Catia without needing any Catia software. The same 3D images can also be manipulated in word or powerpoint. See section 18 for details. 1.1 Starting CATIA Start CatiaV5 by highlighting the shortcut and pressing ENTER you can double click the shortcut instead, but CATIA takes a long time to start and it is not obvious if the double click was accepted; this can lead to multiple starts of CATIA where the system gets even slower to respond. The first time you start CATIA you will probably get a window requiring you to select the licence required. Select the licence box and OK, close the window and restart CATIA. Having started CATIA, check out the available modules by selecting Start and drag to each module. You will then see the workbenches under each module. For example Mechanical Design module has workbenches Part Design, Assembly Design, Sketcher, Structure Design, Drafting, Sheet Metal Design and Wireframe and Surface Design. CATIA V5 provides extensive online help with tutorial exercises as well as explanations of operational procedures. There are various ways of selecting help, each gives you different types of information. The following sections will lead you through the help facility and give you a start. There are then some examples of part design, surface design and machining.
1.2 Use of the mouse. You will be asked to select menu icons. These are usually on the right vertical menu. Place your cursor on each icon in the menu to get a description of its function. If you cant find an icon it is sometimes easier to use Insert on the top menu and find it there. Always use the left button (button1) for these selections. To manipulate your model in 3D use the mouse.
To pan the model, press and hold button2 and drag. To rotate, press and hold button2 then press and hold button1 drag while holding both buttons. To zoom, press and hold button2 and click button1 drag up and down holding button2. Button 3 is used to access contextual menus, eg click any geometry with button3 to access options of operations on that entity. Do not forget button3 it comes in very handy and can be used in a very large number of situations you should experiment.
by
Tony Harris
1.3 Assignment submission or copying/moving catia files The following procedure must be used for all CATIA assignment submissions or operations where CATIA files are copied or moved to other directories. To make sure you include all the files necessary and maintain connectivity between them when copying files, create the folder then use the CATIA command File/SendTo-directory, select all the files listed and the folder you created. This will ensure that all the files necessary are moved. 2. Personal Settings, Customisation and Toolbars CATIA allows you to personalise and customise settings. These control what the menus look like, what is visible by default in the structure tree, what favourite workbenches you like to run etc. These are set by selecting in CATIA Tools/Options or Tools/Customize. When following some of the tutorials, you are instructed to change some of these settings. If you are using your own computer, all this information is stored in C:\Documents and settings\username\Application Data\DassaultSystemes. If the computer you are using is in room 206 (CADLAB), these settings are stored in your Z drive ie Z:\DassaultSystemes. If your CATIA menus/toolbars get in a mess you can reset them to default by using; Tools/Customize -Restore contents -Restore position 3. CATIA Help If necessary start CATIA using the shortcut. Select Help/Contents, Index and Search This starts your browser which is used for all the online help. You can switch between the CATIA session and the help session using the usual windows methods. In the help browser, you can select help on any workbench, search for a topic etc. 3.1 Example Getting Help on Mechanical and Part Design If you want to learn more about a particular module and workbench (eg. Mechanical and Part Design), in a CATIA session, select Help/Contents, Index and Search. In the help browser, select Mechanical Design/Part Design. Select Create a Pad Note, selecting GettingStarted.CATPart will find and get CATIA to open the example file required. When in a CATIA session, you can get brief help on a workbench function by selecting Help/Whats This? Place the cursor on the required workbench icon and click to get more information. You can also get tutorial help on a menu selection by highlighting the menu icon then selecting Help/CATIA V5 help This starts the help browser as before and locates a tutorial example or more help on the selected menu. It is recommended that you become familiar with Help, especially Contexts, Index and Search as it will answer most questions and allow you to become proficient with CATIA much faster.
by
Tony Harris
4. Part Design Example Creating a Piston and Gudgeon Pin Assembly For all the following examples it is recommended that you first familiarise yourself with the way CatiaV5 operates by using the help as shown in the previous sections. Note select means click with the left mouse button. Before you start select Tools/Options/Mechanical Design/Assembly Design/General And set Update to Manual (Update is the process of rebuilding your part after you have modified dimensions etc. This can be manual or automatic manual allows more than one modification before you rebuild) Before selecting OK select Mechanical Design/Sketcher Set grid spacing of 20 and graduations 100 Make sure snap to point is unchecked OK 4.1 Creating the Piston We will create a Part first which is the piston shown; Select File/New and choose part, give it a name, uncheck enable hybrid design (if checked you can mix geometric sets and part bodies together, which is only for experienced users) Select the XY plane then the sketcher icon. (Hint: if at any time you cant find an icon in the menu bar, you can use Insert (in the top menu) and find it that way.) Select circle icon and sketch a circle centre at origin, by clicking first the centre point then a circumferential point. Select constraint icon and select the position for the dimension. Double click the dimension and modify it to 48mm diameter - OK Select exit workbench icon to exit the sketcher and select pad icon (notice the sketch was still active (highlighted) and the pad is automatically referring to this). Fill in 41mm as pad length - OK. We will now create a second part body as follows; Select Insert/Body This creates a separate feature editor branch in the specification tree (note F3 toggles the visibility of the tree) Select the ZX plane then sketcher icon Select profile icon and sketch the profile shown. As you sketch, implicit constraints are shown by sketching on the H axis level, the resulting line is constrained on the H axis (coincident constraints are depicted as text sized circles).
Note, lines which are green are fully constrained. White lines are not constrained and purple lines mean over constrained. Hence if all lines in the sketch are green it is fully constrained. You should always repair over constrained sketches. If you have problems with the sketch, you can use Tools/sketch analysis whilst still in the sketcher to repair it.
by
Tony Harris
Double click constraint icon (double click locks the command so that it can be re-used) Select each separate line and select the position for each dimension you can double click each dimension to modify it to match the values above. To create the angle, select the two appropriate lines then select the position for the dimension double click this to change it to the required angle (15o). Repeat this for the distance dimension from the V axis. Select exit icon to exit the sketcher. Select pad icon (the sketch just created is still active and automatically used) Select mirrored extent - set the length to 41mm OK. This pad is independent from the original part body, we will mirror this about the YZ plane; Select mirror icon, select the YZ plane - OK We wish now to remove this body from the original one. To do this place the cursor on Body.2 in the Feature Editor Tree. Right click and drag to Body.2object/remove. OK This should give the result on the right. Note that we now have only one body (see the tree), since they have been combined by the subtraction operation.
We now want to create the double boss shown on the right(one each side) by creating a cylinder. . Select YZ plane and sketcher icon. Using circle icon create a circle as shown on the far right
Select constraint icon and create the constraints; circle diameter = 18, circle centre 20 from bottom edge. Exit the sketcher Select pad icon. Select mirrored extent and length 19mm OK creates the boss on both sides.
We now want to create the cut-out shown on the right. To do this select the arrowed face then select sketch icon. Select 3 Point Arc icon (this is under the circle icon, ie select the small arrow) Sketch one end point, the mid point then the other end of the arc as shown. You could constrain this but we will leave it unconstrained for this exercise. Exit the sketcher and select pocket icon. You may get an error message because the pocket is in the wrong direction. If so select yes and then reverse the arrow by selecting it. Select up to next as the option, the highlighted area will be removed. - OK creates the cut-out.
by
Tony Harris
We now want to hollow out the inside of the piston. Select the face arrowed and sketcher icon. Draw the shape shown using line and 3 point arc icons (note, dont worry if this profile is not exactly the right shape, constraints will fix that up later remember also tools/sketch analyser to fix problems) Double click constraint icon and create radius dimensions for each arc (20mm). With constraint still active, select the top circular edge of the cylinder, then the top arc sketched. Right click and drag to concentricity. Repeat this for the bottom arc. Double click the bottom radius dimension (make sure the dimension type is radius not diameter), right click the radius field of the dialog box and drag to Edit formula. Double click the top radius dimension OK. This constrains the bottom radius to be the same as the top. Create the two dimensions between the V axis and the vertical lines of the profile. Double click the right side dimension and right click the constraint definition dialog box and drag to edit formula. Select the left dimension - OK - OK Double click the left dimension and set it to 14mm. This should give the sketch shape above.. Exit the sketcher. Select pocket icon Set type to dimension Set the depth to 37mm OK creates the pocket shown. To create the through hole select the round face arrowed. Select hole icon, select up to last, set the diameter to 12mm - OK (This is automatically placed concentric with the boss, but not constrained to be there. Ideally you should constrain it to be coincident to each H and V axis) Filleting the edges. Select the internal, arrowed edge above and holding the control key, select the other 3 similar edges as well. Select edge fillet icon. Set the radius to 3mm - OK Select the internal face arrowed on the right. Select edge fillet Set radius to 5mm - OK gives the new fillet on the right
by
Tony Harris
Create the two symmetrical straight fillets arrowed on the right to be 2mm radius Then select the arrowed edge and its symmetrical one on the opposite face using the cntrl key. Select edge fillet and set the radius to 2mm - OK creates fillets running along the continuous curving edges.
Select the arrowed edge face and its symmetrical face on the opposite side of the piston (using the cntrl key) then edge fillet icon. Fill in 1mm for radius OK This gives the fillet on the far right Apply material properties to the piston by Selecting Apply material (on bottom menu). Select metal tab then Aluminium. Select the piston, apply material, OK. Select in the shading icons customized view parameters (and if necessary select materials in new window) OK Going back in history in the tree; To help you modify your part, you can go back in history in the tree. For example, right click Pad.3 (after Remove in the tree) and select Define in work object. All the future operations vanish and you can work on the part more easily. If you right click the end of the tree and select Define in work object, the part returns to its finished state. 4.2 Creating the Gudgeon Pin in an Assembly using parameters and publish This assembly exercise can be achieved without using publish or parameters. However it is included to illustrate how they work. Using publish and parameters creates a much more flexible and parametric product. The method restricts constraint definitions to published elements only. Hence it is more obvious what defines the assembly and the act of publishing the elements allows you to give each one a meaningful (published) name, which can be different from the element name. In addition the actual element used for the constraint can be modified later by removing the publication and publishing the new element using the same publication name. (See Skeleton sections later for more information). The use of parameters means you can change the product definition very quickly. The following options should be set for this; To control publishing Select Tools/Options/Infrastructure/Part Infrastructure/General Under External References section select Keep link with selected object Only use published elements for external selection Select Tools/Options/Mechanical Design/Assembly Design/Constraints Under constraints creation select Use published geometry of any level To display parameters and formulae in the tree Select Tools/Options/General/Parameters and measurements/knowledge then check the two boxes for parameter tree view Select Tools/Options/Knowledgeware/Product Functional Def then check the two boxes for tree presentation Select Tools/Options/Infrastructure/Part Infrastructure/Display check show parameters & show relations
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Tony Harris
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We will now create an assembly, creating the gudgeon pin part in the assembly. Make sure you have a saved file of your piston then close it. Select File/New/Product Select Insert/existing component then select Product1 in the tree, ie where to insert this in the tree. Select the saved piston file - OPEN. You now have an almost similar tree as the part but the tree can now contain other assembled entities as well. Assembled entities can be other parts or other products as well as many other entities. A product is saved as a separate file (filename.CATProduct). There are several workbenches which can be used for Products, in this case we need the Assembly Design workbench so if necessary select this (via the start menu). We want to add a few things to the piston part, so expand the tree for the part and double click the PartBody. This changes the workbench so you can edit the part from inside the assembly the part will be saved when you save the assembly. Select fx icon on bottom menu and click new parameter of type length, using Edit name call it pin_diameter default value 8mm. Repeat this for a parameter PinLength default value 38mm You should now see these parameters in the tree. We now want the pin_diameter parameter to be used for the gudgeon pin hole size, so double click on the hole and right click the entry for hole size, select edit formula. In the formula window select renamed parameters to be listed then double click the parameter pin_diameter. OK then UPDATE.
These parameters need to be published so that the assembly and other parts can use them. Select Tools/Publication Select Pin_diameter and PinLength in the tree - note by clicking the name entry in the publish window, you can change the published name. In this case we will leave them as they are. OK to accept the publish process. We also need the gudgeon pin hole axis and the outside side face of the hole published for the assembly constraint, so place the cursor on the outside face and select this creates the published face you could rename this in a more complex assembly it is important that published data have meaningful and unique names. Now place the cursor on the inside face of the hole but do not select (this would publish the curved face, we want the axis). To get the axis, right click this face and choose other selection. In the new window select axis. (Again normally you would rename this) OK to accept all the published data for the piston part notice the piston tree contains these items and note also that if you want to delete any publication you must use Tools/Publication to do it deleting the tree entry directly will delete what it refers to as well. Double click Product1 in the tree to return to assembly workbench and select Insert New Part (which will be the gudgeon pin), select no to use the same origin as the assembly. Expand Part2 in the tree and double click PartBody to edit the new part make sure Part Design workbench is current, change if necessary. Sketch a circle centred on the origin on the YZ plane and give it a dimension, double click this dimension and make sure the dimension type is radius (the following formula only works for a radius value). Right click this dimension entry an select Edit formula this retrieves the name of this dimension. Double click the published pin_diameter (in the tree) the add /2 in the equation to make it a radius value - OK Exit the sketcher and create a pad of dimension in each direction and right click the dimension value. This time we Edit formula but use the published PinLength divided by 2 OK - OK Right click the pad in the tree and using properties change its colour for clarity. We need to publish the end face and axis of the pin before assembly can be achieved. So with the pin part body still active, select Tools/publication using the same method, publish the pin end face and axis. You can assemble the parts as follows; Double click Product1 in the tree to get the Assembly design workbench (if necessary select this workbench) You might like to make sure that the piston is fixed and the pin moves in the assembly process, so select the Fix Component icon then the piston. A note about the axis symbol in the top right corner of the Catia screen (this is known as the compass), this can be used to moved parts around an assembly with the mouse (or by discrete values from the keyboard).
