Rotate parts in an exploded view? Wildfire 4.

[jlambert-3]

ok so im working on an assembly that was made by someone else. i dont know the history of it.
i had to replace out an hinge.
so i put in the new hinge. its at 90 degrees. the assembly is modeled with the door closed.
so i check out the exploded views... there is one called "door open" which is great since having the door open in one of the drawing views would be great. but the new hinge is now wrong. the bottom is cocked at a wrong angle. so im trying to figure out how to fix it to match this exploded view.
through some research.... the little i could find about it... it said this is not possible. so here i am wondering how this was even made.
i know my company converted most of all our models from UG... is it possible it was made there?
help me out here.

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[TomD.inPDX]

If the hinge is an assembly, you can rotate it in the explode process. If it was just a part, you either need a flexible state of the hinge in a family table or the hinge itself is a family table part. It is hard to tell the way it was done before other than looking at the history file. I vote for the hinge being an assembly with the option to manipulate it in the explode dialog. Otherwise, it gets a little involved.

[jlambert-3]

the hinge is an ASM...
my problem is dont know how to rotate it in the explode dialog...

[TomD.inPDX]

I do not use WF4 so it is hard for me to guide you. However, little has changed in capabilities or method. Somewhere in the interface you have the option to "reset" a part within an assembly. Obviously, the position of the fixed hinge want to be "copied" from the the item it is attached to. You can do the same with the part being hinged unless it is out of position. In that case, you want to position the hinge using copy to the fixed hinge 1st, and then finding the rotation option to when you drag the unfixed end, you position it where you like. You can even use steps to obtain a specific angle. After you position the unfixed hinge side, you can "copy" that position to the hinged component.

This has always been a frustrating interface. Once you think you got it, it is difficult enough to remember the steps next time. The only that helps me is the fact that I know what I need is there, and then I blindly go for it. Been able to do some pretty good things with it since this also passes into animation.

[jlambert-3]

i appreciate you trying mate.... i still got nothing that works for me, i cant get the thing to rotate to save my live.
if there is anyway you can step by step it with your version maybe i can see if i can get it to translate to WF4. but as is...
here is my dialog.

here is the hinge in its default position.
as you can see its in a 90 degree position at default.
then here is it in that exploded view i found.
it followed the angle of the door for the top hinge.. but the bottom one came up with it. i need it to be straight up and down.
now if i do what you said. i reset the hinge asm using the "reset" in the dialog... it then puts it back into its default position. i then tried to do the copy position and use the door as the "copy from" and the top hinge only to move... it just takes the hinge way out into space. still as the same straight angle though. im lost on what to do now. its really frusterating. everything under the "motion reference" pulldown has nothing to do with rotating. seeing it done right in front of you and not being able to do it is just about the worst. gaaaahhhh. no wonder im losing my hair.

[TomU]

You said the hinge itself was an assembly but in the explode dialog you have a part selected. Is the entire hinge one single part or two (or more) separate parts in an assembly?

If truly separate parts, then you need to move one half of the hinge separate from the other half. Based on what's highlighted, that doesn't seem to be the case...

[jlambert-3]

yeah ignore whats in the dialog. the hinge is an asm. 2 seperate parts. i just have the asm selected, which is why its all selected red. whats in the dialog is the actual door number. i was trying to do the "copy position" comand and use the door as a ref... course it wasnt working though.
i see what you are saying, tom. thats exactly what i want to do. uabut i cant seem to actlly rotate (note: " rotate", not just move) the one side of the hinge in an exploded view. the mysterious existing saved exploded view called "open_door" proves it can be done... i just have no idea how to actually do it. seems no one does. and i dont know how to find the person who did this one initially. thats what im trying to find out... how to make an exploded view like this person seems to have done. cause i have no clue how they did it.

[TomD.inPDX]

You are remembering to see that the hinge parts (parts in the hinge assembly) are exploded, right?

What i am getting at is that within a subassembly, components can remain unexploded to only the entire assembly will explode in the higher level assembly but it will remain "in-tact" as it moves around.

I think things are much better in the UI than in WF4... I don't quite remember. What really helps is having the explode state show in the model tree.

I'll see if I can make a quick reference video in Creo.

[jlambert-3]

i think i get what you are saying, not completly though. this sentence is pretty confusing to me.

"What i am getting at is that within a subassembly, components can remain unexploded to only the entire assembly will explode in the higher level assembly but it will remain "in-tact" as it moves around."

is that how you meant to type it out. almost seems there is two sentences in there but i cant figure it out. i still cant figure out how i can make anything, hinge or not, rotate.

[TomD.inPDX]

Haha... no, it is exactly what I meant to say.

typically, when someone creates an exploded assembly, it is only meant to explode that one level. Any subassemblies within the assembly should remain unexploded. By default, everything at all levels explode. You have to go back and set a lot of subassembly components to an unexploded state. In your case, the hinge part of the hinge subassembly you want to move will need to be in an exploded state.

I often get caught up in trying to be too accurate in my statements. We'll get through this. I have a simple box made, now to come up with a video.

[jlambert-3]

ok. well that makes more sense.
thanks so much man. i really appreciate it.
ive been working in pro-e many years but mainly in detailing and drws. so when it comes to modeling/assembling and even these exploded views i get rusty and turned around some when i get into the thick of it.

[TomD.inPDX]

No sound, but it does show the finer points of managing movement for the explode process.

Notice 2 things... 1) the model tree status is really poor on updating. and 2) you cannot copy the position of a subassembly component. That is why the rotation had to be done twice.

And remember to save your explode state!

[jlambert-3]

awesome. thanks so much man. just watched it. it would work just how i want it to if i had creo 2. i dont see anything close to that rotate button in WF4 though. hmmm. good news though is the company is supposed to update to creo 2 within a year i think. let me play a bit though. i'll update if i get it or not.

[TomD.inPDX]

Some here are still on WF. Hopefully they will shime in.