NX7 Manual

NX7
7 FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN
by
Ming C. Leu
Akul Joshi
Krishna C. R. Kolan
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, Missouri 65409
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NX7 for Engineering Design Missouri University of Science and Technology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. i

FOREWORD................................................................................................................................ vi
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 1
1.1 PRODUCT REALIZATION PROCESS .............................................................................. 1
1.2 BRIEF HISTORY OF CAD/CAM DEVELOPMENT ......................................................... 2
1.3 DEFINITION OF CAD/CAM/CAE ..................................................................................... 4
1.3.1 Computer Aided Design – CAD ..................................................................................... 4
1.3.2 Computer Aided Manufacturing – CAM........................................................................ 4
1.3.3 Computer Aided Engineering – CAE ............................................................................. 4
1.4 SCOPE OF THIS TUTORIAL ............................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 2 - GETTING STARTED ........................................................................................ 7
2.1 STARTING NX7 SESSION AND OPENING FILES ......................................................... 7
2.1.1 Open NX7 Session.......................................................................................................... 7
2.1.2 Open a New File ............................................................................................................. 8
2.1.3 Open a Part File .............................................................................................................. 9
2.2 PRINTING, SAVING AND CLOSING PART FILES ...................................................... 10
2.2.1 Print a NX7 Image ........................................................................................................ 10
2.2.2 Save Part Files .............................................................................................................. 11
2.2.3 Close Part Files ............................................................................................................. 11
2.2.4 Exit an NX7 Session ..................................................................................................... 12
2.2.5 Simultaneously Saving All Parts and Exiting............................................................... 12
2.3 NX7 INTERFACE .............................................................................................................. 13
2.3.1 Mouse Functionality ..................................................................................................... 13
2.3.2 NX7 Gateway ............................................................................................................... 15
2.3.3 Geometry Selection ...................................................................................................... 19
2.3.4 User Preferences ........................................................................................................... 20
2.3.5 Applications .................................................................................................................. 24
2.4 COORDINATE SYSTEMS ................................................................................................ 25
2.4.1 Absolute Coordinate System ........................................................................................ 25
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2.4.2 Work Coordinate System.............................................................................................. 25
2.4.4 Move the WCS ............................................................................................................. 25
2.5 USING LAYERS ................................................................................................................ 27
2.5.1 Layer Control ................................................................................................................ 27
2.5.2 Commands in Layers .................................................................................................... 28
2.6 IMPORTANT COMMANDS/DIALOGS .......................................................................... 31
2.6.1 Toolbars ........................................................................................................................ 31
2.6.2 Transform Functions..................................................................................................... 34
CHAPTER 3 - FORM FEATURES .......................................................................................... 37
3.1 OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................ 37
3.2 TYPES OF FEATURES ..................................................................................................... 38
3.3 PRIMITIVES ...................................................................................................................... 40
3.3.1 Model a Block .............................................................................................................. 41
3.3.2 Model a Shaft................................................................................................................ 43
3.4 REFERENCE FEATURES ................................................................................................. 46
3.4.1 Datum Plane ................................................................................................................. 46
3.4.2 Datum Axis ................................................................................................................... 47
3.5 SWEPT FEATURES........................................................................................................... 49
3.5.1 Extruded Body .............................................................................................................. 49
3.6 REMOVE FEATURES ....................................................................................................... 52
3.7 EXERCISE - MODEL A WASHER .................................................................................. 55
CHAPTER 4 – FEATURE OPERATIONS ............................................................................. 56
4.1 OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................ 56
4.2 TYPES OF FEATURE OPERATIONS .............................................................................. 56
4.3 FEATURE OPERATIONS ON MODELS ......................................................................... 60
4.3.1 Model a Hexagonal Screw ............................................................................................ 60
4.3.2 Model an L-Bar ............................................................................................................ 66
4.3.3 Model a Hexagonal Nut ................................................................................................ 73
4.3.4 Model a Rack with Instances ........................................................................................ 77
4.4 EXERCISE - MODEL A CIRCULAR BASE .................................................................... 82
CHAPTER 5 – DRAFTING ....................................................................................................... 83
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5.1 OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................ 83
5.2 DRAFTING OF MODELS ................................................................................................. 84
5.2.1 Drafting ......................................................................................................................... 84
5.2.2 Dimensioning................................................................................................................ 90
5.2.3 Sectional View .............................................................................................................. 93
5.2.4 Drafting and Dimensioning of an Impeller hexagonal bolt .......................................... 95
5.3 EXERCISE - DRAFTING AND DIMENSIONING OF A CIRCULAR BASE................ 99
CHAPTER 6 – SKETCHING .................................................................................................. 100
6.1 OVERVIEW...................................................................................................................... 100
6.2 SKETCHING FOR CREATING MODELS ..................................................................... 101
6.2.1 Model an Arbor Press Base ........................................................................................ 101
6.2.2 Model an Impeller Lower Casing ............................................................................... 112
6.2.3 Model an Impeller ...................................................................................................... 120
6.3 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................... 125
CHAPTER 7 – FREEFORM FEATURE ............................................................................... 128
7.1 OVERVIEW...................................................................................................................... 128
7.1.1 Creating Freeform Features from Points .................................................................... 128
7.1.2 Creating Freeform Features from Section Strings ...................................................... 129
7.1.3 Creating Freeform Features from Faces ..................................................................... 131
7.2 FREEFORM FEATURE MODELING ............................................................................ 131
7.2.1 Modeling with points .................................................................................................. 131
7.2.2 Modeling with a point cloud ....................................................................................... 135
7.2.3 Modeling with curves ................................................................................................. 137
7.2.4 Modeling with curves and faces ................................................................................. 140
7.3 EXERCISE - MODEL A MOUSE ................................................................................... 143
CHAPTER 8 – ASSEMBLY MODELING ............................................................................ 144
8.1 OVERVIEW...................................................................................................................... 144
8.2 TERMINOLOGIES .......................................................................................................... 144
8.3 ASSEMBLY MODELS .................................................................................................... 145
8.3.1 Top-Down Approach .................................................................................................. 145
8.3.2 Bottom-Up Approach ................................................................................................. 146
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8.3.3 Mixing and Matching ................................................................................................. 146
8.4 ASSEMBLY NAVIGATOR ............................................................................................. 146
8.5 MATING CONDITIONS ................................................................................................. 147
8.6 IMPELLER ASSEMBLY ................................................................................................. 148
8.7 EXPLODED VIEW OF IMPELLER ASSEMBLY ......................................................... 161
8.7 EXERCISE - ARBOR PRESS ASSEMBLY ................................................................... 165
CHAPTER 9 - FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS................................................................... 167
9.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 167
9.1.1 Element shapes and nodes .......................................................................................... 167
9.1.2 Structure Module ........................................................................................................ 169
9.1.3 Simulation Navigator.................................................................................................. 170
9.2 SOLUTION CREATION.................................................................................................. 171
9.2.1 Material Properties ..................................................................................................... 173
9.2.2 Mesh ........................................................................................................................... 175
9.2.3 Boundary Conditions .................................................................................................. 177
9.2.4 Loads .......................................................................................................................... 178
9.3 RESULT AND SIMULATION ........................................................................................ 179
9.3.1 Solving the Scenario ................................................................................................... 179
9.3.2 FEA Results ................................................................................................................ 180
9.3.3 Simulation and Animation .......................................................................................... 182
9.4 EXERCISE - ARBORPRESS L-BAR .............................................................................. 186
CHAPTER 10 - MANUFACTURING .................................................................................... 188
10.1 GETTING STARTED WITH MANUFACTURING MODULE ................................... 188
10.1.1 Creation of a Blank ................................................................................................... 189
10.1.2 Setting Machining Environment ............................................................................... 190
10.1.3 Operation Navigator ................................................................................................. 191
10.1.4 Machine Coordinate System (MCS)......................................................................... 192
10.1.5 Geometry Definition ................................................................................................. 193
10.2 CREATING OPERATION AND PARAMETER SETTING ........................................ 194
10.2.1 Creating a new Operation ......................................................................................... 194
10.2.3 Tool Creation and Selection ..................................................................................... 195
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10.2.4 Tool Path Settings ..................................................................................................... 197
10.2.4 Step Over and Scallop Height: ................................................................................. 198
10.2.5 Depth per cut ............................................................................................................ 199
10.2.6 Cutting Parameters ................................................................................................... 200
10.2.7 Avoidance ................................................................................................................. 201
10.2.8 Speeds and Feeds ...................................................................................................... 203
10.3 PROGRAM GENERATION AND VERIFICATION.................................................... 204
10.3.1 Generating Program .................................................................................................. 204
10.3.2 Tool Path Display ..................................................................................................... 205
10.3.3 Tool Path Simulation ................................................................................................ 205
10.3.4 Gouge Check ............................................................................................................ 207
10.4 OPERATION METHODS .............................................................................................. 208
10.4.1 Roughing .................................................................................................................. 208
10.4.2 Semi-Finishing.......................................................................................................... 208
10.4.3 Finishing Profile ....................................................................................................... 211
10.4.4 Finishing Contour Surface ........................................................................................ 216
10.4.5 Flooring .................................................................................................................... 219
10.5 POST PROCESSING...................................................................................................... 222
10.5.1 Creating CLSF .......................................................................................................... 223
10.5.2 Post-Processing ......................................................................................................... 225
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FOREWORD
NX is one of the world’s most advanced and tightly integrated CAD/CAM/CAE product
development solutions. Spanning the entire range of product development, NX delivers immense
value to enterprises of all sizes. It simplifies complex product designs, thus speeding up the
process of introducing products to the market.
The NX software integrates knowledge-based principles, industrial design, geometric modeling,