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Tony Harris
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Select the compass on its red square, drag to the end of the pin and let go it should attach to the pin. You can now move the pin using the compass components by selecting and dragging the various compass components (as long as the pin is highlighted). Move it how you want so that it is easier to assemble but still separated from the piston. Put the compass back in the top right corner of the screen and click in open space to deselect anything now selected. Select the coincidence constraint icon Place the cursor near the piston hole a dotted centreline appears click to accept (or select the published axis in the tree) Place the cursor near the pin and accept its centreline (or select the published axis in the tree). Select the coincidence constraint icon again Select the pin end face then the end face of the piston hole (or the published items in the tree) - OK. Update assembles the bodies as defined. Note you can use similar processes for assembling parts which are all pre-existing by using Insert existing component each time. Saving the assembly and all its parts; To save the assembly we will use the Save Management option since the product and new part have no filenames yet. Select Save Management and select Save as for each item in the list then OK All files will be saved. The next time you edit this product you can change the product and all the parts in it without actually opening the parts as files. You then Select File/Save All and they will all be saved. Changing the piston you can now change the piston pin_diameter and PinLength parameters in the tree (by double clicking them). To propagate the change double click Product1 then update.
4.3 DMU Space Analysis real time sectioning of your Product Open the product PistonPin.CATProduct in Catia_Training directory, or open a product of your own. Select DMU Space Analysis workbench. Select Sectioning icon. You can drag the sectioning plane and get a real time view of the resulting section. Use the definition tab to define a different sectioning plane.
4.4 Drafting Example Creating an engineering drawing of the Piston Read C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\Piston.CatPart or open the piston part you have already created Select Start menu, Mechanical design Drafting workbench In the new drawing creation dialog box, set the layout to be Front, Bottom and Right (place the mouse over the layouts to find the right one)_ Select modify in the same dialog box and select A3ISO, scale 1:1 - OK creates the drawing views right, bottom and front (below). We will now create the isometric and section views as well. Note ISO is first angle projection use ANSI for third angle.
Note each view has a dashed line around it. Selecting and dragging these will move the views if required. Creating the section view; Double click the dashed line surrounding the right view Select Offset section view icon. Select a point (at the arrowhead A, below) then double click the second point A. Moving the mouse will allow you to locate the view as required, click when position is OK.
Creating the isometric view; Select window menu tile horizontally Orient the part window as required, then select the drafting window to get the drafting workbench. Select isometric view icon and select the piston in the 3D window. A temporary image is created of the view. You can change the orientation using the compass displayed or select the dashed line and drag the view to a new location. When satisfied left click to accept and the view is created.
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Tony Harris
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Dimensioning the view; It is possible to make CATIA create dimensions automatically from the sketcher constraints, however many users prefer to generate them manually, giving more control of the drawing. The following describes the manual method of dimensioning. Maximise the drawing window and double click dimensions icon. Select the lower edge of the piston in right view , select and drag to locate the dimension. This dimension is automatically created as a diameter. Select the inner circle of the hole and select and drag to locate the dimension.
Creating a frame and title block Select Edit/Background Select the Frame creation icon Choose the frame required, then OK Modify the frame as required then select Edit/Working Views to return to drawing editing. If you modify the piston the changes will propagate to the drawing using UPDATE 5. Part Design an example of good practice General rules of thumb of good practice in catia usage are; Only include design features in a sketch, eg chamfers and fillets should not be included if they are simply a blending or finishing feature Consider using a positioned sketch (created using the second sketch creation icon) this can be very important for advanced Catia use such as power copy Dont put multiple features into one sketch, eg slots, grooves and holes should have their own sketches Layout sketches should not contain feature details, only their spatial relationships (layout sketches are sometimes useful for controlling the positions of features and bodies etc.) Do not create feature patterns in a sketch, create one feature then pattern that. Try to create the part shown on the following page, using good practice. You can read the part NosePieceRibbedNoHistory.CATPart for a 3D view of the part. Have a go at this, then if you cant figure out what to do, read NosePieceRibbed.CATPart this has history and might help to show the method.
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Tony Harris
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Tony Harris
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6. Complex Surface Creation The following shows how you can create more complex shapes in 3D, such as an aircraft shape, provided you have good definition curves. It is assumed you have already familiarised yourself with CatiaV5 by following the advice in the previous sections. When creating general 3D shapes such as aircraft, it is essential to spend some time making sure that the curves you use are of good quality and intersect at the right places. For instance, wings should have vertical tangency conditions at leading and trailing edges. A powerful feature of Generative Shape Design (as with all of CatiaV5) is that the whole history of the design is recorded in a specification tree which has modifiable components. For instance, when the design is finished you can swap one of the definition curves for another one and regenerate the design, provided the new curve obeys the same restrictions as the original one (intersection with other curves etc). Given the curves and points shown we will create the aeroplane shape.
Select File/NewFrom C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\Aerotute_start.CATPart. (Aerotute_done.CATPart is the finished tutorial) Geometrical Sets and Ordered Geometrical Sets This part contains a few curves and points to start you off. It is most important to note that all the green curves are normal to the YZ plane at their ends (they are actually ellipses, created using the sketcher). Notice the contents of the tree. It contains the usual default axis planes, an empty part body, and three geometrical sets called curves, points and planes_etc. Geometrical sets contain geometry which is not solid part bodies contain solids. You can create a new geometrical set using insert/geometrical set. You can create geometrical sets like these to organise the geometry into manageable groups. The current set being used is underlined, all new geometry will be put there. A new current set can be selected as current by right clicking it and selecting Define in work object. Note that if your part was created with hybrid option then it is possible to put geometry normally restricted to a geometrical set into a part body. Moreover this is owned by the part body and there will be restrictions on what you can do with it. Catia has an additional way of dealing with geometry, namely ordered geometrical sets. These can be inserted into your tree instead of the previous geometrical set, as described before. An ordered geometrical set allows an alternative approach to managing your geometry. With geometrical sets the resulting tree does not have any logical order derived from the chronology of creation. An ordered geometrical set is the opposite it is a single column of geometry exactly in chronological order. If you right click any tree entry in an ordered geometrical set and select define in work object, this entry becomes the current entity and all geometry in the set coming after this (ie future geometry) vanishes. This allows you to go back to and modify selected geometry more easily. When you right click the last entry in the ordered geometrical set and select define in work object, the whole part is again displayed taking into account the modification (assuming updating has succeeded). What should you do, use geometrical sets or ordered geometrical sets? This decision is yours (or it may be Company standard) and may depend on the task or simply your preference. You can use both types of geometrical set in the same part. Part bodies behave the same as ordered geometrical sets and part bodies can be inserted into ordered geometrical sets. The following example uses geometrical sets but the methods will be almost the same if you decide to use ordered geometrical sets. Even when using ordered geometrical sets, it is still important to name entities so you create a part which is easier to understand and modify later. Before we start the following shows how to import your own coordinate data.
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Tony Harris
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6.1 Reading data points from Excel You may want to import points from Excel to create your curves, you can do this as follows; 1. 2. 3. 4. Open Generative Shape design workbench Open the Excel file GSD_PointSplineLoftFromExcel.xls (in Apps/Catia directory, available when logged on in room 206) Select tools/macros and run the main program listed Select whether you want just points (1), points+splines (2) or points+splines+surface (3).
Note: The surface is referred to as loft, this is the old name for a multi-section surface You can copy and paste your own data into this file, using the same format. This script places all the geometry in the geometric set GeometryFromExcel. If you want to run this several times with different data, it is best to rename this set to GeometryFromExcel-1 say, then the next run of the macro will create the new data in GeometryFromExcel again so rename this to GeometryFromExcel-2, and so on.
6.2 Creating the wing curves Select Generative Shape Design workbench under Shape Right click the curves geometrical set and drag to Define in work object. (It becomes underlined, ie current and all new geometry will be placed there in the tree) Select spline icon and check the geometry on support box in the spline window Select Plane_root in the specification tree under Planes_etc as the support and select each point defining the lower wing shape (all yellow points plus the two white endpoints), starting from the leading edge (nearest the plane symbols). When you have reached the last point, select the leading edge point in the spline definition window, select show parameters, right click the tangent direction entry and drag to Z axis (if necessary select reverse tangent for the right direction). OK to accept the spline. As mentioned above, it is essential that definition curves are good quality, otherwise the resulting surface will be poor and it will not be easy to blend or join to other surfaces. Ideally the data points will be very accurate being obtained from a good data source. In this case you are not sure how good this data is, so we will check the resulting curve. Select the porcupine curvature analysis icon (on bottom menu probably under connect checker), or select Insert/Analysis/porcupine) then, if necessary, select the spline just created. If necessary select more to get the full analysis window. This displays the curvature or tangency of the spline play with the parameters to get a good display and check both tangency and curvature. You will notice that the curve inverts in curvature and the tangency is not very good we will try to repair this. Select OK to accept the analysis this is saved in the tree and displayed. Double click the third point of the spline and change its Z coordinate to -1.1, then OK Double click the fourth point of the spline and change its Z coordinate to -2.65, then OK Update and examine the curvature and tangency analysis again it should have improved to an acceptable standard. You should check all curves which are doubtful and improve them this way if possible. See next section for an alternative curve smoothing method. Repeat the above process for the upper wing points (all purple points plus the two white end points). It is not possible to constrain the trailing edge of the wing curves to have vertical tangency as we did with the leading edge; the curve becomes too distorted. Instead I am suggesting we cut a small part of the wing curves off at the trailing edge then later blend a trailing edge surface between the upper and lower surfaces. To trim the trailing edge we can use a wireframe corner, so select the corner icon (probably under circle) and select the top and bottom curve using no trim option and a radius of 1mm - OK Select the split icon then the upper curve followed by the corner.
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Rename this resulting curve as Upper_wing_root by right clicking the curve and selecting properties - renaming is under Feature Properties. Repeat this for the lower wing curve renaming it to Lower_wing_root. Note if you expand the tree entry under curves all this geometry is listed. There are many possible ways of creating the wing tip curves. In this example we will project and scale the root curves. Select projection icon with along direction option Select Upper_wing_root, Plane_tip and Plane_root (remember that you can select items like these either in the specification tree or the graphic area, whichever is easier) OK creates the projection. Repeat this for Lower_wing_root. Select scaling icon (probably under translate), then the top projected curve, the leading edge point of the projected curve as reference and fill in a scale of 0.7 - OK creates the curve. Rename this to Upper_wing_tip Repeat this for the lower projected curve, renaming to Lower_wing_tip. Hide the unwanted curves by right clicking and dragging to Hide/Show. 6.3 Using Free Style workbench for curve smoothing
Curve smoothing as described above is quite difficult and can result in a worse result. If you are happy with your curve you can skip this section, however remember it if you experience problems with new data. The Free Style workbench supplies another method of curve smoothing, involving converting the curve to be smoothed into a NURBS (non-uniform rational B-spline) then using control points to deform the spline.
Above is a NURBS showing the control points joined with straight lines. As you drag each control point the curve distorts but maintains good tangency and curvature. This modifies the curve in a more controlled manner. We will now use this approach to smooth the lower wing curve. It is probably best to start a new part to do this exercise using the original data - use File/NewFrom C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\Aerotute_start.CATPart Create the lower wing spline as before using the spline function in the GSD workbench.
Porcupine analysis above shows tangency inversion near the leading edge, so it needs modifying.
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(Note you sometimes need to increase the number of porcupine lines to see the problem, using a low density of lines can miss the problem area.) To improve this curve select the Free Style workbench (under Start/Shape). For the sake of clarity, we will put the new curve in a different geometric set, so select Insert/Geometric set, and call it smoothing. This is now the current set for new geometry. In the Free style workbench, select converter wizard icon, select the spline, select apply OK this creates a NURBS based on the original spline. Hide the curves geometric set, only the new NURBS is visible. Create a porcupine analysis of the NURBS, with radius as the criterion you should get the same image as above. Select Control points icon and if necessary select the NURBS. On the leading edge, right click the free box and select tangent continuity. On the trailing edge , right click the free box and select point continuity. Right click one of the red control points and select de-select all they should all turn green. Zoom in on the tangency problem area and select the control point in the centre of the problem zone. In the control points window ensure translation in plane and bell law are checked, then carefully drag the selected control point down a small amount until the tangency improves use undo if you get it wrong first time. This wont be perfect but you can use the smoothing algorithm for the final stage. To perform the smoothing select say about 5 control points around the area of interest (using the cntrl key) and select run in the control points window a few times this runs the smoothing algorithm for the selected control points and should improve the result further. Select OK when you are satisfied with the result as shown below.
