Adding Rule Based Dimension and Sensors in Solid Edge

Adding Rule Based Dimension and Sensors in Solid Edge

For those designers who know exactly what the final product is going to be, these couple of Solid Edge features may not help, but those other 99% of us may need some help building intelligence into our design to facilitate future changes.

The first thing to take a look at is Rule Based Dimensions. For example, my company designs skid mounted pressure equipment. Typically these designs have a build envelope to work in. Solid Edge is a great tool to make fast changes, but what if those changes invalidate the design, and you’re not aware this happened? Here’s the formula for this D = Design,  $ + dollars and : ( = wrong change so   D + : ( = $$$$$$$.

You get the idea: a wrong design change typically cost lots of monies and upset bosses. SO the first thing I would do as a designer is add a Variable dimension for a rule based less than or equal to dimension to make sure my overall build stays within my envelope (Read this past post about variable tables in Solid Edge). And to add another level of control to my design we can use Sensors. Sensors allow a designer to add design intent to a model.

As in the case above, we have a skid and we have a sheet metal control box that houses all the electronics. First thing we may need is a lock on the cover. You usually have a hole in the face to allow the locking mechanism to mount to. What happens if a design change came along and said the box need to be narrower, causing the hole the lock fits into gets too close to the edge? When the part is made the guy punches the hole and deforms the sheet metal or even worse it tears along the closest edge. With a few clicks these things can be all be elevated. A simple cutout to edge Sensor can be applied so these things will pop up a warning on the screen notifying you of such conditions.

To wrap this up the old adage fits well (an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure).  Swap cure for a wad of money, and our bosses love to hear about all the money you saved the company.

Watch this video to learn how to add rule based dimensions and sensors in Solid Edge:

Dylan Malek
Application Engineer
Swoosh Technologies