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Part Design Feature Recognition

Overview

Conventions

What's New?

Getting Started

Entering the Workbench Recognizing a Hole Manually Recognizing a Fillet Manually Editing the Part

User Tasks

Recognizing a Fillet Recognizing a Hole Recognizing a Chamfer Recognizing a Groove Recognizing a Shaft Recognizing a Pocket or a Pad Recognizing a Boolean Feature Recognizing a Draft Recognizing Features Automatically Making the Most of the Application

Workbench Description

Feature Recognition

Index

1Page Part Design Feature Recognition Version 5 Release 13

Overview

This book is intended for the user who needs to become quickly familiar with Part Design Feature Recognition product. The Part Design Feature Recognition User's Guide has been designed to show you how to recreate intelligent specifications of solids and how to create or modify a part.

This overview provides the following information:

● Part Design Feature Recognition in a Nutshell

● Before Reading this Guide

● Getting the Most out of This Guide

● Accessing Sample Documents

● Conventions Used in this Guide

Part Design Feature Recognition in a Nutshell

The Part Design Feature Recognition application makes it possible to modify solids although their initial specifications have been lost or are not available. The application enables you to recreate locally the specification tree specifications, which then lets you design precise 3D mechanical parts with an intuitive and flexible user interface.

This application, which combines the power of feature-based design with the flexibility of a Boolean approach, offers a highly productive and intuitive design environment with multiple design methodologies, such as post-design and local 3D parameterization.

Before Reading this Guide

Before reading this guide, you should be familiar with basic Version 5 concepts such as document windows, standard and view toolbars. Therefore, we recommend that you read the Infrastructure User's Guide that describes generic capabilities common to all Version 5 products. It also describes the general layout of V5 and the interoperability between workbenches.

You may also like to read the following complementary product guides:● Sketcher User's Guide: explains how to sketch 2D elements.

● Part Design User's Guide: explains how to create wireframe geometry and surfaces.


Getting the Most out of this Guide

To get the most out of this guide, we suggest you start reading and performing the tutorial Getting Started. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to manually recreate the specifications of a solid then how to edit this simple part.

Once you have finished, you should move on to the next sections that deal with the handling of CATPart data, then the creation and modification of various types of features you will need to construct or modify parts. This guide also presents other Part Design Feature Recognition capabilities allowing you to design complex parts. You can also take a look at the sections describing the Part Design Workbench at the end of the guide.

Accessing Sample Documents

To perform the scenarios, you will be using sample documents contained in the online/fr1ug/samples folder.

For more information about this, refer to Accessing Sample Documents in the Infrastructure User's Guide.

Conventions Used in this Guide

To learn more about the conventions used in this guide, refer to the Conventions section.


ConventionsCertain conventions are used in CATIA, ENOVIA & DELMIA documentation to help you recognize and understand important concepts and specifications.

Graphic Conventions

The three categories of graphic conventions used are as follows:

● Graphic conventions structuring the tasks

● Graphic conventions indicating the configuration required

● Graphic conventions used in the table of contents

Graphic Conventions Structuring the Tasks

Graphic conventions structuring the tasks are denoted as follows:

This icon... Identifies...

estimated time to accomplish a task

a target of a task

the prerequisites

the start of the scenario

a tip

a warning

information

basic concepts

methodology

reference information

information regarding settings, customization, etc.

the end of a task

functionalities that are new or enhanced with this Release.

allows you to switch back the full-window viewing mode.


This icon... Indicates functions that are...

specific to the P1 configuration



Graphic Conventions Used in the Table of Contents

Graphic conventions used in the table of contents are denoted as follows:

This icon... Gives access to...

Site Map

Split View mode

What's New?

Overview

Getting Started

Basic Tasks

User Tasks or the Advanced Tasks


Customizing

Reference

Methodology

Glossary

Index

Text Conventions

The following text conventions are used:

The titles of CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA documents appear in this manner throughout the text.

File -> New identifies the commands to be used. Enhancements are identified by a blue-colored background on the text.

Graphic Conventions Indicating the Configuration Required

Graphic conventions indicating the configuration required are denoted as follows:


Use thismouse button... Whenever you read...

● Select (menus, commands, geometry in graphics area, ...)

● Click (icons, dialog box buttons, tabs, selection of a location in the document window, ...)

● Double-click

● Shift-click

● Ctrl-click

● Check (check boxes)

● Drag

● Drag and drop (icons onto objects, objects onto objects)

● Drag

● Move

● Right-click (to select contextual menu)

How to Use the Mouse

The use of the mouse differs according to the type of action you need to perform.