This NURBS can now be used instead of the original spline. The Free style workbench can also create and manipulate surfaces using control points in a similar way. 6.4 Creating the edge fuselage curves Continuing with the example aeroplane, we need to create points defining the nose shape of the fuselage and I am suggesting we place them in the tree in the points geometrical set you can put them anywhere in the tree but it is best to be methodical otherwise your tree will become difficult to use. Each geometry type I am separating in different geometrical sets. You can choose any system of tree management you want, and, as indicated at the start of this exercise, you could use a single ordered geometrical set instead. Right click the Points geometrical set and drag to Define in work object Select point icon (double click) with coordinates option and fill in 0,-130,0, then OK Still in the point menu, select the end nose point as origin (just created). Fill in 0,10,20 - OK Repeat for 0,10,-20 - OK Cancel the point menu. Right click the Curves geometrical set and drag to Define in work object. Select spline icon and create two more splines (one top, the other bottom) using the ends of the green curves and the new points just created, with tangents in the Z axis direction on the nose (reverse the tangent if necessary to get a smooth spline in each case). We also need a straight line which will be used as a spine (backbone) for the fuselage surface (a spine can be any line curve or joined set of curves) to create this, select the line icon, select the ZX plane (option normal to surface automatically chosen) and select the point on the end of the fuselage nose. Select the infinite line option - OK 6.5 Creating the fuselage surface Now we will create the fuselage surface as follows; Make sure no geometry is highlighted (click in open space to deselect) Select Insert/Geometrical set from top menu, fill in surfaces as the name - OK
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(Notice you can change the father for this body if you want to create a more complex tree structure. Also if you multi-select geometry before selecting Insert/ Geometrical set the selected geometry is moved to this new part of the tree. This has no effect on the geometrical result but can be useful for reorganising the tree to a more manageable format) Select multi-sections surface icon Select each green curve as section curves starting with the smallest and ending with the one nearest the nose points. In the multi-sections surface window, click in the guide curve area (with guides tab on) and select one of the two fuselage splines you created, then select the YZ plane to define the tangency. Repeat this for the other spline. Select the spine tab in the multi-sections surface window and select the infinite line created before. Select the relimitation tab in the multi-sections surface window and deselect loft relimited on end section. (This will allow the surface to continue beyond the last section to the end point.) Select OK and the surface is created. Right click this and rename it to front_fuse.
6.6 Creating the wing Select the multi-sections surface icon. Select the two top wing curves then OK to create another surface rename this to wing_top. Select the two bottom wing curves then click in the guide curve area of the multi-sections surface window. Select the leading edge of wing_top and then the surface itself as support. This forces tangency at the leading edge. OK to create the bottom wing surface rename this to wing_bottom. Hide the definition curves for the wing top and bottom. Select Blend icon Select the trailing edge of wing_top then the surface itself as support. Select the trailing edge of wing_bottom and the surface itself as support. OK to create the trailing edge surface rename this to trailing_edge. Creating the end of the wing; Select blend icon Select the wing tip surface edge on the end of wing_top (as first curve) then wing_top surface (as first support) Select the wing tip surface edge on the end of wing_bottom (as second curve) then wing_bottom surface (as second support). - OK The small trailing edge tip corner also needs to be created; The blend method does not work for this surface creation, so we can use the fill method. Select fill icon Select each of the two edges of the corner together with their respective support surfaces, to maintain tangency. OK to create the corner surface. Select the join icon. Select the two wing surfaces, the trailing edge, the wing end and the small wing corner surface - OK. These are now joined and can be used as a single entity (probably called join1.) Rename this to Wing An important aspect of joining surfaces or dealing with gaps Double click Wing and check the merging distance. This is probably 0.001mm OK. Now select connect checker icon (bottom menu, probably now under porcupine analysis) and then Wing. In the checker window select auto minmax and make sure internal edges and distance are selected this should show you how well the join works and if there are any gaps. If you see gaps which are greater than the merging distance for the join operation you should either improve the geometry or modify the merging distance to suite. Gaps which are bigger than the join merging distance could give you pain later. For example, a closed join of surfaces can be used to create an equivalent solid (using Part Design/ Closed surface icon). This will fail with badly defined merging distance. Notice that the connect checker can also check tangency and curvature at the joins. Also note that under the join menu there is a healing menu. This can be used to correct gaps that you might find.
6.7 Filleting the wing to the fuselage Select shape fillet icon Select the Wing Select the fuselage, ensure the arrows are pointing outwards and fill in 10 for the radius with trim support1 & 2 options - OK. The surfaces are filleted and trimmed. The trimmed result is a single entity (probably called fillet.1) encompassing the fuselage, fillet and joined wing. The original entities are hidden but still listed in the tree.
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6.8 Adding the tail area of the aeroplane Swap to Curves geometrical set. Select scaling icon (double click) Select the green curve on the open end of the fuselage. In the scaling definition window, right click reference and choose create point Select between option, then select the top and bottom ends on the open end of the fuselage. Select midpoint option OK to accept the point Fill in 0.8 as the scale - OK to accept the scaling Repeat this for the same curve with a scale of .65 Cancel the scaling menu. Select translate icon (double click) Select the new curve just created at 0.8 scale Select ZX plane and fill in 50mm - OK Repeat this for the other new curve using 100mm translation. Cancel the translation menu. Swap back to surfaces geometrical set Hide the rear fuselage (green) curve and the two scaled curves. Select multi-sections surface icon and select the rear edge of the fuselage and the surface as support, then select the last two translation curves - OK
6.9 Creating a window for the pilot Swap to curves geometrical set Select sketcher icon Select the XY plane Select spline icon. Using the nose shape as a guide sketch a curve following the nose profile by clicking (say) 4 points as shown, the last point should lie on the centre line (double click this to end the spline.) You can modify this spline now or later by selecting and dragging each point. Select line icon and draw two lines from the ends of the spline, one along the centreline and the other perpendicular to it to complete the window profile. Note when using the sketcher, it assumes constraints as you move the mouse. In this case it is important that the assumptions created are as shown in the figure opposite (the small constraint circular symbols) i.e. the straight lines are locked to the spline ends and the vertical one is locked on the world axis. Note, If you did not create these implicit constraints, it is possible to sort it all out manually. First you can trim the intersections of all the lines with the trim icon. It is also possible to create constraints like this manually by selecting the constraint icon, selecting the vertical line of the profile (this shows a dimension which if you clicked would be created, but we dont want this) so select the vertical axis (this creates a dimension between the two, which we also do not want, clicking would accept this) so now right click and select coincident option. We also want to add a dimension for the location of the window so select constraint again then the horizontal line in the profile and the horizontal axis and click again to locate the dimension. Double click this dimension and key in your required dimension (eg 10). You can now modify the spline if necessary by selecting any of the points which are not constrained and dragging them to new locations. If you wish, you could select fillet icon and put a small fillet in the top left of the sketch contour by selecting the spline and the top line. You can also impose tangency conditions to the spline. To do this you need the spline definition window (if necessary double click the spline to get it). In this window select the end point nearest the nose of the fuselage then check the tangency box. This creates a tangency arrow which you can constrain to any other geometry eg normal to the YZ plane. Select exit from the sketcher when satisfied. We will now project this curve onto the fuselage as follows;
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(A bit of explanation first; operations such as projections sometimes have more than one result. If this is the case you can either accept all solutions which become one entity or ask for the nearest solution to the projected item. However if there are two symmetrical results (hence no nearest solution) or you dont want the nearest one but the furthest solution, you need another strategy. In this case you deselect the nearest solution option and Catia prompts with a multiple solution message. In the case below we will opt for the Near option which means we select some geometry which is nearest the solution we want. The result is called near.1 which can be renamed.) See how it works below; Select projection icon, in the projection window the sketch should already be selected as projected element (select if necessary). In the projection window select along direction. Select the fuselage as the support (now probably called fillet.1) Select the XY plane as direction Deselect nearest solution Select OK You get a message 2 sub elements - Choose Near option Select the point on the top of the nose - OK You get the window profile on the fuselage, projected along the normal to the XY plane at the location nearest the top nose point (called near1). You could now double click the sketch to modify the shape by dragging the spline points if the projection is not quite right and then update. Split the fuselage to create a window as follows; Swap to surfaces geometrical set Select split icon Select the fuselage (probably called fillet.1) Select the projection profile and select keep both sides in the split window. - OK You get two results probably Split.3 and Split.4 which are the fuselage with a hole and the window itself. You can colour the split portion making the pilots window different by right clicking the surface and choosing properties then selecting graphic to change the colour and transparency - OK
6.10 Creating the other symmetrical half You can complete the shape by reflecting the surfaces about the YZ plane as follows; Select symmetry icon (double click). Select each surface and then the YZ plane as symmetry - OK Repeat this for all the surfaces as necessary then cancel the symmetry menu.
6.11 Closing the end Hide the curve on the open end of the fuselage. Select blend icon. Select the edge of one open end of the fuselage as first curve Select its adjacent surface as first support. Select the other edge as second curve Select its adjacent surface as second support. Use tangency for continuity on both edges - OK - a perfect blend is produced. Note you can play with the tension option in the tangency conditions to get a different blend shape. You can clean up your part by hiding all the lines, curves and points. Hint, hide the curves geometrical set and the points geometrical set by right clicking the tree entry and dragging to Hide/Show. 6.12 Joining everything together Select the join icon and select all the aeroplane parts, rename this as aeroplane_body. Repeat this for the window, naming it window. See Aerotute_done.CATPart and Aerotute_morphed.CATPart if you have had problems. 6.13 Modifying a definition curve Suppose we want to make the fuselage body wider. To do this we will modify sketch.4. This step demonstrates the real value of parametric modelling. Double click sketch.4 in the tree.
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Select the centre of the ellipse curve in the sketch window (make sure you select it in line with the horizontal axis) and drag to the left. It bulges but maintains the symmetry and end point locations, due to the constraints existing. Bulge the ellipse by the required amount and exit the sketcher. Select update icon to show the result. You can do this to any of the green ellipses and in addition, because they are ellipses, you can drag the ellipse top point to shrink or grow the ellipse size. You could make similar modifications to other geometry, for instance double click Plane_tip and change its definition to -600 mm offset. Update gives longer wings. You can also create a new curve to replace an existing one simply create the new curve, right click the existing one and choose replace with then select the new curve. Save your work in your own directory.
6.14 Creating Multiple Holes in a Surface You may want to create multiple holes in a surface, for instance the windows in a fuselage. If you were to use the method shown for the cockpit window repeated again and again, it would be very tedious and create a very large file. This is because a copy of the surface is saved for every operation. What you need to do is make the multiple hole process a single operation. The following illustrates a procedure there may be other methods you could use as well. Open (using NewFrom) the part Aerotute_start.CATPart Open Generative shape design workbench Hide the points and create a multi-sections surface using the 3 green curves. We will now create the holes shown below
Open Sketcher on the YZ plane and sketch the left hole in the position required relative to the multi-sections surface. Make this 15mm diameter. Still in the sketcher, select translate icon (underneath symmetry) Select the circle then select a point on the right of the circle.
Place the mouse inside tn the Translation defintion window fill in 5 instances, 20mm distance - OK
Now move the mouse to create the orientation required and click to accept. Exit the sketcher and select project icon Choose along a direction, make sure nearest solution is not checked Select the multi-sections surface then select the YZ plane for direction OK You get a question multiple elements?, choose keep all sub-elements - OK Hide the sketch. Select split icon. Select the multi-sections surface Select the projection and check keep both sides OK You now have two split elements, one is the multi-sections surface full of holes and the other is all the holes as one entity. You can change the colour and transparency of the holes by right clicking the split in the tree and selecting properties/graphic. Note selecting a hole will only change that hole. This method could also be used for a sketch containing holes of different size, shape and spacing. This will also work on a set of joined surfaces. See windows.CATPart for finished part.
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7. CNC Milling (3 axis) The School has two CNC milling machines which can be programmed using CatiaV5, a Fadal 3 axis and a DMG 5 axis. When creating any tool path you must take into account which machine you will be using there will be differences in the final program. The most obvious difference is the X,Y and Z travel. The Fadal has a vertical Z axis and can move 1000mm in X, 500mm in Y and about 500mm in Z, depending on the cutter and workpiece. The DMG has a vertical Z axis and can move 600 mm in X, 600 mm in Y, 600 mm in Z, +/-360o in C (rotation of tool about Z axis) and 90o in B (rotation of tool about Y axis). Cutter and workpiece size may limit these values further. All CNC programs must be checked by Laboratory staff before running them on the machines. You should ascertain the best available tooling and feeds and speeds to be used see Appendix in this document but also check with Laboratory staff for the latest table of available tools and recommended machining conditions. The techniques in the next section are for 3 axis machining but generally apply to both machines. There are some additional techniques for 5 axis machining which you should check out in section 10 when you are competent in 3 axis programming. 7.1 Simple 3 Axis Machining CatiaV5 has separate prismatic and surface machining workbenches for CNC milling machines, so that customers can choose what to buy. UNSW has all available modules so it is best to use Advanced Machining workbench which contains all possible machining options. Select File/NewFrom C:\CatiaV5_tutorial\UNSW\machining\Simple_machining.CATPart Save this as Simple_machining.CATPart in your own workspace, it is best to use a new directory which will be reserved for all files associated with each manufacturing project. This part contains a simple solid with a pocket and an island. Looking at the specification tree, the solid is called final_product and there is another solid called work_material (in hidden mode) which has been created for the machining simulation and tool path calculation. The work material has the same boundary (ie no machining required for the edges) but is 2 mm thicker (ie needs about 2mm machining off the top surface). The part also contains an axis created at the top/centre of the work_material to be used as a machining axis, and a plane to be used as a safety plane. Before you start the machining definition, check some of the CATIA options.
Select Tools/options/machining/output All 3 axis toolpath output from Catia for the FADAL CNC machine must be tool tip. This is probably the default setting but check it anyway to make sure (check tool tip in the tool output point entry). Select Tools/Options/machining/Output Then select Cenit for the Post Processor and Store tool path incurrent document - OK You should also fill in the path name for all toolpath files which must reside on your Z drive if you are not using your own computer. (Note if you intend processing very large NC tool paths you should use Store tool path in external file) Select Advanced Machining workbench. After selecting the workbench a CatProcess type file is opened automatically which should be saved separately and given a unique name when the toolpath is complete. I recommend you use the same name as the part. The tree contains an empty Part Operation and Manufacturing program as well as the original part. Double click the Part Operation and in the Part Operation window select machine icon. In the Machine Editor window and Numerical control tab ensure that 3_axis mill is selected and Select the FADAL Post Processor and Post Processing table. The rest of the settings can be left as default. OK to accept. Now select the Reference machining axis system icon. Select the red shaded axis and then the axis system required ie the one created in the centre on the top of the work_material - OK. (Note this axis is located exactly in the centre and on the top of the raw material block. This is a recommended strategy but it is possible slight variations of this will be preferred by the machine operator, depending on the machining to be done. Check with Laboratory staff for the preferred axis location). Select the stock icon then Work_material in the tree (under Product List), double click to end selection.
