Mechanical Modeler

What You Will Learn With This Use Case

This use case is intended to show you how to retrieve the relevant information from the Mechanical Import and how to create and use the GUID for copying as well as for retrieving relevant information. For these purpose Use case uses two interfaces:

• CATMmrInterPartCopy
• CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative

CATMmrInterPartCopy: class services to copy a feature. 

You will use this interface to copy a feature.  You can read the referenced use case to learn more about this class [3].

CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative: The interface to retrieve the information from the copied feature. The information are

• The original feature
• The product instance ( if the copy is in assembly context)

SetImportApplicativeId and SetApplicativeId methods uses GUID associated with copied feature. SetImportApplicativeId sets the GUID just prior to copying operation and SetApplicativeId sets the GUID after the copying operation for information retrieving.

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The CAAMmrApplicativeImport Use Case

CAAMmrApplicativeImport is a use case of the CAAMechanicalModeler.edu framework that illustrates MecModInterfaces framework capabilities.

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What Does CAAMmrApplicativeImport Do

The Use Case fundamentally copies a feature from a source Part to a target Part, both in Assembly context and out of it, and further retrieves relevant information from the copied feature. It operates on an Input Model as the one depicted in Fig. 1 below.

Fig. 1 Input Model

Suppose you want to copy the Line.1 feature then at the end of the Use Case execution, the Line.1 feature from CAAMmrApplMecImport_RepFeatOrg is copied within the target Part CAAMmrApplMecImport_RepFeatCopied, in assembly context as well as out of assembly context. Mechanical Import is the result of feature copy, it is a feature returned by the Run method. It is also valid for  Point, Line, Curve and Plane.  But take care, suppose you try to copy BodyPart, Geometrical Set, Sketch feature, the feature returned by the Run method is not a Mechanical Import itself but the features beneath it are the Mechanical Import, this is properly explained in the technical article[1].

Most importantly, the Use Case illustrates the failure to retrieve the relevant information (source feature and Product Instance) from the copied feature, if you do not have the proper authorization for this retrieval.  It further illustrates to us a mechanism to authorize retrieval of data by associating the copied feature with a GUID (using the CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative Interface) during the copying process.

The creation of GUID is illustrated in step by step section.

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How to Launch CAAMmrApplicativeImport

To launch CAAMmrApplicativeImport, you will need to set up the build time environment, then compile CAAMmrApplicativeImport along with its prerequisites, set up the run time environment, and then execute the use case [4]. 

To launch the use case execute the command:

mkrun -c "CAAMmrApplicativeImport InputPath Feature"

where

•  InputPath is the directory path where is located the CAAMmrApplMecImport_Root Product, its pointed sub-products, and its pointed Part.

        $InstallRootDirectory\CAAMechanicalModeler.edu\InputData

• Feature  is the name one feature inside the Part CAAMmrApplMecImport_RepFeatOrg

Example:

mkrun -c "CAAMmrApplicativeImport  $InstallRootDirectory\CAAMechanicalModeler.edu\InputData Point.1"

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Where to Find the CAAMmrApplicativeImport Code

The CAAMmrApplicativeImport use case is located in the CAAMmrApplicativeImport.m module of the CAAMechanicalModeler.edu framework:

where InstallRootDirectory [4] is the directory where the CAA CD-ROM is installed.

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Step-by-Step

There are two logical parts in CAAMmrApplicativeImport, first part is consist of generation of GUID and second part is a batch which consist of operations like Copying feature with and without assembly context as well as retrieving of information from the Mechanical Import.

    Creating the GUID 

• Generating the GUID

... uuidgen -s > CAAMmrGUIDForApplicativeImport.h

uuidgen is a command, generates the header file which contains GUID. We need to run this command on windows prompt and create the header file.

• Edit the header file

        replace INTERFACENAME word by GUID CAAMmrGUIDForApplicativeImport, and remove the comments /*.... */

#ifndef CAAMmrGUIDForApplicativeImport_H #define CAAMmrGUIDForApplicativeImport_H GUID CAAMmrGUIDForApplicativeImport = { /* 7c7b3737-5358-0000-0280-020b3e000000 */ 0x7c7b3737, 0x5358, 0x0000, {0x02, 0x80, 0x02, 0x0b, 0x3e, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00} }; #endif

The CAAMmrUUIDForApplicativeImport.h  can be located in any *Interfaces directory, based on the scope within which it is accessed  by the client applications. Please note that the same GUID can be associated with any number of Mechanical Imports.

Second part is also divided in several logical steps:

1. Make the Copy
   • Retrieve the CATMmrInterPartCopy Interface pointer
   • Set information relevant for feature copy
   • Using GUID to be kept by the Mechanical Import
   • Copy feature to target part
2. Retrieve information from the copied feature using CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative
3. Reset the CATMmrInterPartCopy pointer

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Make the Copy

Retrieve the CATMmrInterPartCopy Interface pointer

The CreateMmiInterPartCopy method of CATMmiPubServicesAccess  is used to creates a pointer on a CATMmrInterPartCopy enabling to copy geometry.

...
     CATMmrInterPartCopy* pInterPartCopy = NULL; 
     rc = CATMmiPubServicesAccess::CreateMmiInterPartCopy(pInterPartCopy);
...

