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pwyndham1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 7, 2010
Question

Project Lightning Wish List

  • September 7, 2010
  • 40 replies
  • 47594 views

This list is to articulate our wants and needs to PTC on what changes we would like to see to Pro/Engineer Wildfire with the release of Project Lightning. I was asked to put a list of what my company wanted to see in Lightning, and thought it would be better if PTC saw what the whole Pro/E community wanted to see.

Please keep all comment upbeat and positive. Absolutely no hate statements.

I think it is important to have some rules for this, so here is a starter on them. They are subject to change if it proves to be needed.

  • One enhancement per reply - this will make it so people can comment directly to that request with additions, elaborations or +1, -1 comments
  • Keep the requests specific and precise - consistent UI throughout Pro/E is a great request, but is very broad and might be better stated differently
  • No mention of other company branding, names or abbreviations - if you want your request to be listened to don't say Pro/E needs to be like a different tool. I am sure you can find another way of stating or explaining your wish then make it like ..... Siting other PTC products is OK.
  • No off topic discussions
  • Keep all comments related to the request you are replying to
  • When you post a new request, reply to the original post. This will keep all the request at the top level and better to read.
  • Add pictures, screenshot, PDF's or other illustrations to help you point.
  • Change the title of your post to have a short title for your request.
  • Try to make your request fit with WF5 where possible. It would be useless to request something they already did in WF5. (for example: Update the Cabling module)
  • The list is not in order of importance. You can put any request in any order.
  • etc...

I will start with a couple requests to get the ball rolling. I will keep adding them over time to give opportunity for others to add requests.


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40 replies

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BrentDrysdale12-Amethyst
12-Amethyst
September 10, 2010

Hi Paul,

Now that I have seen this I will add the other ideas (mostly interface) to discussion rather than individual random posts.

Regards, Brent

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pwyndham1-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
September 10, 2010

Ok, you had some good ideas in the other posts. I guess I thought it might be better to have them grouped. That way they don't get lost, and don't clog up the system.

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pwyndham1-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
September 10, 2010

Update the drawing capabilities to be equal to what they are in Sketcher mode. Sometimes there is a need to create just 2D drawings for a quick display, plant layouts, flat flexible circuits, etc.

Currently in Drawing mode you are extremely limited on what you can do, and what you can do is very hard to figure out and remember.

Here is a pieced together screenshot of what I would like to see:

DrawingModeWish.jpg

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colmacpro1-Visitor
1-Visitor
October 1, 2010

I like the idea of a draft sketch feature in the modeling environment. Same as a sketch feature but with the "option" of no constraints or external "to the sketch" references. Also included would be a few traditional 2D manipulation commands. And hopefully it is not packaged up in a separately priced module.

Joe

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pwyndham1-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
September 10, 2010

There are many things I really like about the measuring capabilities in Pro/E. I love it that you can set the first attachment and then just click to add and change the second attachment. Then, Pro/E automatically gives you the distance between value. I like it that you can select the radius tool and then just click on rounds and see what the diameter is.

But there are some things I would like better.

It would be nice if dimensioning was all done in one dashboard control. After clicking the measure icon a dashboard came up and I could select which type of measurement I wanted, or Pro/E would just know from the selections I make.

I also have a really hard time with the angle measurement. Usually I want to know the angle between two surfaces. So, I pick those surfaces. Pro/E then gives me the angle that I would not have even thought of wanting.

Here is a quick screenshot example:

anglemeasure.jpg

I then have to click on arrows till I get the angle to switch around to display what I hope is right. You never can get it to give you the actual angle between faces.

Here I found the correct angle, but why is it shifted 90 degrees?

correctangle.jpg

This is an easy angle to calculate, but it shows the point.

K
Kevin1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 11, 2010

It measures the angle between the normal vectors of the surfaces. By default ProE uses the outward pointing normal for solid surfaces. Two of the arrows control the direction of the normals the other controls how the angle is measured according to the right hand rule. From your measurement you picked the horizontal surface first then the angled. Having the normal for the horizontal surface pointed up and moving the angled surface normal so they have the same origin the angle is measured clockwise (+) by right hand rule. If you flip the yellow arrow normal to both surface normals you measure counterclockwise and get -330. If you flip the horizontal surface normal direction you now measure counter clockwise (+) and get 150. If you flip the yellow arrow normal to both surface normals you measure clockwise and get -210.

The easiest way to see why the angle you initially get is wrong is to look at how the normals get oriented with a protractor in mind. So think of a protractor measureing the angle with 0 along the horizontal surface and 150 on the angled surface. Extend arrows in the 0 and 150 directions. Now rotate them 90 degrees counter clockwise to see how they should be oriented to get the correct measurement. Notice in your picture, if you left the horizontal normal pointing up, the angled normal would point in the wrong direction because from the protractor example the normal is rotated 90 degrees clockwise. So on a protractor with the arrows moved to the origin you have the horizontal normal arrow lined up with 90 and the angled normal arrow lined up with 60 (angle between them is 30). When you flip the direction of one of the surface normals you then get the correct angle measurement.