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(Note you can select the work material in the tree even though it is in hidden mode.) Select safety plane and select the plane above the job. OK (There are other settings possible which can be investigated at a later time) You now need to insert a post processor command to create a fixture origin statement. This will allow the machine operator to set the job anywhere which is convenient on the machine work table. The machine will then be set to have a fixture origin which is the same as your machining axis origin. It is possible to use any of 5 fixture offset definitions which are numbered from 1 to 5. To set the offset number, highlight Manufacturing Program in the tree and select add post processor instruction icon Write ORIGIN/MANUAL,0 (for offset 1) - or ORIGIN/MANUAL,1 (for offset 2) etc. OK to accept You must inform the machine operator which offset number you are using as well as the location and orientation of your machining axis system. It is also most important that the tool geometry used in Catia is exactly the same as the actual tool on the machine and that the machining conditions are correct obtain a copy of the latest tool table from workshop staff to ensure this. An example of a tool table showing tools available and recommended feeds and speeds is also shown in the Appendix.
7.1.1 Facing the Top With the new postprocessor instruction highlighted in the tree, select facing icon we are going to face off the top starting at the top of the stock material down to the top of the design block, inserting the operation after this postprocessor instruction. (Note, you can insert further instructions anywhere by highlighting the instruction it needs to follow.) There are 5 tabs along the top of the facing window, we will select each one in turn starting from the second from the left, because we usually need to define the workpiece first. Tab2 workpiece definition Select the second tab on the left at the top of the facing window. This window has an image of relevant entities, ie top and sides, clamps and top of rough stock. Right click the image of the top of the facing and note the options for the selection; make sure that contour detection is not selected. Note that right clicking entities is an extremely important method of controlling options and can be used in a large number of situations too numerous to deal with in this tutorial. Make sure you check what is available to you with the right mouse button before proceeding, especially if you cannot achieve what you want. Select the top of the facing image then the top of the actual part. Select an edge of the image then the four side edges of the part - OK. Select the small square image representing the top of the stock then right click stock in the tree and make it visible and select the top of the stock. Right click the stock again and hide it. Tab 1 machining strategy Select the strategy tab (top left tab in the facing window) and fill in the required machining options. For this exercise we will just set the options in the axial tab to maximum depth of cut 1mm (do not select OK yet, if you do by accident, double click the facing entry in the tree to open the dialog again). Like all CatiaV5 entries you can revisit any of these areas and modify them later if necessary. Tab3 tool definition You can modify the tool to be used with the next tab changing its dimensions, name and number (the tool number must correspond to the number used by the CNC machine operator, however it is quite easy to change the tool number in the final CNC program with an editor). Tab4 machining conditions The machining conditions can be modified with the next tab. You should check the best conditions to use (consult the tool table in the Appendix and the latest version available from Laboratory staff) uncheck automatic compute to entre your own values. Tab5 macro definitions Select the last tab on the right for macros these control the tools motion when not actually machining. It is extremely important to get macros right most machine crashes occur from bad or absent macro definitions.
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The pocket operation is plunging the tool into the work material. This is will break most milling tools (with the exception of slot drills). Suppose we are not using a slot drill which can plunge vertically, so we must change the way the tool approaches. In the definition tab choose build by user option. This allows us to specify exactly what we want for each type of motion (approach, retract etc.) building each macro as a combination of the motions defined by the toolkit given. All macros are built starting at the workpiece and working away from it, regardless of what type they are. Facing milling cutters cannot plunge axially into the workpiece, so we must control the approach to avoid this by making the vertical outside the workpiece then horizontal into the cut. Highlight the approach macro, the N icon for normal motion then double click the value and change it to a value larger than the tool radius. Next select the axial motion to a plane icon, select the red plane symbol then the actual clearance plane in the part. The tool will now approach along this plane then vertically down outside the workpiece and then in horizontally. Define the retract macro as axial motion to a plane selecting the clearance plane again (a single vertical move is fine for retract). In this case there is one more motion to be considered. In this facing operation the tool performs several levels so we must define how to go from level to level. This is controlled by using the Return between levels approach and Return between levels retract macros. Build them the same as the main approach and retract macros. Make sure all these macros are active right click and select activate if necessary. Calculating the tool path and replaying Select Replay icon in the facing window the tool path is calculated and stored. You can now replay a wire frame rendition using the replay buttons in the replay window or select the video camera icon and replay a solid version (the solid replay uses the work_material specified in the Part Operation). Select OK to exit facing. You could double click facing in the tree and look at other options and experiment by changing them and recomputing the tool path.
7.1.2 Machining the pocket Make sure the previous facing operation is highlighted in the tree then select pocketing icon we are going to machine the pocket with island, inserting the operation after the facing operation. Again we go through the 5 tabs, starting with Tab2, then Tab1, Tab3, Tab4 and Tab5. Tab2 workpiece definition Select the second tab on the left at the top of the pocketing window. Select closed pocket option (if necessary select open pocket text) Right click the image of the bottom of the pocket in the pocketing window and note the options make sure island detection and contour detection is selected. Note this will now be your default so future pockets may have to have this changed, depending on what you what to happen. Select the bottom of the pocket image then the bottom of the actual pocket the bottom, contour and island are all set in one selection. Select the top rim of the image then the actual top surface of the pocket. Tab 1 machining strategy Select the strategy tab (top left tab in the pocketing window) and fill in the required machining options. For this exercise we will just set the options in the axial tab to maximum depth of cut 1mm. Tab3 tool definition Modify the tool to be used with the next tab Tab4 machining conditions The machining conditions can be modified with the next tab. You should check the best conditions to use (consult the tool table in the Appendix at the end of this document and the latest version available from Laboratory staff) uncheck automatic compute to entre your own values. Tab5 macro definitions Select the last tab on the right for macros. The pocket operation is plunging the tool into the work material. This is will break most milling tools (with the exception of slot drills). Suppose we are not using a slot drill which can plunge vertically, so we must change the way the tool approaches. In the definition tab choose build by user option as before in the facing operation.
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Highlight the approach macro then the predefined ramping macro icon (looks like a zigzag image on the icon). Double click the spiral symbol and change the ramp rate to 5 degrees. Then select the axial motion to a plane icon, select the red plane symbol then the actual clearance plane the tool will now approach along this plane then spiral down at 5 degrees instead of plunging in vertically. Define the retract macro as axial motion to a plane selecting the clearance plane again. In this operation there are two more motions to be considered, plunging in the same level if the tool needs to jump over the island and plunging to the next Z level. The first is controlled using the Return in a level retract and Return in a level approach. The second is controlled by the Return between levels retract and Return between levels approach. Create these using the same procedure as the facing operation, making sure they are activated and using the ramping motion to approach. Calculating the tool path and replaying Select Replay icon in the pocketing window the tool path is calculated and stored. You can now replay a wire frame rendition using the replay buttons in the replay window or select the video camera icon and replay a solid version as before. All the operations are replayed up to this point. Select OK to exit pocketing.
Further possible machining on this component So far this process has only faced off and machined the pocket the top of the island has not been machined to the correct height. You can machine this using facing in a similar way See section 8 for generating NC code from a tool path. Note also that VERICUT must be used for your final program check (see section 9).
7.2 Drilling, Boring, Helical Milling and Tapping Drilling, boring, helical milling and tapping is often best done using the CNC machines conversational programming you simply supply the coordinates of the hole centres (relative to the chosen machining axis) and any special details about the operation. The following example shows how you can use Catia to create drilling operations. You can use the similar procedures for helical milling but do not use Catia for boring or tapping, the post processing currently available cannot generate correct CNC code. The advantage of using Catia is productivity you can use and re-use hole patterns and take advantage of Catias parametric flexibility. Drilling Example Select File/NewFrom C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\machining\PlateHoles.CATPart This contains a 10mm thick plate with a pattern (RectPattern.1) of 5mm diameter holes and three other 10mm diameter holes which are not created with a Catia pattern. There is a clearance plane 20mm above the plate and the axis system is on one top corner of the plate. We will centre drill all the holes in one operation, drill all the holes with a 5mm drill, then drill the last three holes with a 10mm drill. Select Advanced machining workbench Define the Part Operation parameters for the FADAL machine as before and select the 20mm plane as the clearance plane. Insert the required Post Processor command Select Spot Drilling icon (probably underneath the drilling icon) notice all the other operations offered; as mentioned before you should limit the use of these to any of the drilling or helical milling operations. Select an appropriate centre drill as the tool. In the second from left tab select the conical hole symbol notice a pattern window appears. In this window select the RectPattern.1 and the other 3 holes individually notice in the pattern window, another machining pattern has been created which includes all the holes. Double click free space to accept. Double click the hole depth symbol and set the required centre hole depth. In the first tab you can modify parameters as required uncheck output CYCLE syntax our post processor cannot create special ISO drilling codes, so Catia will assume the machine is dumb and output the required set of separate ISO code lines. (Hence if a peck drilling was required, this might result in many lines of code with short feed down and rapid up, repeated the required number of times). With the last 2 tabs, set the required machining conditions and macros then replay
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Now select Drilling Deep Hole icon. Select 5mm diameter tool. In the second tab select Through hole for Extension Select the hole symbol and the pattern window appears again, this contains Machining Pattern.1 select this to drill all the same holes again double click to accept. Select the top of hole symbol then the top surface of the plate. Repeat this for the bottom. In the first tab, set the required conditions and uncheck output CYCLE syntax Set the required machining parameters and macros, then replay. You can now add another drilling operation for the 10mm holes, selecting these holes individually. Save your process and part, eg in your Z drive, using Save/Save Management. Generate the CNC code as described in section 8. 7.3 Surface Machining (3 axis) If you intend to generate a tool path with a very large number of points, before starting you should go to Tools/Options/General and: in the General tab page, deactivate Automatic save and Load referenced documents, then go to the Performances tab and set the Undo stack size to 0 or 1, finally go to Machining/Output, activate Store tool path in an external file and deactivate Store contact points in tool path. You should return the Undo Stack to 10 when you have finished your large machining tasks. Other machining settings described in 9.1 must also be set. Select File/NewFrom C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\Aerotute_done.CATPart Save this as Aerotute_nc.CATPart in your own workspace, use a separate empty directory. Note, if you have any difficulty understanding the following instructions, open Aerotute_nc_done.CATProcess. We will assume you wish to machine one of the wings which will later be assembled on the fuselage. To do this you must create some more features to use. First you must decide how the wing will be attached to the fuselage and therefore where and how it will end. This example will machine the wing and wing root 28mm from the fuselage centreline. This will create a component comprising the wing and a small portion of fuselage. The fuselage must then be machined with a flat area on it to enable assembly. This may not be the best mechanical way of fixing the wing but illustrates techniques to be used. Also when machining a wing like this you must be able to machine both sides and hold it rigidly. The best way of doing this is to use a raw material block which is longer and machine so that the wing remains attached at both ends. Hence in this case the blend on the wing tip will have to be hand finished both ends being cut off with a band saw. To allow extra material to hand finish the wing tip, we will extend a portion of wing tip as shown in the next section. (You could cut the wing tip off square and machine a wing tip component separately, fixing it with dowel pins and locktite). Each machining problem is usually somewhat unique, so use your ingenuity. 7.3.1 Preparing the model for machining The following figures summarise what we are going to do. We are going to machine a wing with a portion of fuselage attached, then the fuselage will be machined as shown to accept the wing. This example will only machine the wing portion, leaving the fuselage for you to work out yourself. Note once the CNC program has been created for the wing you can machine the other wing with the same program simply get the CNC machine operator to invert X or Y axis, depending on the way the workpiece is set up.
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In the figure above, notice that a support is required so that the workpiece can be clamped. This is 20mm thick and the workpiece has 20mm extra material the other end, allowing clamping each end. This can be inverted to machine the other side and there are two axis systems, one for each side to machine. The following steps will create more geometry. You might like to create a new geometrical set called NC_geometry to contain the non-solid geometry, you will be creating new part bodies for the stock etc. A tidy product is much easier to manage and others can understand it more easily.
Extending the wing tip. Select Generative Shape Design workbench and select extrapolate icon. Select the wing tip edge on the top, then select wing_top surface (make sure you select the actual multi-sections surface which is currently hidden but accessible via the tree) Select length option and 20mm - OK Repeat this for wing_bottom Select extrapolate icon Select the tip edge of the trailing edge, then select trailing edge in the tree (it is hidden). Fill in 20 mm OK gives wing tip extension to be included in the machining (top bottom and trailing edge surfaces). Join these three entities together and name the join wing_extension. The machining will include a portion of the fuselage to a plane 10mm from the centreline of the fuselage. A raw material block will be created to suite the resulting machining operation. Note it is always best to choose a raw material block which matches the shape required as closely as possible to reduce the amount of machining which is not necessary. You do not want to spend valuable machining time machining large volumes of material into chips unnecessarily. With the Generative Shape Design (GSD) workbench (make sure NC_geometry set is active) create a plane -10mm offset from the YZ plane. Intersect this with the aeroplane_body Create another plane 20mm outside offset from the plane Plane_tip for the extremity of machining (this is where the wing tip extension reaches).
