Creating assembly drawings (Pro/Process)

[avillena]

Hi,

I need some help with a doubt creating assembly drawings. I have a template with some subassemblies and parts. Here's an example of the assembly structure:

What I want to create are different drawings of this assembly, but showing different subassemblies/parts on each drawing. For example, I want the drawing 001.drw wich shows AA.asm and BB.asm, the drawing 002.drw with AA.asm and C.prt and 003.drw with BB.asm and C.prt. (this is the simplified example, but imagine the case with a real big assembly structure...).

If I don't want to use any rep, I could create new assemblies (001.asm, 002.asm and 003.asm) with the info I want them to contain, and create the drawings of each new assemblies. This could take long, and sometimes it's not easy to re-assemble an existing structure, or I can't modify the structure...)

I could also create these drawing with Simplified Representatios, creating the representations 001, 002 and 003, showing on each ones the parts/assemblies I just mentioned on each ones. This way I could create a drawing for each Simplified Representation and the BOM table would show just the parts/assemblies contained on each Simplified Representation.

The problem is that I can't use Simplified Representations (due to a Windchill issue) and I want to do this exact thing, without using Simplified Representations. I'd like to get different drawings of a big assembly, these drawings don't match with the subassemblies cointained on the assembly and and I can't reorganize the assembly structure. I'd like to create different drawings, with different parts/subassemblies on each drawing, and see the BOM of the elements shown in the assembly... Anyone knows a method to do this??

I've tried a workaround using Pro/Process for assemblies. This gives me the chance to create different Process Plan Assemblies (001, 002 and 003), and I don't have to assemble the parts again, I just include the main assembly Example.asm) on each of the Process Plan Assemblies, and on the First Step, select wich elements I want to show. Just selecting on the model tree I can show the parts I want, so I don't have to re-assemble anything. This is very useful with large assemblies. When I create the drawing of the First Step of each Process Plan Assembly, y get the BOM of what's shown on the ProProcess Assembly. This is great for what I need, but there are some problems with this method:

a) Process Plan Asssemblies are empty assemblies with no template (no planes, no csys, no views, no parameters...)

b) It's thought to create drawings with 3D orientations to see the assembly process, but I can't use previously created views, as the Process Plan Assembly has no views.

c) Drawing tables don't update with Process Plan Assembly info, because it doesn't have parameters

So this workaround with Pro/Process helps me filtrate fast the structure of the assembly to create the drawing, but I cant use views or parameters. Could anyone help with a way to create the drawings I need? Just need the following:

1) Filtrate the model tree fastly, to show/erase models from one drawing to another

2) Keep the assembly template info such as views or parameters

I can provide with more info if you have any question... Thank you in advance for your help and for your time reading all I just wrote .

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[avillena]

(...) Hi,

I need some help with a doubt creating assembly drawings. I have a template with some subassemblies and parts. Here's an example of the assembly structure:

What I want to create are different drawings o (...) Sorry, i forgot the example model tree structure...

[TomU]

Just curious, what is the Windchill issue that is keeping you from using simplified reps?

[vzak]

Hello Aitor,

From your post, it looks you have (almost) all possible ways under considerations already, so just adding fwe comments. I'm also curious what WC issue you mention, since you describe quite general case which 90% of the users will resolve with simplified representations.

1. Use top assembly Simprep

pros : existing views / existing structure etc.

cons : some WC issue (? extra downloads / checkouts ?)

2. Use ProPROCESS. It can be used even better than you say (create several PROCESS assemblies). You can just create ASSEMBLE STEP that will suit each configuration that you need, adding new components (by ADD) and removing unnecesary (DISASSEMBLE). SO you do not use SImpreps at all.

pros : single model / existing structure / no extra downloads .

cons : no templates (but with the above, you probably do not need too many PROCESS ASSEMBLIES)

3. Use External Simpreps. This is an exported "snapshot" of certain simplified representation. It will contain only relevant objects, but you will need to create as many External Simpreps (ESRs) as you need configurations.

pros : use existing structure / easy creation / can have template / smart WC management (only members get downloaded).

cons : multiple extra objects should be created (as many as you need BOM configurations)

usually ESRs are used for pure assembly concurrent design through PDM, but they definitely can serve your case as well.

Regards

- Vlad

[gdawson · Accepted solution]

Hi,

We have complete machines that have variants with different components in the BOM structures and a 30+ page method drawing for each variant. In these cases we create the models using family tables to switch in and out the components that change for the variants. Then we create a ProProcess method for the first machine and then duplicate the proprocess assembly using save as and checking the collect related drawings, then do a select all, deselect the 3 method files and rename them (there are boxes by the names to rename them) then select finish.

Open the duplicate method do a redefine last step and ok to load in the model and then select the assembly in the tree and do a replace with family table member. All that's left is to go through and change the components that are different.

Hope this is of use

Regards

Graham