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pwyndham1-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
September 12, 2010

That is a great explanation. But I still think it would be much easier to figure out if it just gave you arrows like my hacked up example below. I shouldn't have to hold my right hand up to the monitor and hum and ha about it. I don't use a protractor I use Pro/E. I never learned how to draw 3D. I expect Pro/E to do that for me. Then tell me what I want to know.

angles copy.jpg

Then, you could see the twol surfaces you selected and tell what way Pro/E is looking at it and know the angle you wanted first.

I would love it.

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BurtLand1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 10, 2010

Section with Ease

Almost always if you do a section it removes the bit furtherist away from you and you have to spin the model 180deg

ProE is littered with poor interface features - even in the latest stuff, Appearance Manager for example, its not good. PTC need to change their whole process of designing these things otherwise Project Lightning will deliver more of the same.

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BurtLand1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 10, 2010

Appearance Manager (WF5)

How do you select SOLID SURFACES in WF5 within the Appearance Mngr tool ? Its not on right button.

To do this now you have to do it before using the tool.

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pwyndham1-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
September 12, 2010

Just thought of this one while trying to add a new part to an assembly.

I think it would be nice to be able to only show the datum of of the part in the assembly that you are working on. Then, also turn on daums of other specific parts or maybe the top assembly.

Sometimes it gets so hard to see what datum you are trying to click.

For example: I want to build a new part that fits between the purple and red tubes. I want to build it using the internal part datums.

DATUMS.JPG

I know that picture is too small to show everything. But it does show lots of datums.

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ptc-32600111-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 28, 2010

Yes, it would be great to have more options to show or hide datums during you are adding a new part to the assembly.

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BarryS1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 12, 2010

@David Butz, I agree with you about the "endmill cutting" feature I would love that! Do you know how powerful that would be, wrapping a "endmill" cut around a cylinder, as one of your example shows.

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DavidButz1-Visitor
1-Visitor
September 13, 2010

Is anybody listening? There was a response from a PTC manager to one of Brent's earlier posts concerning the enhancement process; we were told that it is a work in progress. That's fine, and I hope the result will be worthwhile. Meanwhile, it would be nice to know whether or not we are wasting our time in this thread. Could someone at PTC please let us know if this discussion is at least being scanned? There is no anger or sarcasm implied; it's a simple request.

G
gvora10-Marble
10-Marble
September 13, 2010

Hello Everybody,

I guess it will be premature for us to imgine how Project Lightning is going to shape up/work. I can still wish that PTC

may please incorporate some new features as I wished in my earlier post either in Pro/E or Project Lightning. I am adding more today.

(1) TWO WAY ASSOCIATIVITY FOR MERGE PART. THIS WILL HELP IN CASTING TO MACHINING OF THE PART.

(2) ALSO WHEN THE SKELETON IS USED, PART DIMESIONS CAN BE DETAILED WITH REAL DIMENSIONS NOT REFERENCE DIMENSIONS.

(3) INTER ACTIVE SURFACE DESIGN CAN BE ENHANCED TO BE SIMBLE LIKE AUTODESK STUDIO TOOLS WITH ACTUAL DIMENSIONS.

(4) CO-CREATE SHOULD BE LINKED TO PRO/E EITHER AS ADDITION FEATURE OR MODULE.

(5) ALL LOYAL LONG TIME USERS CAN BUY THAT AT REASONALBE PRICE WITH NO ADDITIONAL MAINTENACE COST FOR LICENSE

EVERY YEAR.

(6) AS SOON AS THE PROJECT LIGHTNING IS AVAILABLE, PRECISON LEARNING SHOULD HAVE WEB BASE TRAINING AVAILABLE

NOT AFTER TWO OR THREE YEARS.

(7) LAST WISH FOR TODAY, THE KIND, RESPONSIBLE AND VERY RENSPONSIVE PERSONNEL FROM PTC SHOULD LOOK INTO EACH POST

EVERYDAY AND RESPOND TO THE DISCUSSION WITH SOME KIND OF FEED BACK TO THE PARTICIPANTS.

Thanks.

Gautam Vora.

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Anonymous
September 13, 2010

let me start off saying that I know all about simplified reps.

In an assembly, what I would like is to be able to ctrl-click on several parts and then right click and say "hide all others"

This would let me isolate the few parts I'm interested in and check fit / interferances or just assemble the parts together.

It's the only thing that gives me any kind of envy for other cad programs.

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