Mechanism design workflow

[dwiseman]

I am new to the Creo mechanism design module and I want to understand a bit more about good mechanism design workflow.

When beginning a design, do I design my mechanism first in a master assembly where I build all the necessary parts (e.g. using a motion skeleton) and then use those parts into a new "mechanism" assembly in order to check the mechanism? i.e. Will I end up with two assemblies, one where the mechanism is actually designed and the other where the parts are assembled with mechanism constraints? I can't see a way where different parts of a mechanism can maintain parametric constraints without having these two different assemblies or am I missing something?

Or is there a way that the mechanism can be integrated into an assembly from the start where I can use the mechanism module as a design aid to drive other geometry in my design?

Any feedback on the best mechanism design workflow would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[dgschaefer]

If you use top down design techniques with external copy geometries from a skeleton you can have both parametric driven components and teh working mechanism in the same assy.

[dwiseman]

Thanks for the reply Doug.

I understand that it can be done that way and agree that it would result in a robust model but if I'm still in a design exploration phase, figuring out the best layout for the mechanism then I don't want to govern it too much through a skeleton model. It would be nice if I could have my mechanism set up so that I can push and pull it around within my assembly using the drag component tool without setting up too many relationships.

It would also be nice to use some of the mechanism tools, like trace path and then be able to use that path to determine geometry for adjacent features/parts.

What are your thoughts on this?

Also, what is the main benefit of the mechanism module if not to help design mechanisms? It seems as though it's more for analysing a mechanism that has already been designed? 

Regards,

David Wiseman

[dgschaefer]

I agree, this is a challenge (one I'm dealing with now, actually).  I've found that the later I implement a skeleton, however, the less valuable it is.  I tend to sort through possible layouts at a top level outside of Creo and once I settle on a promising direction, I dive in with the skeleton.  The skeleton helps me flesh out a given direction more quickly that I could without it.  At times, frankly many times, I may end up nearly starting over if a given layout doesn't pan out.  Sometimes, like in my current task, I end up developing parallel assemblies with their own skeletons until one becomes the final direction.

[dwiseman]

It sounds like we approach these problems in a similar fashion, I was hoping that there was a trick to using the mechanism module to improve this but I guess not for now.

Thanks and good luck with your current challenge!

[linda]

we can use skeletons to simulate a mechanism. with the basic axis and datum plans to construct different connections(pin, slide...) and drag it about the motor. 

we can use skeleton also to claim the space by inserting an envelop of a component concerned.

once we get the direction, we copy the published geometries to different components for detail design.

all skeleton(s), component are in the same assembly.