Dropping Fasteners as Intellishape Features

[mgajewski]

Is there a way to drop a fastener onto a part as an Intellishape feature?

 

Right clicking and dragging "Fastener" from the Tools catalog does not produce the usual "drop as part / Intellishape etc." options.

 

Otherwise is there an easy way to add a standard thread onto a rod? There is the "Custom Hole" feature but not a corresponding "Custom Rod".

 

Mark

[IronKevin]

You can create a regular cylinder then use the new Cosmetic Thread function from the Annotation ribbon bar to add thread data to it.

[mgajewski]

Thanks, Kevin, that works but I still need to manually add the chamfer.

 

I've just realized that I may not be able to drop fasteners as Intellishapes onto parts, but I can reverse the order and drop other Intellishapes onto previously created fasteners so this way, and by suppressing unwanted fastener features, I can create my custom part.

 

Mark

[Cary OConnor]

Mark,

 

You could use that approach but it may fall apart if you try to edit the fastener feature at a later stage (editing the add-on). It is safer to use the cosmetic thread approach I believe but yes you need to add the chamfers and such manually.

 

Cary

[mgajewski]

Mark,

 

You could use that approach but it may fall apart if you try to edit the fastener feature at a later stage (editing the add-on). It is safer to use the cosmetic thread approach I believe but yes you need to add the chamfers and such manually.

 

Cary

29284[/snapback]

 

Cary,

 

I see - I was kind of uneasy about that aspect of it.

 

However, there seems to be a bug in the approach suggested by Kevin. When I make a linked copy of the part with a cosmetic thread previously added to it from Annotations as Kevin suggested, the thread does not show on the linked part. It shows in the scene browser but it seems to be stuck there without responding to right clicking, delete attempts or anything else. I guess having a solid cylindrical eqivalent to "Custom Hole" would be best but it might not be an important enhancement.

 

Mark

[B. Ludin]

Otherwise is there an easy way to add a standard thread onto a rod? There is the "Custom Hole" feature but not a corresponding "Custom Rod".

29273[/snapback]

 

There used to be a feature in the free IronPro catalog which did exactly that.

 

Does anybody know where it went?

 

[Cary OConnor]

The feature in IronPro was BossThread I believe. The Thread feature in IRONCAD XG is about the same. We will need to look into the bug reported above.

 

Cary

[IronKevin]

Here's a tip sent in by Steve Oxborrow (I'm posting it on his behalf since he doesn't have access to this site):

 

There is a way to turn a "Custom Hole" into a "Custom Rod" [per V11]:

1. Place a "Custom Hole" (doesn’t matter what kind at this point)

2. Drag it into a Catalog (create a temporary dummy catalog if you prefer)

3. Edit the Catalog Item

4. Select the "Part" (highlight)

5. Shape > Set Operation …

a. Click "Add Material"

b. OK (notice that the Part icon changes to the solid red block style)

6. Open up the Part and rename the "Custom Hole" Intellishape to "Custom Rod" (optional)

7. Save

8. Close (at this point IC throws up a "Save changes?" dialog and forces me to click "Yes" – this might not happen to you)

9. Rename the new Catalog Item to "Custom Rod" (optional)

Now just drag the "Custom Rod" item onto a Part where it’s placed as a solid. Right-click the "Custom Rod" and select "Add-on Properties…". You can do anything with a Custom Rod that you can with a Custom Hole, just in reverse (it is essentially the negative of a hole, which is a positive) - you can specify Threads and an angled bottom (i.e., tip), or even a "counterbore" to create a concentric boss. This is a generic template that might be useful to keep in a Catalog, or it could saved as a separate Part that could be Inserted into a scene and then Boolean’d onto a target Part.

 

To include a Chamfer, add it when editing the Catalog item. Since the item now contains 2 shapes, it gets placed as a separate Part when drug in from the Catalog (same as if Inserting a separate template Part). Boolean-Union it onto the target Part and it becomes a Compound Feature in the Part feature tree. An arbitrary number of features can be added when editing the Catalog Item, and any Custom Item created can just as well be Boolean-Subtracted from a target Part to implement a Super-Duper Custom Hole(!). I’ve used this technique to create SAE Port templates: just Insert or drag-in a template, Subtract it from your Part, and … Viola! … instant SAE Port! The Port is then consolidated as a single Compound Feature, which I think is a nice way to help document the design.

 

BTW: I’ve also had trouble starting with a Fastener and building on to it – it always comes back to haunt me later.

 

[Robert Andersson]

Maybe this can help:

-from the TOOLS catalog, drag in a screw.

change selection filter from ANY to INTELLISHAPE

Then box select the screw. All features will turn yellow.

Bounce that selection set over a catalog on to your custom part.

 

 

Is there a way to drop a fastener onto a part as an Intellishape feature?

 

Right clicking and dragging "Fastener" from the Tools catalog does not produce the usual "drop as part / Intellishape etc." options.

 

Otherwise is there an easy way to add a standard thread onto a rod? There is the "Custom Hole" feature but not a corresponding "Custom Rod".

 

Mark

29273[/snapback]

 

[ysinitsyn]

Boolean operation? Just union the part and a screw.