UNIT_WEIGHT Parameter automatically populated

For Wildfire 4, the paramter is still MP_MASS, but this may not always be the best way to get the weight of the part. I used to use this in all of our start parts, but I found that sometimes you needed to regenerate your model once or twice to get the mass calculated properly. After searching around a bit, I found David Haigh's ProE Admin 101 presentation from the 2010 PTC/User conference and started using his suggeted method.

For this, you first assign a material to the part. Next, you create a mass properties feature in the model and move it to the footer (this way it is always the last feature to regenerate. You then add a parameter for your mass in the mass properties feature, assign it a unit, and add a relation (<new parameter="> = mass). You can then call this paramter in a drawing in the following: &<new paramter=">:FID_<mass properties=" feature=" name=">.

The benefit of this method is that no matter what units the model is set to, you will always get the same units out of the feature parameter as what you set the parameter to. So, for example, if you set the feature parameter to be MASS_KG and set the unit to kg, then even if the model was set to calculate weight in pounds, the MASS_KG parameter will always be in kg.

Attached is a copy of the instruction set that was created for the engineers in my department here, in case anyone is interested in a step-by-step process.

-Lawrence

In Reply to Jonathan Hodgson:

Small correction: on recent versions of Wildfire, at least, I believe
the current 'internal' parameter / function name is PRO_MP_MASS (with no
brackets or quotes required).



If you don't have mass_property_calculate set to automatic, you'll need
to do Edit -> Setup -> Mass Props; Generate Report... before the
relation will be valid.



HTH,

Jonathan