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Select Part design workbench, insert a new body called stock and open the sketcher on the fuselage intersection plane. Create a rectangle surrounding the intersect curve (top and bottom) and surround the wing (left and right, ie cutting the intersection curve on its left and right sides). In the sketch, this rectangle should be about 170mm wide and 130mm high, its top edge 65mm from the horizontal axis and its left edge 6mm to the left of the vertical axis. You should consider optimising the sizes used for your stock because it will be fabricated from stock material of standard thickness. So discuss your job with Laboratory staff as to the best material and what sizes are available (eg machineable plastic or aluminium, thickness 25mm?) For this exercise let us assume we are using machineable plastic with a standard thickness is 25mm (you must check with laboratory staff what is really available). Exit the sketcher and create pad 30mm in direction of the wing and 20mm towards the fuselage centreline (making 50mm in all, ie two pieces of standard 25mm stock glued together with 20mm extra material on the end for clamping). On the same plane (fuselage intersection plane) sketch a rectangle surrounding the wing. Constrain this to be 50mm thick, 40mm from the top of the pad just created and in line with each vertical edge of the previous pad. Exit the sketcher and create a pad 240mm towards the wing tip this leaves 20mm at the end for clamping and will also need a 40mm high support underneath. These two pads (as one solid) will be the stock material. Hide this stock for the moment. Return to NC_geometry active and open GSD workbench Sketch on the XY plane a simple multi-line contour to surround the wing and wing-root to be machined, constrain the ends to be coincident with the extended wing end and the fuselage intersect plane, make sure there is room to get the tool inside the contour on the leading and trailing edges this will be used as a contour to define the machining so that no unnecessary machining is carried out and the 20mm ends for clamping are untouched. Rename this to machining_profile. We must have a coordinate system which relates to the stock material to be used, for this is the only reference there is for setting the job on the machine. It is best to check with Laboratory staff but for the FADAL machine in this example an axis as shown in the figure above is best, i.e. X axis along the longest edge and Z upwards. Make sure you create a right handed axis otherwise you will machine a mirror version of your part. Note that you can easily change the axis system later. To insert this axis select Insert/axis system (top menu) and select the corner point of the pad - OK. Finally you need a plane created which will be used as a safety plane (the plane at which the tools cannot collide with anything). So create a plane using the plane icon say offset 150mm from the top of the block (where the axis is). Save your Part and close it. 7.3.2 Machining the top wing surface Surface roughing Before you start machining, check the CATIA machining options Select Tools/Options/Machining/Output Then select Cenit for the Post Processor and Store tool path incurrent document - OK You should also fill in the path name for all toolpath files which must reside on your Z drive if you are not using your own computer. Note if you intend processing very large NC tool paths you should use Store tool path in external file For reasons which will become apparent later we will create the tool path from a Product. This is not mandatory but allows more flexibility in how we can work. A Product contains assemblies of entities, such as Parts. Select File/New then Product Rename this in the tree to Aerotute_nc Select Insert/Existing Component and select Aerotute_nc.CATPart (the part you have created) Save the product as Aerotute_nc.CATProduct Select Advanced machining workbench. A CatProcess type file has been opened which should be saved separately when the toolpath is complete (name it Aerotute_nc same as all the other related files). The tree contains a Product List and an empty Manufacturing program. Rename Part Operation.1 to Top_wing_machining. Double click Top_wing_machining. In the Part Operation window select machine icon. Ensure that 3_axis mill is selected.
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In the numerical control tab select the FADAL Post Processor Table and Post Processor. OK to accept, leaving the other parameters as default. Now select the machining axis icon. Select the red shaded axis and then the axis system required ie the one created on the corner of the top of the stock OK to accept Select the stock icon then the stock, double click to end selection. Select safety plane and select the plane at 100mm above the machining axis created before. OK (other parameters are optional and can be left for this exercise) You now need to insert a post processor command to create a fixture origin statement. This will allow the machine operator to set the job anywhere which is convenient on the machine work table. The machine will then be set to have a fixture origin which is the same as your machining axis origin. The fixture offset can have any number from 1 to 5. With the Manufacturing Program highlighted use add post processor instruction and write; ORIGIN/MANUAL,0 (for offset 1) - or ORIGIN/MANUAL,1 (for offset 2) etc. You must inform the machine operator which offset number you are using as well as the location of your machining axis system. With the new post processor instruction highlighted, select Roughing icon (new operations are inserted after the highlighted one, so you can insert an operation anywhere you wish, you can also copy/cut and paste operations in the tree using the right mouse button). Roughing.1 is added to the tree and a definition menu appears. Top left Tab Select the strategy tab (top left tab in the roughing window) and fill in the required machining options. You only need to specify parameters for the machining, radial and axial tabs for the moment. Select the ? in the menus for help on the meaning of the various parameters. For roughing use 0.1mm machining tolerance (we will be leaving 1mm offset on the part, so this is quite accurate enough for roughing) and a step over of 50% tool diameter with 1mm depth of cut. Next Tab Select the next tab on the left at the top of the roughing window. Right click Part in the window icon and select select faces then select (from the tree is easier) all the surfaces to be machined ie Aeroplane_body, window and wing_extension - OK (note if you dont right click first to select faces the entire geometric set will be selected). Select Rough stock and select stock in the tree. Select limiting contour then select the sketch machining_profile (in the tree) as the contour surrounding your job OK Set the Limit definition (controlling the limiting contour use) to inside, inside and 0mm offset. Change the option for the Tool/rough stock to outside with 0% offset (this controls whether the tool is allowed outside the rough stock specified in this case the limiting contour is the real controlling mechanism) Change the offset on part to 1mm Select safety plane and select the 150mm plane above the job. Select bottom and select a bottom corner of the pad surrounding the wing, so that the roughing will only go down this far. Next tab Select the centre top tab (tool definition) and (if necessary) change the tool to 10mm diameter end mill (start by typing in a new name, then you can change the dimensions). Make sure you set the tool dimensions (including cutting length and overall length, as specified in the Appendix) This window also has tool number which can be changed. Generally it is best to use number 1 as tool 1 and 2 as tool 2 etc. Make sure you inform the machine operator which tool numbers you used and consult the tool table (see Appendix) for available tools and recommended machining conditions. If the tool you are specifying has a small diameter it will be much shorter than larger diameter tools and therefore may not be able to reach all the locations you are specifying. Note it is best to rough with an endmill rather than a ball mill even for complex surfaces you get faster machining with less tool wear. Next Tab Select the next top tab on the right and fill in the required machining parameters (uncheck automatic compute to enable the parameters to be modified). Last tab The last tab is for machining macros which control the tools movement when not actually machining ie approach, retract etc. Do not plunge vertically into the work unless you are using a slot drill or a ball end mill with a small
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plunge value. In this case use the default macro of ramping and specify 5o as the ramping angle this means that all plunges will be restricted to this ramping motion. Select Replay in the roughing window the tool path is calculated and stored. You can replay a wire frame rendition using the replay buttons or select the video camera icon and replay a solid version. If you are happy this roughing is correct then select the disk symbol next to the video camera symbol to associate video result. This will mean that the finish cut replay will start at this point and you dont have to keep repeating the roughing replay. Select OK to exit roughing. Note, experienced users may wish to speed up the roughing by removing the safety plane and using optimum retract in the macro. Beware, the video replay does not show the zigzag motion which the FADAL uses for all rapid moves. This is not an issue if a safety plane is used which is above all obstacles, but if optimum retract is used, it is possible for the tool to collide with the job on the machine when there is no collision on the video replay. This is not the case for the DMG 5 axis, because it does not use zigzag motion for rapid traverse. Surface finishing If necessary highlight the roughing operation then select sweeping icon to do the finish cut If necessary select the first tab on the left at the top of the sweeping window. We will only modify the parameters for the first three tabs in this window, machining, radial and axial. Fill in the required values, using the ? for help. Use zigzag with 0.5mm machining tolerance, 1mm constant stepover, to speed up the calculation and simulation. Select the next tab on the left at the top of the sweeping window Select limiting contour and select the sketch machining_profile (in the tree is easier) - OK Make sure the limiting contour option is inside for side to machine and stop position with 0mm offset and stop mode is tool end Right click Part and choose select faces then select aeroplane_body, window and wing_extension from the tree - OK. Select Bottom point as before by selecting the bottom corner point of the wing pad Set offset on part and offset on check surface to be 0.0mm The next tab allows you to change the tool (key in Ball Mill and select ball mill option, modify the size as required check tool availability). The next tab is machining feeds and speeds. The final tab is used for macros, ie how the tool will move when not machining. Set all the other tabs as required, making sure your macros give safe tool paths for moving around and to the job. Select Replay to calculate the tool path then replay the video of the whole tool path. When the video is finished, select the disk icon and save the replay in file Top.cgr. This is a representation of the solid resulting from the machining process which we can use as a raw material for machining the other side. When you are happy with the tool path you should refine the parameters to smaller values for your actual machining program. For this exercise try 0.1mm machining tolerance, scallop height control with 0.5mm max stepover, 0.05mm min stepover and 0.25mm scallop height.
7.3.3 Machining the bottom wing surface Surface roughing and finishing Double click the Product in the Process tree to switch to editing the Product. Highlight Aerotute_nc in the tree then Select Insert/Existing Component. Select Top.cgr - this inserts our new simulation work material created from the previous operation. Switch back to the NC setup editor using the window menu. Rotate the model upside down with the mouse. Right click Top_wing_machining in the Process List and select copy Right click Top_wing_machining again and select paste.
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An exact copy is made of the whole operation which we will modify to do the other side this is much quicker than creating the whole thing from scratch because a lot of what we are doing is exactly the same, only a few parameters are different. To avoid confusion, right click this copy and rename it Bot_wing_machining Create another axis system as shown in the figure and change the machining axis in the part operation. For stock material select Top.cgr (this will enable the next verification to use the pre-machined workpiece) In the roughing and sweeping in the left hand strategy tab, select the machining axis arrow then select reverse axis this inverts the axis as required here. In the roughing right click the rough stock icon and select remove, then select rough stock icon again then select Top.cgr in the tree. Replay the tool path in video mode to see the final product. You could save this as before as a .cgr file for future reference perhaps to show the NC machine operator. The figure below shows the cgr file produced by his operation.
Obviously, you can improve the quality of the result by reducing the scallop height and machining tolerance in both the sweeping operations. Try machining 0.1mm machining tolerance, scallop height control with 0.5mm max stepover, 0.05mm min stepover and 0.25mm scallop height.
If you have problems with any of this you can read the files; C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\machining\Aerotute_nc.CATProduct C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\machining\Aerotute_nc.CATProcess C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\machining\Raw_finish_machined.CATProduct and check them out. Note, you can break up your operations into individual Manufacturing Programs by inserting other manufacturing programs using the icon. This is useful for large machining jobs because the regeneration of NC code after modifications is limited to a smaller section of the tool path you dont have to regenerate everything every time you make one small change. However , since your tool path is now a number of separate files, to check the replay properly you will need to generate aptsource and check it with Vericut (see sections 8 and 9), which accepts any number of input files. You should rename each Manufacturing Program to help keep track of what they are. 8. Generating NC Code (3 axis) You now need to generate NC code from the previous tool paths. Note - you must have saved the CATProcess and associated CATPart and (if used) CATProduct before generating NC code the process uses the disk copy of these files when calculating the code use File/Save All. Use the CATProcess you created before or open the file C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\Aerotute_nc.CATProcess Select Generate NC code in batch mode icon Note that it defaults to the current process and that you can select to generate from a list of Part Operations or Manufacturing Programs. Note also that a CATProcess can contain any number of Part Operations which can contain any number of Manufacturing Programs.
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Select Manufacturing Program as the option. Select NCCode as data type, store in same location as CATProcess and replace like-named file If you havent already specified the post processor in the Part Operation definition, select NCCode tab and select FADAL machine. Select execute the NC code is written to the file CATProcessName_ManufacturingProgramName.NCCODE Your data (Z drive) can be accessed by the workshop and hence the program can then be transferred for machining.
9. Verification of Tool Paths using Vericut (3 or 5 axis) Vericut is an independent tool path checking utility which has advantages over Catia. It is 10 times quicker for large tool paths and allows sophisticated checking for occurrences of bad machining practice which are not apparent in the Catia replay. Vericut must be used as a final check for all programs destined for actual machining. Start Vericut using the desktop icon if you get a licence failure message chances are all the 5 available licences are in use. Since there are only these 5 licences please exit Vericut when finished and do not hog it so that others can get a chance to use it. Vericut requires the aptsource file generated by Catia (an aptsource file is created when you create the nc code file as described in section 8 above). Setting up Vericut Start Vericut Select File/new session to set an empty session Select Setup/toolpath and choose the aptsource file required. You can have more than one file, they will be replayed in the order they appear. In the same toolpath window, select Toolpath type as Catia APT Select OK It is useful to see the axis systems displayed, so select View/Axes then set all. Select Model/model definition and fill in; Active component = stock In the model tab, type = block Fill in X Y Z size of your stock block then click add In position tab select component and select a translation which puts the block in the correct position relative to your axis system. For example if your block was 100 x 100 x 50 and your axis was top dead centre then the component translation is -50, -50, -50. (Note , default axis position is always bottom corner of the block) Select OK Note that in the model tab above you can select cone, cylinder or model file instead of block if a more complex stock is required. Choosing model file allows you to use a solid from Catia as stock which has been saved using File/save as STL. Now select Setup/motion and set stop at max errors=1 set fast feed rate to be greater than your fastest cutting feed chosen this will be considered a dangerous feed when in contact with your job tool control point to tool tip (this should be set to corner radius for 5 axis) Select OK All this set up can be saved as a single file so you can come back to this at another time by simply reading one file. To do this select File/save user and fill in a file.usr name with a path that you can recover later (eg your Z drive). Reading this will restore all the settings you now have. Select Info/VERICUT.log which will give you either an empty file or the previous Vericut log in this window select File/reset log. The replay will now stop if it finds an occurrence of fast feedrate on the workpiece and will display it in red, it will also put the occurrence in the log file for you to examine (Info/VERICUT.log) after the replay. Info/Toolpath will show you where in the program you are so you can find the offending code. Hit the play button on the bottom right and control the replay with the buttons there. Note, the replay will be slower with axes on, so you may prefer to turn them off for the actual replay.
