Skip to main content
D
DH_113641661-Visitor
1-Visitor
August 18, 2025
Question

Patterning assembly objects using circles from imported overlay

  • August 18, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 1174 views
I am using Creo Parametric Release 7.0 and Datecode7.0.8.0

Our team makes models (assemblies to be precise) of chips/substrates that have a rectangular body, an overlay showing bump circles, and hundreds to thousands of solder ball models patterned over the bump circles that were imported from dwg onto the model's surface. The pattern part is currently tricky and involves a lot of file conversions and scripting outside of Creo to make a pattern table that meets the formatting required. I wanted to see if there is a way (or request this feature) to be able to pattern each solder ball over each bump circle by recognizing the pattern of bump circles. I know there is a feature recognition of patterns and ability to write/read that pattern table, but it does not recognize lines, only edges/surfaces of holes. The ability to recognize the edge of an imported circle for this feature recognition functionality would allow us to save multiple steps.

    3 replies

    M
    MartinHanak24-Ruby III
    24-Ruby III
    August 18, 2025

    Hi,

    can you upload some simple models for testing purposes? OR attach some pictures?

    D
    DH_113641661-VisitorAuthor
    1-Visitor
    August 19, 2025

    Here is a snippet of a part with circles imported from dwg/dxf. As you can see, I have an axis on what I call the origin circle to place my first bump, then I pattern this bump using a table that is defined by X and Y away from that origin bump. 

     

    DH_11364166_1-1755631690096.png

     

     

    DH_11364166_0-1755631648880.png

    However, if I was able to pattern that axis across all circles via pattern feature recognition, then I could pattern the bump as long as one of its constraints used the axis. 

    I will see about uploading some sample models if that helps. 

    M
    MartinHanak24-Ruby III
    24-Ruby III
    August 20, 2025
    @DH_11364166 wrote:

    Here is a snippet of a part with circles imported from dwg/dxf. As you can see, I have an axis on what I call the origin circle to place my first bump, then I pattern this bump using a table that is defined by X and Y away from that origin bump. 

     

    DH_11364166_1-1755631690096.png

     

     

    DH_11364166_0-1755631648880.png

    However, if I was able to pattern that axis across all circles via pattern feature recognition, then I could pattern the bump as long as one of its constraints used the axis. 

    I will see about uploading some sample models if that helps. 

    Hi,

    please upload some DXF file containing circles and corresponding Creo part. I enables me to test your problem.

    tbraxton
    22-Sapphire II
    tbraxton22-Sapphire II
    22-Sapphire II
    August 18, 2025

    I am assuming that all of the solder balls are in a single plane i.e. BGA package.

     

    Have you considered or tried using a sketch driven pattern? If you are using only datum points or csys within the sketch you should be able to lay out the pattern needed for the array in plane. The sketcher could probably deal with this with hundreds or thousands of locations, but you would need to test it. Normally you would not want to include a large number of sketch entities in a sketch but when using only datum points this might work fine. If you find a limitation on the sketcher entities, then you can break up the array into multiple sketch driven patterns.

     

    If you can get a sketch-based pattern working, then you should be able to use the reference pattern functionality to place the balls where needed.

     

    Point pattern within sketch 

     

     

    D
    DH_113641661-VisitorAuthor
    1-Visitor
    August 19, 2025

    The issue is that this overlay is defined in AutoCAD or some other EDA layout tool and has to be imported in via dwg/dfx. I got this notice when trying to import <100 bump circles onto a sketch and it ultimately failed, so I'd imagine it would not be too happy with thousands. (Currently, we import the overlay onto the base model, without creating a sketch, using a coordinate system reference that matches the dxf, which works fine but starts to get slow around several hundred circles). 

     

    DH_11364166_2-1755632440199.png

    I thought about doing some post-processing of the dxf to place a point everywhere a circle is (not manually of course) and then import just those, but I'm not sure if Creo treats dwg points the same. And may have to do another conversion of those points to datum points if it does import successfully onto the sketch. 

    tbraxton
    22-Sapphire II
    tbraxton22-Sapphire II
    22-Sapphire II
    August 19, 2025

    I was not suggesting importing anything into Creo with my previous post. You would need to create a sketch pattern using Creo functionality. If the solder balls are located in the EDA tool, then their positions relative to the package origin is defined and could be exported as Cartesian coordinates offset from the package origin. This would generate a table of locations that you can exploit in Creo.

     

    Do you use the ECAD/MCAD interface for data exchange? It is hard to believe that someone is using AutoCAD in 2025 to manage ECAD/MCAD data exchange. Creo has built in ECAD tools and has for some time. You can use the EDA design file to export IDF or IDX files such that the solder balls would come across automatically to Creo on import if you are clever about setting up part libraries and a data exchange process. What EDA tool is used to create the board designs?

    H
    hadardor17-Peridot
    17-Peridot
    November 10, 2025

    Hello, Potential tools like FRT and FMX do not have capability so far to recognize curves/axis

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement