Welcome to CADVANTAGE’s No Nonsense, Quick Start, Click by Click tutorial for Pro/ENGINEER. This tutorial is part of the CAD-CAM @ Home scheme currently available in the city of Aurangabad in India. Two Goodwill Gesture lessons are provided in this document. Lesson 1 : Introduction to Program Interface and Viewing Commands. Lesson 2 : Solid Modeling with Pro/ENGINEER. The intention of this tutorial is not to teach Pro/ENGINEER but to help crack the ice, aid new users get familiar and Up and Running with Pro/ENGINEER. |
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For Remaining lessons as listed in the detailed syllabus below, you may enroll for the CAD++ [ CAD @ Home ] program at : CADVANTAGE ( where AutoCAD is taught FREE ) C 2 - 6, N 7, CIDCO, Opp. Onkar Gas, Behind Swamikripa STD, Aurangabad 431003 India Ph : 0240 - 480767 Email : CadGuruCool@yahoo.com Webpage : www.geocities.com/CadGuruCool ![]() |
1. Who needs AutoCAD Anymore ? - CAD CAM Sketch 2. Who needs AutoCAD Anymore ? - CAD CAM Chart 3. Pro/ENGINEER Detailed Syllabus 4. Introduction to Program Interface and Viewing Commands 5. Solid Modeling with Pro/ENGINEER |
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As shown in the illustration, AutoCAD is a Entry-level CAD software. Using AutoCAD, you can draw 2D Sketches, 3D machine parts, display assembly drawings in both 2D and 3D and even create sheet-metal parts. All these features are also readily available in Mid Range CAD packages like Solid Edge, Solid Works, Inventor, etc. However, the difference lies in the intelligence that mid-range softwares exhibit, the ease of use and the fewer number of steps that are involved in creating a given machine element. That’s not all. Future modifications to a design can be done in a more logical way in Solid Edge than in AutoCAD where the model needs to be re-worked either from scratch sometimes or by way of patch work. ProEngineer is a High End CAD CAM CAE suite. The other softwares in this category are I-DEAS, Unigraphics and CATIA. What sets apart High-end from mid-range is CAE which stands for Computer Aided Engineering and FEA ie Finite Element Analysis. Some people are habitual of categorizing FEA under CAE. The world of CAD-CAM-CAE is still evolving and its difficulty to state such a thing. FEA which in itself is a huge field is not available readily under Solid Edge or other mid-range softwares. Pro/ENGINEER is a High-End CAD-CAM-CAE suite. What is a suite ? A suite is a collection of softwares which may run independent of each other but together they offer very strong capabilities in achieving a common goal. You may be aware of MS Office which is a suite of Office Automation applications like MS Word used for word processing, MS Excel used as a spread-sheet, MS PowerPoint used as a presentation tool and MS Access which is a database application. Similarly, Pro/ENGINEER is a collection of a vast number of CAD applications which may work togther to achieve a common goal. Pro/ENGINEER includes Pro/Sheetmetal for creating sheetmetal parts, ProDesigner for conceptual design, ProMechanica used to evaluate motion of an assembly, ProVibration, ProCasting, ProMolddesign, ProThermal, ProPiping , ProWelding and so on. These are only a few points which distinct Entry-Level, Mid-Range and High-End softwares from each other A chart showing different CAD-CAM softwares and their creators is shown next. |
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The chart is self Explanatory. Mid-range softwares in their initial years were ruled out as only mid-priced softwares by Autodesk as they were no better off than AutoCAD. But today they (the mid-rangers) rival with the High-End CAD CAM applications as far as core-modeling is concerned. |
As an example, fillet and shell are two typical solid modeling features. |
![]() With AutoCAD you can fillet an edge with only constant radius, whereas, fillet with varying radius is also possible in Pro-Engineer as shown in the figure on the right. |
Another example is that of the shell feature. |
![]() Figure on the left shows a shell ( thin region ) feature created in AutoCAD where only constant thickness can be used. Using ProEngineer, you may specify unique thickness to different faces for the shell as shown in the figure on the right. Varying radius fillet and variable thickness shells are possible in mid-range softwares like Solid-Edge also. Thus, Mid-range CAD CAM softwares compete with high-end applications also. Besides these, there are many features other than modeling where mid-range softwares and Pro-Engineer are superior to Entry-Level softwares. One example could be the History access or Model navigator feature wherein you can directly access and modify a treatment feature that was applied half-way during the model making process. This is not possible in AutoCAD. |
Detailed Course Contents Pro/ENGINEER |
1) What is Pro/ENGINEER |
Getting Familiar with Pro/E Starting Pro/E and Working with it Giving Commands Opening an Existing Part Controlling Environment Variables Controlling Hidden Line Display Obtaining a Shaded Image of your Part Specifying the Default View Projection Using the View Option Zooming In and Out Interactive Zooming, Panning and Spinning Repainting the View Orienting the Model Accurately Orthographic Views Obtaining Principle Orthographic Projections Naming and Saving Views Using the Query Sel Option Accurate Orientation Generating Isometric Views Inquiring About your Models Modifying Dimensions and Examinig Reltaional Constraints Addying Features to your Parts Specifying the Sketching Plane Specifying the Reference Plane Drawing Your Sketch Aligning your Sketch to the Part Examining Sketcher Assumptions Adding Dimensions to your Sketch Building Relations and Parametric Study |
2) Creating Simple Parts |
Naming the New Part Datum Planes and Datum Axes Default Datum Planes Default Datum Axes Feature Based Modeling Protrusion Extrusion Creating Sketch Geometry Sketch Alignment Sketch Dimensions Modifying Values Using the Intent Manager Making a Base Section Addying Depth Revolved Protrusion Protrusion Sweeps Protrusion Blends Smooth Rotational Blending Shaft Features Patterened Feature Fillets and Rounds Grouped Pattern |
3) Material Removal Operations |
Creating Cuts Extruded Cuts Revolved Cuts Swept Cuts Blended Cuts Creating Slots Creating Straight Holes with Linear Placement Creating Straight Holes with Radial Placement Creating Straight Holes with Coaxial Placement Creating a Sketched Hole The Chamfer Feature Creating Neck Cuts |
4) Part Building and Editing Techniques |
Sketcher Tools Dimensioning the Sketch Sketcher Constraints Explicit Constraints Adding Relations between Features Feature Symmetry Creating Radial Patterns Redefining Features Resolving Feature Incompatibility |
5) Assembly Design |
Degrees of Freedom Mate Mate Offset Align Align Offset Orient Insert Creating a Sub-Assembly Moving the Components Shaft Assembly Assembly Modifications Making Datum Assigning Colors Exploding the Assembly View Asssembly Information Assembly Drawings Creating 2D Orthographic from 3D models |
6) Sheet Metal Design |
Creating Walls Adding Notch Adding Punch Creating Bends in Sheet Metal Parts Unbending Bend Back Flat Patterns Forming Flatten Form Cut and Rip Deform Area Conversion Edge Bend |
Tutorial 1 : Introduction to Software Interface and Viewing Commands |
Step 1 Observe the Pro/ENGINEER 2000i interface shown besides, which is self-explanatory. The figure does not show the default screen. The datum planes displayed here were created after ProE was started. You will learn more about datum planes and how to create them in Tutorial 2. |
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Step 2 To start using the viewing commands, open the ProeTut.prt.1 file found in the zip archieve that contained this document. In case of unavailability of the file, either download it from www.geocities.com/CadGuruCool/Tutorial.htm or skip this tutorial entirely, complete Tutorial 2 where you learn how to ceate a Pro/ENGINEER model and come back and complete this tutorial. |
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Step 3 By Default, there are 4 toolbars present in Pro/ENGINEER 2000i a) File toolbar, b) View toolbar, c) Model Display toolbar and d) Datum Display toolbar. To display or hide a specific toolbar, right click on any toolbar and select the desired toobar name from the pop-up list that appears. Note: You have to press and drag the mouse for selection. |
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Step 4 The File toolbar has five tools. 1) New, 2) Open, 3) Save, 4) Save As, and 5) Print. We will discuss the New, Open, Save and Save As tools indepth in tutorial 2. |
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Step 5 The View toolbar has six tools. 1) Repaint, 2) Zoom In, 3) Zoom Out, 4) Refit, 5) Orient, and 6) Saved Views. |
