Below is a list of issues I have been compiling for a few months that I view as serious deficincies that prevent Pro/E from being a useful and user-friendly modeling / detailing package. None of these issues are requests for advanced functionality; rather, they are for correcting glitches & oversights that seriously cripple effecient modeling & detailing practices. If there are workarounds for any of these issues (I'm certain there must be), please let me know. Keep in mind everything I have listed below applies to modeling and detailing simple parts. No advanced modules needed. MODELING: 1. When a coordinate system name is changed, it doesn't update in the relations editor (we use the relations CG_X = mp_cg_x("","default","") to locate a center of gravity csys). 2. Can't do an "insert here" on the insert mode while the insert mode is active (should be able to right-click anywhere on the model tree and have "insert here" as an option, even when the insert mode is already active) 3. Axes cannot be created by referencing another axis. (can't easily create one axis on top of another, like the functionality available for coordinate systems, datum planes, and datum points.) 4. Axes cannot be created by extruding a sketch of axis points. (The closest option is extruding a surface that contains axis points, but this makes an unneeded surface feature and requires an unnecessary depth dimension) 5. Simple planar cross sections can't be redefined (to reference a different datum plane, for instance). The "replace references" functionality should be made to operate on cross sections. It would also be nice if cross sections showed up in the model tree, or were assigned a feature number. 6. Reference patterns cannot "exclude" instances. (example: if bolts need to go in all but one hole) 7. A single feature should be able to use multiple reference patterns (adding the same feature to multiple different axis patterns) 8. Sketch should be able to "use feature" in addition to "use edge". (example: an offset cross section is being sketched, using the edge of an extruded surface as a referece. If entities in the surface are deleted/redefined, the "use edge" will lose references, and cause the cross section to fail. "Use feature" would not fail.) 9. Features should be able to reference multiple reference patterned features if they are all referring back to the same original pattern. (ex: an extrusion feature is referenced to an axis, and the axis is part of a pattern. Then the extrusion feature is reference patterned. An new cut feature is created on one of these instances, and it references both the axis and the extrusion. It cannot be reference patterned!) 10. 360 degree revolved sketches should not need a sketch plane, and/or references should be allowed in the "sketched" hole feature. There should also be no dimension which shows "360". (ex: In order to model & pattern a complicated hole which needs to be drilled beginning at one surface/datum plane until it is 5mm from another surface/datum plane. Currently the only possible way to do this is to set up a sketching plane and pattern it as well... very messy, and unnecessary) 11. Can't make a datum curve a cosmetic feature. All datum curves, whether created by equations, cross sections, intersects, etc. should be able to be converted into cosmetic features so they can be "erased" on a drawing. 12. Rounds are not robust enough - should be able to select two or more entire features, and the round feature will round the intersections of the selected features. DETAILING: 1. There is no tangent leader option for a surface profile GTOL, instead we have to trick pro/e by using a different GTOL, attaching it with a tangent leader, then switching back to surface profile. 2. One radius dimension cannot be attached to multiple radii on a drawing (this should at least be available for shown dimensions when one round feature references several different edges, or when a sketch has multiple radii which are constrained to equal each other) 3. Can't redefine aligned section views back into a standard section view, or redefine other view types. 4. Can't reposition a cross-section plane and expect the drawing to update (even with shown dimensions) 5. Can't change the scale for an auxilliary view, have to convert it to a general view first. 6. Can't change the layer status or hide cosmetic features on a detail view (without changing it on parent view) 7. When showing a cross section of a revolved part through the part's centerline, axes used for locating radius centers have to be created in the model as additional features. (ex: revolve a rectangle with two rounds so it looks like a hockey puck. If you dimensioned to the center of the rounds, you need to create axes in the model, so when the cross-section is shown in the drawing, the dimensions actually go to something.) 8. Can't change the size of multiple axis cross-hairs at the same time, or make multiple cross-hairs the same size. 9. Can't insert a jog into a GTOL which has a tangent leader 10. There isn't any easy way to align separate notes or tables (or anything else) to each other. Snap to grid doesn't work, snap lines only work if you want the items related to a view, and many lines are required if line spacing between separate notes is required in addition to left-aligning. Best I have found is showing a gid and placing items as close to the grid points as possible (zooming in very far). 11. When modifying an existing sybol on a drawing (not creating a new one), there should be an option to create a duplicate symbol. This would be much easier than placing a new symbol. 12. Error: can't show a detail view of an aligned cross section (when plotted, it will plot some hidden lines as wireframe). When plotting a detail view of a planar cross section, curves disappear. 13. Error: When deleting an entity which is related to another drawing object, sometimes the entity doesn't really get deleted (it disappears for a second, then reappears. It can still be clicked on to unrelate it, then it will disappear) 14. There should be some method within a drawing to create extension lines from part geometry. (If a feature is dimensioned at the location where two angled surfaces come together, and later that corner is rounded, the dimensions shown in the drawing will go to nothing. There should be an easy way to extend lines from the geometry (parametrically!) so it is clear the dimension goes to the intersection of the lines.) 16. Can't add text below a GTOL that is attached to a shown dimension (without using separate notes & relating them) 17. Leaders for hole callouts go to the line in the callout where the shown dimension is. There should be an option to force the leader to connect to the first line of the callout, regardless of which line the shown dimension is on. 18. The ordinate dimensioning functionality needs work. Dimensions and baselines can only be moved between views or shown/erased if they are linear (not ordinate), otherwise they may take other dimensions with them that use the same baseline. If a baseline fails, all the dimensions fail, and there is no way to redefine a baseline (can only delete it and start over). 19. For ordinate dimensioning, baselines should be easily created by picking a surface or a datum. (Shouldn't have to use one end of a dimension as a baseline, because that dimension could be deleted or fail later on). I usually create a zero dimension using base datum planes, convert it to a ordinate dimension, then omit one of the zeroes. This is painfully tedious. 20. When using shown dimensions on patterned features (a hole pattern), the dimensions for the patterned feature should be easily moved from one feature to another, rather than having to erase the dimensions and re-showing them on another instance. 21. Should be allowed to select multiple axes and make the cross-hairs all the same size 22. Should be allowed to select multiple cross-section hatchings so they can all me made the same (detailing a cross-section of a clutch pack is extremely tedious). 23. Partial views should not be required to show an ordinate dimension's baseline in order to show the ordinate dimension. 24. When showing dimensions from the side view (a cross section) of a revolved feature, there needs to be a way to select which side of the axis to show the dimensions. 25. Shown dimensions from a revolved feature should be able to convert between linear dimensions and radial dimensions. (i.e. if a cylinder is created via a revolve feature, the "radius" dimension used to create the revolve cannot be shown as a radial dimension in a view showing the face of the cylinder (the circle). It will show as a linear dimension. Diameter dimensions are easy, radius dimensions are not possible. 26. Using the "gtol datums std_asme" drawing setting: When a dimension with a GTOL and an attached datum flag is between two horizontal extension lines, the vertical leader lines go directly though the datum flag. There is no way to move the datum flag left or right, nor any way to clip the extension lines.
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