advanced analysis, graphic simulation, and concurrent engineering. The software has powerful
hybrid modeling capabilities by integrating constraint-based feature modeling and explicit
geometric modeling. In addition to modeling standard geometry parts, it allows the user to design
complex free-form shapes such as airfoils and manifolds. It also merges solid and surface
modeling techniques into one powerful tool set.
This self-guiding tutorial provides a step-by-step approach for users to learn NX7. It is intended
for those with no previous experience with NX. However, users of previous versions of NX may
also find this tutorial useful for them to learn the new user interfaces and functions. The user will
be guided from starting a NX7 session to creating models and designs that have various
applications. Each chapter has components explained with the help of various dialog boxes and
screen images. These components are later used in the assembly modeling, machining and finite
element analysis. These models of components are available online to download and use. We
first released the tutorial for Unigraphics 18 and later updated for NX2 followed by the updates
for NX3 and NX5. This write-up further updates to NX7.
Our previous efforts to prepare the NX self-guiding tutorial were funded by the National Science
Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education Program and by the Partners of the
Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE) program
If you have any questions or comments about this tutorial, please email Ming C. Leu at
[email protected] or Krishna C. R. Kolan at [email protected]. The models and all the versions
of the tutorial are available at http://web.mst.edu/~mleu/.
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CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
The modern manufacturing environment can be characterized by the paradigm of delivering

products of increasing variety, smaller batches and higher quality in the context of increasing
global competition. Industries cannot survive worldwide competition unless they introduce new
products with better quality, at lower costs and with shorter lead-time. There is intense
international competition and decreased availability of skilled labor. With dramatic changes in
computing power and wider availability of software tools for design and production, engineers
are now using Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and
Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) systems to automate their design and production processes.
These technologies are now used every day for sorts of different engineering tasks. Below is a
brief description of how CAD, CAM, and CAE technologies are being used during the product
realization process.
1.1 PRODUCT REALIZATION PROCESS
The product realization process can be roughly divided into two phases; design and
manufacturing. The design process starts with identification of new customer needs and design
variables to be improved, which are identified by the marketing personnel after getting feedback
from the customers. Once the relevant design information is gathered, design specifications are
formulated. A feasibility study is conducted with relevant design information and detailed design
and analyses are performed. The detailed design includes design conceptualization, prospective
product drawings, sketches and geometric modeling. Analysis includes stress analysis,
interference checking, kinematics analysis, mass property calculations and tolerance analysis,
and design optimization. The quality of the results obtained from these activities is directly
related to the quality of the analysis and the tools used for conducting the analysis.
The manufacturing process starts with the shop-floor activities beginning from production
planning, which uses the design process drawings and ends with the actual product. Process
planning includes activities like production planning, material procurement, and machine
selection. There are varied tasks like procurement of new tools, NC programming and quality
checks at various stages during the production process. Process planning includes planning for
all the processes used in manufacturing of the product. Parts that pass the quality control
inspections are assembled functionally tested, packaged, labeled, and shipped to customers.
A diagram representing the Product Realization Process (Mastering CAD/CAM, by Ibrahim Zeid,
McGraw Hill, 2005) is shown below.
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1.2 BRIEF HISTORY OF CAD
CAD/CAM DEVELOPMENT
The roots of current CAD/CAM technologies go back to the beginning of civilization when
engineers in ancient Egypt recognized graphics communication. Orthographic projection
practiced today was invented around the 1800’s. The real development of CAD/CAM systems
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started in the 1950s. CAD/CAM went through four major phases of development in the last
century. The 1950’s was known as the era of interactive computer graphics. MIT’s Servo
Mechanisms Laboratory demonstrated the concept of numerical control (NC) on a three-axis
milling machine. Development in this era was slowed down by the shortcomings of computers at
the time. During the late 1950’s the development of Automatically Programmed Tools (APT)
began and General Motors explored the potential of interacti
interactive graphics.
The 1960s was the most critical research period for interactive computer graphics. Ivan
Sutherland developed a sketchpad system, which demonstrated the possibility of creating
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drawings and altercations of objects interactively on a cathode ray tube (CRT). The term CAD
started to appear with the word ‘design’ extending beyond basic drafting concepts. General
Motors announced their DAC-1 system and Bell Technologies introduced the GRAPHIC 1
remote display system.
During the 1970’s, the research efforts of the previous decade in computer graphics had begun to
be fruitful, and potential of interactive computer graphics in improving productivity was realized
by industry, government and academia. The 1970’s is characterized as the golden era for
computer drafting and the beginning of ad hoc instrumental design applications. National
Computer Graphics Association (NCGA) was formed and Initial Graphics Exchange
Specification (IGES) was initiated.
In the 1980’s, new theories and algorithms evolved and integration of various elements of design
and manufacturing was developed. The major research and development focus was to expand
CAD/CAM systems beyond three-dimensional geometric designs and provide more engineering
applications.
The present day CAD/CAM development focuses on efficient and fast integration and
automation of various elements of design and manufacturing along with the development of new
algorithms. There are many commercial CAD/CAM packages available for direct usages that are
user-friendly and very proficient.
Below are some of the commercial packages in the present market.

• AutoCAD and Mechanical Desktop are some low-end CAD software systems, which are
mainly used for 2D modeling and drawing.
• NX, Pro-E, CATIA and I-DEAS are high-end modeling and designing software systems
that are costlier but more powerful. These software systems also have computer aided
manufacturing and engineering analysis capabilities.
• ANSYS, ABAQUS, NASTRAN, Fluent and CFX are packages mainly used for analysis
of structures and fluids. Different software are used for different proposes. For example,
Fluent is used for fluids and ANSYS is used for structures.
• Alibre and CollabCAD are some of the latest CAD systems that focus on collaborative
design, enabling multiple users of the software to collaborate on computer-aided design
over the Internet.
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1.3 DEFINITION OF CAD/CAM/CAE
Following are the definitions of some of the terms used in this tutorial.
1.3.1 Computer Aided Design – CAD
CAD is technology concerned with using computer systems to assist in the creation,
modification, analysis, and optimization of a design. Any computer program that embodies
computer graphics and an application program facilitating engineering functions in design
process can be classified as CAD software.
The most basic role of CAD is to define the geometry of design – a mechanical part, a product
assembly, an architectural structure, an electronic circuit, a building layout, etc. The greatest
benefits of CAD systems are that they can save considerable time and reduce errors caused by
otherwise having to redefine the geometry of the design from scratch every time it is needed.
1.3.2 Computer Aided Manufacturing – CAM
CAM technology involves computer systems that plan, manage, and control the manufacturing
operations through computer interface with the plant’s production resources.
One of the most important areas of CAM is numerical control (NC). This is the technique of
using programmed instructions to control a machine tool, which cuts, mills, grinds, punches or
turns raw stock into a finished part. Another significant CAM function is in the programming of
robots. Process planning is also a target of computer automation.
1.3.3 Computer Aided Engineering – CAE
CAE technology uses a computer system to analyze the functions of a CAD-created product,
allowing designers to simulate and study how the product will behave so that the design can be
refined and optimized.
CAE tools are available for a number of different types of analyses. For example, kinematic
analysis programs can be used to determine motion paths and linkage velocities in mechanisms.
Dynamic analysis programs can be used to determine loads and displacements in complex
assemblies such as automobiles. One of the most popular methods of analyses is using a Finite
Element Method (FEM). This approach can be used to determine stress, deformation, heat
transfer, magnetic field distribution, fluid flow, and other continuous field problems that are
often too tough to solve with any other approach.
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1.4 SCOPE OF THIS TUTORIAL
This tutorial is written for students and engineers who are interested in learning how to use NX7
for designing mechanical components and assemblies. Learning to use this software will also be
valuable for learning how to use other CAD systems such as PRO-E and CATIA.
This tutorial provides a step-by-step approach for learning NX7. The topics include Getting
Started with NX7, Form Features, Feature Operations, Drafting, Sketching, Free Form Features,
Assembly Modeling, and Manufacturing.
Chapter 1 gives the overview of CAD/CAM/CAE. The product realization cycle is discussed
along with the history of CAD/CAM/CAE and the definitions of each.
Chapter 2 includes the NX7 essentials from starting a session with Windows to getting familiar
with the NX7 layout by practicing basic functions such as Print, Save, and Exit. It also gives a
brief description of the Coordinate System, Layers, various toolboxes and other important
commands, which will be used in later chapters.
The actual designing and modeling of parts begins with chapter 3. It describes different features
such as reference features, swept features and primitive features and how these features are used
to create designs.
Chapter 4 is a continuation of chapter 3 where various kinds of feature operations are performed
on features. The different kinds of operations include Trim, Blend, Boolean operations and many
more.
You will learn how to create a drawing from a part model in chapter 5. In this chapter, we
demonstrate how to create a drawing by adding views, dimensioning the part drawings, and
modifying various attributes in the drawing such as text size, arrow size and tolerance.
Chapter 6 presents the concept of sketching. It describes how to create sketches and to give
geometric and dimensional constraints. This chapter is very important since present-day
components are very complex in geometry and difficult to model with only basic features.
Chapter 7 introduces free-form modeling. The method of modeling curves and smooth surfaces
will be demonstrated.
Chapter 8 teaches the concepts of Assembly Modeling and its terminologies. It describes Top-
Down modeling and Bottom-Up modeling. We will use Bottom-Up modeling to assemble
components into a product.
Chapter 9 will be a real-time experience of implementing a designed model into a manufacturing

environment for machining. This chapter deals with generation, verification and simulation of
Tool Path to create CNC (Computer Numerical Codes) to produce the designed parts from
Vertical Machining Centers.
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Chapter 10 is capsulated into a brief introduction to Structures Module available in NX7 for the
Finite Element Modeling and Analysis.
The examples and exercise problems used in each chapter are so designed that they will be
finally assembled in the chapter. Due to this distinctive feature, you should save all the models
that you have generated in each chapter.
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CHAPTER 2 - GETTING STARTED
We begin with starting of an NX7 session. This chapter will provide the basics required to use
any CAD/CAM package. You will learn the preliminary steps to start, to understand and to use
the NX7 package for modeling, drafting, etc. It contains five sub-sections a) Opening an NX7
session, b) Printing, saving, and closing part files, c) getting acquainted with the NX7 user
interface d) Using layers and e) Understanding important commands & dialogs.
2.1 STARTING NX7 SESSION AND OPENING FILES
2.1.1 Open NX7 Session
From the Windows desktop screen, click on Start → Programs → UGS NX 7.5 → NX 7.5
The main NX7 Screen will open. This is the Gateway for the NX7 software. The NX7 blank
screen looks like the figure shown below. There will be different tips displayed on the screen
about the special features of the current version. The Gateway also has the Standard Toolbar that
will allow you to create a new file or open an existing file. On the left side of the Gateway
screen, there is a Toolbar called as Resource Bar that has menus related to different modules
and the ability to define and change the ‘Role’ of the software, view ‘History’ of the software use
and so on. This will be explained in detail later in this chapter. Let’s begin by learning how to
open a part file in NX7.
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To create a new file there are two options. You can click on the ‘New’ tab on top of the screen or
go through the ‘File’ drop-down menu.
2.1.2 Open a New File
On the menu bar found at the top-left of the screen, click FILE NEW
This will open a new session, asking for the name and location of the new file to be created as
shown at the bottom left. You need to select the units (inches or millimeters) of the working
environment by clicking on the drop-down menu on the top right corner. The default is
millimeters. However, most of the material in the tutorials is modeled in inches. So always, be
sure to select inches before creating a new .prt file unless otherwise specified. You can also
select the type of the file you want to create – either a part file or an assembly file or sheet-metal
file – by selecting the file type as shown in Templates dialogue box located at the center of the
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window. The properties of the selected file are displayed below the Preview on the middle right
corner.
Enter the location of the file and then and click OK
2.1.3 Open a Part File
Click FILE → OPEN
You can also click the Open icon from the Standard toolbar at the top of the screen.
The Open Part File dialog will appear. You can see the preview of the files on the right side of
the window. You can disable the Preview by un-clicking the box in front of the Preview button.
Click CANCEL to exit the window
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2.2 PRINTING, SAVING AND CLOSING PART FILES
2.2.1 Print a NX7 Image
Click FILE → PRINT
You can also click the Print icon on the Standard

Toolbar. The following figure shows the Print dialog box.
Here, you can choose the printer to use or specify the
number of copies to be printed, size of the paper and so
on.
You can also select the scale for all the three dimensions.
You can also choose the method of printing, i.e.
wireframe, solid model by clicking on the ‘Output’ drop
down-menu as shown in the Figure on right side
Click CANCEL to exit the window
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2.2.2 Save Part Files
It is imperative that you save your work very frequently. If

for some reasons, NX7 shuts down and the part is not saved,
all the work will be lost. To save the part files
Click FILE
On the File drop-down menu, there are five different options

to save a file.
• SAVE: This option will save the part on screen with
the same name as given before while creating the part
file.
• SAVE WORK PART ONLY: option will only save the
active part on the screen.
• SAVE AS: option allows you to save the part on screen using a different name.
• SAVE ALL: This option will save all the opened part files with their existing names.
• SAVE BOOKMARK: This option will save a screenshot of the current model on the
screen as a .JPEG file and bookmarks.
Remember as in previous versions all the parts are saved with a .prt extension in NX7.
2.2.3 Close Part Files
You can choose to close the parts that are visible on screen by
Click FILE → CLOSE
If you close a file, the file will be cleared from the working memory and any changes that are not
saved will be lost. Therefore, remember to select SAVE AND CLOSE or SAVE ALL AND
CLOSE or SAVE ALL AND EXIT.
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In case of the first two options, the parts that are selected or the all parts the files will be closed
but the NX7 session keeps on running.
2.2.4 Exit an NX7 Session
Click FILE → EXIT
Since we are not ready to exit NX7, click NO
If you have files open and have made changes to them without saving, the message will ask you
if you really want to exit.
Select NO, save the files and then Exit
2.2.5 Simultaneously Saving All Parts and Exiting
A second way to exit NX7 session at the same time save all the files and exit the program is
Click FILE → CLOSE → SAVE ALL and EXIT
The Save and Exit warning dialog window is shown below.
Choose NO or CANCEL
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2.3 NX7 INTERFACE
The user interface of NX7 is made very simple through the use of different icons. Most of the
commands can be executed by navigating the mouse around the screen and clicking on the icons.
The keyboard entries are mostly limited for entering values and naming files.
2.3.1 Mouse Functionality
It is highly recommended to use a three-button mouse or a scroll-mouse while working with

NX7. The power of mouse buttons and their primary functions are discussed below.
2.3.1.1 Left Mouse Button (MB1):

The MB1 or left mouse button is used for Selection of
icons, menus, and other entities on the graphic screen.
Double clicking MB1 on any feature will automatically
open the Edit Dialog box.
2.3.1.2 Middle Mouse Button (MB2):

The MB2 or middle mouse button or the scroll button
is used to Rotate the object by pressing, holding and
dragging. It can be used for Pan and Zoom options in
combination with other mouse buttons or key buttons.
If it is a scroll button, the object can be zoomed in and
out by scrolling. Just clicking the MB2 will execute the
OK command if any pop-up window or dialog box is
open.
2.3.1.3 Right Mouse Button (MB3):

MB3 or Right Mouse Button is used to access the user interface
pop-up menus. You can access the subsequent options that pop up
depending on the selection mode and Application. The figures
shown on the right are in Sketch Application. Clicking on MB3
when a feature is selected will give the options related to that
feature (Object/Action Menu).
Clicking MB3 and holding the button will display a set of icons
around the feature. These icons feature the possible commands
that can be applied to the feature.
Clicking MB3 on graphics screen will pop up the View menu options as shown below.
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* Note: The functionality of the mouse buttons depends on the Application used. For
instance, the menus that pop-up in Modeling are different from those in Sketch.
2.3.1.4 Mouse Functionality
The following is the illustration of the mouse buttons used for rotating, panning and zooming in
or out on the graphic screen. Besides using these different combinations of mouse buttons, the
following commands can also be performed by icons in the Toolbar.
Rotate:
Press and hold the middle mouse button (or scroll button) and drag around the screen to view
the model in the direction you want. The model can also be rotated about a single axis. To
rotate about the axis horizontal to the screen, place the mouse pointer near the right edge of
the graphic screen and rotate. Similarly, for the vertical axis and the axis perpendicular to the
screen, click at the bottom edge and top edge of the screen respectively and rotate.
If you keep pressing the MB2 at the same position for a couple of seconds, it will fix the
point of rotation (a green + symbol appears) and you can drag around the object to view.
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Zoom In /Out:
Press and hold both the left mouse button and middle button (or scroll button) simultaneously
and drag OR
Press and hold <Ctrl> button on the keyboard and then press and drag the middle mouse
button. OR
Scroll up and down if the mouse has a scroll wheel.
Pan:
Press and hold both the middle button and right mouse button simultaneously and drag OR
Press and hold <Shift> button on the keyboard and press and drag the middle mouse button.
2.3.2 NX7 Gateway
The following figure shows the typical layout of the NX7 window when a file is opened. This is
the Gateway of NX7 from where you can select any module to work on such as modeling,
manufacturing, etc. It has to be noted that these toolbars may not be exactly on the same position
of the screen as shown below. The toolbars can be placed at any location or position on the
screen. Look out for the same set of icons.
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2.3.2.1 Functions of Gateway Zones
Title Bar:
The Title Bar displays the following informa
information for the current part file.
• The name of the currentlyly displayed part

• The name of the current work part
• If the work part is read only
• If the work part has been modified since it was last saved
Menu Bar:
The Menu Bar is the horizontal menu of options displayed at the top of the main window
directly below the Title Bar. Menu bar options are called menu titles and each corresponds to a
NX functional category. Clicking on a menu title leads to a drop
drop-down menu of choices.
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Toolbar:
A Toolbar is a row of icons that you can use to activate standard NX menu items. NX7 comes
with a large selection of toolbars. The active Toolbars are located below the Menu bar. The
toolbars can be placed anywhere on screen by dragging their handles.
If the toolbar handle is dragged to the edges of the screen they attach to that edge of the screen.
Selection Bar:
The Selection Bar is located below the active Toolbars and displays the selection options. These
options include the Filters, Components/Assembly, and Snap Points for selecting features.
Resource Bar:
The Resource Bar features icons for a number of pages in one place using very little user
interface space. NX7 places all navigator windows in the Resource Bar, as well as the History
Palette, Assembly navigator, Part navigator, Animation navigator, Simulation navigator, Roles
and the Web Browser. By Default, the Resource Bar is located on the left side of the NX7
window. You can dock and undock the resource bars by clicking on the pin icon on the top left
of the resource window.
- UNDOCKED - DOCKED
Cue Line:
The Cue Line is shown at the top of the main NX window below all the Toolbars. The Cue Line
displays prompt messages that indicate the next action that needs to be taken.
Status Line:
The Status Line, located to the right of the Cue area, displays information messages about the
current options or the most recently completed function.
Progress Meter:
The Progress Meter is displayed in the Cue Line when the system performs a time-consuming
operation such as loading a large assembly. The meter shows the percentage of the operation that
has been completed. When the operation is finished, the system displays the next appropriate
cue.
17
2.3.2.2 Part Navigator
Click on the Part Navigator icon, the second icon

from the top on the Resource bar
The Part Navigator provides a visual representation of

the parent-child relationships of features in the work part
in a separate window in a tree type format. It shows all
the primitives, entities used during modeling. It allows
you to perform various editing actions on those features.
For example, you can use the Part Navigator to suppress
or un-suppress the features or change their parameters or
positioning dimensions. Removing the green tick mark
will ‘Suppress’ the feature. The software will give a
warning if the parent child relationship is broken by
suppressing any particular feature.
The Part Navigator is available for all NX applications

and not just for modeling. However, you can only perform feature-editing operations when you
are in the Modeling module. Editing a feature in the Part Navigator will automatically update the
model. Feature editing will be discussed later.
2.3.2.3 History
Click on the History icon, the fourth from

the top on the Resource bar
The History Palette provides fast access to

recently opened files or other palette entries. It
can be used to reload parts that have been
recently worked on or to repeatedly add a small
set of palette items to a model.
The History Palette remembers the last palette

options that were used and the state of the
session when it was closed. NX stores the
palettes that were loaded into a session and
restores them in the next session. The system
does not clean up the History Palette when parts
are moved.
To re-use a part, drag and drop it from the

History Palette to the Graphics Window. To reload a part, click on a saved session bookmark.
18
2.3.3 Geometry Selection
Geometry Selection properties are very advanced in NX7. You can filter the selection method,
which facilitates easy selection of the geometry in a close cluster. In addition, you can perform
any of the feature operation options that NX7 intelligently provides depending on the selected
entity.
The Mouse cursor in the Graphics screen will normally be in the shape of a cross hair as
shown in the figure. Selection of items can be based on the degree of the entity like,
selection of Geometric entities, Features and Components. The selection method can be
opted by choosing one of the icons in the Selection Toolbar.
Feature Selection:
Clicking on any of the icons in the figure below will let you select the features in the part file. It
will not select the basic entities like edges, faces etc. The features selected can also be applied to
a part or an entire assembly depending upon the requirement.
Besides that, the filtering of the features can be further narrowed down by selecting one of the
desired options in the drop-down menu as shown in the figure below. For example, selecting
CURVE from the option will highlight only the curves in the screen. The default is NO
SELECTION FILTER.
General Object Selection:
Clicking on the icon as shown in the figure below will let you select the general object entities
displayed on the screen.
19
If you want to select any geometric entity, feature, or component, then
navigate the mouse cursor closer to the entity until it is highlighted with
a magenta (pink) color and click the left mouse button.
If you want to select an entity that is hidden behind the displayed

geometry, then place the mouse cursor roughly close to that area on the
screen such that the cursor ball occupies a portion of the hidden
geometry projected on the screen. After a couple of seconds, the ball
cursor turns into a ‘plus’ symbol as shown in the figure.
Click the left mouse button (MB1) to get a ‘Selection Confirmation’

dialog box as shown in the following figure below. This QuickPick
menu consists of the list of entities captured within the ball of the
cursor. The entities are arranged in ascending order of the ‘degree’ of
the entity. For example, edges and vertices are assigned lower numbers
while solid faces are given higher numbers. By moving the cursor on
the numbers displayed, NX7 will highlight the corresponding entity on
the screen in a magenta color. For example, in the figure below, the
face on the top is assigned the number ‘5’. Likewise, the hidden entities will also be allotted with
a number in the list. You can browse through the numbers and click on the number that
corresponds to the desired object or feature.
2.3.4 User Preferences
Choose PREFERENCES on the Menu bar to find the various options available
User Preferences are used to define the display parameters of new objects, names, layouts, and
views. You can set the layer, color, font, and width of created objects. You can also design
layouts and views, control the display of object and view names and borders, change the size of
the selection ball, specify the selection rectangle method, set chaining tolerance and method, and
20
design and activate a grid. Changes that you make
using the Preferences menu override any counterpart
customer defaults for the same functions.
User Interface
Choose PREFERENCES→USER INTERFACE

to find the options in the dialog box.
The User Interface option customizes how NX works

and interacts to specifications you set. You can control
the location, size and visibility status of the main
window, graphics display, and information window.
You can set the number of decimal places (precision)
that the system uses for both input text fields and data
displayed in the information window. You can also
specify a full or small dialog for file selection. You can
also set macro options and enable a confirmation
dialog for Undo operations.
• The General tab allows you to set the precision

level as seen in the Information Window
• The Layout tab allows you to set the location of the
Resource Bar
• The Macro tab allows you to set the pause while
displaying animation
Visualization
Choose PREFERENCES → VISUALIZATION

This dialog box controls attributes that affect the

display in the graphics window. Some attributes are
associated with the part or with particular Views of the
part. The settings for these attributes are saved in the
part file. For many of these attributes, when a new part
or a view is created, the setting is initialized to the
value specified in the Customer Defaults file. Other
21
attributes are associated with the session and apply to
all parts in the session. The settings of some of these
attributes are saved from session to session in the
registry. For some session attributes, the setting can be
initialized to the value specified by customer default,
an environment variable.
Click on the different tab buttons to find the

options available under each command.
Choose PREFERENCES → COLOR PALLETE

Click on EDIT BACKGROUND to get another

pop up Dialog box. You can change your
background color whatever you want.
The background color refers to the color of the

background of the graphics window. NX supports
graduated backgrounds for all display modes. You can
select background colors for Shaded or Wireframe
displays. The background can be Plain or Graduated.
Valid options for all background colors are 0 to 255.
Click OK when you are done
You can also update the background of the graphic window using Preferences.
Choose PREFERENCES → BACKGROUND
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Edit Object Display
Object Display option is used to modify the settings such as layer, color, font, width, grid count,
translucency, and shading status of existing objects. You can select the Edit Object Display icon
on the Menu Bar as shown below.
You can also click PREFERENCES → OBJECT
This will pop up a dialog window OBJECT PREFERENCES or EDIT OBJECT DISPLAY.
Change and observe the Color and Translucency of the solid object. This is not just limited to
solid objects. You can also apply this setting to individual entities of the solid. For example, you
can click on any particular surface of the solid and apply the Display settings.
23
2.3.5 Applications
Unlike as in the NX5 version, in the NX7 version different APPLICATIONS can be opened
using the START option tab in the Standard Toolbar. You can select the type of application
you want to run from the drop down menu. For example, you can select Modeling, Drafting,
assembly, and so on as shown in the figure.
The default application that starts when you open a file or start a new file is Modeling.
24
2.4 COORDINATE SYSTEMS
There are different coordinate systems in NX. A three-axis symbol is used to identify the
coordinate system.
2.4.1 Absolute Coordinate System

The Absolute Coordinate System is the coordinate system from which all
objects are referenced. This is a fixed coordinate system and hence the
locations and orientations of every object in NX7 modeling space are related
back to this system. The Absolute Coordinate System (or “Absolute CSYS”)
also provides a common frame of reference between part files. An absolute
position at X=1, Y=1, and Z=1 in one part file is the same location in any
other part file as well.
The View Triad is a visual indicator that represents the orientation of the Absolute coordinate
system of the model
2.4.2 Work Coordinate System

The Work Coordinate System (WCS) is what you will use for construction
when you want to determine orientations and angles of features. The axes of
the WCS are denoted XC, YC, and ZC. (The “C” stands for “current”).
It is possible to have multiple coordinate systems in a part file, but only one
of them can be the work coordinate system.
2.4.4 Move the WCS

Here, you will learn how to translate and rotate the WCS.
Choose FORMAT →WCS
25
2.4.4.1 Translate the WCS
This procedure will move the WCS origin to any point you
specify, but the orientation (direction of the axes) of the WCS
will remain the same.
Choose FORMAT →WCS → ORIGIN
The Point Constructor dialog is displayed in the figure.
You either can specify a point from the drop down menu at
the top of the dialog box or by entering the X-Y-Z coordinates
in the XC, YC, and ZC fields.
A majority of the work will be in relation to the Work

Coordinate System rather than the Absolute Coordinate
System. The default is the WCS.
The default action button is Inferred Point. The button is highlighted as shown in the figure. The
name of the active icon appears above the top row of action buttons. This is the point on the
object, which is closest to the cursor. It can be any of the Snap Points such as the center of circle
or end-point of a line and so on.
Click CANCEL
2.4.4.2 Rotate the WCS
You can also rotate the WCS around one of its

axes.
Choose FORMAT →WCS → ROTATE
The Rotate WCS dialog is shown on the right

side. The dialog shows six different ways to
rotate the WCS around an axis. These rotation
procedures follow the right-hand rule of rotation.
You can also specify the angle to which the WCS
be rotated.
Click CANCEL
26
2.4.4.3 Save the Current Location and Orientation of the WCS
You can save the current location and orientation of the WCS to use as a permanent coordinate
system.
Choose FORMAT →WCS → SAVE
2.5 USING LAYERS

Layers are used to store objects in a file, and work like containers to collect the objects in a
structured and consistent manner. Unlike simple visual tools like Show and Hide, Layers provide
a permanent way to organize and manage the visibility and selectability of objects in your file.
2.5.1 Layer Control

With NX7, you can control whether objects are
visible or selectable by using Layers. A Layer is a
system-defined attribute such as color, font, and
width that all objects in NX7 must have. There are
256 usable layers in NX7, one of which is always the
Work Layer. Any of the 256 layers can be assigned
to one of four classifications of status:
• Work
• Selectable
• Visible Only
• Invisible
The Work Layer is the layer that objects are created

ON and is always visible and selectable while it
remains the Work Layer. Layer 1 is the default Work
Layer when starting a new part file. When the Work
Layer is changed to another type of layer, the
previous Work Layer automatically becomes
Selectable and can then be assigned a status of
Visible Only or Invisible.
The number of objects that can be on one layer is not

limited. You have the freedom to choose whichever
layer you want to create the object on and the status
of that layer.
To assign a status to a layer or layers,
Choose FORMAT → LAYER SETTINGS
However, it should be noted that the use of company standards in regards to layers would
be advantageous to maintain a consistency between files.
27
2.5.2 Commands in Layers
We will follow simple steps to practice the commands in Layers. First, we will create two
objects (Solids) by the method as follows. The details of Solid Modeling will be discussed in the
next chapter. The solids that we draw here are only for practice in this chapter.
Choose FILE → NEW
Name the file and choose a folder in which to save it.

Make sure you selected the units to be inches in the
drop-down menu. Choose the file type as Model
Click OK
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE →

CYLINDER OR select the object from the
Application Toolbar showing the picture of cylinder.
Choose AXIS, DIAMETER, HEIGHT under Type
Click on icon next to Specify Vector
The Vector Constructor dialog will appear. This is

to specify the direction of the axis of the cylinder.
The default direction will be in the Z direction.
Click OK on the pop-up window
Click on icon next to Specify Point
The Point Constructor window will appear for you

to determine the location of the cylinder. The
default location will be the origin (0,0,0) on the
WCS.
Click OK
If you would like to change the direction of Axis or

the Point of origin, click on the boxes outlined in
red ink as shown in the figure.
28
Next type 2 inches for the diameter and 4 inches for the height under Properties
Click OK
Click CANCEL on any other window that pops up.
The screen will now look like the following figure.
Right-click on the screen and choose ORIENT VIEW → TRIMETRIC
If the solid is in wire-frame, right-click on the screen and choose RENDERING STYLE →
SHADED OR click on the Shaded icon in the toolbar
Now you will be able to see a solid cylinder.
29
Now let us practice some Layer Commands.
Choose FORMAT → MOVE TO

LAYER
You will be asked to select an object.
Move the cursor on to the cylinder and

click on it so that it becomes
highlighted.
Click OK
You will get the following pop-up window.
In the Destination Layer or Category space at the top of the window, type 25.
Choose APPLY, then CANCEL
30
The Cylinder has now gone to the 25th layer. It can no
longer be seen in Layer 1.
To see the cylinder, click FORMAT → LAYER

SETTINGS
You can see that the Layer 25 has the object whereas
the default Work Layer 1 has no objects.
Click OK
The cylinder will again be seen on the screen. Save

the file as we will be using it later in the tutorial.
2.6 IMPORTANT COMMANDS/DIALOGS
In this section, you will learn some important commands and

dialogs which will be useful during modeling and sketching.
2.6.1 Toolbars
Toolbars contain icons, which serve as shortcuts for many NX7

functions. The figure on the right shows the main Toolbar items
normally displayed. However, you can find many more icons for
different feature commands, based on the module selected and how
the module is customized.
Right-Clicking anywhere on the existing toolbars gives a list of

other Toolbars. You can add any of the toolbars by checking
them.
The list of toolbars you can see in the default option is Standard,
View, Selection, Utility, etc. Normally, the default setting should be
sufficient for most operations but during certain operations, you
might need additional toolbars. If you want to add buttons
pertaining to the commands and toolbars,
Click on the pull-down arrow on any of the Toolbars and

choose ADD OR REMOVE BUTTONS.
Choose CUSTOMIZE.
31
This will pop up a Customize dialog window with all the Toolbars under ‘Toolbar’ Tab and
commands pertaining to each Toolbar under ‘Commands’ tab. You can check all the toolbars
that you wish to be displayed.
You can customize the settings of your NX7 interface by clicking on the
Roles tab on the Resource Bar.
32
The Roles tab has different settings of the toolbar menus that are displayed on the NX7 interface.
• It allows you to customize the toolbars you desire to be displayed in the Interface.
• Selecting Advanced shows all the Application Toolbars necessary for drafting and
modeling.
• You can also select the Application Toolbars to be displayed in the Interface by clicking
on the Industry Specific settings. This provides a list of industry specific toolbar
applications as shown below.
33
2.6.2 Transform Functions
Unlike in NX5, the Transform menu has been modified in NX7. The Transform functions are
split into two categories. The Move object function is separated from the Transform functions.
Open the file that you created in section 2.5.2 with the cylinder.
Click on EDIT → TRANSFORM
Here, we have to choose an entity such as a solid body or curves or a sketch. You can select a
single feature or multiple features by clicking on the features.
Click on the cylinder so that it gets highlighted
Click OK
This opens a dialogue box that allows you to perform many functions like scaling, and mirroring
part of a model as shown in the following figure.
34
You can choose any of these menus. The Scale scales the model. You can create a copy of the
object using the Mirror through a Line or Mirror through a Plane, create multiple copies of a
entity such as curve, surface or solid using the Rectangular and Circular Array.
If you want to Move the an object with respect to fixed entity you can use the Move menu
Click on EDIT → MOVE OBJECT
A dialogue box opens with options as shown in the figure above. Note the Object Handle that
appears on the object in the form of a coordinate system. You can select the type of motion from
the MOTION drop-down menu. The default option is Dynamic. With this you can move the
object in any direction. There are several other ways of moving the object as shown in the figure
below.
35
• POINT TO POINT – This option allows you to move the center of the cylinder to any
destination point on the X-Y-Z axis that you want to move. The coordinates are based on the
WCS.
• DISTANCE – This option moves the

selected object in the X-Y-Z direction by the
distance that you enter.
Click on SPECIFY VECTOR

