How to display surface area in a drawing.

I swear I've done this before, or at least something similar..... I
want to display a value for the surface area (i.e. the real estate) of
a printed circuit board. I don't have Behavioral Modeling so I can't
save an analysis feature, but I believe it shouldn't matter because as
I said, I've done something similar in the past.

We have a default mass properties value called "volume". It's set in
part relations thusly:

volume=mp_volume("")

So if I set a parameter called "thickness" and write a relation which
sets the thickness of the board (i.e. the blind depth of the feature)
to this parameter, then the board area should equal the volume divided
by the thickness. So I create a parameter called "area" and write a
relation for it > "area=volume/thickness". The in the drawing I
have a note with the following:

surface area=&AREA
volume= &VOLUME

Trouble is the volume and area parameters keep evaluating to zero,
consequently the note says zero. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

 

I swear I've done this before, or at least something similar..... I
want to display a value for the surface area (i.e. the real estate) of
a printed circuit board. I don't have Behavioral Modeling so I can't
save an analysis feature, but I believe it shouldn't matter because as
I said, I've done something similar in the past.

We have a default mass properties value called "volume". It's set in
part relations thusly:

volume=mp_volume("")

So if I set a parameter called "thickness" and write a relation which
sets the thickness of the board (i.e. the blind depth of the feature)
to this parameter, then the board area should equal the volume divided
by the thickness. So I create a parameter called "area" and write a
relation for it > "area=volume/thickness". The in the drawing I
have a note with the following:

surface area=&AREA
volume= &VOLUME

Trouble is the volume and area parameters keep evaluating to zero,
consequently the note says zero. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Seems to me I just answe3red this question in the last couple days! No? Well I can't find any evidence of it either!! So, from the beginning ~ I'm hoping this will work and that you won't require any further modules.

Anyway, do your 'Analysis>Model Analysis>Mass Properties'. Instead of the default Quick selection (which mearly displays to screen/disk), click on 'Feature' and green check 'OK'. Notice that the analysis Pro/MAGICally turns up in the model tree as a feature (name it anything you like -- I/m hoping here since you don't have Behavioral Modeling). That's how it should go, anyway.

If it turns up in the model tree, you've created a feature (dare I say, an analysis feature). When you pick the feature and do edit definition to take a closer look, you'll see that, by default, it contains some parameters with values assigned by analysis: Volume, Surf_area, Mass and below, under Datums, some boxes are selectable, to create a cog point or csys that stays with the model and updates with feature changes. Notice if you click the cog_point, that it creates that point when you click the OK check. The parameters, like MASS, are available for notes by typing in a note &MASS:FID_ANALYSIS2.

David Janes

 

Bugger me, I thought I needed Behavioral modeling to create a feature!
Still not working though. I don't understand the syntax of your line
"&MASS:FID_ANALYSIS2". What's the 2 for?

I've tried creating a note in the drawing, just to see if the volume
parameter works. In the part I have a relation " volume=mp_volume("")
", which is as according to the Help menu page "To Reference a Mass
Properties Symbol in a Note". The note in my drawing says, "volume =
&VOLUME". The note now displays a value, but an incorrect one. It was
correct at one time, before I modified the values of the part. Now it
shows 0.5 when I know damn well it's .375, and when I edit definition
of the mass_prop feature it tells me it's .375, so it's calculating
correctly, but something wrong with my relations. I've regenerated the
model, I've even gone up and down the tree to force regen of the
geometry and the mass_prop feature, I've updated the drawing, but
nothing changes.

 

So that's just an arbitrary name IOW. It works anyway!