Before starting a new model in the DesignModeler application, you are presented with three mutually perpendicular planes, corresponding to the three mutually perpendicular planes in the Cartesian coordinate system (the XYPlane, the YZPlane and the ZXPlane).
You can use the sketching toolbox to draw edges on the planes. The edges form the sketches used for feature creation. The last sketch/plane that you worked on is the "active" sketch/plane. If any of the feature construction tools are selected, the active sketch is the default input for that feature creation. You can select a different sketch from the feature Tree Outline to change this input. Similarly, for features like Skin/Loft and Sweep that require more than one sketch as input, the feature Tree Outline is used for sketch selections.
Before a sketch can be used to create a feature, you must define it on a plane. All sketches are attached to unique planes. Only a single sketch can be worked on at a time. This sketch is the "active sketch." To make an existing sketch the active sketch, select the sketch object in the feature Tree Outline or in the Active Sketch Drop Down menu in the Active Plane/Sketch Toolbar. You can then select the sketching tab to enter the sketching mode and edit the sketch. Even though you can only add edges to the active sketch, you can add dimensions or constraints between edges of different sketches in the active plane.
New planes can be inserted in the model by clicking the New Plane icon in the Active Plane/Sketch Toolbar. You will then be prompted for input to clearly define the plane using the different options available.
A plane can have any number of sketches attached to it. This is required in many instances because different features created on a plane may use different profiles. The DesignModeler application does not allow you to select certain portions of a sketch, ignoring others, for use in feature creation. Features can only be defined using entire sketches.
Note: The DesignModeler application distinguishes dimensions as:
Feature Dimensions: The features themselves have defining dimensions. For example, Fixed Blends have a blend radius, Extrusions have a depth, and Revolves have an angle of revolution.
Plane Dimensions: You can dimension the edges in the planes/sketches. You can add these dimensions at any time, and change them to generate different model configurations.
Design Parameters: You can promote both feature dimensions and plane dimensions to "design parameters" using the Parameters tool, or by checking the "driven" check mark
(if available) next to the feature or plane
dimensions, and then pass them into the Mechanical application for parametric studies.
The Generate icon updates the model after a dimension or parameter change is made. You are free to specify any number of such changes before using the Generate icon to update the model.