Overview

Intended Audience
This course is suited for designers, engineers, manufacturing engineers,
application programmers, NC programmers, CAD/CA M managers, and
system managers who have a need for understanding and using NXsoftware.

Course Objectives
After successfully completing this course, the student should be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge of CAD/CAM theory.

• Open and examine models.

• Create and edit parametric solid models.

• Modify existing geometry.

• Apply the standards used in class.

Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this class.

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How to Use This Course

How to Use This Course

Activities
The format of the activities is consistent throughout this course. Steps
are labeled and specify what will be accomplished at any given point in
the activity. Below each major step are bulleted steps which describe the
individual actions that must be taken. As your knowledge of NX increases,
the action boxes will seem redundant as the step text becomes all that is
needed to accomplish a given task.
Step 1: Open the design_topic_1 part.

Choose the Open icon. (File→Open)

Double-click on the parts folder.

Select the design_topic_1 part and choose OK.

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 Overview

Mouse Buttons
The mouse will be used throughout this course to make selections. Examples
of different mouse devices are shown. The mouse buttons are referred to as
the first, second, and third mouse buttons, starting from left to right. On
mouses with mouse wheels, the wheel acts as mouse button 2 when it is
pressed. On two-button mouses, the buttons represent 1 and 3. Both buttons
pushed together equals mouse button 2.

The functional assignment of the mouse buttons can be reversed in

most operating systems for users who prefer that setup.

The following abbreviations are used for the mouse buttons in this course.
• MB1 — Mouse Button 1

• MB2 — Mouse Button 2

• MB3 — Mouse Button 3

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Class Standards

Class Standards
The following standards will be used in this cours e. Standardization allows
you to work with and predict the organization of parts created by others. All
work should be performed in accordance with these standards.

Part File Naming

To facilitate the identification of design models without having to open a
part, standard naming conventions can be established for the various files
associated with the part definition. An example of a file naming standard
is shown below:

1 — Part Number
2 — Configuration
3 — Revision
4 — Extension

Currently up to 128 characters are valid for file na mes. A four

character extension (.prt) is automatically added to define the file
type. This means the maximum number of user defined characters
for the file name is actually 124.

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 Overview

Seed Parts

Seed parts are an effective tool for establishing customer defaults or any
settings that are part-dependent (saved with the part). This may include
non-geometric data such as:
• Preferences

• Commonly used expressions

• Layer categories

• User-defined views and layouts

• Part attributes

Once a seed part is established, it should be write-protected to avoid

accidental modification.

Two seed parts are available for use in this course, seedpart_in for inch parts
and seedpart_mm for metric parts. These parts incorporate the standards
described above.

Colors

The following colors are preset to indicate different object types:

Object Default Color

Solid Bodies Light Gray (87)
Sheet Bodies Light Dull Azure (92)
Lines and Arc Dark Hard Blue (212)
(non-sketch curves)
Conics and Splines Dark Hard Blue (212)
(non-sketch curves)
Sketch Curves Obscure Dull Green (144)
Reference Curves Dark Faded Cyan (105)
(in sketches)
Datum Features Light Weak Red (81)
Points and Coordinate Systems Dark Hard Blue (212)
System Display Color Orange Orange Red (114)

NX identifies colors using numbers with ID’s that range from 1 to 216.

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Definitions of Terms

Definitions of Terms

Explicit Modeling
Explicit modeling is modeling that is not parametric. Objects are created
relative to model space, not each other. Changes to one or more objects do not
necessarily affect other objects or the finished model. Examples of explicit
modeling include crea ting a line between two existing points or creating an
arc through three existing points. If one of the existing points were moved,
the line/arc would not change.

Parametric Modeling

A parametric model is one in which the values (parameters) used for

the definition of the model are stored with the model for future editing.
Parameters may reference each other to establish relationships between the
various features of the model. Examples include the diameter and depth of a
hole or the length, width, and height of a rectangular pad. The designer’s
intent may be that the hole is always as deep as the pad is high. Linking
these parameters together may achieve the desired results. This is not easily
accomplished with an explicit model.

Constraint-based Modeling

A constraint-based model is one in which the geometry of the model is driven

or solved from a set of design rules applied to the geometry defining the model
as constraints. These constraints might be dimensional constraints (such
as sketch dimensions or positioning dimensions) or geometric constraints
(such as parallelism or tangency). Examples include a line tangent to an arc
where the designer intends for that tangent condition to be maintained even
though the angle of the line may change or a perpendicular condition being
maintained as angles are modified.

Hybrid Modeling

Hybrid modeling refers to the selectively combined use of the three types
of modeling described above. Hybrid modelers allow designers to use
parametric modeling where needed without requiring that the entire model be
constrained before proceedin g. Because of this, designers have more flexibility
in modeling techniques. The NXhybrid modeler supports traditional explicit
geometric modeling along with constraint-based sketching and parametric
feature modeling. All tools are integrated so they can be used in combination.

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