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10. DMG 5 axis machining 10.1 Basics Before tackling this section, you must be competent in 3 axis machining as described in sections 7, 8 and 9. All the techniques shown there are applicable to the DMG machine. The DMG 5 axis machine has a vertical Z axis and can move in X, Y and Z (the same as the Fadal) but with the option of rotating the table+/-360o (C axis, rotating about Z axis), and rotating the spindle axis 0-90o (B axis, rotating about Y axis). To achieve these rotations you simply specify how the tool should move in the menus and the post processing takes care of translating this motion into X,Y, Z, B and C commands. You should make your Z zero on the top of the work material as with the 3 axis machine. The 5 axis machine can machine simple 3 axis motion or complex 5 axis motion, however you must always specify that the machine is 5 axis even if you intend to use 3 axis motion. Use the Advanced Machining workbench. The following shows the differences in technique between the Fadal and the DMG 5 axis machines. The Fadal post processor command ORIGIN/MANUAL,0 is not required. The following post processor multiple command is required; o RAPID o GOTO/0,0,100,0,0,1 o MODE/TLVEC,ON,50000 These commands can be combined in one post processor entry in the program and must be used after each tool change. (Use copy and paste in the tree to add the same PP command for each tool change you use) Take great care with tool motion macros. The tools motion when not cutting is not necessarily the same as the Catia or Vericut replay. To be safe, always move up to a safety plane for retraction and down from a safety plane for approach. This can also apply to the other macros such as return in a level, depending on the situation. Take care when specifying the motions for instance, when retracting to a safety plane, sometimes axial motion is best and other times motion normal to a plane is best, especially if the tool is tilted. It is most important that the tool geometry used in Catia is exactly the same as the actual tool on the machine and that the machining conditions are set correctly obtain a copy of the latest tool table from workshop staff to ensure this. Example of tool tables for the two CNC machines available are shown in the Appendix at the end of this document. All toolpath output from Catia must be tool centre. This is one of the options in your Catia settings select tools/options/machining/output and check tool centre for tool output point. Remember that this is a setting which will now apply to all CNC programs you create. So if you want to create a Fadal program Fadal you will have to set this option back to tool tip. You must specify a 5 axis machine in the Part Operation menu and select ICAM_MILL_MM for the post processor words table, do not select anything for post processor. Although you are using the 5 axis machine, the machining operations can still be 3 axis. You can however set the spindle angle to be different (but fixed) from the Z axis using a 3 axis machining algorithm. Hence for instance you could create a three axis roughing path but at a different fixed tool angle. Variable tool angle 5 axis operations can be accessed by selecting the small black arrow in the corner of the machining menu icon this reveals the 5 axis optional icon. You then need to specify different parameters as specified in the new machining menus. It is best to use a ball end mill for all variable tool angle 5 axis operations. Other types of tools may result in gouging discuss your program with Laboratory staff for more help on avoiding gouging. Note that gouging of this type is not always shown in the verification replays (see discussion and figures below). Because you have control of the tool angle you should try to avoid machining on the tip of ball end mills, lean the tool over so that the contact point is nearer the tool diameter. All tool path output from Catia must be in APT format (file.aptsource). Use the same method as described in section 8 but select APT instead of NCCode. This is converted to CNC code at the computer next to the DMG machine. Hence you are not using an internal post processor as in the case of the Fadal, so you should switch off this option by selecting tools/options/machining/output and select none for post processor. Your data (Z drive) can be accessed on the computer next to the 5 axis machine. Because 5 axis machining uses tool centre, you must set Vericut to the same mode in Vericut select Setup/Motion and then select corner radius for tool control point.
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10.2 Simple 5 axis machining Select File/NewFrom C:\Catia_training\UNSW\machining\5axis.CATPart We wish to machine the four pockets in the side of the cylinder (each at 90o). We will do all of them in one setup clamping the cylinder vertically at its base.
We will assume we are starting with a cylinder of finished size. Notice an axis has been created top dead centre of the cylinder which will be used as the machining axis. All the machining processes will be 3 axis but with the tool leaning at an optimum fixed angle to reach into each pocket. Expand the PartBody in the tree and make sketch2 visible. This will be used to set the tool angle if this was not available you would construct a line to suite the angle you need. Select Advanced Machining workbench Select Tools/Options/machining/output and set post processor none, tool output point centre. Double click the Part Operation and in the Part Operation window select machine icon. In the Machine Editor window and Numerical control tab ensure that 5_axis mill is selected and select the ICAM_MILL_MM Post Processing table no post processor is selected here, only aptsource will be generated. Post processing will take place separately on the computer near the 5 axis machine. The rest of the settings can be left as default. OK to accept. Now select the Reference machining axis system icon. Select the red shaded axis and then the axis system in the centre on the top of the cylinder - OK.
Roughing With the Manufacturing Program highlighted in the tree, select roughing icon. Tab2 workpiece definition If necessary select the second tab on the left at the top of the roughing window. In the roughing window, right click part and choose select faces. For the pocket nearest sketch2, select the fillet, inside face and bottom face of the pocket - OK (Note that right clicking entities is an extremely important method of controlling options and can be used in a large number of situations too numerous to deal with in this tutorial. Make sure you check what is available to you with the right mouse button before proceeding, especially if you cannot achieve what you want.) In the roughing window, select limiting contour then select the actual edge of the fillet in the pocket. In the roughing window, select rough stock, then stock in the tree (this is a cylinder, in hidden mode, same size as the main part) Set the offset on part and offset on check to be 1mm. In the roughing window, set limit definition/side to machine to be inside and limit definition/stop position to be inside with 0mm for offset. (This defines how the limiting contour is used) Tab 1 machining strategy Select the strategy tab (top left tab in the roughing window) Set the option in the axial tab to maximum depth of cut 1mm
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In the roughing window, select the axis arrow of the tool then select the straight line in sketch2 to define the tool angle OK.
Tab3 tool definition Set the tool size as required say 10mm diameter end mill Tab4 machining conditions The machining conditions can be modified with the next tab. You should check the best conditions to use (consult the tool table in the Appendix and the latest version available from Laboratory staff) uncheck automatic compute to entre your own values. Tab5 macro definitions Select the last tab on the right for macros these control the tools motion when not actually machining. It is extremely important to get macros right most machine crashes occur from bad or absent macro definitions. Select replay and check out the result. If satisfied with the operation dont forget to associate video result.
Finishing With the roughing highlighted in the tree select sweeping icon. Tab2 workpiece definition If necessary select the second tab on the left at the top of the sweeping window. In the sweeping window, right click part and choose select faces. Select the fillet, inside and bottom of the pocket nearest sketch2. - OK In the sweeping window, select limiting contour then select the actual edge of the fillet in the pocket. Set the offset on part and offset on check to be 1mm. No need for any other settings for this particular case. Tab 1 machining strategy Select the strategy tab (top left tab in the sweeping window) Set the option in the axial tab to number of levels 1 In the sweeping window, set 0.01mm machining tolerance, scallop height control with 0.5mm max stepover, 0.05mm min stepover and 0.25mm scallop height. OK. In the sweeping window, select the axis arrow of the tool then select the straight line in sketch2 to define the tool angle OK. Tab3 tool definition Set the tool size as required say 10mm diameter ball mill Tab4 machining conditions The machining conditions can be modified with the next tab. You should check the best conditions to use (consult the tool table in the Appendix and the latest version available from Laboratory staff) uncheck automatic compute to entre your own values. Tab5 macro definitions Select the last tab on the right for macros these control the tools motion when not actually machining. It is extremely important to get macros right most machine crashes occur from bad or absent macro definitions. Select replay and check out the result. Machining the other pockets There are a number of ways of machining the other pockets; 1. Repeat everything another three times very tedious 2. Get the 5 axis operator to rotate the job 90o three times and repeat the same program each time. 3. Copy and paste the entire Part Operation three times in the Process tree, create new axis systems for each 90o operation and associate them with the copied Operations. Option 3 is my choice which means you can join all the programs together and run all pockets as one job without operator intervention.
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10.3 A possible problem with 5 axis variable tool angle programming If you are using variable tool angle, you should try to avoid tool paths where the tool angle passes through the vertical during a cutting operation (ie goes from +angle to angle relative to the Z axis). This can result in rotations of the table which are larger than ideal (typically 180o) while the X, Y or Z values only change by less than 1 mm. This could gouge the workpiece and extends the machining time considerably. (Note this problem obviously does not apply to machining at any fixed tool axis orientation). This large C axis motion is not evident in the Catia or Vericut replay, it can only be seen in the CNC code itself. There is a program available on the PC next to the 5 axis machine which can be used to find occurrences of large C axis variations in the CNC code. Using this you can pin-point problem areas then revisit your Catia program to try to improve the tool path. There are no simple guidelines which will avoid this situation, it depends on the cutting parameters you have chosen and the geometry and orientation of the part. The figures below show a simple example of this problem. They show a sweeping over a cylindrical surface with a ball cutter, in the first figure the tool is leaning forwards at 31o to the surface normal which means for one pass the tool is always leaning forwards relative to the Z axis (the normal to his surface at the start is 30o to the Z axis). If the tool path had been programmed using zigzag motion instead of one way the tool would have reversed its angle through the Z axis on the second and subsequent passes and therefore produced 180o C axis motion at the end of every pass. On the Catia replay zigzag looks more efficient but on the 5 axis machine one way machining is much faster in a situation like this because the return path is at rapid traverse and the many 180o rotations are slow.
If this lean angle is changed to 20o (or any angle less than 30o) then the tool does pass through the vertical as in the figure below left. This will result in a 180o turn of the table at the transition point on every pass.
The figure above right shows the same tool parameter of 20o but with an additional tilt sideways of 10o. The extra tilt avoids the tool passing through the Z axis and so avoids the 180o C axis movement. You should note however that this does result in steps of up to 15 degrees in the C axis (with XYZ motion less than 1mm) while machining, so the first option of a lean of 31o is best in this case. For more complex parts you could try limiting your machining to a series of smaller zones to keep better control of the tool angle variation.
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10.4 Vertical Orientation Blade or Wing 5 Axis Machining Blade or wing machining is usually done leaving the ends of the part unmachined and still attached to the original stock. This means that the wing or blade tip has to be hand finished. Another approach is to machine the blade or wing in a vertical orientation, as shown below.
In this case, it is a blade which is 100mm long. It has been roughed out, leaving approximately 5mm thickness of material. The finish pass is removing all 5mm at once with a 10mm diameter ball mill in a helical tool path. This is shown as a relatively course helical pitch but in a real machining situation it would be fed down at a small step size of about 0.2mm. Hence the blade remains rigid while the finish cut is performed. This method will need to be modified if the geometry differs very much from this for instance longer blades may have to repeat this method in 100mm height steps. The directory C:\Catia_Training\UNSW\machining\HelicalMachining contains the appropriate CatProcess, Vericut.usr and aptsource files.
Machining Strategy The strategy can be seen in detail in the CatProcess file. The whole task is broken up into separate Manufacturing Programs which have been named according to their operation. This makes it easier and quicker to debug. Roughing1 Use the 3 axis roughing operation but inclined at 45o and employing a check surface to limit the extent of roughing. Roughing2 Same as roughing1 but at -45o and using a different check surface. RoughWingTip 3 axis sweep the wing tip with a course offset cut to remove some excess stock
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WingTip 3 axis sweep finish wing tip RoughBase 3 axis sweep the base at 45o with large offsets on base and check surfaces employing a limiting contour to prevent some unwanted machining. RoughBase2 Same as RoughBase but at -45o and using a different overlapping limiting contour Finish The finish pass over the blade using multi-axis helical milling FinishBase and Finishbase2 Same as RoughBase and RoughBase2 but with zero for offsets.
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11. Kinematic Mechanism 11.1 Single Degree of Freedom Mechanism To simplify this exercise we will allow any geometry to create constraints, so make sure your options are set as follows; Select Tools/Options/Mechanical Design/Assembly Design/Constraints Under constraints creation select Use any geometry (See Section 4.2 for example of limiting constraints to published geometry only) To create a kinematic mechanism as below you need an assembly of parts, hence you need to create a product. If you have trouble with creating this, read C:\catia_training\UNSW\Kinematics\Mechanism_done.CATProduct Select File/New and product as the type OK
Select DMU Kinematics workbench Highlight Product.1 in the tree and select Insert/Existing component Using the file selector get part C:\CatiaV5_training\UNSW\kinematics\Body.CATIApart Repeat this for Slider.CATPart Notice that Slider has loaded inside Body. You can move parts around using the compass (the axis system in the top right of the window. To use the compass, select the red dot at its centre and drag it to a face of Body. This should place the compass on the face and it should be green. If Body is highlighted, selecting and dragging the active areas of the compass will now move Body. So move it to separate the two parts. You can return the compass to its normal position by selecting and dragging the red dot away from Body. Using Insert/existing component, load Rod.CATPart, Wheel.CATPart, Axle.CATPart and Pin.CATPart. Separate them in the window using the compass to move them around. Make sure the part you want to move is highlighted in the tree. Finally load another copy of Pin.CATPart separating it from the other Pin. You are now ready to assemble and constrain the parts. Note, if in any of the following assembly processes it is difficult to achieve the correct orientation then use the compass to move the component to nearly the right orientation first.