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Step 6 Click the Zoom Out ![]() This phenomenon is called Zooming Out, hence the name of the tool. |
Step 7 Click the Zoom In ![]() Click at two points as shown in the figure and a window will be formed as you drag the mouse for the second point. Finally the part of model enclosed in the window will enlarge to accomodate the whole of the graphics area and appear big. This is called Zooming In, hence the name of the tool. |
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Step 8 Click the Refit Model to Screen ![]() |
Step 9 The Model Display toolbar has four tools. 1) Wireframe, 2) Hidden, 3) No Hidden, and 4) Shading, |
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Step 10 The effects of each of the tools on the model is shown and is self explanatory. Click on the tools one after the other and observe. |
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Step 11 The Datum Display toolbar has four tools. 1) Datum Planes On/Off, 2) Datum Axis On/Off, 3) Datum Points On/Off, and 4) Coordinate System On/Off, |
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Step 12 Click the Datum Plane On/Off tool. ![]() Three datum planes labeled DTM1, DTM2 and DTM3 are displayed or undisplayed depending on the current status. |
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Step 13 Click the Orient the Model tool. ![]() The Orientation dialog box appears. select Dynamic Orient from the Type list. |
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Step 14 (1) Press and drag the Pan Horizontal slider to pan (move) the model aross the screen. (2) Alternatively, you may directly type in a value between -20 to + 20 to pan (move) the model across the screen. (3) Or, click the spinner arrows to increase and decrease the value in the edit box to pan. Similarly Pan Verical. (4) In a similar fashion, try zooming (ie. making the model appear big or small relative to the screen), with the help of the Zoom slider, edit box and the spinner. (5) Drag this slider to spin the model about an imaginary horizontal axis as shown in the small picture left of the word H (6) Drag this slider to spin the model about an imaginary vertical axis as shown in the small picture left of the word V (7) Drag this slider to spin the model about an imaginary axis perpendicular to the plane of your screen and located in the center of the screen as shown in the small picture left of the word C (8) Remember to click inside this check box before using any of the above commands. Ensure that the check mark is present in the box. |
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Step 15 Click the Saved View List tool. ![]() A drop down list with only a single view name appears. This is the default view. Click Default in the list to restore your model to the default view. |
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Step 16 You can create your own default 3D views based upon rotating a FRONT view. Set your model in the desired front view and then rotate it with #view; #orientation; #angles; #horiz or #vert: as directed in next 3 steps. |
Step 17 Isometric View Click the Orient the Model tool. ![]() The Orientation dialog box appears. select Dynamic Orient from the Type list.Enter the following values for the horizontal and vertical angles. VERT = -45 HORIZ = ArcSin of (1/(Sqrt(3))) = 35.26439 Due to rounding errors in Pro/E you can better use the value: 35.26379 |
![]() The proportion of the three sides is 1:1:1. |
Step 18 Trimetric View Click the Orient the Model tool. ![]() The Orientation dialog box appears. select Dynamic Orient from the Type list.Enter the following values for the horizontal and vertical angles. HORIZ = 51.57 VERT = -22.91 |
![]() The proportion of the three sides is approx. 1:3/4:8/9. |
Step 19 Dimetric View ( also my favourite ) Click the Orient the Model tool. ![]() The Orientation dialog box appears. select Dynamic Orient from the Type list.Enter the following values for the horizontal and vertical angles. HORIZ = ArcSin(1/3) = 19.471 VERT = ArcSin( Tan (ArcSin(1/3) ) ) = -20.705 |
![]() The proportion of the three sides is 1:1:1/2 |
Step 20 You can also use the Keyboard + Mouse combination to pan, zoom and spin your model. Ctrl + Left mouse btn = Zoom Ctrl + Middle mouse btn = Spin Ctrl + Right mouse btn = Pan For 2 button mouse, Shift + Left mouse btn = Spin |