What's New?

New Functionalities

Recognizing Features Automatically

You can now recognize three types of features without selecting any faces. To do so, you just need to use the Automatic option that lets you save time if you need to recognize lots of features. These features are:

● Holes

● Fillets

● Chamfers

Progress Bar

When using the automatic recognition mode, a progress bar lets you see how the operation progresses, the estimated time remaining but it also lets you cancel the operation in case it takes too long time.

Enhanced Functionality

Recognizing Features

Part Design Feature Recognition can now recognize features belonging to solids composed of two or more non-connex volumes.


Getting Started

Before getting into the detailed instructions for using Part Design Feature Recognition, the following tutorial aims at giving you a feel as to what you can do with the product.

It will guide you step-by-step through a simple scenario composed of the following tasks:

Entering the WorkbenchRecognizing a Hole ManuallyRecognizing a Fillet Manually

Editing the Part

All together, the tasks should take about ten minutes to complete.


Entering the Workbench

This first task shows you how to enter the Part Design Feature Recognition workbench.

1. Select File -> New and then select Part from the dialog box, or click the Part Design icon from the Welcome to CATIA V5 dialog box.

The Part Design Feature Recognition workbench is displayed.

2. Select File -> Open then select the GettingStarted.CATPart document.

This document contains a part whose specifications are not available. In our present example, Body.1 has been obtained by using the Copy as result command. For more about this command, refer to Handling Parts in a Multi-Document Environment in the Part Design User's Guide.

In the next task, you are going to recreate the specifications used to build up some faces of the part.


Recognizing a Hole Manually

Recognizing a feature means recreating the initial specifications for this feature. In this task you will learn how to manually recreate the cavity specifications.

1.

Click the Manual Feature Recognition icon .

The Feature Recognition dialog box that appears displays a list of features you can recognize.

2. Using this product release, the features you can recognize are the following ones: ● Pad

● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft


Check the Hole option.

3. Select the inner face of the cavity as the feature which specifications you wish to recognize.

In the "Selected Objects" field, "Face<1>" is displayed.

4. Click Apply to perform the operation.

Once the operation has been performed, Hole.1 is added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to access the hole's specifications and therefore edit it.

● The application now does no longer show the hole because Solid.1 is automatically defined as the current object.

● To see the whole geometry, you simply need to close the dialog box and set Body.1 as the new current object.

More About the Recognition Process● Annotations, publications and constraints are not recognized during a recognition operation.

● Sketches are created as positioned and they are not associative. To make them associative, you need to associate to them a planar face or a plane as a support.


Recognizing a Fillet Manually

This task will show you how to manually recreate the specifications of a set of faces.

1. In the Feature Recognition dialog box still displayed, check the Fillet option.

2. Select the front face as the face which specifications you wish to recreate.

As Chain Faces is the default option, the application includes propagated faces in the selection. This is why the Selected Objects field shows a list of faces. All selected faces are highlighted in the geometry area too.

3. Click OK to confirm and close the dialog box.


An edge fillet feature has been recognized. EdgeFillet.1 has been added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to edit this feature.

4. Select Body.1 and use the Define in Work Object contextual command to display the whole geometry.

The CATPart document now includes both the geometry and the specifications of some geometric elements of the part.


Editing the Part

Now that some specifications are provided, you can edit both features. In this task, you are going to edit the fillet so as to obtain a larger feature, then the hole to reduce its diameter.

1. Double-click EdgeFillet.1 in the tree to display the Edge Fillet Definition dialog box.

2. Enter 12mm as the new radius value.

3. Click OK to confirm.

4. Double-click Hole.1 to display the Hole Definition dialog box.


5. Enter 32mm as the new diameter value, then click OK to confirm.

The part now looks like this:

You have finished the tutorial. Let's take a closer look at the application!


User Tasks

This section provides a certain number of tasks showing you how to recognize features. Each task corresponds to a type of feature.

After performing theses scenarios, we recommend you to read "Making the Most of the Application" providing different remarks for a better use of the product.

Recognizing a FilletRecognizing a Hole

Recognizing a ChamferRecognizing a GrooveRecognizing a Shaft

Recognizing a Pocket or a PadRecognizing a Boolean Feature

Recognizing a DraftRecognizing Features AutomaticallyMaking the Most of the Application


Recognizing a Fillet

This task shows you how to recognize a fillet.

