mirroed geometry - rel 2001

Guys,

When I created a part half way through I decided I wanted it opposite

hand. So I mirrored all the geometry, then continued to add features to

complete the part.

Problem 1. I cannot reorder features created before the mirror to be after

the mirror (and vice-versa). I guess this is a Proe limitation and nothing

can be done about it?

Problem 2. When I modify a feature created before the mirror, the

dimensions always highlight in the place they would have been if I hadn't

mirrored the part. This is confusing as the part is complex, and it can be

difficult to see what the dimensions relate to, they are nowhere near the

feature they belong to. Is this a bug?

Regards,

Dave

 

: Guys,
:
: When I created a part half way through I decided I wanted it opposite
:
: hand. So I mirrored all the geometry, then continued to add features to
:
: complete the part.
:
: Problem 1. I cannot reorder features created before the mirror to be after
:
: the mirror (and vice-versa). I guess this is a Proe limitation and nothing
:
: can be done about it?

The first thing that will cause a reoder failure is dependencies to features
*before* the mirror. If that isn't a problem, redefine the copy>mirror, removing
the feature you want to move. After all, moving it after the mirror is just a sly,
indirect way of not mirroring it. So attack it directly, remove it from the mirror
process. Then move it after the mirror.
:
: Problem 2. When I modify a feature created before the mirror, the
:
: dimensions always highlight in the place they would have been if I hadn't
:
: mirrored the part.

This has me confused, now. How did you do the mirror? Copy, translate, move, etc.?
I don't know, Dave, it might have worked just as well to redefine the default
datums and reverse the red/yellow direction of the mirror plane and the other
reference plane. Well, I don't know, maybe that would have made your part "upside
down".

Anyway, did you do the mirror as 'dependent' or independent. That might make a
difference. If dependent, the original side is driving. If independent, you'd
think you'd get dimension references on both sides. See if you can switch from
dependent to independent and see if that makes any difference.

David Janes

 

It wasnt a Copy/Mirror command.

Think the features would have failed.

I used Feature/Mirror Geom (not Copy). I mirrored all the geometry existing
at the time. I cannot redefine it. It shows up as a 'merge' feature in the
model tree. There was no "dependent" option.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Dave

 

: > dependent to independent and see if that makes any difference.
<snip>
:
: I used Feature/Mirror Geom (not Copy). I mirrored all the geometry existing
: at the time. I cannot redefine it. It shows up as a 'merge' feature in the
: model tree.

Oh, oops, I remember that one. Just a dumb copy of everything in the part to the
other side of a datum. You can't even pick which features to mirror. Yeah, I
thought they got rid of that revs ago. Now I even see it in Wildfire ~
'Edit>Mirror'. They call it a merge feature but it's more like a single feature
iges import. What would happen if you used insert mode before the mirror,
Copy>Mirrored the geometry you need, deleted the Mirror Geom and rerouted the rest
of the features that were dependent on the Mirror Geom. Wouldn't that give you
more leeway in dimensioning, more shown dimensions on the other half?

Dave

 

I can't get that to work now. All the features fall over if I delete the
original mirror merge, and they would have to be redefined. It's too
complicated. I just wish the feature worked properly in the first place!

 

Chris,

I've had the most success with the methodology that you've described above.
There's really not a perfect way to achieve what the original poster wants
to do, but I feel that overall, your suggestion offers the user the most
flexibility regarding downstream model modifications.

Pro/E has always kept mirror-copied features' section sketches coincident
with the parent feature that they were mirrored from. So when users
downstream attempt to perform a Feature-Redefine-Section-Sketch operation on
a resulting mirror-copied feature, they immediately become confused about
the section sketch's location and orientation. It would be nice if the
application would mirror the section sketch whenever the user chooses
'Independent', and leave it in the original location when they choose
'Dependent' during the mirror-copy operation. Same as today for the latter.
Also, if the user chooses 'Dependent', the system should issue an error
message stating that the 'mirror-copied feature's section sketch cannot be
redefined because it was mirror-copied using the 'Dependent' option. Please
delete and re-create'. Or something similar to this.

S.T.

 

: this may be too late to help, but here goes...
:
: I agree that the mirror function does not work well in Pro-E. What does
: work as expected is a surface mirror.
:
: Create a surface quilt of the geometry to be transformed by using seed
: and boundry or solid surfaces as references.
: Then use Feature|Create|Surface|Transform
:
: To create a mirror of the geometry. Then create a solid from the quilt.
:
: To avoid small holes, or slivers, first merge mirrored surface with the
: original surface.
:
: BTW, if you roll back the model to a point before the surface creation,
: you can add features, and then redefine the surface feature to make sure
: the features are updated. Resume the mirrored feature, and this will
: update also.
:
: Depending how complicated your model is, you may be able to implement
: this method on your model if you can suspend the dependent features
: after your current solid feature mirror, and add the mirror surface
: features.
:
: dakeb wrote:
: > : >
: >>: >>: > dependent to independent and see if that makes any difference.
: >><snip>
: >>:
: >>: I used Feature/Mirror Geom (not Copy). I mirrored all the geometry
: >
: > existing
: >
: >>: at the time. I cannot redefine it. It shows up as a 'merge' feature in
: >
: > the
: >
: >>: model tree.
: >>
: >>Oh, oops, I remember that one. Just a dumb copy of everything in the part
: >
: > to the
: >
: >>other side of a datum. You can't even pick which features to mirror. Yeah,
: >
: > I
: >
: >>thought they got rid of that revs ago. Now I even see it in Wildfire ~
: >>'Edit>Mirror'. They call it a merge feature but it's more like a single
: >
: > feature
: >
: >>iges import. What would happen if you used insert mode before the mirror,
: >>Copy>Mirrored the geometry you need, deleted the Mirror Geom and rerouted
: >
: > the rest
: >
: >>of the features that were dependent on the Mirror Geom. Wouldn't that give
: >
: > you
: >
: >>more leeway in dimensioning, more shown dimensions on the other half?
: >>
: >
: > I can't get that to work now. All the features fall over if I delete the
: > original mirror merge, and they would have to be redefined. It's too
: > complicated. I just wish the feature worked properly in the first place!
: >
: >

Truth be told, 'Edit>Mirror' or previously, 'Feature>Mirror geom', was meant to be
used as the last feature of a model, one built as half a model with bilateral
symmetry accounted for in the design of the first half. Limitations should be
taken into account before trying to use this feature:
* As Dave pointed out in the first message, shown dimensions appear on only
one half of the model ~ the modelled half, not the mirrored half.
* It is also likely that curve dimensions will appear only as radiuses, not
diameters.
* G2 tangency between the halves is a crap shoot, even after taking such
measures as using datum ribbons.
* Finally, the Wildfire function works on surfaces but not, apparently, on
solids.

David Janes

 

Thanks, but its a complex part and I don't want all the pre-mirror features
to become a single feature. If I revisit this model again in the future I
may recreate it from scratch, and never touch the feature/mirror command
ever again! Don't know why PTC can't make the dimensions appear on the
mirrored half though.