Tips & Tricks: Create Single Spot Drill Operation for Multiple Sets of Holes in NX 9

Creating a single spot drilling operation for all the holes in your part in NX 9 takes some manual interaction. The hole making operations in NX 9 read the feature information from the model to create a single spot drilling operation because of the dynamic IPW. The following step illustrate a successful work-around. However, if the steps are not taken, the spot drill operation will drill the depth from the first selected hole. 

Create a hole making operation in NX 9 CAM 

Select the Spot Drilling sub type. (Within the create operation dialog, select your program, tool, geometry group, and machining method group).

Next select your geometry. The hole should be selected at the edge of the top surface you wish to be spot drilling.

Select your hole by selecting the ICON circled in red. After selecting the Icon, this dialog box appears. 

Select the first hole (Notice when selecting the hole it populates the list in the list section of the above dialog box; also if you view the graphics area inside NX 9, The dynamic IPW is displaying. The material that will be removed is displaying in the IPW).

In order to create a single spot drilling operation the next step MUST be complete.

The programmer must enter the depth manually in the above dialog box. Click on the lock to the right side of the depth value that is currently greyed out. Select the user-defined option.

Enter the depth that you wish to drill (Notice when you enter your desired spot drilling depth, the dynamic work piece automatically changes.)

This step must be done for each hole you wish to be part of your spot drilling operation. The depth of your spot drilling is derived from the surface in which the hole to be spot drilled was selected.  

If a hole is selected out of order and the programmer wishes to re-order his hole, the hole must first be selected on the list. The programmer must then utilize the up and down arrows to order the hole in the proper drilling sequence.

Note: If the depth of the spot drill drills a larger chamfer than its model, NX will give a warning that the part is being gouged. Simply turn the gouge checking off. NX will also ignore drilling the holes where the gouging is occurring. This is shown in the video below. NX CAM had the intelligence to know the user was drilling a larger spot drill and reported a gouge. Once the gouge checking is turned off in the operation, the software proceeds to drill the spot drill hole to the specified size.

To turn the gouge checking off uncheck the “Gouge Checking” option circle in the dialog box below.

Generate your tool path and select OK to accept it.

This concludes creating a single spot drilling operation with the new NX 9 hole making, spot drilling operation.

Written by Brian Brown, Application Engineer, Swoosh Technologies & Solutions

Save the Date for Solid Edge University 2014

That’s right, it’s the event of the year for Solid Edgers. Solid Edge University 2014 will be help in Atlanta, Georgia this time around from May 12^th – 14^th. The third University held in the United States will feature guest speakers, the Solid Edge development team, hands on training, and announcements of what to expect in the next release of the software.

Why should you attend Solid Edge University you ask? Great question - We’ll just mention a few:

• Innovation! Users have the change to dive deeper in Solid Edge and get hands-on training to improve and speed up their design processes, which opens up time for innovation.
• Education! Solid Edgers have the opportunity to meet with the Solid Edge developers themselves as well as learn from their peers. And don’t forget the abundant amount of training sessions available.
• Motivation! With all the new Solid Edge knowledge and increased usability, users will be ready to get to work and anxious to put their new capabilities to practice.

If your still not convinced, check out some of the materials from Solid Edge University 2013 here and we will see you in Atlanta!

The quality of the content was spectacular in my opinion. The users were fired up. I thought that the number of Solid Edge staff was a significant part of the event, which made this one truly unique. I think it was a very important factor."
- Cory Goulden, CAD Administrator, National Steel Car Ltd

KeyShot 4.2 Released

Swoosh Technologies announces the release of KeyShot 4.2 from Luxion. KeyShot is the first real time ray tracing and global illumination software program. The latest release, 4.2, adds new features to the software and updates the exciting tools that power the rendering and animation process.

KeyShot 4.2 brings faster rendering, better selection and more control over hardware and 3D data import that allows users to work faster and more efficiently without jeopardizing the final quality of their images, animations, and KeyShotVR interactive visuals. 

Groups

KeyShot 4.2 introduces the ability to create groups in the Project Scene tree. Users may create new groups, drag and drop parts and sub-assemblies into existing groups and move parts between one group and another. The capability includes a full-featured dialog that allows users to add one or multiple parts to an existing group or create a new group directly from the realtime render interface.

Set Core usage

KeyShot now comes with the ability to set priority on the amount of CPU cores used by KeyShot. Since KeyShot is fully CPU-based and utilizes 100% of all available cores, this ensures users are able to have access to more CPU power in other programs while KeyShot is rendering. This is a simple setting accessed from the KeyShot Preferences with the minimum being four cores.

Material swap

Users can now swap materials between selected parts without having to change the material for each part. Users have two options, swapping materials by selecting parts or by dragging and dropping materials from the KeyShot library onto existing materials in the in-project library.

Scene revisions

KeyShot now offers the ability to save revisions of a scene. When users save a scene, rather than overwriting each scene with the latest settings, they can now save revisions of the same scene, which can then be accessed later from within KeyShot.

Realtime presets

There are now more presets available for the realtime viewer. Through the Project settings, users have an immediate selection of preset options that include actual aspect ratios found in print and digital media. These presets are single-click settings that can also be locked to ensure proper resolution.

Additional updates

Additional updates focus on improvements in five main areas where users have provided valuable input and feedback, updates that include:

• Improved render features - faster realtime render mode, transparency for toon material
• Improved usability - select objects by material, light/dark interface themes
• Improved control - Axalta color tweaker, faster object highlight, improved texture mapping, improved move tool and dynamic sliders, copy HDRI regions and scene tree autoscroll.
• Improved animation - New dynamic pivot point and selection of helper objects from the realtime window.

Start your free trial of KeyShot 4.2 now supported by leading software provider Swoosh Technologies.

 

Swoosh Technologies Adds KeyShot to Product Line Up

Swoosh Technologies has partnered Luxion to bring customers the latest in 3D rendering technology. Luxion’s KeyShot is a CPU based rendering and animation product for 3D data and has been designed to take the complexity out of rendering photo-realistic images.

KeyShot is easy to use with a very short learning curve. It allows for import of almost any 3D design where users simply drag and drop materials, adjust the lighting, and move the camera. All changes happen in real time and thanks to KeyShot’s advanced rendering technology. This allows for designers to spend more time with creativity than fumbling with technical issues.

“With KeyShot, I feel EMPOWERED! I have a paintbrush and a digital canvas to work with. I have real, artistic-grade paints and I can see the impact of my work instantly. For me, SPEED is key! And KeyShot allows me to demonstrate multiple iterations quickly,” states Time Fehr of Chrysler Corporation.

KeyShot is CPU based and takes full advantage of all cores and threads inside the computer; therefore, does not require special hardware of a graphics card.

Model hierarchy and part and assembly names are maintained upon importing 3D data. KeyShot can handle large files so with no restriction on file size, as long as the computer has enough memory available.

This software is a universal rendering tool for CAD models and supports many popular CAD formats. KeyShot is available as a stand-along product or a plugin for CAD programs, including Siemens PLM NX and Solid Edge, also sold by Swoosh Technologies.

Join Swoosh Technologies’ Application Engineer, Dyaln Malek October 24, 2013 at 2:00 PM CT for a webcast while he showcases KeyShot’s amazing rendering capabilities. Sign up here to join the webcast.