Layers - Best Practice

[MK_12698627]

(Using Creo 8.0.9.0)

I'm fairly new to Creo (under 2 years of experience with 5+ yrs of other CAD software experience prior) and I am looking for some advice on best practices for using layers in Creo drawings.

I've previously struggled with layers when trying to make some skeletons visible in drawings but not others (similar to how you could hide features in the model tree in an assembly or part). The goal is to have the one particular skeleton visible in the drawing but hidden in the model (while other skeletons are hidden). This is the way it has been done previously at my company with large assemblies that contain multiple skeletons. Most of these situations end with frustration because hiding or showing a layer does not work to hide or show the feature contained within the layer. I realize I could just create a simplified rep for each view, but I would like to figure out layers for consistency with other company files (I'd also like to learn how to use layers in general!).

What kinds of situations should layers actually be used for? Are they only for notes, datums, dimensions, etc? Or can they be used for things like parts, skeletons, shrink-wraps, etc?

(P.S. having a way to hide model tree parts per view in a simpler way on drawings would be super convenient, maybe a future version could implement this...)

[tbraxton]

Like most Creo functionality layers are intended to support a variety of use cases. This makes them very useful but difficult to understand in some cases.

Layer display control for drawing views is supported. This will support having a skeleton visible in some views but not others. You do not need to use a simplified rep to control visibility of a layer in a drawing view.

To Control Individual View Display Using Layers

[MK_12698627]

That would work for having skeletons visible in specific views. What about skeletons that just won't show up in the drawing in general? Is that something that I can fix with layers or is that a separate issue?

[tbraxton]

Not enough information to answer your query. We would need to understand why a skeleton is not displayed in a drawing. If you can post a data set with the problem, then it could be investigated. There are many settings that control how things are displayed and there are settings for both models and drawings that could be independent.

@Patriot_1776 has provided a valuable reference regarding the use of rules, however I would not attempt to deploy that approach without a lot of documentation of company modeling standards as well as testing for compatibility with your workflows.

[Patriot_1776]

You can set the layers to show or hide at the dwg level, but you can also set them PER VIEW.  I do this a lot, when having to show curves (like for a "2X surface Profile tolerance) in one view, but not another.  Remember though, setting the status is only TEMPORARY unless you save the LAYER STATUS, both at the dwg level, and each view that you have different settings for.  Saving the dwg or the model does NOT save layer status, in both, you must save the layer status.

Best of luck!

[Patriot_1776 · Accepted solution]

Rules-based layers For The Win!  I didn't make this Powerpoint, but have used rules-based layers exclusively since 2009.