Mechanical Design

What You Will You Learn With This Use Case

This use case learns how to use the aerospace sheet metal factory and the Web public interface to create , display or modify a Web. Its main intent is to introduce important concepts about the way to create or modify aerospace sheet metal features.

The CAAStmWeb Use Case

CAAStmWeb is a use case of the CAAAerospaceSheetMetal.edu framework that illustrates the creation or modification of a Web feature.

;What Does CAAStmWeb Do

This use case will show you the different steps to create or modify a Web.

More precisely this sample :

• Read and analyse an input data (.txt) file.
• Create a session.
• Open a CATPart document including the necessary geometric input features.
• Create the Web feature if it does't exist in the input Part.
• Set the values of the parameters of the Web.
• Update the Part.
• Save the result in a new CATPart document.
• Close the session.

With this sample, you will have in batch mode the same capabilities than an interactive session.

The input data file contains the same fields than the UI Web command panel :

Some samples of input data are provided in Data.d directory.

The structure of this file is simple :

KEYWORD: when a keyword is encountered a boolean is set to TRUE : the corresponding data is to set.

More details about available KEYWORDS are provided in front of the sample source file.

i.e. : The input data file above will create a Web with features read in CAATestBasicGeometry.CATPart :

Remark that the Sheet Metal Parameters feature must exist in the input Part ( see the spec tree above ).

The sample will create a Web with Plane.1 as Support and Extrude.1, Fill.1, Sketch.4 and Sketch.3 as Boundary :

[Top]

How to Launch CAAStmWeb

To launch CAAStmWeb, you will need to set up the build time environment, then compile CAAStmWeb along with its prerequisites, and set up the run time environment, and then execute the use case [2].

Launch the use case as follows:

• Before launching the use case :

  Edit the File : CAATestCreateWeb.txt Customize the fields INPUT and OUTPUT Specify the Paths where the .CATParts files will be retrieved and saved

• On Windows

  e:\CAAStmWeb inputDirectory\CAATestCreateWeb.txt

• On UNIX

  $ CAAStmWeb inputDirectory/CAATestCreateWeb.txt

where:

[Top]

Where to Find the CAAStmWeb Code

The CAAStmWeb use case is made of main program located in the CAAStmWeb.m module of the CAAAerospaceSheetMetal.edu framework:

The input CAATestCreateWeb.txt and CAATestCreateWeb.CATPart are proposed in Data.d directory of CAAAerospaceSheetMetal.edu

where InstallRootDirectory is the directory where the CAA CD-ROM is installed.

[Top]

Step-by-Step

There are 7 main steps in CAAStmWeb :

1. Read and analyse input data
2. Create a session
3. Create the Web feature
4. Set of the Web parameters
5. Update the Part feature
6. Save the result
7. Close the session

We will now comment each of those sections by looking at the code of the main method of the file CAAStmWeb.cpp.

[Top]

Read and analyse input data

CAAStmWeb sample will first read and analyse an input data file.

Note : some services are provided in the class CAAStmServices.

...

CAAStmServices CAASmaTools;

rc = CAASmaTools.AnalyseWebInputData (InputDataFilePath, CAAWebInput);
...

The method AnalyseWebInputData will read the input data file and store the data in the class CAAStmInputData: i.e : if the method GetSupportGeomToSet() returns TRUE it means that the Support is to set.

...

class ExportedByCAAStmServices CAAStmInputData
  {
  public:
    
    CAAStmInputData();
    virtual ~CAAStmInputData();
    
    /**
     * Role: Methods to get the Input Data.
     *
     */
    
    // General Data :
    // --------------

    CATUnicodeString          GetInputPartPath  ();
    CATUnicodeString          GetOutputPartPath ();
    CATUnicodeString          GetLengthUnit     ();
    
    CATBoolean                GetDisplay ();
    ...

[Top]

Create a session

Create a session and open the CATPart Document : this step has no specificity. It is a call to standard functionalities :

     
  ...
  