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Using the DMU Kinematics workbench, select Insert/New mechanism Mechanism.1 appears in the tree under Applications Select Prismatic Joint icon (you may have to expand the joints icon to find it) Select a longitudinal edge of Slider and the required matching edge of Body, then a face of Slider and the required matching face of Body OK, the joint is created. Selecting Update icon will assemble the two parts (use the compass to adjust the Slider position if required) Select Revolute joint icon Select a hole in Rod (axis is visible) then the hole in Slider (axis is visible). Select a face on Rod and the required matching face on Slider OK Update to see the assembly. Now using the compass align Slider and Rod in a straight line. Select Revolute joint icon again Select the hole near the rim of Wheel Select the hole in the end of Rod Select a face of Wheel and a required matching face of Rod. OK Update to see assembly if you have problems getting the right orientation of Wheel , use the compass to roughly orient it first. Now place the compass on the axis of the matched holes and in line with the axis., with Wheel highlighted, rotate it so that Rod passes across the centre of Wheel (as in the figure above). Select Revolute joint icon again Select the hole in the centre of Wheel and the small boss on Axle. Select the outer face of Wheel and the face containing the small boss on Axle OK Update to see assembly. We now wish to lock Body and Axle with respect to each other, so select Rigid joint then select Body and Axle The mechanism also needs to have one of its components fixed, so select Fix icon then Body. This will be a single degree of freedom mechanism and so needs to have one variable to drive it. You can choose any of the joints as the driving one, the following uses the wheel rotation. Double click in the tree Revolute.4(Wheel.1,Axe.1). In the joint definition window check Angle driven You can also change the angle limits if required OK You should now get a message Mechanism can be simulated. So far we have left out the pins for the joints on both ends of Rod. They are not necessary for the mechanism but you can include them for realism. To do this select Assembly Design workbench. Select Coincident icon then select the hole axis and pin axis. Select Coincident icon again and select an end face of Pin and side face of Rod. Update to see assembly. If Pin is the wrong way round, double click the constraint in the tree, select more and modify the orientation. Repeat this for the other pin and other hole in Rod. Finally the pins must be locked to Rod and Slider so that they will move when the mechanism moves, so go back to DMU Kinematics workbench, select Rigid joint icon and select Rod and the pin on Wheel rim and repeat for the other pin, selecting Slider and Pin. You are now ready to simulate your mechanism. Select Simulation with commands icon If necessary select more to get the full menu possibilities Check On request option, move the command slider to a new destination angle and press play. If you want to drive your mechanism using the Slider You could double click in the tree Revolute.4(Wheel.1,Axe.1). Uncheck Angle driven OK Double click in the tree Prismatic.1(Slider.1,Body.1) Check Length driven OK Simulate as before. If you need to change dimensions affecting the mechanism or for instance move Body a different distance from Axle, you must first delete the constraints associated with them. Make the change either parametrically in the normal way or move something with the compass. Then redefine the constraints you deleted to recreate the mechanism. There are many more joint types which you should investigate yourself.
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11.2 Example of a Cabling Mechanism Catia provides a cable joint creation menu which is the combination of two prismatic joints. The definition can have gains different from 1 (ie twice the movement one end for given movement the drive end) and can have opposite or same directions each end. This is completely independent of the actual geometry you have and does not take into account exactly how the cable joint could be achieved. This is therefore somewhat simplistic and moreover does not really represent the situation for wires stretched over pulleys which can only pull, not push. The following shows how you could simulate pulling only cables which does not use the cable joint menu at all. All files to be read in this example are in the directory Kinematics/cable Create a new product called cabling_example and save it to a new directory of your own. Using Explorer (not Catia) copy cabling_fixed_part.CATPart, P.CATPart, Cable.CATPart to the same directory. Using Insert existing component, place cabling_fixed_part.CATPart into your product. This is the skeleton of the whole simulation and will have all its contents fixed in the kinematics. For a more complex simulation this skeleton would have much more in it. Using the Kinematics workbench, select fix icon, create a new mechanism and select the part in the tree. Expand the part and examine its contents, first the geometric set kinematic_geometry; two lines (sketch.1 and sketch.2) represent the cabling changing direction on a corner of any given angle in any given plane, with points 1 and 2 lying on each . Sketch.3 is a point constructed to be the centre of a circle (100 dia) tangent to both lines (our pulley will be 100mm dia on this corner) A line (line.1) normal to the plane containing sketch.1 and sketch.2 passing through this point. The geometric set Dress-up_geometry (currently hidden) contains geometry to make it look realistic and has no effect on the actual mechanism. In kinematics workbench insert existing component P.CATPart and, using the compass, move to a new location. Select revolute icon and create a revolute joint between the pulley axis and line.1 matching the pulley XY plane with the cabling_fixed_part ZX plane select this joint as angle driven. Insert existing component Cable.CATPart and move it to a new location using the compass. In the assembly workbench create a coincidence between the green line in Cable and sketch.1 in cabling_fixed_part and update it. In the kinematics workbench, create a roll curve joint between the green line and the circle round the pulley. Create a point/curve joint between the green line and the point on the line in the cabling_fixed_part Create a planar joint between the XY plane in Cable and the XY plane in cabling_fixed_part You should now be able to simulate the mechanism. Repeat this process for the other direction inserting a another instance of Cable only this time align the ZX planes for the planar joint. You can make the product look more realistic by hiding the kinematic_geometry and showing the dress_up_geometry. Using this process you can create a closed loop for a cable mechanism read Steering_assembly.CATProduct. This shows a yacht steering with closed loop cabling. 12. Creating a Kinematic Simulation Having created your mechanism you can create a simulation which can be replayed. This is particularly useful if your mechanism has more than one degree of freedom, ie you must specify more than one driving parameter and must specify how they relate to each other. Using the simulation you can specify how the multiple inputs will be applied. To illustrate this, read Mechanism_done.CATProduct (or use the mechanism created above). Select Simulation icon and highlight Mechanism.1 in the window OK Two windows appear, one for varying the command values and the other for recording the positions. Select Insert in the Edit window (recording the beginning status). Using the Command window, change each command to new required values and select Insert again. Repeat this for each required step in the simulation note, when you Compile the simulation later, you can choose the number of intermediate steps which you want interpolated. When you have inserted all the positions you require, select OK then Compile Simulation icon. Fill in the required time step eg 0.2 then select OK Replay.1 will be created (which you can rename). Select Replay icon and select replay.1 in the tree and replay the motion.
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13. CATIA Knowledge Further information on CATIA Knowledge can be obtained using the online help. However here is a short summary of its functionality. 13.1 Parameters When you create your CATIA document, a set of parameters (called intrinsic parameters) is automatically created corresponding to all the features defining the document. You can also create your own so called user parameters (there are 28 types of user parameters such as inertia, stiffness, mass, force, length, etc., which can have single or multiple values). The values of all these parameters can be derived from formulae, which may or may not contain some or all of these parameters. Hence for example a cylinder can be controlled to be twice as long as its diameter (select the f(x) menu icon). 13.2 Rules You can also create so called rules which consist of a series of instructions (programmed in CATIA syntax combined with Visual Basic) which also control the values of parameters and therefore may employ logic as well (select the Rule menu icon in Knowledge Adviser workbench). 13.3 Product Knowledge Template These rules can be extended to full document creation. Hence a program can replace all the interactive commands necessary to create parts, assemblies etc. combined with logic and algorithms which execute, perhaps taking information from a data base (select Generative Knowledge workbench). 13.4 Design Tables Many variations of a part can be created by linking to a spreadsheet containing lists of different values for chosen parameters called a design table (select Design Table menu icon).
13.5 Optimisation There are optimisation tools also which can be used, for example to minimise weight or area, (select Product Engineering Optimizer). For further help on these facilities, in a CATIA session, select Help/Contents, Index and Search In the help browser select Product Synthesis plus Knowledge Adviser User Guide or Generative Knowledge or Expert Knowledge or Product Engineering Optimise or Knowledge Adviser Journaling Guide 13.6 A Simple Example of Knowledge Use Before you start you need to check that the options are correct, otherwise the tree will not show parameters or relations. Select Tools/Options Under General/Parameters and measure select all options above design tables. Under Infrastructure/Part Infrastructure/Display select all specification tree options. Under Knowledgeware/Product Functional Definition select Show Parameters and Show relations
13.6.1 Creating Parameters, Formulae and Rules Open the Part Design workbench in a new part and create a rectangular flat plate on the XY plane. Create a through hole in one corner of the plate. We will now create some parameters which will be used to control the part; Select f(x) icon and select new parameter of type length Change the name (Length.1) to Edge_distance with 5mm default value. Repeat this for Hole_diameter (default 5mm), Plate_length (default 100mm), Plate_width (default 50mm) Create integer parameters Number_of_holes_width and Number_of_holes_length (default 2) Create length parameter Hole_spacing_width then select Add formula (Notice you have a window with Hole_spacing_width =) We will now build the formula for this parameter. Under Dictionary select Parameters and under Members select Renamed parameters Fill in by typing and selecting parameters from the list
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(Plate_width-Number_holes_width*Hole_diameter-2*Edge_distance)/(Number_holes_width-1) OK. Repeat this for Hole_spacing_length. Now we must use the parameters in the part. Double click the sketch for the plate and dimension the width and length. Double click the width dimension and right click its value, dragging to Edit formula. Using the same methods as before select Plate_width. Repeat this for plate length. Double click the hole and edit the sketch. Dimension the edge distances for the hole and set them to Edge_distance using the same method. In the hole creation window, right click the hole diameter and set that to Hole_diameter. We need a hole pattern for multiple holes along width and length. Highlight the hole and select rectangular pattern icon. Under First Direction Select Instances & spacing and right click Instances then Edit formula Select Number_of_holes_width Right click spacing and Edit formula then create formula Hole_spacing_width+Hole_diameter. Make sure object to pattern is the hole (highlight the menu entry and select the hole in the tree) Reference element in the menu should be one of the edges of the plate. Repeat all this for Second Direction. OK. You should have one hole in each corner of the plate, you can edit the parameters in the tree and update to create different versions of the part. You may wish to control some of the these parameters by using guidelines or rules. For instance you may want the hole spacing to be not less than a certain value and the hole diameter to be not ess than another value. To do this select the Knowledge Advisor workbench. Select Rule icon OK (You can fill in your own details first if you wish) Fill in Hole_spacing_width > 3mm in the program area. In the message area fill in Holes too close along width. You can select Silent, Information or Warning for the type of check - in this case we will select Warning. Create another rule for the spacing along the length. Select Rule icon and create a rule Hole_diameter>2mm with appropriate message. Notice the message is triggered if the test is false. The tree now contains these rules under Relations and are shown as traffic lights. Green is OK red if the rule has been disobeyed. Try changing the parameters to get the rules to be false. Design intent, Company practice etc. can be invoked in a design in this way. You could create an empty part, intended to be used to create plates with holes, with all the parameters, formulae and rules already created but with no geometry. You then open this part and create the geometry setting the parameters accordingly.
13.6.2 Adding a Design Table You can create an Excel spreadsheet containing various combinations of parameter values to give a family of parts. Select the Design Table icon (Part Design workbench, along the bottom menu, it may be under fog icon) Check Create a design table with current parameter values Fill in name and comments as required and select vertical option - OK. Select Renamed parameters and select them all as required (you can use the shift key to select all at once). OK. Now choose a filename and location for the Excel file. You get a window showing the current configuration. Select Edit Table in this window. You can do all the usual things with the Excel file which is opened, like reformatting columns and entering new rows of data. Save the Excel file and exit Excel. You get a synchronisation message in Catia and the new configurations are displayed. Close this message window. Double click a new row of values and update the model to get a new configuration the rules still apply so will still warn of digressions. With the Knowledge Advisor workbench active you can double click the Design Table in the tree (under relations) to access it again.
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13.6.3 Importing a Design Table You could create a design table in Excel then import it to Catia. Delete the design table from the tree (the Excel file still exists) Select Design Table icon and select create design table from pre-existing file. Select vertical option OK Choose the Excel file to be imported. You get a message automatically associate columns and parameters of same name? Yes creates the table as before. If the input file has different column names you can choose no and manually associate the columns to the parameters. This Excel file could also contain other columns of data and calculations.
13.6.4 Controlling Feature Activity You can activateor deactivatealmost anything in Catia, usually by right clicking the object. The following shows how to control the activity of a feature using knowledge or formulae. Ensure the Part Design workbench is active then right click Pad1 (or the first pad created) then select Define In Work Object Notice the holes vanish since these are now in the future and so are not shown. Create a new rectangular pad surrounding the original pad which is thicker and forms edging for both sides of the plate, as below. This will come after the first pad and before the holes and pattern.
Right click the new pad in the tree and select pad.object/deactivate it vanishes but remains in the tree. Select fx and create a new parameter, named Edging, of type boolean, default FALSE - OK. Make sure nothing is hightlighted (ie click free space) then select fx again. Select Boolean for the filter, find and highlight PartBody/Pad.2/Activity Select Add formula Select renamed parameters in the new window and double click Edging, this should equate the pad activity to the Edging parameter OK. Select the Knowledge Advisor workbench, then the Rule icon. Fill in appropriate entries in the rule window, if you wish to change them OK Fill in below the header as below; if Plate_length > 100mm Edging = TRUE Else if Plate_width > 100mm Edging = TRUE Else Edging = FALSE Then select Apply and OK Hence if the plate is over 100mm in either direction, Edging is TRUE. Right click rectangular pattern in the tree to change back to Part Design workbench. Right click rectangular pattern in the tree and select define In Work Object. Double click Plate_length or Plate_width in the tree and change it to greater than 100mm. Update will include the edging. Changing the length and width to less than 100mm will remove the edging after updating.
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14. Capturing images You can create a graphics file of a part using; Tools/image/capture This will capture the image as seen in normal display. If you want to create a realistic high quality image with texture and shadows use Studio Rendering.
