Tutorial 8: Assembly Modeling

Introduction

Pro/E's assembly module allows parts to be grouped into assemblies or subassemblies to model a complete part or mechanism.  In this tutorial, you will learn how to create assemblies, apply constraints between parts, change view properties of parts, and create exploded views.  These techniques will be applied to a pulley mechanism.

Creating an Assembly

1. For this tutorial, you will need the parts you created in Problem 2 and Tutorial 5.  You will also need to download the parts below.  Make sure all parts are stored in the same folder.

                 shaft.prt

                 bearing.prt

 

2. Start Pro/E Wildfire. 3. Select [File] -> [New] and choose Assembly under the Type category.  Name the assembly [Example8]. 4. You will now begin to add parts to the assembly.  Select the Add Component icon from the tool bar at the right of the screen, as

shown in Figure 8.1.

[Figure 8.1]

 

5. Select the part you made in Problem 2.  This part will be used as a support for the pulley mechanism.

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6. The Component Placement window will pop up as shown in Figure 8.2.  This window will be used to constrain the part. 7. Select [Coord Sys] from the pull down menu under the Type category, as shown in Figure 8.2.

[Figure 8.2]

 

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8. Select the part's coordinate system and then the assembly's coordinate system, as shown in Figure 8.3.  This will align the part and fully constrain it.

[Figure 8.3]

 

9. If you have trouble locating the coordinate systems, or if you have trouble locating a datum at any point during this tutorial, you can use the icons at the tool bar at the top of the screen to select what to display.  These icons can be used to hide datum

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planes, axes, points, and coordinate systems.  The icons are shown in Figure 8.4.

[Figure 8.4]

 

10. Select Okay from the Component Placement window. 11. Now you will add the other support.  Select the Add Component icon again, and select the part from Problem 2 again. 12. Select [Align] from the Type category in the Component Placement window.  Click near points A and B in Figure 8.5 to select

the bottom surfaces of each support.

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[Figure 8.5]

 

13. Make sure the offset of the constraint in the Component Placement window is set to [Coincident], as shown in Figure 8.6.  If it is not set to [Coincident], double click on it and use the pull-down menu to select [Coincident].

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[Figure 8.6]

 

14. Now select [Mate] from the second pull-down menu in the Type category.  Click near points C and D in Figure 8.7 to select the

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front faces of the supports.  The second support that you just added should rotate so that the two sides face each other.

[Figure 8.7]

 

15. If the offset of the constraint is set to [Coincident] or [Oriented], double click on it and change it to [0.0] as shown in Figure 8.8.

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[Figure 8.8]

 

16. Type [340] into the textbox, as shown in Figure 8.9, and hit the Enter key.  This will specify the distance between the two supports.  You should see the parts as shown in Figure 8.10.

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[Figure 8.9]

 

17. Click the plus sign icon in the Components Placement window to add a new constraint.  18. Select [Align] from the Type menu, and select the axes of the holes of each part, as shown in Figure 8.10.

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[Figure 8.10]

 

19. Make sure the offset is set to [Coincident].  You should see the parts as shown in Figure 8.11.

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[Figure 8.11]

 

20. The Placement Status section in the Component Placement window should now say Fully Constrained.  Hit the OK button. 21. Now you will add the bearings.  Select the Add Component icon again, and select the part called bearing.prt. 22. Set the first constraint to be [Insert].  Select the outer surface of the bearing and the inner surface of the hole in one of the

supports, as shown in Figure 8.12.

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[Figure 8.12]

 

23. Set the second constraint to be [Align].  Select the front surface of the bearing and the back surface of the support, as shown in Figure 8.13.

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[Figure 8.13]

 

24. Set the offset to [-7.5].  This should place the bearing inside the hole, as shown in Figure 8.14.

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[Figure 8.14]

 

25. The Placement Status section in the Component Placement window should now say Fully Constrained.  Hit the OK button. 26. Repeat steps 21-25 to add a bearing inside the other support. 27. Now you will add the pulley.  Select the Add Component icon again, and select the pulley you made in Tutorial 5. 28. Set the first constraint to be [Align].  Select the central axis of the pulley and the axis through the hole in one of the supports. 

You may have a hard time locating the axis of the hole in the support since the bearing has many axes.  Run the cursor over the location you think it should be until you see a description of an axis that mentions Problem2, such as what is shown in Figure 8.15.

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[Figure 8.15]

 

29. Set the second constraint to be [Align].  Select one face of the pulley and one face of the left support, as shown in Figure 8.16. 30. Change the Offset to be [207.5].  This should place the pulley in the center of the two supports.

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[Figure 8.16]

 

31. The Placement Status section in the Component Placement window should now say Fully Constrained.  Hit the OK button. 32. Now you will add the shaft.  Select the Add Component icon again, and select the part called shaft.prt. 33. Set the first constraint to be [Insert].  Select the surface of the shaft and the inner surface of a bearing, as shown in Figure 8.17.

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[Figure 8.17]

 

34. Set the second constraint to be [Align].  Select the end face of the shaft and the back face of the support, as shown in Figure 8.18.

35. Change the offset to be [0.0]. 

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[Figure 8.18]

 

36. The Placement Status section in the Component Placement window should now say Fully Constrained.  Hit the OK button.  You should see the assembly as shown in Figure 8.19.

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[Figure 8.19]

 

Modifying Appearances

1. In this section you will modify the appearance of the parts.  Select [View] -> [Color and Appearance] from the menu bar. 2. There is currently only one appearance available - the grey shaded coloring of the parts in the assembly.  To add more colors

and textures, select the plus sign arrow in the Appearance Editor window as shown in Figure 8.20. 3. Select the Color icon to alter the color of the new appearance.

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