Open the Tasks.CATPart document.

1.





● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

Keep the Fillet option.

3. Select the face as shown.

As the Chain Faces option is on by default, the application includes propagated faces in the selection. This is why the Selected Objects field shows two faces. The selected faces are highlighted in the geometry area too.

Notice that not all of the propagated faces are included in the selection. Here, the Chain Faces operation has stopped on the fillet intersection. Therefore, you need to select the remaining faces manually.


4. Select the other non-planar faces of the part.

The Selected Objects field now includes seven faces.


A fillet feature has been recognized. EdgeFillet.1 has been added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to edit this feature.

The application can recognize several fillets in a single step.


Recognizing a Hole

This task shows you how to recognize two holes in a single step.

Perform the previous task using the Tasks.CATPart document.

1.




● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

Check the Hole option.

3. Select both faces as shown.


4. As the Chain Faces option is activated, the application includes propagated faces in the selection. This is why the Selected Objects field shows a list of ten faces. All selected faces are highlighted in the geometry area too.


Two hole features have been recognized. Hole.1 and Hole.2 have been added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to edit these features.


Recognizing a Chamfer

This task shows you how to recognize a chamfer.

Perform the previous tasks using the Tasks.CATPart document.

1.




● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

Check the Chamfer option.



A chamfer feature has been recognized. Chamfer.1 has been added to the specification tree.


The application can recognize several chamfers in a single step.


Recognizing a Groove

This task shows you how to recognize a groove.

Perform the previous tasks using the Tasks.CATPart document or open the Groove.CATPart document.

1.




● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

Check the Groove option.



A groove feature has been recognized. Groove.1 has been added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to edit this feature.


Recognizing a Shaft

Actually, there are different ways of recognizing a given set of faces. This task illustrates the fact that a set of faces can be recognized as a shaft, or as a pad.

Open the Groove.CATPart document and perform the previous task Recognizing a Groove.

1.





● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

Check the Shaft option.


As the Chain Faces option is activated, the application includes propagated faces in the selection. This is why the Selected Objects field shows a list of several faces. All selected faces are highlighted in the geometry area.

The application displays textual indications in the geometry to help identify all selected faces or edges.


Clearly, some of these faces do not belong to the shaft, which would make the recognition fail if you clicked OK to confirm the operation.

Actually, at this point you can choose between three options. You can:

● Deselect the faces that do not belong to the groove by selecting them in the geometry area

● Deselect the faces by selecting them in the Selected Objects field, and then using the RemoveSel contextual command .

● Remove the whole selection by using the RemoveAll contextual command, then uncheck the "Chain Faces" option, and then manually select all the faces belonging to the groove.

5. Multi-select all unnecessary faces in the dialog box then right-click to select the RemoveSel contextual command.

The new selection now must include this face only:


A shaft feature has been recognized. Shaft.1 has been added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to edit this feature.


Perform the scenario again, using the Pad option this time. You can notice that the same selected faces can be recognized as a pad too.


Recognizing a Pocket or a Pad

This task shows you how to recognize a pocket.

Open the Groove.CATPart document, and recognize the groove as described in the task.

1.




● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

Check the Pocket option.



4. To recognize pockets (or pads), the application does not let you select several faces. You can notice that the Chain Faces option is grayed out.

Click OK to confirm and close the dialog box.

A pocket feature has been recognized. Pocket.1 has been added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to edit this feature.


Depending on the shape of the part, you will sometimes have to consider several possible solutions for recognizing pockets (or pads). This is the case of this part:

There are two possible solutions for recognizing a pocket whose bottom face is green. You can either specify the blue face as the top face, or the yellow face as the top face.

Open the Pocket.CATPart document.

1.

Click the Manual Feature Recognition icon to display the Feature Recognition dialog box.

2. Select the green face as the bottom face of the pocket.

3. Click the Up to face field and select the yellow face as the top face for the pocket.


A pocket feature has been recognized. The "Pocket.1" entity has been added to the specification tree, meaning that it is now possible to edit this feature.

If you do not specify the limiting face you want, the application uses the face that is nearer to the bottom face as the top face. In our example, it would be the blue face.

Recognizing Pockets or Pads by Selecting Edges

Instead of selecting faces, you can select edges to recognize pockets or pads. This method lets you recognize a smaller region. To perform this scenario, use Solid2 in the Pocket.CATPart document.

1.

Click the Manual Feature Recognition icon to display the Feature Recognition dialog box and check the Pocket option.

