As a PTC consultant, I started implementing Top Down Design skeleton models
in Pro/E at a big yellow construction vehicle manufacturing company (I
wonder who that might be!) in 1993 and DID actually call them "skeleton
models" back then, though at that point they were not a categorized within
the Pro/E environment as a special model file type. They were plain old part
files mainly consisting of the same type of "datum type" geometry that you
may use in a skeleton today, but just assembled as the first part in an
assembly. At that same time I introduced these techniques to "this" company,
I introduced the concept of "space claim models", using simplified piece
parts to represent more complex parts and/or subassemblies. These concepts
and methodologies were passed along back then to PTC corporate, even though
such concepts were not truly integrated as specific pieces of functionality
until much later as stated in rev 18.
In 1993, the skeleton modeling methodologies I developed were meant to
provide for the development of upper level critical constraints for an
entire product and/or subassembly. Even at that time, many of these
constraints (at least at the yellow company) were being controlled by a
layout, which was back then called Pro/NOTEBOOK. This was not necessary, but
was the approach we used to control some of the main constraints. This
provided for a single location to refer to regarding making and controlling
high level critical product changes. As mentioned, these skeletons were
manually assembled as the first part in an assembly, and individual parts
and/or sub-assemblies were then assembled directly to the skeleton geometry
in the skeleton part. This either minimized and/or completely eliminated the
direct assembling of components to each other, thereby allowing earlier
components to be deleted, updated, or replaced (substituted manually or
using functional interchange assemblies) without affecting the placement of
components assembled later on in any fashion. Sound familiar?
The updates to the PTC toolset since then obviously allow for much more
power and flexibility in implementing this functionality versus the
approaches that were required back then. I still provide custom Pro/E top
down design, large assembly management, and complex modeling solutions using
the latest TDD and LAM enhancements, only this has been through my own
company for the past 14 years.
The archaic hoops we had to jump through to accomplish certain things in
Pro/E back then bring back many memories. I'm guessing others out there can
predate the skeleton modeling techniques I put together. Maybe they will
chime in.
Best Regards,
Scott W. Schultz
Principal Consultant
3D Relief Inc.
3700 Willow Creek Drive
Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27604
(919)259-0610
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