Customizing for Generative Drafting

a)General Settings

This task shows you how to set general settings to be used in the Drafting workbench.

Select the Tools->Options command. The Options dialog box appears.

Ruler: Checking the Show Ruler option displays the ruler in your sheet. It means you visualize the cursor coordinates as you are drawing.

Grid: To define your grid, enter the values of your choice in the Primary fields. The Primary spacing option lets you define the spacing between the major lines of the grid. The Graduations field lets you set the number of graduations between the major lines of the grid, which actually consists in defining a secondary grid. The Display option allows displaying the grid in your session. The Snap to point option needs be checked if the geometry needs to begin or end on the points of the grid.

Rotation: The Rotation Snap Angle option allows snapping with a given angle for rotating elements. This option is used to rotate text elements (text, frame, or leader). In other words, it defines the snapping value used when rotating an element using the Select or Rotate commands.

Colors: You can customize given options for modifying the drawing background color.

Tree: You can display or not parameters and relations in the specification tree.

View axis: When you activate a view, you can choose to visualize the view axis. In addition, you can define whether these axes can be zoomed.

b)Dimension Creation

You can customize given options when creating or re-positioning dimensions. Select the Dimension tab in Options.

Dimension Creation: Dimension following the mouse (ctrl toggles): you can decide that the dimension line is positioned according to the cursor, following it dynamically during the creation process.

Constant offset between dimension line and geometry: the distance between the created dimension and the geometry remains the same when you move the geometry.

Default dimension line/geometry distance: if you position the dimension according to the cursor, you can define the value at which the dimension is created. If you create associativity between the dimension and the geometry, you can define the value at which the dimension will remain positioned.

If you click the Associativity on 3D switch button the following dialog box appears: A link can be applied between a dimension and the 3D part. As a result, when you update the drawing, the dimension is automatically re-computed.

Create driving dimensions: the dimension you will create will drive the geometry.

Move: The Configure switch button allows you to choose either the dimension to be snapped on the grid or/and the dimension value to be located at its default position between symbols (it will work only if the cursor is between the symbols).

Line-Up: You can organize dimensions into a system with a linear offset. The offset will align the dimensions to each other as well as the smallest dimension to the reference element.

Analysis Display Mode: Colors can be customized with the Activate analysis display mode option. To activate this mode, select this option and then click the Types and colors button. The Types and colors of dimensions dialog box lets you assign the desired color(s) to the selected dimension types.

c) Geometry and Dimension Generation

You can customize given options for controlling geometry and dimension generation whenever you need to update sheets. Select the Generation tab.

Geometry generation / Dress up: The following geometry is possibly generated (provided you check the desired options using the contextual menu, Properties option, View tab): Generate axis, Generate threads, Generate centerlines, Hidden lines, Generate fillet, 3D colors inheritance, Project 3D wireframe, Project 3D points, Apply 3D specification.

Dimension generation: The generated dimensions are positioned according to the views most representative. The dimensions are generated on the views on the condition the settings were previously switched to the dimension generation option.

Generate dimensions when updating the sheet , Filters before generation, Automatic positioning after generation, Allow automatic transfer between views, Analysis after generation, Generate dimensions from parts included in assembly views, Delay between generations for step-by-step mode,

Balloon generation: If you select Creation of a balloon for each instance of a product, a balloon will be generated for each instance of a component: therefore, if a component is used two times within a product, then the balloon will be generated twice.

d)Geometry Creation

You can customize given options when creating 2D geometry, either or not using SmartPick, or still adding constraints to this geometry. Select the Geometry tab.

Geometry: You can decide that you want to create circle and ellipses centers and that you want to be able to drag elements, end points included.

Constraints creation: You can create or not the geometrical or dimensional constraints detected by the SmartPick tool. If all of the detection options are unchecked, the Create detected constraints option is not available.

SmartPick: (switch button) As you create more and more elements, Smart Pick detects multiple directions and positions, and more and more relationships with existing elements. The SmartPick category provides these options: Support lines and circles, Alignment, Parallelism,

perpendicularity and tangency, Horizontality and verticality.

Constraints Visualization: Check the Visualize constraints option to visualize the logical constraints specific to the elements.

Colors: Two types of colors may be applied to sketched elements. These two types of colors correspond to colors illustrating: Graphical properties-Colors that can be modified.

Constraint diagnostics- Colors that represent constraint diagnostics are colors that are imposed to elements whatever the graphical properties previously assigned to these elements and in accordance with given diagnostics. Over-constrained elements: the dimensioning scheme is over-constrained: too many dimensions were applied to the geometry. Inconsistent elements: At least one dimension value needs to be changed. This is also the case when elements are under-constrained and the system proposes defaults that do not lead to a solution. Not-changed elements:

Some geometrical elements are over-defined or not consistent. As a result, geometry that depend(s) on the problematic area will not be recalculated. Iso-constrained elements: All the relevant dimensions are satisfied. The geometry is fixed and cannot be moved from its geometrical support.

If you click the other color of the elements switch button, the following dialog box appears.

Isolated elements: use-edge that no more depends on the 3D.

Protected elements: non-modifiable elements.

Construction elements: A construction element is an element that is internal to, and only visualized by, the sketch. This element is used as positioning reference. It is not used for creating solid primitives. SmartPick: colors used for SmartPick assistant elements and symbols.

e)View and Sheet Layout

You can customize given options when creating views or when adding sheets. Select the Layout tab. It contains the following sets of options:

View creation: When creating a view, you can define that you want or not the view name, scaling factor or frame to appear, and that you want broken and breakout specifications to be reproduced.

New sheet: You can define that when creating a new sheet, you want the source sheet to be the first or one sheet from another drawing.

Background view: You can specify the path to the directory-containing frame and title block.

Section/Projection Callout: You can choose the callout elements size not to be dependant on the view scale. For this before callout creation check this option.

f)Annotations

You can customize given options when creating annotations. Select the Annotation tab. It contains the following sets of options:

Annotation Creation: Select the items you want to snap: text and/or leader. Snapping will be performed when the Activate Snapping box is checked, taking into account the option selected in the Activate snapping dialog box

Move: Select Activate Snapping to activate snapping. Click the Configure button to specify whether you want the annotation to be snapped on the grid, according to the orientation, or both.

This will apply to the annotations selected in the Annotation Creation area. To deactivate snapping when creating or moving annotations, press the shift key.

2D Component Creation: Select Create all 2D component instances with the same size if you want all 2D component instances to have the same size when you create them, no matter what the view scale is.