15. Studio Rendering Studio Rendering allows you to build an environment, add texture to your parts, add lights of various sorts and setup cameras. Realistic images of your product can then be created. If you havent already done so, you need to create a product and assemble the parts required. The environment, lights and cameras will be loaded into the same product. If necessary, start CatiaV5 and select Photo Studio workbench (under Infrastructure). This opens a new product which you could rename. Select Insert/existing component (if necessary select the product in the tree) Select C:\Catia_traning\UNSW\Aerotute_morphed.CATPart 15.1 Adding texture to your surfaces Expand Part1 in the tree and double click Surfaces Notice at the bottom of Surfaces there are Aeroplane_Body and Window, these are what we are going to render. (Note, you do not have to apply material to get a rendered result you will get the colour which the surface already has.) Select Apply material icon (probably on the bottom row of icons) Select Metal/Aluminium Select Plane Select Apply material OK Repeat this for Window using Other/Plexiglass as texture. (Note this adds the material definitions to the tree. If you wish you can double click these and modify the definitions, thus modifying the rendered result.) If you cant see the material texture in the graphics, you need to set the shading parameters. To do this, select View/Render Style/Customise View In the custom view modes window, select shading and materials (leave all other options unchecked) - OK Select the green cylindrical shading icon to get the material shading on your part. 15.2 Creating an environment If necessary, select the Product in the tree then the Real Time Rendering workbench, under Infrastructure. Select Create box environment icon a box is created surrounding the part and Environment1 is added to the tree under Applications Right click a chosen wall of the environment (or multi-select walls using CNTRL key) and drag to properties Select texture tab and select a graphic file to be used (this can be a file created by another application or you can choose from a list of standard ones in C:\ProgramFiles\Dassault Systemes\B14\Intel_a\startup\materials) (Another way of putting texture on the walls is to use the Apply Material icon as explained above.) You can change the size of the environment box by selecting a wall and dragging it. Create lights and camera using the icons, dragging to adjust position. 15.3 Creating the shot When environment, camera and lights have been created, select create shooting icon. Fill in the camera, lights and environment in the shooting definition window OK (Note you can leave out the camera creation and choose current view as the picture if you wish) 15.4 Taking the picture Select Render Shooting icon. Select the Camera icon in the render window. This should give a rendered image. You can modify other parameters in the shooting definition to get for instance a higher quality result. You can also choose ready made environments from the catalogue Select catalogue browser icon and select environments. Select an environment to get a preview double click to accept it. You can also modify an environment by right clicking the tree entry and dragging to properties.
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16. Exporting Parts for Rapid Prototyping In order to create a rapid prototype of your part you need to create an STL format file. Before you do this however you should decide on the orientation you want and the mesh approximation. Orientation can affect the quality of the result the Actual 2000 rapid prototype machine in the School gives much better surface finish on top projection surfaces (z axis). So create a new axis system to define the new X,Y and Z directions with respect to model as required first. The output file will be generated using the active axis system. Select Rapid Prototyping workbench Select Tessellate an Object icon Select the object Choose the approximation required Select Apply OK Select Export icon Select the tessellation Choose the file path and name (filetype .stl) OK 17. Making a Video You can a create a video of any Catia actions, the following explains how to make an AVI file from a mechanism. First create your mechanism and simulation as in sections 11 and 12. Next select Tools/Image/Video In Video recorder window, select Setup and in the movie tab select 25 frames/sec In the same tab select compressor setup and select Microsoft MPEG-4 video code, - OK You can also set the directory path and filename for the video file if you wish - OK. Now select the Play a simulation icon and select the simulation to be played in the tree. Turn off the tree using F3 (F3 again brings it back). In the Player parameters set the sampling step to 0.02 sec. Start the recorder in the recorder window and press play in the player window. When finished stop the recorder. You will have created an AVI file of your simulation.
18. 3D Viewing of Catia files without Catia It is possible to create a new file format from Catia products which can be read without the need for a Catia installation. The file is first saved as a 3DXML file and then read using the 3DXML viewer. This viewer is a free download from http://www.3ds.com/products-solutions/3d-for-all/3d-xml/overview The viewer can be used simply by double clicking the 3DXML file. You can also drag the 3DXML file from microsoft explorer and drop it into word or powerpoint. All the usual catia mouse 3D manipulations can then be used on the image (for instance during a powerpoint presentation), without needing Catia on the platform. To create the 3DXML file you must first have a Catia product, so if necessary insert your part into a product. Then Select File/Save As/3DXML.
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19. Advanced Catia The Use of Skeletons and Publication 19.1 Principles of skeletons The skeleton of a part or product is a specific set of specifications which represents its functional characteristics ie the key dimensions and characteristics that define how it will work. In this set are defined functional specifications (geometry and/or parameters), interfaces and other physical properties that can be used in the design. The skeleton could be a separate Geometrical Set in a single part, or a separate Part in a product. 19.2 Benefits of skeletons When designing a product using skeleton approach; You distribute design specifications throughout the Product Structure You can create autonomous Products which can be opened and used alone, minimising the opening of unnecessary data Skeleton approach is ideal for a design team using concurrent engineering When designing parts or products; You avoid creating unwanted links between Parts and Products You provide a rapid update mechanism 19.3 What is in a skeleton? A skeleton should be defined in conjunction with key team members with focus on key datums and relationships, correct naming, understanding of change and optimisation criteria, ensuring that the overall purpose of the project is addressed. There are five types of skeleton; Product architecture Overview of products, options and relationships (a template) Activities and process stages Design part features with 3D relationships Large complex model with concurrent work taking place A skeleton should be used to capture in one location all functional specifications (and no more) needed for the design. It could contain; Wireframe geometry Surface geometry Parameters, checks, rules etc. Maybe some solid bodies A part skeleton can be defined as a sub-set of the part, for instance in specific PartBodies or Geometric Sets A product skeleton can be defined and stored in one (or more) specific parts. 19.4 Product Skeleton In a large product; use skeleton parts in each sub-assembly to distribute design specifications associatively throughout the product structure. Each assembly and sub-assembly should then have its own skeleton part and hence be self sufficient. Each sub-assembly skeleton part should be put in position on the skeleton part of the upper level assembly, using assembly design constraints. This avoids creating too many unnecessary links between documents. Each sub-assembly skeleton should be designed in context, using specifications (geometry and/or parameters) coming from the skeleton part of the upper level. An assembly skeleton may consist of more than one part a part containing input data such as styling surfaces, suspension hard points, etc. and others, which may be associative to the first one, containing other specifications requested for the assembly design. Each part of a sub-assembly should be placed in position on the skeleton part of the assembly and could be designed in context, using specifications coming from the skeleton part of the upper level assembly.
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19.5 Publication Publication is the capability of giving a name to a part element (geometric feature or parameter). The published name is then used to position parts in a product, avoiding direct access to geometry. Hence the actual geometry can be changed later if you keep the name the same. An example of this is the use of screw or bolt catalogues. All screws linked with a published name can be changed to bolts in one command. You can publish; Points, lines, curves or planes Surfaces, offsets, joins etc. Sketches Solid bodies Faces, edges, vertices etc. Parameters To optimise the process of publication and skeleton use, set your Catia options as follows; Tools/Options/Infrastructure/Part Infrastructure/General Under External References section select Keep link with selected object Only use published elements for external selection Tools/Options/Mechanical Design/Assembly Design/Constraints Under constraints creation select Use published geometry of any level
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20. Quiz So you think you know Catia now 1. 2. How can you save all the components of an assembly to a defined folder? Which of the following cannot be inserted as a component of a CATProduct i. a).An existing CATProduct b). A new CATPart c). CATIA V4 model d). STEP file e). A new CATProduct f). a CGR file g). Tasmania The active component and the selected component are the same thing? TRUE/FALSE The file extension applied to a Part, Sketcher of Wireframe document is? How do you change the length units to Inches? What is the maximum number of documents that can be open in CATIA at any one time? How would you do a multi select on all planes in your part, without using the mouse? How can you create a Pad without a Sketch?
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9. Which of the following Part Design Features are not Sketch/Profile based? 10. a. Pad. b. Shaft c. Stiffener d. Shell e. Drafted-Filleted Pad f. Hole g. Chamfer 11. A CATPart document can only contain ONE PartBody before it is saved? TRUE/FALSE 12. How do make the update for a part to be manual or automatic? 13. Horizontal or Vertical constraints cannot be deleted? TRUE/FALSE 14. Before creating a Pad all Sketch geometry must be constrained or dimensioned. TRUE/FALSE 15. How would you ensure that the length of one line in a Sketch is twice as long as another line in the Sketch? 16. When you trim two surfaces the resulting feature is called a what? 17. How would you extract only one of the two points of intersection between two circles? 18. What is a Datum Feature? Answers on last page.
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Tony Harris
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APPENDIX Available Tools for FADAL 3 Axis Machine and recommended machining conditions
(If you require a tool or work material not listed here, consult laboratory staff)
TOOL Dia 3mm Dia 3mm Dia 3mm Dia 4mm Dia 4mm Dia 4mm Dia 5mm Dia 5mm Dia 5mm Dia 6mm Dia 6mm Dia 6mm Dia 8mm Dia 8mm Dia 8mm Dia 10mm Dia 10mm Dia 10mm Dia 12mm Dia 12mm Dia 12mm Dia 14mm End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS)
* shows cutting/overall length SHORT LONG CRNR RAD *mm *mm mm 9/50 6/50 9/39 12/60 8/60 14/51 15/60 10/60 16/51 15/60 12/60 19/64 20/65 14/65 21/64 25/75 18/70 22/70 30/80 22/80 25/76 35/90 15/60 15/60
FEED
mm/min
STEEL SPEED
RPM
WORK MATERIAL ALUMINIUM/BRASS DEPTH FEED SPEED DEPTH mm

mm mm/min RPM
800 800 1000 800 800 1000 900 900 1000 1000 1000 1200 1000 1000 1400 900 900 1600 800 800 2000 700
2000 2000 6000 2000 2000 6000 1800 1800 5500 1700 1700 5000 1250 1250 3750 1000 1000 3000 850 850 3000 750
0.25 0.25 0.25 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
1200 1200 1500 1200 1200 1500 1200 1200 1500 1300 1300 1600 1500 1500 1600 1600 1600 1800 1800 1800 2000 1800
6500 6500 10000 5000 5000 10000 4000 4000 10000 3350 3350 10000 2500 2500 7500 2000 2000 6000 1700 1700 5000 1450
0.25 0.25 0.25 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
20/60 20/65
25/65 25/65
25/65 25/65
35/80 35/80
45/95 45/90
55/105 55/105
55/110
by
Tony Harris
51 Dia 14mm Dia 14mm Dia 16mm Dia 16mm Dia 16mm Dia 20mm Dia 20mm Dia 20mm Dia 20mm Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide End Mill (HSS) Slot Drill / Ballnose (HSS) Carbide ballnose (carbide) 26/90 30/89 40/95 30/95 32/89 45/110 40/110 38/102 55/110 700 2000 500 500 1700 400 400 1400 1400 1200 1000 750 2500 625 625 2500 500 500 2000 2000 2000 1800 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 1800 2000 1800 1800 2000 1800 1800 2500 2500 2500 2000 1450 4200 1250 1250 3750 1000 1000 3000 3000 3000 2000 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
65/120 65/120
75/140 75/140
Dia 32mm Endmill (carbide) Dia 50mm Endmill (carbide)
by
Tony Harris
52
Available Tools and recommended machining conditions for the DMG 5 axis mill.
(If you require a tool or work material not listed here, consult laboratory staff)
* shows cutting/overall length TOOL SHORT FLAT *mm 7/40 14/51 12/50 18/65 22/70 25/76 38/102 40/80 LONG FLAT *mm 80/150 BALLNOSE
*mm
FEED
mm/min
STEEL SPEED
RPM
WORK MATERIAL ALUMINIUM/BRASS DEPTH FEED SPEED DEPTH

mm mm/min RPM mm
Dia 3mm Dia 3mm Dia 4mm Dia 5mm Dia 6mm Dia 8mm Dia 10mm Dia 12mm Dia 16mm Dia 20mm Dia 40mm
Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide Carbide
8/40 10/38 14/50 16/52 19/63 21/62 25/70 25/75 80/150 -
3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3500 3500 3500 3000 3000 2500
6000 6000 6000 5000 5000 4000 4000 4000 3500 3000 2000
0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
5000 4000 4000 4000 4000 4500 4500 4000 3000 4000 4000
10,000 10000 10000 10000 8500 6500 5000 4000 3000 3500 3000
0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
by
Tony Harris
53
Quiz Answers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. File+SaveManagement or File+SendTo+Directory Tasmania FALSE .CATPart Tools+Options+ParametersAndMeasure+Units Greater than or equal to zero Use Edit+Search, enter Plane in the TYPE field and click SEARCH Select a planar OpenBody object as the profile Shell and Chamfer
10. FALSE 11. Tools+Options+ Infrastructure+PartInfraStructure and check Automatic or Manual 12. FALSE 13. FALSE 14. Create a formula on one object defining its length as twice that of the other object 15. TRIM 16. Use the NEAR Operation 17. An object in a geometrical set that has been unlinked from its defining geometry
by
Tony Harris

Catia V5 R14

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Catia V5 R14 November 2005

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Catia V5 R14 November 2005

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WORK MATERIAL ALUMINIUM/BRASS DEPTH FEED SPEED DEPTH mm

Catia V5 R14 November 2005

Dia 32mm Endmill (carbide) Dia 50mm Endmill (carbide)

Catia V5 R14 November 2005

WORK MATERIAL ALUMINIUM/BRASS DEPTH FEED SPEED DEPTH

8/40 10/38 14/50 16/52 19/63 21/62 25/70 25/75 80/150 -

Catia V5 R14 November 2005

Catia V5 R14 November 2005

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