How can i create a cosmetic pipe thread in pro/e? Thanks in advance for help.
I'm sure you've already tried the conventional things: for example, you tried 'Insert>Cosmetic>Sketch' and that doesn't help and you tried 'Insert>Cosmetic>Thread' and that's only for UNC/UNF/ISO threads, not pipe threads. So, there's no (I repeat, NO BUILTIN) way to produce pipe threads, cosmetic or otherwise. Or, maybe it's MEs who recognize bolt threads but not pipe!?! I haven't yet determined the source of the insanity (especially in a system that does routed systems, including piping {oh, that's the ticket, you're supposed to buy pro/piping to get pipe thread!! boy, am I brilliant}) but I'm bettting it's some footshooting theory about making money. So, here's an alternative (in Pro/e parlance, a workaround): Copy your tapered surface and offset it inward the representative depth of the thread. As the cosmetic thread is actually a surface, this will look like one in the drawing.
Well, Ron, be nice if this worked, but I'm not sure what it's supposed to do. If it's supposed to produce a a straight cosmetic on a tapered surface, it works fine. And then it lets you look up all those numbers about tapered pipe thread no one remembers like pitch, major/minor diameter, depth. (I'm sure, if you do this every day, you've got it down. And you need to cuz Pro/e's no help!) When this enables UDF style cosmetics, is there, perhaps, a little more to this, like possibly needing a library of UDFs for pipe threads and somehow integrate this into cosmetics, maybe even going so far as to have the UDF provide the parametric information for the thread note. Well, Ron, I'm not getting any of that just by setting ALLOW_UDF_STYLE_COSM_THREADS to Yes. In fact, I don't see any difference at all. BTW, if you want a gander at the old style interface based on the socalled Menu Manager and it's essential junkiness, just go to 'Tools>UDF Library'. These MM menus were present for all file functions: Dbms? List? Anyway, Ron, I think we're missing some key pieces of the puzzle here, not just the value of the option.
Here's where I'm completely lost: I don't get any "UDF-related garbage", for some reason; even with the option set to yes, the interface stays the same old Menu Manager list ~ Thread Surface, Start Surface, Thread Depth, Major Diameter and Note Params. Should it be a different interface? look different? let you do something like model the thread surface or ask you for the name of a UDF to use and show you the UDFs in pro_group_dir. I don't think I'm seeing what you're seeing, Ron. And I'm wondering if there isn't some other option that needs to be set to make it work Well, I guess you're getting to sketch the cosmetic profile. I'm going to have to try this on a different machine. At no time does it offer the option to sketch a profile. I'm also thinking that the advice I gave to begin with (doing an offset surface) sounds a lot easier than all this rigmarole. But, I'd at least like to see what I'm missing. Hey, I'm not sure you did "screw up" except for making ANYTHING in Pro/e sound simple and easy, especially anything involving UDFs. It's why we depend on the intelligence built into computer programs, where Pro/e in some respects shines and where in others it falls flat on its face, leaving the users to do the heavy lifting. For example, wouldn't it be great, when you wanted to do your waterlines in the mold package which you paid a pretty penny for, it interviewed you on the configuration, input and output sides, cooling rate needed, then let you preview some layouts. You hit the ok button and they're done, with pipe threads, (come on, really, you can't make water lines without pipe threads, who in their right mind would sell a specialized package to do molds which absolutely need water lines, give you water line functionality but not finish the job with pipe threads? makes no sense) with plugs, with nipples or quick disconnect couplers. Now, if PTC wants to brag about productivity features and program intelligence, the above, comprehensive approach would give them strong bragging rights. If you were sitting down right now to program an enhancement to the existing mold package, this is what you'd be aiming for. We're having this discussion only because that's missing.