More About Recognizing Pockets or Pads

Several Possible Solutions


2. Select the bottom face as the bottom face of the pocket.

If you recognize the pocket, the simplified solid looks like this:

In this case, the profile includes four elements only: two lines and two circular arcs.

3. Now, instead of selecting the bottom face, replay the scenario and select the edge as shown:

4. After recognizing the pocket, the simplified solid looks like this:

In this case, the profile includes only one element, that is a circular arc.


The colors defined for faces prior to the recognition process, are kept afterwards as illustrated in the above example.

Both faces and edges cannot be selected at the same time, that is, if a face is selected, edge selection is disabled, and vice-versa.


Recognizing a Boolean Feature

These tasks shows you how to recognize Boolean features. You will recognize this type of features when the initial geometry is composed of complex shapes as illustrated in the first scenario but you can also use this capability when the recognition of standard features fails. The second scenario illustrates how to recognize positive volumes from two sets of disjoint faces.

Boolean features can be recognized as Remove (negative volumes) or Add (positive volumes) entities.

Open the Tasks_3.CATPart document.

Recognizing a Negative Volume 1. Because the cavity of this part is not easily identifiable, you need to use the Boolean option.



Using this product release, the features you can recognize are the following ones:

● Pad

● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

2. Check the Boolean option and select the 17 inner faces as shown: To recognize a negative volume, you need to select all its faces.

17 textual indications designating the selected faces appear attached to the selected geometry.



Remove.1 has been created and added to the specification tree.


Recognizing Positive Volumes 1. To recognize the brown and the red volumes, click the Manual Feature Recognition icon

.

2. Check the Boolean option.


3. As the brown and red volumes are two disjoint sets of faces, you need to recognize both volumes successively. So, to recognize the brown volume, select its five faces.

To recognize a positive volume, you need to select all its faces.

Textual indications designating the selected faces appear in the geometry to help identify the selection.


Add.1 has been added to the specification tree.

5. To recognize the red volume, check the Boolean option again, then select the five red faces.



Add.2 has been created and added to the specification tree.


Recognizing a Draft

This task shows you how to recognize a basic draft in a single step.


1.




● Pocket

● Hole

● Fillet

● Chamfer

● Shaft

● Groove

● Boolean

● Draft

Check the Draft option. This product release lets you recognize constant angle drafts.

3. Select all the green faces.

4. Check the Neutral Element field and select the yellow face as the neutral planar element.



A draft feature has been recognized. Draft.1 has been added to the specification tree.

If your part contains drafted filleted features, you need to recognize fillets prior to recognizing drafts.


Recognizing Features Automatically

This scenario shows you how to recognize three different types of features very quickly. As illustrated in this task, generally speaking, we recommend you recognize fillets and chamfers before recognizing holes.

This page deals with the following items:

● Recognizing Fillets and Chamfers Automatically

● Canceling Recognition

● More About Automatic Recognition of Fillets and Chamfers

● Recognizing Holes Automatically

● Recognizing Complex Holes

● Working on Complex Parts


Recognizing Fillets and Chamfers Automatically

1. Click the Automatic Feature Recognition icon .

The Feature Recognition dialog box displays.

2. Click the Automatic tab. Using this product release, the features you can recognize automatically are the following

ones:

● Holes

● Fillets

● Chamfers


3. Check the Fillets and Chamfers options.

4. Click Apply to recognize the fillets and chamfers of the part.

A progress bar displays to let you see how the operation progresses: the estimated remaining time is displayed as well as the number of features being recognized.

Once the operation is complete, the specification tree displays all recognized features.


If needed, you can stop the operation by clicking the Cancel button.

● If you do that before even a single feature is recognized, then the message 'Feature recognition canceled. No feature was recognized.' is displayed. The document is then in the state it was in, when you had fired the command; except that if the In Work Object was set to an isolated solid by the Feature Recognition command, then this change remains. You can use Undo to get back to the previous state.

● If some features are recognized before pushing the Cancel button, a dialog box displays asking you if you accept to create the features recognized till then.

❍ If you click Yes then the recognized features are created, the progress bar continues to show progress of the process, but then you are not be able to cancel it again.

❍ If you click NO then again the document will be in the state that it was in, when you had launched the command; except that if the In Work Object was set to an isolated solid by the command, then this change will remain. You can use Undo to get back to the previous state.

Recognizing Holes Automatically

5. Check the Holes option.

6. Click Apply to recognize the holes of the part.

A progress bar displays to let you see the estimated time remaining before all holes are recognized. Note that you can cancel the operation if it takes too long time.