Tutorial 2 : Solid Modeling with Pro/E 2000i |
Step 1 We want to draw the model shown on the right The big block is 56 x 32 and 8 thick. The two blocks on top of it are each 12 x 8 and 12 thick. The hole is 20 x 10 The first Step is to set the working directory. Select File > Working Directory... and select a folder in the Select Working Directory dialog box. A message Successfully changed to X:\Dir_Name directory. appears in the message bar. |
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Step 2 Select File > New The New dialog as shown appears. By default, Part is selected under Type. Type ProE-Tut in the Name edit-box as shown and press OK The Menu Manager appears. |
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Step 3 From the Menu Manager, select Feature. Another menu appears. Select Create from it. Next select Datum, Planes, Default and finally click Done from successive menus that keep on appearing. Henceforth, this will be represented in the following manner : Feature - Create - Datum - Plane - Default - Done |
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Step 4 Three planes mutually perpendicular to each other and labeled DTM1, DTM2 and DTM3 appear. Click the Datum Plane On/Off tool ![]() |
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Pro/E allows you to draw shapes and extrude them. Extrusion is like squeezing a toothpaste tube. The end of the toothpaste tube is round, so the toothpaste comes out as a round cylinder. Similarly, you can create circles, rectangles, etc. and extrude them to create solid ojects. | ![]() |
Step 5 From the Menu Manger, select Feature - Create - Protrusion - Done - Done The Menu Manager now appears as shown in the figure. |
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Step 6 Pick the datum plane DTM2 ( this is the sketching plane ) as shown at red spot 1 in the figure. Read the message area and then click Okay in the Menu Manager to accept the direction of extrusion. Next select Left from the Menu Manager and pick the datum plane DTM1 ( this is the reference plane ) at red spot 2 as shown in the figure. |
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Step 7 The Datum planes reorient such that the sketching plane DTM2 is now parallel to the screen. Also a new toolbar called Sketcher appears. Select the Grid On/Off tool ![]() Next we want to specify the references. Pick the datum planes at the red spots shown in the figure in this step. Select Done Sel from the Menu Manager. |
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Step 8 Click Rectangle from the Geometry menu in the Menu Manager. Click two oppsite corners to form a rectangle. Draw the rectangle in such a manner that it is divided into four quadrants by the two datum planes as shown in the figure. Click the Datum Planes On/Off tool ![]() Four dimension should already be in place by now as shown in the figure on the right. If the dimensions appear overlapped, select Move in the Intent Manager and pick the dimension to relocate. The dimension will start dragging with the mouse cursor. Pick another point to place the dimension. Next select Modify from the Intent Manager menu and pick the horizontal larger dimension (shown 1 in fig). Its value appears at the top. Type 56 as the new value and then press Enter or click the green tick mark. Pick Modify again and select the horizontal smaller dimension (shown 2 in fig) and change its value to 28. Select the vertical larger dimension and change it to 32 and the vertical smaller dimension to 16. Click Regenerate from the Intent Manager menu. The rectangle is redrawn with the dimensions specified. Select Done from the menu below Regenerate. Select Done in the Spec to menu that comes next. Enter 8 as the depth of extrusion and press Enter on the keyboard. A message All elements have been defined appears in the Message Area. Click OK in the PROTRUSION:Extrude dialog box that still lingers. The message area should now display PROTRUSION has been created successfully. Click the Saved Views List tool ![]() Finally select Done in the Menu Manager. |