Set information relevant for feature copy

The process of actually copying a feature, is twofold. Initially we set the relevant information, essential for the copying operation. This is followed by the actual copy process.

The CreateMmiInterPartCopy Interface has a set of APIs, illustrated in the code below, for setting these copy parameters.

...
     CATBaseUnknown_var spTargetPart = spSpecObjectOnMechPartOfRepFeatCopied;
     CATBoolean CopyWithLink = TRUE;
     pInterPartCopy->SetObject(spFeatureToCopy);
     pInterPartCopy->SetTarget(spTargetPart);
     pInterPartCopy->SetProducts(spPLMProductOnInstChild1,spPLMProductOnInstChild2 );
     pInterPartCopy->SetLinkMode(CopyWithLink) ; 
...

SetObject and SetTarget are used to set the source object and target feature for copying.

SetProducts is used to set the source and target products context, it works only in case of copying in assembly context.

Here SetLinkMode (CopyWithLink is TRUE) is used to Keep the link between source object and destination object, to reflect the changes in geometry. CopyWithLink should be TRUE as it is mandatory to create Mechanical Import.

Using GUID to be kept by the Mechanical Import

...
     pInterPartCopy->SetImportApplicativeId(CAAMmrGUIDForApplicativeImport); 
...

SetImportApplicativeId uses GUID and sets an applicative identifier on the created Mechanical Import, this method must be called before the Run method. The application which produces the copied feature can expose one special identifier which is GUID. This identifier get associated with copied feature at the time of copying. And this association is done by SetImportApplicativeId.

Copy feature to target part

...
     CATISpecObject_var ResultCopyAssm ;
     pInterPartCopy->Run(ResultCopyAssm );
...

After setting all related information like source, target and other parameters in CATMmrInterPartCopy object (i.e. pInterPartCopy in this example), its time to call Run method. This will compute the copy according to the specified inputs and the result will return in ResultCopyAssm.

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Retrieve information from the copied feature using CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative

Retrieve the CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative* type on the copied feature.  The CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative Interface exposes CAA services to enable us retrieve information of the source feature from the copied feature.

..
     CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative *pIMecImportApplicativeOnResultCopy = NULL ; 
     rc = ResultCopyAssm ->QueryInterface(IID_CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative,
				          (void**)&pIMecImportApplicativeOnResultCopy); 
...

Before we proceed to seek the relevant information from the copied feature, it is mandatory that we specify the Applicative Identifier (GUID), (associated with the Mechanical Import, in an earlier step) to the retrieval mechanism.

The following extract of code, illustrates the failure to retrieve information, in the absence of proper authorization. Once proper authorization is set, the calls which retrieve the information return SUCCESS.

...

     CATBaseUnknown_var spPointedElement1 ;
     rc = pIMecImportApplicativeOnResultCopy->GetPointedElement(spPointedElement1 );
     if (SUCCEEDED(rc))//It should fail
          return 1;

     rc = pIMecImportApplicativeOnResultCopy->SetApplicativeId(CAAMmrGUIDForApplicativeImport);
     rc = pIMecImportApplicativeOnResultCopy->GetPointedElement(spPointedElement1 );
     
...

GetPointedElement returns a pointer to the pointed element. It may be a sub-element or a feature. Before setting the applicativeId the GetPointedElement method should fail.

SetApplicativeId is used to set the applicative identifier. You have to give here the identifier of the mechanical import. If you don't give the correct identifier, all methods of this interface will fail.

After setting the ApplicativeId you will be authorized to retrieve the information from the feature and this case your GetPointedElement will work.

We now proceed to seek other relevant information from the copied feature.

...
     CATBoolean LoadedPointedReference ;
     rc = pIMecImportApplicativeOnResultCopy->IsPointedElementLoaded(LoadedPointedReference);

     CATBaseUnknown_var spSourceProductInstance1;
     pIMecImportApplicativeOnResultCopy->GetSourceProduct(spSourceProductInstance1);

...

IsPointedElementLoaded gives the loading status of the pointed representation.

GetSourceProduct retrieve the Product Instance aggregating the Part document of the Source Feature. And the function will product instance in spSourceProductInstance1, this happens only in case of copy in assembly context. But in case of copy without assembly context method should have to fail. In copying feature for without assembly context you can only retrieve the original feature, no product instance.

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Reset the CATIMmiInterPartCopy pointer

After every confirmation of result we should have to reset the CATMmrInterPartCopy pointer for next copy.

...
     pInterPartCopy->Reset(); 
...

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In Short

The Use Case creates a Mechanical Import, an end result of copying a feature, with the Link mode set to TRUE. A Mechanical Import implements the CATIMmiMechanicalImportApplicative Interface, which enables us to retrieve relevant information of the source feature from its copied entity.

The process of actually retrieving this information needs proper authorization. The Use Case illustrates the failure to retrieve information, in the absence of proper authorization and details the steps involved in generating a GUID (Applicative ID) and specifying it to the copying process, so that it associates it with the Mechanical Import.

Finally, this GUID is specified to the retrieving mechanism, which authorizes us to retrieve the source feature, its aggregating Product Instance and its load status.

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References

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History

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