Refining ECAD generated component - Best Practice

[avillanueva]

I did a quick search but did not find anything out there. Aside from using a hint map file and generating new models, is there a best practice established to refine an ECAD generates footprint model (cityscape boxes) into an accurate looking solid model for a component.  What I have is hundreds of models in PDMLink with the ECAD coordinate system and a single protrusion.  I do not think existing assemblies will like it if I delete the protrusion and start again.  I think they will fail to assembly. So how do I use that model and build on it to create a realistic version to spec?  Do I have to do something cheesy like cut away the first feature and start again?

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[avillanueva]

Wow, no replies? I will check with Tech Support

[RonThellen]

Antonio,

If your single protrusion models in PDMLink (we call them "hotels") are manually assembled onto the board via Creo placement constraints, then yes you will have a problem if you change the geometry.  If, however, they were placed by importing IDF files (.emn and .emp), then you should not have a problem.  That's because each of these components is placed in the assembly using offset and rotation constraints of the component csys relative to the board assembly origin csys.

If the latter is true, you should be able to do one of two things:

1. Apply extrudes and cuts to the existing geometry, adding whatever level of detail you desire.

2. Create a new detailed model (or download a vendor model) and add your component csys at the same location and orientation as the csys in your current "hotel" model.

The csys origin is usually at pin 1 (for pin mount) or center of the mounting surface for surface mount.  The XY plane of the csys is on the surface of the model that will contact the board surface.

Hope this helps.

Ron Thellen

[avillanueva]

I did find a little note in the knowledge base that states that if there is a feature after the ecas csys that has a plane in the XY, it should assembly to that.  I will conduct a test but I think I can insert in a small datum plane to take its place.  That should allow me to get rid of the hotel. Actually, I might leave the hotel as a surface model and layer it off. That can give you an option to "see" them if I wanted to build in part reps.  I need the geometry to not be on the XY since I'm told surface mount components can float a bit on the solder. This means they can be slightly higher than the geometry. I will have to build in some offset.