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Step 9 No congratulations on successfully completing this step. The meaty part lies still ahead. From the Menu Manager, click in the following sequence : Feature - Create - Protrusion - Done - Done By this time the PROTRUSION:Extrude dialog box has taken its proud position on the screen and its time to specify the sketching plane. Select the face ( shown 1 in fig ). Click Okay to accept the extrusion direction indicated by the arrow on the picked plane. Next, select Left in the Menu Manager and select the plane shown 2 in figure as the refrence plane. The model reorients such that the top face of the block is parallel to the screen. Click the Hidden Line tool from the toolbar. |
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Step 10 Next step is to specify the references. Long orange dotted lines appear passing over the sides. From the Geometry menu, select Rectangle and draw the rectangle by clicking point 1 and point 2 as shown in the figure. change the dimensions to 12 and 8 respectively using Modify from the Intent Manager menu. Select Regenerate from the same menu. |
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Step 11 Now comes the real meaty part as promised earlier. When drawing the second rectangle, start from point 3 as shown in figure and drag until the L1 nad L2 appear as the rectangle dimensions. L1 and L2 indicate that at the given cursor position, the dimensions of the rectangle being drawn match the corresponding dimensions of the rectangle drawn earlier. As soon as L1 nad L2 appear as the dimensions, click. The saves you the donkey work to modify the dimensions manually and individually. Click Done and then Done again. Specify 12 as the depth and press Enter on the keyboard. Click OK in the PROTRUSION:Extrude dialog Box. Finally, Click the Saved Views List tool ![]() Select Done in the Menu Manager. Shade your model. It should look as shown on the right (below). |
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Step 12 From the Menu Manager, click in the following sequence : Feature - Create - Cut - Done - Done When clicking Okay, observe that the arrow is pointing inside the model indicating material will be removed from the model. Select edges at point 1, 2 , 3 and 4 to specify the references wrt which dimensions will be placed by Pro/E. Select Done Sel from the Menu Manager. From the Geometry menu, select Rectangle and draw the rectangle approximately as shown in the figure on the right (middle). Dimensions for the rectangle and dimensions from reference edges will appear as shown. Change the rectangle dimensions to 20 and 10 respectively. Change the dimension from the top reference to 6 and the dimension from the left reference to 11. Regenerate. Click Done Select Okay from the next menu Select Thru All in the next menu indicating that the cut is to propogate throughout the entire depth of the block. Click OK in the CUT:Extrude dialog box that still hang out there. The message area should now display CUT has been created successfully. Click the Saved Views List tool ![]() Finally select Done in the Menu Manager. Your screen should appear as shown in the figure in Step 1. Click File > Save...and press Enter on the keyboard. |
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Step 13 Click File > Save... and press Enter on the keyboard. Click File > Erase > Current... and then click Yes at the next prompt. Do not panic. We are not erasing anything of the model. Erase here only means ersaing (removing) the currently open file from memory. This is same as File > Close in Microsoft compliant programs , for example, AutoCAD. Note:Another interesting thing about Pro/E that may help you is the progressive file saving with increment numbers. What does that mean ? Suppose that you are in the process of creating a part file (a solid model) and have named it Bolt.prt. As a hard learned habit, you click the save icon time to time. Pro/E does not save the model with the same name. Instead, it creates a new file on the harddisk every time you click the save icon and names the new files as Bolt.prt.1, Bolt.prt.2, Bolt.prt.3 and so on. If suppose the first file is 50 kb on disk, the second file (ie. Bolt.prt.2) is 100 kb and the third file is 150 kb in size, you have already spent 50+100+150 = 300 kb of hard disk real estate which otherwise should only take up 150 kb ie. the file size of the last save (Bolt.prt.3). You can safely erase all older versions of the currently open file by clicking File > Delete > Old Versions... and retain just the latest version. |
Step 14 Want to dig deeper into Pro/E ? Call CADVANTAGE Now !!! Ph : 0240 - 480767 in Aurangabad. |
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