Parametric design, a key principle of engineering design, relies on the relationships between design elements being used effectively to manipulate and inform the design of complex geometries and structures. However, effectively maintaining these relationships while engineering design changes are being made has not been an easy task – until now.
TopSolid added the “filter unsafe items” command to allow engineers to very quickly and easily make better decisions throughout the design process. The video included within this post demonstrates that while it is very easy to quickly add a drilling to the surface of a part during design, this should not be done without carefully factoring in the design intent of the model; otherwise, as additional engineering design work is conducted and changes are made it is likely that a rebuilder will result. Why?
In the example included with the video demonstration, the reference edge on which we
built the frame in order to conduct drilling was changed – it doesn’t exist anymore. Clearly, a key relationship needed to safely execute future design changes was lost.
The great news is that TopSolid’s “filter unsafe items” command allows you to avoid this. In the scenario shown in the video, the “filter unsafe items” command would block the designer from linking elements to positions that are likely to be modified as the design process progresses. Rather, this command directs the designer to place drillings in a manner that will not “blow up” the model design as changes to edges and other changes are made.
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