Select the direction.
Type 5 in the DISTANCE box. This will

translate the cylinder a distance of 5 inches
along X-Axis
Click OK
Note that MOVE ORIGINAL is the

RESULT clicked.
The cylinder will move in the X-direction by a

distance of 5 inches.
Click CANCEL
As you can see, we have moved the cylinder in the X-direction. Similarly, we can also copy the
cylinder by a specified distance or to a specified location by selecting the COPY ORIGINAL
option in the RESULT. These are the basic commands that you will need initially.
That completes an introduction of the basics of the NX7 interface and some basic feature
operations that can be done. In the next chapter, we would learn more about the form features
and some primitive object types.
36
CHAPTER 3 - FORM FEATURES
This chapter will discuss the basics of Form Features in NX7: Essentially, we will be discussing
what a feature is, what the different types of features are, what primitives are and how to model
features in NX7 using primitives. This will give a head start to the modeling portion of the NX7
and develop an understanding of the use of Form Features for modeling. In NX7 version, the
features are categorized in different menus based on the functions and ease of identification.
3.1 OVERVIEW
In NX7 Features is a class of objects that have a defined parent. Features are associatively
defined by one or more parents and that retain within the model the order of its creation and
modification, thus capturing it through the History. Parents can be geometrical objects or
numerical variables. Features include primitives, surfaces and/or solids and certain wire frame
objects (such as curves and associative trim and bridge curves). For example, some common
features include blocks, cylinders, cones, spheres, extruded bodies, and revolved bodies.
Commonly Features can be classified as following
Body: A class of objects containing solids and sheets.
Solid Body: A collection of faces and edges that enclose a volume.
Sheet Body: A collection of one or more faces that do not enclose a volume.
Face: A region on the outside of a body enclosed by edges.
37
3.2 TYPES OF FEATURES
There are six types of Form features: Reference features,

Swept features, Remove features, User-defined features,
Extract features and Primitives. Just like the NX5 version, the
NX7 version stores all the Form Features under the
INSERT menu option. The form features are also available
in the Form Features Toolbar.
Click INSERT on the Menu bar
As you can see, the marked menus in the figure on the right
side contain the commands of Form Features.
The Form Feature icons are grouped in the Form Features

Toolbar as shown below. You can choose the icons that you
use frequently.
Click on the drop down arrow in Form Feature Toolbar

Choose ADD OR REMOVE BUTTONS
Choose FORM FEATURE
Reference Features
These let you create reference planes or reference axes. These references can assist you in
creating features on cylinders, cones, spheres and revolved solid bodies.
Click on INSERT → DATUM/POINT to view the different Reference Feature options:

Datum Plane, Datum Axis, Datum CSYS, and Point
38
Swept Features
These let you create bodies by extruding or revolving sketch geometry. Swept Features include:
• Extruded Body
• Revolved Body
• Sweep along Guide
• Tube
• Styled Sweep
To select a swept feature you can do the following:
Click on INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE for Extrude and Revolve

or
Click on INSERT → SWEEP for the rest of the options
Remove Features
Remove Features let you create bodies by
removing solid part from other parts.
Click on INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE
Remove Features include,

• Hole
• Boss
• Pocket
• Pad
• Slot
• Groove
You can also select the features by clicking on
the icons
User-Defined features
These allow you to create your own form features to automate commonly used design elements.
You can use user-defined features to extend the range and power of the built-in form features.
Click on INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → USER DEFINED
Extract Features
These features let you create bodies by extracting curves, faces and regions. These features are
widely spaced under Associative Copy and Offset/Scale menus. Extract Features include:
• Extract
• Sheet from curves
• Bounded plane
39
• Thicken Sheet
• Sheet to Solid Assistant
Click on INSERT → ASSOCIATIVE COPY → EXTRACT for Extract options
Click on INSERT → OFFSET/SCALE for Thicken Sheet and Sheets to Solid Assistant
Click on INSERT → SURFACE for Bounded Plane and Sheet from curves
Primitives
They let you create solid bodies in the
form of generic building shapes.
Primitives include,
• Block
• Cylinder
• Cone
• Sphere
Primitives are the primary entities. Hence we will begin with a short description of primitives
and then proceed to modeling various objects.
3.3 PRIMITIVES
Primitive features are base features from which many other features can be created. The basic
primitives are blocks, cylinders, cones and spheres. Primitives are non-associative which means
40
they are not associated to the geometry used to create them. The parameters of these primitive
objects can be changed.
Now let us start modeling of some basic objects.
3.3.1 Model a Block
Create a new file and name it as

Arborpress_plate.prt
Now let us model a plate.

BLOCK or click on the Block icon in the Form
Feature Toolbar
The Block window appears. There are three main

things to define a block. They include the Type,
Origin and the Dimensions of the block. To access
the Types scroll the drop-down menu under Type.
There are three ways to create a block primitive.
• Origin, Edge Lengths

• Height, Two Points
• Two Diagonal Points
Make sure the Origin, Edge Lengths method is

selected
Now, we will choose the origin using the Point

Constructor.
Click on the POINT CONSTRUCTOR icon

under the Origin
or
Click on the POINT CONSTRUCTOR icon in the Utility Toolbar as shown in the
following figure.
The Point Constructor box will open. The XC, YC, ZC points should have a default value of 0.
Click OK
The Block window will reappear.
41
Type the following dimensions in the
window.
Length (XC) = 65 inches
Width (YC) = 85 inches
Height (ZC) = 20 inches
Click OK
If you do not see anything on the screen, right-click and select FIT. You can also press
<Ctrl> + F
Right-click on the screen and click on ORIENT VIEW → TRIMETRIC
You should be able to see the complete plate solid model. Save and close the part file.
42
3.3.2 Model a Shaft
After modeling a basic block, we will now model a shaft

having two cylinders and one cone joined together.
Create a new file and save it as Impeller_shaft.prt

CYLINDER
Similar to the Block there are three things that need to be

defined to create a cylinder, Type, Axis & Origin,
Dimensions.
A Cylinder can be defined by two types which can be

obtained by scrolling the drop-down menu under Type
• Axis, Diameter, Height
• Arc, Height
Select AXIS, DIAMETER, HEIGHT
Click on the Vector Constructor icon next to Specify

Vector as shown on the second figure on right.
Click on the ZC Axis icon.
Leave the other options as default and click OK
Click on the Point Constructor icon next to Specify

Point to set the origin of the cylinder
Set all the XC, YC, and ZC coordinates to be 0
You can see that the selected point is the origin of WCS
In the next dialog box of the window, type in the
following values as shown in figure
Diameter = 4 inches
Height = 18 inches
Click OK
43
Click CANCEL on any other windows that appear
Right-click on the screen, choose ORIENT VIEW → ISOMETRIC
You can change the color of the solid body and the background as mentioned in the Chapter
2.3.4. The cylinder will look as shown below.
Now we will create a cone at one end of the cylinder.
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → CONE
Similar to Block and Cylinder there are various ways to

create a cone which can be seen by scrolling the drop-
down menu in the Type box.
• Diameters, Height
• Diameters, Half Angle
• Base Diameter, Height, Half Angle
• Top Diameter, Height, Half Angle
• Two Coaxial Arcs
Select DIAMETERS, HEIGHT
Click on the Vector Constructor icon next to Specify

Vector.
Choose the ZC-Axis icon so the vector is pointing in

the positive Z direction
Click OK
Click on the Point Constructor icon next to Specify Point to set the origin of the cylinder.
44
The Point Constructor window will appear next.
Choose the Arc/Ellipse/Sphere Center icon on the

dialog box and click on the top circular edge of the
cylinder
OR
For the Base Point coordinates, type in the
following values: XC = 0 YC = 0 ZC = 18
Click OK
In the cone window, type in the following values:

Base diameter = 4 inches
Top Diameter = 6 inches
Height = 10 inches
Click OK
On the Boolean Operation window, choose

UNITE
Now the cone will appear on top of the cylinder.
Click CANCEL on any other windows
Press <Ctrl> + F OR right-click and select FIT
The shaft is as shown on right.
Now we will create one more cylinder on top of the cone.
Repeat the same procedure as before to create another Cylinder.