7. When done, click Close.

The dialog box is closed. Once the operation is complete, the specification tree displays all recognized holes.

Canceling Recognition


In some simple cases, the automatic recognition of fillets or chamfers fail. This is due to the fact that Automatic Feature

Recognition is closely related to geometric properties such as angularity, proportion (in case of chamfers) etc.

In the example below, the red colored fillet cannot be recognized automatically because the angle value is too small. The

work around to solve this case, is to use the Manual Feature Recognition command

.

Recognizing Complex Holes

If you want to recognize complex holes (holes more complex than countersunk, counterbored, or counterdrilled holes), we

recommend you use the Manual Feature Recognition command , instead of the Automatic Feature Recognition

one . This avoids solving ambiguous cases, as illustrated in the following example.

Here, the hole is counterbored at both ends and therefore can be defined in two different ways:● as 3 simple holes

● as 1 counterbored hole and 1 simple hole

For more information about the different types of holes, refer to Hole, from the Part Design User's Guide.

More About Automatic Recognition of Fillets and Chamfers


Depending on the parts you are working on, especially if they are complex parts, the application may recognize additional features if you re-launch the operation.

For instance, you run Automatic Feature Recognition , but some features are not recognized. This happens because one of these unrecognized features is the parent of the other unrecognized features. In other words, unless it gets recognized, the other unrecognized features cannot be recognized. Since automatic recognition failed to recognize this

parent feature, you need to use the Manual Feature Recognition command on it. If it succeeds, then running automatic recognition again will yield more features.

Working on Complex Parts


Making the Most of the Application

The following paragraphs deal with ways of improving your use of the application.● Order of Feature Recognition

● Identifying Multiple Solutions

● Chaining Faces for Boolean Operations

● Selecting Faces

Order of Feature Recognition

The order in which you should recognize features must be the reverse of one of the possible orders of feature creation. For instance, if you try to recognize a pad after selecting this face, the operation will fail.

To recognize the pad, first of all you must recognize the pocket so as to remove the faces, and then, you will be able to recognize the pad.


Identifying Multiple Solutions

The application provides a fine control over the way a set of faces is recognized as a given feature. For instance, you can control the feature to be recognized by using options such as Up to face or by selecting edges instead of faces for pad or pocket recognition. However, there are still cases where there are different ways in which faces can be removed.

This is the case of this part:

There are several ways of recognizing the green face. You can recognize it as a groove, as a hole or as a pocket. If you decide to recognize it as a pocket, again you can choose between two solutions. The final simplified solid you can obtain is either a pocket whose profile is a complete circle or an arc as illustrated here:


Which is the best solution?

To answer this question, you need to consider different factors many of which depend on the context. Giving a general answer is therefore not possible. However, the application attempts to provide the solution that represents the most intuitive way of creating the part. Thus, in our example, the second solution is the solution provided by the application.

Chaining Faces for Boolean Operations

Since there is no chaining for Boolean recognition, you can make use of the chaining functionality of other feature types. For instance, if the Boolean feature to be recognized is somewhat like a groove, then you can choose Groove and pick a face with the Chain Faces option ON. This will lead to several faces getting selected. If now you switch the feature type to Boolean, the faces will still be selected, and can be used for Boolean recognition.

Selecting Faces

● It might be sometimes difficult to select the faces you need for recognition. Some parts may

require that you hide bodies prior to selecting the faces.

● Only faces and edges belonging to the In Work Object can be selected.

● You can select only faces that are appropriate for the feature type being recognized. For instance, you cannot select planar faces for fillet recognition.


The Part Design Feature Recognition window looks like this:


Refer to the Part Design workbench to access inforation about the other toolbars.

Feature Recognition Toolbar


Feature Recognition Toolbar

See ● Entering the Workbench

● User Tasks

See Recognizing Features Automatically


Index

Aannotations

automatic recognition

BBoolean features

Ccanceling recognition

chaining faces

chamfer

command

complex parts

constraints

contextual command copy as result

command

counterbored hole

counterdrilled hole

countersunk hole

current object

DDefine in Work Object


contextual command

draft

Eedge entering

Part Design Feature Recognition workbench

Ffaces

selection

fillet

Ggroove

Hhole

Oorder

selection


pad

Part Design Feature Recognition workbench

pocket

publications

RRemoveAll

contextual command RemoveSel

contextual command

Sselection

set of faces

shaft

specifications

Uup to face

P
