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Creo 3.0 Script and "smart assembly"?

mjackson-2
1-Newbie

Creo 3.0 Script and "smart assembly"?

Hi all, I am only just starting out with Creo 3.0 having used Autodesk Inventor for 10 years. I have also just started working for a new company that has only been around for about 3 years and is looking to make the most of this software.

 

We design, and manufacture, metal recycling plants which include multiple conveyor belt systems. We have set up the conveyor belt assemblies so that they are driven by the Family Table to determine the height and angle of each conveyor, but... We have to "assemble" and update each set of legs  for as many as 20 conveyor belts per installation.

 

I would greatly appreciate any guidance on where to get information on how to set up a script driven assembly where I could insert a set of legs that are already set up as a family table driven assembly. So, to hopefully clarify my requirements, this is what we have in place:

 

  • Current leg lengths are driven by a Family Table
  • Legs increase by increments of 250mm
  • Adjustable feet have an adjustable range of 250mm to account for the leg length increments.
  • Conveyor belt assemblies have a "floor plane" which I would like to have as a reference to drive the leg length (So if an assembly was placed it could use this as a reference for overall length)

 

So, to cut my waffling, what I'm after is:

 

  • An assembly that can be inserted (hopefully via script driven application) with a predefined constraint point, that we already have implemented.
  • When inserted it would adopt the same part numbering structure that is utilised in the parent assembly but with the final suffix denoting the leg length, for example: xxx-xxxx-2000 for a 2000mm leg length
  • the length should be parametrically driven so that if it is to be moved to avoid other peices of machinery added at a later date, it would automatically update.

 

Now, despite how it may look, I'm not looking for someone to offer a full solution, but we would be willing to pay someone to do just that, I'd just appreciate some guidance on where I could find the relevant information to do what I see as being doable, without the knowledge of how to actually do it.


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4 REPLIES 4
TomU
23-Emerald IV
(To:mjackson-2)

This screams SmartAssembly.  It's a 3rd party automation tool that provides the power of Pro/Toolkit without the complexity (The language is similar to BASIC or Creo Relations.)  It was literally designed to do exactly what you're asking for - on the fly assembling of components with variations.

If you'd rather tradeoff cost for complexity, you could probably do the same thing using Creo's included programming interfaces - JLink (for Java) and VB (for Visual Basic).  Using these wouldn't cost you anything other than your time.

Thanks, will have a look into that... After a quick look it does seem to fit the bill. Any idea on the price?

rcook
6-Contributor
(To:mjackson-2)

Talk with SIGMAXIM - I"m sure they will be happy to tell you all about it. All depends on what you need. Keep in mind that SmartAssembly requires a license to write the script and also to run the script, so you will need a license for each user (not just the person writing the script). Or at least enough to share around without stepping on each others' toes.

I'm with Tom, though. SmartAssembly would handle your use case pretty handily. I have similar programs running in SmartAssembly and it will do everything you asked. It is a lot easier to learn and use than JLink.

TomU
23-Emerald IV
(To:mjackson-2)

It's been a few years since I purchased a new license, but at the time it was around $3,500/license + ~$550/year in maintenance.  Like Roger said, you do need a license to run the programs you create.  You can configure Creo to only pull a license when it needs it, so realistically the license count will probably be much lower than the total number of Creo users.  Initially you could just start with one license and then add more as demand (and ROI) increases.

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