The vector should be pointing in the positive ZC-direction. On the
Point Constructor window, again click on the Center icon and
construct it at the center point of the base of the cone. The
cylinder should have a diameter of 6 inches and a height of 20
inches.
The complete shaft will look as shown below. Remember to save the model.
45
3.4 REFERENCE FEATUR
FEATURES
3.4.1 Datum Plane
Datum Planes are reference features that can be used as a base feature in building a model.
Datum planes assist in creating features on cylinders, cones, spheres, and revolved solid bodies
which do not have a planar surface and also aid in creating features at angles other than normal
to the faces of the target solid. We will follow some simple imple steps to practice Reference
Features. For starters, we will create a Datum Plane that is offset from a face.
Open the model Arborpress_plate.prt
Choose INSERT → DATUM/POINT → DATUM PLANE
The Datum Plane dialog can also be opened by clicking the icon as shown in the figure below
from the Form Feature Toolbar
oolbar.
46
The Datum Plane window, shown on the right side,
allows you to choose the method of selection.
However, NX7 is smart enough to judge the method
depending on the entity you select, if you keep in
inferred option, which is also the Default option.
Click on the top surface of the block so that it

becomes highlighted
The vector displays the positive offset direction that

the datum plane will be created in. If you had selected
the bottom face, the vector would have pointed
downward, away from the solid.
Insert the Offset Distance value as 15 inches in

the dialog box and click APPLY on the Datum
Plane Window
The offset Datum Plane will look as below.
Click CANCEL once you are done
If you don’t see the complete model and plane, right-click and select FIT
3.4.2 Datum Axis
In this part, you are going to create a Datum Axis. A Datum Axis is a reference feature that can
be used to create datum planes, revolved features, extruded bodies, etc.
47
Datum Axes can be created either relative to another object or as a fixed
axis (i.e., not referencing,
rencing, and not constrained by other geometric objects).
Choose INSERT → DATUM/POINT → DATUM AXIS
The Datum Axis dialog can also be opened by clicking the icon as shown in the figure on the
right from the Form Feature toolbar
toolbar.
The next window allows you to choose the method of selecting

the axis. However, NX7 can judge which method to use
depending on the entity you select..
There are various ways to make a datum axis. They include

Point and Direction, Two Points,, Two Planes, etc.
Select the Two Points icon at the top right of the Datum Axis window
Select the two points on the block as shown in the figure

on right
Click OK
The Datum Axis will be a diagonal as shown below.
48
3.5 SWEPT FEATURES
3.5.1 Extruded Body
The Extruded Body option lets you create a solid or sheet body by sweeping generator geometry
(curves, solid faces, solid edges, sheet body) in a linear direction for a specified distance.
distance
In this part, we will extrude a rectangle into a

rectangular block as follows.
Create a new part file and save it as

Arborpress_rack.prt
Right-click,
click, then choose ORIENT
VIEW → ISOMETRIC
To learn the extrude

de command, we will create
a 2D rectangle first and then extrude this
rectangle to form a solid.
Choose INSERT → CURVE →

RECTANGLE
49
You can also choose the Rectangle icon in the Sketch Toolbar as shown below.
The Point Constructor window will

open as shown on the right. Note the
Cue Line instructions. The Cue Line
provides the step that needs to be
taken next. You need to define the
corner points for the Rectangle.
For Corner Point 1,

Type in the coordinates XC = 0,
YC = 0, ZC = 0 and click OK
Another Point Constructor window

will pop up, allowing you to define
the 2nd Corner Point
Type in the coordinates XC =

240, YC = 25, ZC = 0 and click
OK and then click Apply
Right-click on the screen and choose FIT
You should see the rectangle as seen below.
Now we will extrude the rectangle to form a solid.

Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → EXTRUDE
OR
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Click on the Extrude icon on the left of the Form Feature Toolbar as shown in the figure
below
The Extrude dialog box will pop up.
Click on all four lines of the rectangle. You can find the preview on the Graphic screen as
you proceed with the selection of the lines.
Choose the default positive ZC-direction as the Direction
In the Limits window, type in the following values:

Start = 0
End = 20
Click OK
The extruded body will appear as shown below. Save your work and close the file.
Similar to the Extrude function, we can also perform functions such as Revolve, Tube, etc.
51
3.6 REMOVE FEATURES
S
Some features allow you to remove a portion of the existing object to create an object with
additional features that are part of the design. These are illustrated below.
Hole:
This option lets you create simple, counter
counter-bored and
nd countersunk holes in solid bodies.
Boss
This option lets you create a simple cylindrical protrusion on a planar face or datum plane.
plane
Pocket
This creates a cavity in an existing body. It can be cylindrical or rectangular.
Pad
Use the Pad option to create a rectangle on an existing solid body.
Slot
This option lets you create a passage through or into a solid body in the shape of a straight slot.
An automatic subtract is performed on the current target solid. It can be rectangular, T-slot,
T U-
Slot, Ball end or Dovetail.
Groove
This option lets you create a groove in a solid body, as if a form tool moved inward (from an
external placement face) or outward (from an internal placement face) on a rotating part, as with
a turning operation.
Thread
This option allows you to create symbolic thread or a detailed thread on a cylindrical face of a
solid body.
We will now learn to create holes.
52
Open the file Arborpress_plate.prt
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURES → HOLE or click on the icon in the Form
Feature Toolbar as shown
The Hole window will open. There are various

selections that need to be done prior to making the
holes. First you need to select the Type of the hole.
Select the default General Hole
Next you need to define the points at which you

need to make the holes.
Click on the Sketch icon in the Position dialog

box and choose the top face of the plate as the
Type of Sketch
Click OK
This will take you the Sketch Plane.
Click on the POINT CONSTRUCTOR icon

and specify all the points as given in the Table
below.
You can specify either one point or all the points at

the same time.
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X Y Z
11.25 10.00 0.00
32.50 23.50 0.00
53.75 10.00 0.00
11.25 75.00 0.00
32.50 61.50 0.00
53.75 75.00 0.00
Click OK after you enter the coordinates of each

point.
Note the dimensions of the hole appear

automatically. You can hide all the dimensions by
selecting, and right clicking and selecting Hide
Click CLOSE once you have entered all the

points.
Click on FINISH SKETCH in the top left corner

of the window
This will take you out of the Sketch mode and bring back to the original Hole window on the
graphics screen.
In the Form dialog choose the default option of Simple Hole.
Enter the following values in the Dimensions window

Diameter = 8 inches
Depth = 25 inches
Tip Angle = 118 degrees
Choose Subtract in the Boolean dialog box
Click OK
The final plate will be as shown below.
54
We have now completed the basic form features. The user-defined form features are advanced
options in which new form features are added into the library.
3.7 EXERCISE - MODEL A WASHER
As an exercise, model a washer as shown in the

figure.
The washer has the following dimensions.
Outer diameter = 0.73 inches
Inner diameter = 0.281 inches
The thickness of the washer can vary within

realistic limits. For practice take the value to be
0.05 inches.
55
CHAPTER 4 – FEATURE OPERATIONS
Feature operations are the continuation of Form Features. In this chapter, you will learn some of
the functions that can be applied to the faces and edges of a solid body or feature you have
created. These include taper, edge blend, face blend, chamfer, trim, etc. After explaining the
feature operations, the chapter will walk you through some examples. As mentioned in the
beginning of Chapter 3, Feature Operations are categorized into different options under the
INSERT menu. Therefore, you will not find a single menu group as ‘Feature Operations’ under
the INSERT menu, however all the Feature Operations are grouped in the Form Features
Toolbar.
4.1 OVERVIEW
Feature operations are performed on the basic Form Features to smooth corners, create tapers,
and unite or subtract certain solids from other solids. Some of the feature operations are shown
below.
Let us see the different types of feature operation commands in NX7 and the function of each
command.
4.2 TYPES OF FEATURE OPERATIONS
The Features Operations used in NX7 include Edge blend, Face blend, Soft blend, Chamfer,
Hollow, Instance, Sew, and Patch. Let us see some of the important operations in details. Unlike
the NX5 where Feature Operations were grouped in a Toolbar as a part of the Form Feature
Toolbar, in NX7 the entire toolbar has been combined into one. In addition, changes have been
made to the way a few operations are performed.
The Feature Operations can be categorized into five main components found under the
INSERT menu. They are as Associative Copy, Combine, Trim, Offset/Scale and Detail
Feature. In this chapter we will be looking at some of these operations only.
56
Edge Blend
An Edge Blend is a radius blend that is tangent to the

blended faces. This feature modifies a solid body by
rounding selected edges. This command can be found
under Insert → Detail Feature → Edge Blend
In this case you need to select the edges to be blended
and define the Radius of the blend.
Similar to Edge Blend you can also do a Face Blend.
Chamfer
The Chamfer function operates very similarly to the

