Decal editor

Is there a tutorial on using the Decal editor.
I am having trouble trying to fit a label to a can, I haven't a clue how to
control the position.

Can anyone help?

 

Ed Eaton can:

http://www.dimontegroup.com/tutorials.html


Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems

 

In the old PWx, mapping decals had an ugly, ugly interface. But, with
perseverance, you could get your mind around it. We finally worked it out
and put together our findings in a tutorial that can be found at
www.dimontegroup.com - with that info, there isn't a single decal that I
couldn't nail really quickly (except, of course, ones that would require
pretty complex UV mapping, and even then the steps required for the
workarounds were fairly easy to figure out because the rules were known)

The Pwx-2 interface appears to be, believe it or not, worse. I've got a lot
of it worked out, but there is stuff that is still baffling, and I frankly
haven't had the time to give it the same detailed attention.

I can help with a couple of tips-
Looking at our tutorial will help a little, because some of the same illogic
is used in the new one as in the old one, with some of the details turned
around. For instance, to center a decal on the face, PWx-2 requires that
the offset be the positive of half of the height and width in vertical and
horizontal instead of the NEGATIVE of half of the height and width in the
old PWx. Of course, this means that if you INCREASE the offset today the
decal moves in the NEGATIVE x or y instead of the expected positive (as
intuition will tell you), but you should be able to figure it out. The big
important thing is centering- once you can see the decal, experiments in
small increments will help you get through the last little bit.

One of the big things to avoid is changing the reference for mapping - leave
it at XY (the other options, XZ and YZ, change the mapping reference to
perpendicular across or down the face or view you are looking at, which is
some of the least intuitive stuff I have ever seen. I am not alone on my
interpretation - combined, a SW tech guy in Concord and I spent 6 man hours
in beta trying to figure this out. Just don't touch it. I also *think* if
you change it then change it back it doesn't go back to the same mapping,
but it might have been fixed)

The best thing that ever happened to me was understanding that 'current
view' was my best friend when mapping a decal. It took all sorts of
variables out of the equation - just set the view exactly like you would a
slide projector projection the decal onto the model, and everything else was
a snap. No need to mirror, and moving decals became limited and pretty
intuitive. You might want to see if it still helps with the new Pwx - I
can't remember (and I don't have the latest at home)

Lots of well-intentioned folks will tell you to use a split line on your
model to help you locate a decal. I strongly, strongly urge that you do
not. There are other techniques in the tutorial, using temporary surfaces,
that do the same job without running the risk of permanently munging your
model database. Remember, when you add a split line, mates to adjacent
edges and faces will fail, many child features (if you roll back before
adding the split line) will erupt in blood, and any features you add after
will be 'HARD' children (its practically impossible to edit out the
reference without some of the deliberate sabotage techniques I've talked
about on this newsgroup). Extraneous Split lines can and will cause
fillets, lofts, and even some shells to fail unnecessarily. The split line
camp is legitimate, and they mean well, but I know for a fact that there are
better ways that will get the same results, they take about the same time,
and do not put the manufacturing database in peril for the sake of a darn
picture.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes, and what you learn - we all need some
help on this subject
-Ed

Editorial addendum: I am bothered that SW knows how to make a really good
interface for placing and scaling an image (the sketch picture dialog) yet
can not adapt that to PWx decals. I am weary of this. It has gone on too
long.





The new interface is, believe it or not, worse.

 

Thank you for this comprehensive response, I will download the tutorials and
work through them today and let you know how I get on.

Brian Law

"Edward T Eaton"

 

I have found that creating an Offset Surface Feature by a small
amount....05 or so, and applying my decal to the surface FEATURE [do
not select the model] makes the process very easy. Using the Current
View with Planer setting, it will drop decals on curved surfaces very
quickly. I also create configurations using several surfaces that I
shut on and off. This comes in very handy when setting up product
variations in assemblies.

You can also create a Knit Surface feature composed of many contoured
surfaces, and then create the Offset Feature described above based on
your Knit feature.

dave