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ptc-42796981-Visitor
1-Visitor
January 28, 2012
Solved

How to add a fastener

  • January 28, 2012
  • 4 replies
  • 13858 views

I just started learning creo/elements and I'm sorry if this is a basic question. How do I add a fastener to an assembly? The help pages says insert>connection>fastener. But I don't have a connection choice under the insert menu. Thanks.

Best answer by

David,

In short, you create an assembly and then insert components into the assembly. Components are placed using constraints such as Insert, Mate and Align. If you select the cylindrical surface of a hole and then of the fastener, an Insert constraint will automatically be created. You would then add a second constraint by selecting the bottom of the fastener head and the surface it will mate against. You could use the Repeat function to easily place multiple fasteners.

For more in-depth instruction, I would suggest you go to www.ptc.com/go/first and in the Training and Resources tab, you will find FIRST specific curriculum as well as links to our basic Academic Program training materials.

Hope this helps.

Adam

4 replies

A
Anonymous
Answer
January 30, 2012

David,

In short, you create an assembly and then insert components into the assembly. Components are placed using constraints such as Insert, Mate and Align. If you select the cylindrical surface of a hole and then of the fastener, an Insert constraint will automatically be created. You would then add a second constraint by selecting the bottom of the fastener head and the surface it will mate against. You could use the Repeat function to easily place multiple fasteners.

For more in-depth instruction, I would suggest you go to www.ptc.com/go/first and in the Training and Resources tab, you will find FIRST specific curriculum as well as links to our basic Academic Program training materials.

Hope this helps.

Adam

P
ptc-42796981-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
January 30, 2012

Sorry, I should have been clearer with my question. The Help Center describes a Fastener Definition dialog box that appears to give the user access to a built-in library of fasteners. I’m wondering how I can get to the Fastener Definition dialog box. The suggested menu sequence (Insert > Connection > Fastener) doesn’t appear when I’m assembling parts.

I can make my own fasteners or import them if I need to but it would save me time if I could access an existing library. I guess my other question is why the Help Center doesn't match the product?

P
ptc-42796981-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
April 5, 2012

I found an on-line library of fasteners that can be downloaded for free. http://www.3dmodelspace.com/prolibrary.html I don't think you can access it directly from within creo/elements but I started accumulating a downloaded library of fasteners I commonly use.

H
huggre1-Visitor
1-Visitor
January 28, 2016

David

If you use Creo Parametric 3.0 you will find the IFX menu under Tools->Intelligent Fastner

O
OliverGräbner17-Peridot
17-Peridot
February 5, 2016

Hi David,

could you solve the problem in the meantime?

Maybe you find some helpful discussions or videos about fasteners on Intelligent Fastener Extension - IFX‌.

Thanks,

Oli

R
rjohnson-41-Visitor
1-Visitor
February 7, 2016

The Intelligent Fasteners are a awesome and very easy to use.  Just select toe Tools tab and click on "Screw".  You then have a couple of steps in sequence...

  1. Select the hole where you want to put the fastener.
  2. Select the surface where you want the head of the fastener to be constrained against
  3. Select the surface where you want the nut to be constrained, or if not using a nut, where threads would normally start
  4. Hit ok

You'll then see a dialog where you can select the type of screw (metric, ansi, etc).  Then select the length, width, and nut (if desired).  You can also expand the dialog to fiddle with hole parameters (like tight or loose tolerances).  Hit OK and you'll watch Creo drill the hole, put in a screw, and put a nut on it.  Rather cool!

IMPORTANT: Here's where this can go wrong.  When you need to modify or delete the fastener, don't do it from the model tree.  All those holes, nuts, and screws are connected together, and the connections can be lost if you do.  Instead simply select Delete, Redefine, or Reassemble from the Tools->>Intelligent Fastener portion of the ribbon (where you found the screw).  You'll see the same dialogs from before and can change hole, screw, or length easily.

Good luck!

Rande Johnson

Coach/Mentor FRC 4931, FTC 8620/9998

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