Attach Properties

The Attach properties are:

    Source Property

    The Source Property controls the geometry source. The geometry source can be set by either browsing to an on-disk location or attaching directly to an active CAD document in a running CAD system. For more information on specific CAD systems, see CAD System Support.

    The list of all available geometry import sources, as well as Browse and Refresh Active CAD List items are included in the drop-down property. DesignModeler will automatically detect active CAD documents on your computer when the Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature is first created.

    • Browse Source: Selecting the Browse item from the property will open a file browser dialog and allow selection of the geometry source from file.

    • Refresh Active CAD List: Selecting the Refresh Active CAD List item from the property will update the property drop-down menu with the current active CAD documents in running and supported CAD systems.

      Selecting an active CAD document source item from the property drop-down list will assign the active CAD document as the geometry source.

    The Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature can be reconnected to an active CAD document in a later session by re-selecting the associated item from the Source property or browsing for the geometry source.

    When selecting the Refresh Active CAD List item or resuming a database, DesignModeler will automatically re-connect to a previously established active CAD document if a match can be found.

    Model Units Property

    Some CAD sources are without units. In those cases a Model Units property is provided to allow users to choose the units of the imported geometry. By default the unit is set to the same units as the DesignModeler session.

    Parameters Property

    Parameters from imported CAD sources can be handled in the following ways:

    • None: No parameters from the CAD source are processed.

    • Independent: Parameters from the CAD source which are independent are processed. These are input parameters which can be modified and promoted as design parameters in the project schematic. This is the default setting.

    • All: Both independent and dependent parameters are processed from the CAD source. Independent parameters can be modified and promoted as design parameters. Dependent parameters are read-only and cannot be modified nor promoted.

    Parameter Key Property

    Also in the Details View is the property Parameter Key. It is a string that helps you filter the CAD parameter names to attach. The default is "ANS; DS" meaning that only names prefixed or appended with “ANS” or"DS" are selected. If blank, all parameters regardless of name are selected.

    The parameter key supports multiple prefixes/suffixes values entered in the parameter key preference. Each of the values is to be entered separated by a semicolon. So if you want to import parameters, which are keyed with DS and others that are keyed with PARAM, they could enter DS;PARAM in the Parameter Key field. The text is case-insensitive so ds;param would work just as effectively. There is no limit on the number of prefixes or suffixes that can be used in a single key preference.

    It is not recommended to use spaces in CAD parameter names or name parameters starting with a numeric, since they cannot be used in the DesignModeler application's Parameter Manager. If a parameter is read, but does not display with a check box in front of it in the Details View for the Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature, that is because there are special characters in the name that are not valid for parameter names in DesignModeler. You should change these names in the CAD source so that they are usable.

    Material Property

    The DesignModeler application can process material properties for imported bodies by setting the Material property to Yes. If the imported geometry contains material information, then it will be attached to the bodies. The material properties can be seen when viewing the body's details.

    Note that the corresponding CAD system must support material properties and have materials assigned to the bodies in order for the material properties to be processed in the DesignModeler application. Material property transfer is supported for Autodesk Inventor, Creo Parametric, and NX. The default setting is off for all new Import External Geometry File and Attach to Active CAD Geometry features.

    Refresh Property

    Once a model is attached, you can continue to edit it in your CAD program. To reflect changes made with the CAD program in the DesignModeler application or to reflect changes in the original active CAD source, change the Refresh property to Yes. These are the three choices for the Refresh property:

    • No: The feature will not refresh the CAD geometry.

    • Yes (Use Geometry Parameter Values): The feature will refresh the CAD geometry using the parameters of the original CAD source. Parameters of the Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature will be updated to reflect the current values from the CAD system.

    • Yes (Use DesignModeler Parameter Values): The feature will refresh the CAD geometry using the parameter values displayed in the Details View.

    The refresh will be completed to reflect any changes once the Generate button is clicked.

    Base Plane Property

    The Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature has a property called Base Plane. This allows you to specify the coordinate system in which the attached model is brought in. When creating a new Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature, the active plane is chosen as the Base Plane by default. You can change the Base Plane by selecting planes from the feature Tree Outline.

    Operation Property

    The Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature also has an Operation property. This allows you to do things other than add bodies to your model.

    Note that the Add Material option does not always apply. The DesignModeler application will not add material when the Attach to Active CAD Geometry feature consists of multiple bodies AND active bodies already exist in the current model. In this case, the DesignModeler application will automatically apply the "Add Frozen" material type instead and mark the feature with a warning.

    Note that when body suppression operations are needed in your model, it is best to perform them with the DesignModeler application than with attached CAD programs. If the suppression of a body using the CAD program results in the DesignModeler application part being added or deleted, you may lose associativity on the part in the Mechanical application.

    Body Filtering Property

    There are three body filtering properties:

    • Solid Bodies

    • Surface Bodies

    • Line Bodies

    Their value is set in the Project Schematic and they determine what bodies will be imported to the DesignModeler application. The default setting is Yes for Solid and Surface Bodies and No for Line Bodies. When attaching active CAD geometry, only specific CAD systems support line body imports into the DesignModeler application. See Basic Geometry Options in the Geometry Preferences section of CAD Integration for list of supported systems. Additional CAD systems are supported when importing external geometry files; see the Body Filtering Property for importing external geometry files.

    From certain CAD programs, you can attach surface thicknesses. See the Geometry Preferences section of CAD Integration for list of supported systems.

    Surface thicknesses are automatically transferred to bodies in the DesignModeler application and are updated whenever the CAD geometry is refreshed. You are still allowed to modify the thickness of a surface body, though if you do, then that surface's thickness will no longer update when the CAD geometry is refreshed.

    Target Geometry Type Property

    Choose the target geometry type (Workbench or DesignModeler geometry) to import the model.