  // create a session
  char *       pSessionName = "CAAStmWeb";
  CATSession * pSession     = NULL; 
    
  rc = Create_Session (pSessionName, pSession); 
    
  ...
  
  // Load the input Document

  rc = CATDocumentServices::OpenDocument((CAAWebInput.InputPartPath).ConvertToChar(), pDocument);
  
  ...
  
  // Retrieve the Part Feature and the Aerospace Sheet Metal Factory :
      
    CATIPrtContainer * piPrtCont = (CATIPrtContainer *) piInit -> GetRootContainer("CATIPrtContainer");
    
    if(NULL != piPrtCont)
      { 
      spPrtPartSpec = piPrtCont -> GetPart(); 
    
      if(NULL_var != spPrtPartSpec)
        {
  
  ...
  
  rc = piPrtCont -> QueryInterface(IID_CATIAerospaceSheetMetalFactory, (void **)& piAslFactory);
  
  ...

[Top]

Create the Web feature

Create a Web feature using CreateWeb method of CATIAerospaceSheetMetalFactory : this method will create all internal features and links between the attributes of the Web. Due to only one Web may exist in a Part we try first to find if a Web exist :

 
    ...
 
    // Try to retrieve the Web Feature :
    
    rc = CAASmaTools.FindWeb (piPrtPartSpec, &piWebSpec);
      
    ...

      // No Web found : creation of a new one
      
      rc = piAslFactory -> CreateWeb ((CATISpecObject *) spPrtPartSpec, &piWebSpec);
      ...

[Top]

Set of the Web parameters

Set the Web parameters according to the values stored in CAAWebInput

i.e : Support : set a CATISpecObject pointer

 
      ...

      if(SUCCEEDED(rc) && (CAAWebInput.GetSupportGeomToSet()))
        {
        // Search the Web Support input specification :
        CATISpecObject * pSupportSpec = NULL;

        rc = CAASmaTools.FindFeatureInSpecTree (spPrtPartSpec, CAAWebInput.SupportGeomName, &pSupportSpec);

        if(SUCCEEDED(rc) && (NULL != pSupportSpec))  
          {
          // Set the Web Support :
          rc = piStmWeb -> SetSupport(pSupportSpec);
          ...

i.e : Material orientation : set a CATOrientation

 
      ...

      if(SUCCEEDED(rc) && (CAAWebInput.GetMaterialOrientToSet()))
        {
        rc = piStmWeb -> SetMaterialOrient(CAAWebInput.MaterialOrient);
        ...

[Top]

Update the Part feature

We suggest to update the Part Feature instead of the Web to force all internal links of the Web to re-build :

This step is not necessary if "DISPLAY:" has been chosen.

    ...
   
    rc = CAASmaTools.Update (piPrtPartSpec);
    ...

[Top]

Save the result

Save the result Part in a new CATPart file.

This step is NOT applied if "DISPLAY:" has been chosen.

    ...
    
    // Save the Document 
    rc = CATDocumentServices::SaveAs (*pDocument, (CAAWebInput.OutputPartPath).ConvertToChar());
    ...

[Top]

Close the session

Release the interface pointers and close the session.

  ...
 
  // Releases on Interfaces :
  if(NULL != piAslFactory)
    {
    piAslFactory -> Release();
    piAslFactory = NULL;
    }
  if(NULL != piStmWeb)
    {
    piStmWeb -> Release();
    piStmWeb = NULL;
    }
  if(NULL != piWebSpec)
    {
    piWebSpec -> Release();
    piWebSpec = NULL;
    }

  // Close the document
  rc = CATDocumentServices::Remove (*pDocument);
  
  ...
  
  // End session
  rc = Delete_Session (pSessionName);
  ...

[Top]

In Short

This use case has demonstrated the way to create, display or modify a Web feature.

[Top]

History

References

Copyright © 2004, Dassault Systèmes. All rights reserved.