Model based definition assembly balloons

[marcvonamsberg1]

Hi, I'm investigating using MBD and haven't found any training on assembly part balloons. This is the 3D equivalent of a 2D drawing  assembly BOM part table and the balloons associated with each part. Is there a way using symbols to populate a table using the model tree? Or can CREO just identify a part with a leader and part number, and populate that combination state? In our case we populate fields with BOM metadata like part number, description, quantity, etc. We would also want that to publish that information, perhaps in a different combination state. PTC university training seems to just end with individual parts, and that information seems pretty complete, it's the assembly bit that I'm missing.

Thanks in advance, Marc

[dschenken]

The point of MBD is to avoid all of that drafting. All of that information is accessible from the user interface. You can already look at the model tree to get what all the components are; clicking on any component or entry in the tree will highlight the other matching item. You can run a BOM report, et al. This way there is no need to manage an arbitrary item number index. Everything put into parameters can be reflected in the model tree columns.

[wrsamuels]

I agree there is a lot of data via model tree and direct selection. But there needs to be consideration for human factors/ease of use. Not all downstream consumers are tool experts and only need limited data that can be displayed in table format. An example could be a simple table displaying hardware torque values where the value varies per location or type. Yes, you can have a leader note but a more digestible method would be to see a table and have the items light up. I would argue most down stream consumers and weaker users understand tables at a glance and expecting everyone to master interpreting groups/patterns in a model tree may stunt the growth of your company's MBE maturity.

[dschenken]

Any downstream users who are not capable of working within Creo need to be given drawings or spreadsheets or training, not an intermediate workaround that adds to the code by duplicating functionality already covered elsewhere.

[wrsamuels]

Perhaps it is not duplication's that are required but enhancements/replacements to the existing methods.

We should not accept existing methods as the only plausible method for data presentation.

I do consider the tool an outstanding authoring item, but will most likely always require third party tools to meet the specific program/company needs for downstream consumption and presentation of data...PTC must agree or there wouldn't be Creo View or Illustrate.

[marcvonamsberg1]

Our group of consumers are machinists, welders and fabricators, folks who quote piece parts, weldments, fabricated and bolted together assemblies, as well as whole machines. As a general rule,sales and marketing, aren't downstream consumers. For example, a machine shop quoting a job might use that table information to generate a cut list, that contains just material and overall dimensions (LxWxD) for each piece.  Are there integrated  tools within CREO that facilitate costing? Is there a capability to generate a combination state in an automated way (e.g. part number/description)? This seems to me the 3D equivalent of the bubbled 2D drawing.  For paper only consumers, is there a method to print a BOM with bubbles with these tools?  How do Creo View or Illustrate differ in the ability to interrogate via screen device? What is the paper equivalent?

Ideally I'l like to find a (free) way to share 3D CAD data with consumers allowing them to complete their tasks with a minimal amount of training, leveraging the visualization benefits of 3D.

[dschenken]

Free? Who would do that amount of work for free?

For part of what you may want, see https://community.ptc.com/t5/Additional-Creo-Questions/Feature-Based-Cost-Estimation/td-p/338399

[llie]

Marc,

Have you thought about using a 3D PDF from Anark. You can pull all the notes and model information into the PDF. You can also lay it out where you have a BOM on one side and the 3D model on the other side with cross highlighting. Picking a model in the BOM highlights in the assembly and vise versa. We are moving toward 3D PDF's for MBD.

[marcvonamsberg1]

For publishing our CAD documents, based on cost included with license, my first choice would be to publish from CREO, and consumers use the free reader in View.  CREO View seems to be a good electronic user reader interface for 3D, but the ballooned BOM representation (the data coming from my table) seems lacking. I'm only able to take a static snapshot of the BOM and make a note. The downside is this isn't dynamic, so if my BOM changes my note isn't affected. Is that right that CREO can't produce a dynamic (realtime) BOM, that will populate a combination state? Is a 3rd party product like CREO Illustrate or Anark or Bluebeam needed? Old man talking here, but it seems like this basic functionality should be built into the base CREO functionality.