Machining

What You Will Learn With This Use Case

This use case is intended to help you apply an axial operation from a User Defined Feature, by implementing the CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters manufacturing interface. This involves the following:

• Overviewing the User Defined Features functionality in a manufacturing context
• Implementing all the methods of CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters to:
  • Drill (all axial operations) a User Defined feature,
  • See how to use the methods of the CATIUdfFeatureInstance interface in a manufacturing context.

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The CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole Use Case

CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole is a use case of the CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu framework in the CAAPmiUserDefFeatureMappedWithMfgFeature.m module that illustrates ManufacturingInterfaces framework capabilities.

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What Does CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole Do

CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole illustrates an implementation of CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters interface for the User Defined Features identified by the UdfFeature type. This implementation enables to use all axial features functionalities, but it cannot answer to the all industrial cases. It corresponds to a default mapping of a User Defined Feature into an axial machining feature.

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How to Use CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole

To use CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole, you will need to:

• Set up the build time environment, then compile CAAPmiUserDefFeatureMappedWithMfgFeature.m module along with its prerequisites [1]
• Edit the interface dictionary, that is, the CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu.dico file located in:

  Windows	InstallRootDirectory\CAADoc\CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu\CNext\code\dictionary\
  Unix	InstallRootDirectory/CAADoc/CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu/CNext/code/dictionary/

  where InstallRootDirectory is the directory where the CAA CD-ROM is installed, and decomment the following line by removing the '#CAA#' character:

  UdfFeature CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters libCAAPmiUserDefFeatureMappedWithMfgFeature

• Set up the run time environment
• Launch a CATIA V5 session
• Open the CAAPmiUdfForMfgHoleInstance.CATProcess file located in:

  Windows	InstallRootDirectory\CAADoc\CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu\CNext\resources\graphic\
  Unix	InstallRootDirectory/CAADoc/CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu/CNext/resources/graphic/

• Use all the drilling functionalities (Manufacturing feature View, Machining Patterns, Drilling Operations, Drilling Machining Processes) and note that you can drill the User Defined Feature

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Where to Find the CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole Code

The CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole use case is made of a class named CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole located in the CAAPmiUserDefFeatureMappedWithMfgFeature.m module of the CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu framework:

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

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Step-by-Step

There are three logical steps in CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole:

1. Implementing the CATIMfgDesignHoleParamaters Interface for UdfFeature Types
2. Creating a User Defined Feature Template and Generating Instances
3. Applying the "Standard Drilling" Machining Process on a User Defined Feature Instance

We now comment each of those sections by looking at the code.

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Implementing the CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters Interface for UdfFeature Types

1. The CAAPmiUdfForMfgHole.cpp file uses the "CATIUdfFeatureInstance.h" interface to to access to the User Defined Feature information. Then, the right data is accessed by its right role name. For example, to define the drilling coordinates by the GetOrigin method of the CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters interface, you scan all the User Defined feature inputs to find the right one named "Drilling_Point" [2]. See below a part of the implementation

   ... // Read the Inputs number: this is the geometrical inputs of your Udf // defined when creating the Udf template //---------------------------------------------------------------------- int InputNb = 0; RC = piUdfFeatureInstance->GetInputsNumber(InputNb); //---------------------------------------------------------------------- // Scan all the Udf Inputs to find the right input, identified by its // role name in our case: the right role name is "Drilling_Point" // defined at the Udf definition. This is a means to easily access to // the right input //---------------------------------------------------------------------- for (int i =1; i <= InputNb && role != "Drilling_Point"; i++) { RC = piUdfFeatureInstance->GetInputRole(i, role); if (role == "Drilling_Point") { RC = piUdfFeatureInstance->GetInput(i,spInputGeom); } } //---------------------------------------------------------------------- // The right Input is found //---------------------------------------------------------------------- if (role == "Drilling_Point") { //------------------------------------------------------------------ // Extract the drilling point coordinates //------------------------------------------------------------------ CATPoint *pPoint = NULL; RC = spInputGeom->QueryInterface(IID_CATPoint,(void **)&pPoint); if (SUCCEEDED(RC)) { oX = pPoint->GetX(); oY = pPoint->GetY(); oZ = pPoint->GetZ(); RC = S_OK; } if (NULL != pPoint) pPoint->Release(); } ...

2. Update the interface dictionary, that is a file named, for example in this case, CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu.dico, whose directory's pathname is concatenated at run time in the CATDictionaryPath environment variable, and containing the following declaration to state that the UdfFeature feature implements the CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters interface, and whose code is located in the libCAAPmiUserDefFeatureMappedWithMfgFeature shared library or DLL. Pay attention to remove the comment (#) in the supplied dictionary.

   UdfFeature CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters libCAAPmiUserDefFeatureMappedWithMfgFeature

   The CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu.dico file is located in:

   Windows	InstallRootDirectory\CAADoc\CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu\CNext\code\dictionary\
   Unix	InstallRootDirectory/CAADoc/CAAPrismaticMachiningItf.edu/Cnext/code/dictionary/

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Creating a User Defined Feature Template and Generating Instances

Here, you will find specific informations according to the implementation of the CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters interface. You can access to the User Defined Feature Workbench under the Shape Design Workshop, then edit the UserFeature1 under the UserFeatures tree, and display the different tab-pages, specially Inputs, Outputs and Parameters one:

• The User Defined Feature template Inputs are defined and identified to easily access to the geometry and return the drilling point (a CATPoint) and the drilling axis (extracted from the normal of a CATPlane)
• The necessary attributes are published and identified by a specific name ("Hole_Diameter" to identify a characteristic hole diameter)

Note that the User Feature template is defined in the CAAPmiUdfForMfgHoleTemplate.CATPart file, and you can instantiate it in any Part document containing 1 point on a planar surface.

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Applying the "Standard drilling" Machining Process

• Open the "Manufacturing Features View"
• Open the "Drilling processes" catalog, then select the "Standard Drilling" process
• Select either in the model, or in the Manufacturing View, the "UserFeature1.1" User Defined Feature.
• Select the "OK" command

  Note that a drilling operation is created in the Machining Program

• Replay it, edit it and note that information are linked to the "UserFeature1.1" User Defined Feature.

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In Short

This article provides an example on how to use the manufacturing interface classes, to machine User Defined Features. It shows how to implement the CATIMfgDesignHoleParameters interface to be authorized to drill any geometry. This is an elementary step to do this.

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References

History

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