blend function by adding or subtracting material
relative to whether the edge is an outside chamfer or
an inside chamfer. This command can also be found
under the Insert → Detail Feature → Chamfer
menu.
You can preview the result of chamfering and if you are not happy with the result you can undo
the operation.
Thread
Threads can only be created on cylindrical faces. The Thread function lets you create symbolic
or detailed threads (on solid bodies) that are right or left hand, external or internal, parametric,
and associative threads on cylindrical faces such as holes, bosses, or cylinders. It also lets you
select the method of creating the threads such as cut, rolled, milled or ground. You can create
57
different types of threads such as metric, unified, acme and so on. To use this command, go to
Insert → Design Feature → Thread
Trim Body
A solid body can be trimmed by a sheet body or a

datum plane. You can use the Trim Body function to
trim a solid body with a sheet body and at the same
time retain parameters and associativity. To use this
command, go to Insert → Trim → Trim Body
Split Body
A solid body can be split into two just like trimming it.
It can be done by a plane or a sheet body.
Insert → Trim → Split Body
Instance
A Design Feature or a Detail Feature can be made into dependent copies in the form of an
array. It can be Rectangular or Circular array or just a Mirror. This particularly helpful feature
saves plenty of time and modeling when you have similar features. For example threads of gear
58
or holes on a mounting plate, etc. This command can be found by going to Insert → Associative
Copy → Instance Feature.
Boolean Operations
Boolean operations are:

• Unite
• Subtract
• Intersect
These options can be used when two or more solid bodies share the same model space in the part
file. To use this command, go to Insert → Combine Bodies.
Consider two solids given. The block and the cylinder are next to each other as shown below.
Unite:
The unite command adds the Tool body with the Target body. For the above example, the output
will be as follows if Unite option is used.
59
Subtract:
When using the subtract option, the Tool body is subtracted from the Target body. The following
would be the output if the rectangle is used as the Target and the cylinder as the Tool.
Intersect:
This command leaves the volume that is common to both the Target body and the Tool body.
The output is shown below.
4.3 FEATURE OPERATIONS ON MODELS
In the previous chapter, we dealt with some of the Form Features. In this chapter, we will see
how the primitives and basic form features can be converted into complex models by using
Feature Operations. The following are a set of examples that will guide
you in creation of some simple models.
4.3.1 Model a Hexagonal Screw
Create a new file and save it as Impeller_hexa-bolt.prt
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → CYLINDER
The cylinder should be pointing in the positive ZC-direction with the

center set at the Origin and with the following dimensions:
Diameter = 0.25 inches
Height = 1.5 inches
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Now create a small step cylinder on top of the
existing cylinder.
The dimensions of this cylinder are,

Height = 0.0156 inches
Click on the top face of the existing

cylinder as shown in the following figure
On the Point Constructor window,

choose the Arc/Ellipse/Sphere Center icon
from the drop-down Type menu
Click OK to get out of Point Constructor window.
Under the Boolean drop-down menu,

choose UNITE
The two cylinders should look like the figure

shown below. Save the model.
Next, we will create a hexagon for the head of

the bolt.
Choose INSERT → CURVE → POLYGON
On the Polygon window, type 6 for the

number of sides
Click OK
There are three ways to draw the polygon.
61
• Inscribed Radius
• Side of Polygon
• Circumscribed Radius
Choose SIDE OF POLYGON
On the next window, enter the following

dimensions.
Side = 0.246 inches
Orientation Angle = 0.00 degree
Click OK
On the Point Constructor window, again choose

Arc/Ellipse/Sphere Center icon
Click on the top face of the last cylinder drawn (small cylinder)
Click CANCEL
The polygon will be seen as shown below. If the model is not in wireframe, click on the
Wireframe icon in the View Toolbar
62
Now we will extrude this polygon.
Click on all six lines of the hexagon to choose the surface that is required to be extruded
Enter the End Distance as 0.1876 inches
The model looks like the following after extrusion
On top of the cylinder that has a diameter of 0.387 inches, insert another cylinder with the
following dimensions.
Remember to select the Arc/Ellipse/Sphere Center icon in the drop-down menu of Type in the
Point Constructor window and select the top face of the cylinder with diameter of 0.387.
You will only be able to see this cylinder when the model is in wireframe since the cylinder is
inside the hexagon head. The model will look like the following.
63
We will now use the feature operation Intersect.
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → SPHERE
Choose DIAMETER, CENTER
On the Point Constructor window, choose the Center icon
Select the bottom of the last cylinder drawn, which is inside the hexagon head and has a
diameter of 0.387 inches and a height of 0.1875 inches as shown below
Click OK
This will give take you the next

Dialog box which will ask you to
choose the Boolean operation to be
performed.
Choose INTERSECT
It will ask you to select the target

solid
Choose the hexagonal head as

shown on right
Click OK
64
Click CANCEL
This will give you the hexagonal bolt as shown below.
* NOTE: Take care when creating the different features (three cylinders, extrusion of
hexagon), the Boolean dialog box has the value “NONE”
Now we will add threading to the hexagonal bolt.
Choose INSERT → DESIGN

FEATURE → THREAD
Here you will see the threading

dialog box as shown below.
There are two main options in

Threading:
1) Symbolic and 2) Detailed.
Click on the DETAILED radio

button
Keep the thread hand to be

RIGHT HAND
Click on the bolt shaft, the long cylinder below the hexagon head
Once the shaft is selected, all the values will be displayed in the Thread dialog box. Keep all
these default values.
Click OK
The hexagon bolt should now look like the following. Save the model.
65
4.3.2 Model an L-Bar
Here we will make use of some Feature Operations such as Edge Blend, Chamfer, and
Subtract.
Create a new file and save it as Arborpress_L-bar
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → BLOCK
Create a block with the following dimensions.

Length = 65 inches
Width = 65 inches
Height = 285 inches
Create the block at the origin
Create a second block also placed at the origin with the following
dimensions.
Length = 182 inches
Width = 65 inches
Height = 85 inches
We have to move the second block to the top of the first block.
Click EDIT → MOVE OBJECT
Select the second block (green) that you inserted which is longer
in the XC-direction
Click OK
Choose the Motion as DISTANCE
66
Select the positive ZC in the Specify Vector dialog
Enter 200 as the Distance value
Make sure that Move Original radio button is checked.
Click OK
Click MOVE and then CANCEL on the next

window so that the operation is not repeated
After transformation, it will look like the following.
Now we will create a hole. There are many

ways to create a hole. We will do so by first
creating a cylinder and then using the
Subtract function.
Choose INSERT → DESIGN

FEATURE → CYLINDER
On the Vector Constructor window,

select the YC Axis icon
In the Point Constructor dialog box,

enter the following values
Axes XC YC ZC
Dimension 130 -5 242
The cylinder should have the following

dimensions.
Diameter = 35 inches
Height = 100 inches
67
Under the Boolean drop-down window, choose SUBTRACT
Select the horizontal block at the top as shown in the figure on

the right side
The hole should look like the one in the figure. Save your model.
Now we will create another cylinder and subtract it from the upper
block.
The cylinder should be pointing in the positive Y-direction set at

the following point: XC = 130; YC = 22.5
and ZC = 242
The cylinder should have the following

dimensions.
Diameter = 66 inches
Height = 20 inches
Subtract this cylinder from the same block as

before using the Boolean drop-down menu
The wireframe model will be seen as shown

below.
Now we will create a block.
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → BLOCK
Create a block with the following dimensions.

Length = 25 inches
Width = 20 inches
Height = 150 inches
68
Click on the Point Constructor icon in the Block window and enter the following values
Axes XC YC ZC
Values 157 22.5 180
The model will look like the following figure.
Now we will subtract this block from the

block with the hole.
Choose INSERT → COMBINE

BODIES → SUBTRACT
Click on the block with the two holes

(green) as the Target
Select the newly created block (brown) as

Tool
Click OK
The model will be seen as shown below.
69
Now we will use the Blend function in the feature operations. In order to do so, we must first
unite the two blocks.
Choose INSERT → COMBINE BODIES → UNITE

Click on the two blocks and click OK
The two blocks are now combined into one solid model.
Choose INSERT → DETAIL FEATURE → EDGE BLEND

Change the Radius to 60
Select the edge that the arrow is pointing to in the figure
Click OK
The blend will look as shown below.
70
Repeat the same procedure to Blend the inner edge of the blocks. This time, the Radius
should be changed to 30
The blended figure is shown below. Remember to save the model.
71
We will now make four holes in the model. You can create these holes by using the Hole option
as illustrated in Chapter 3; however, to practice using Feature Operations, we will subtract
cylinders from the block.
Insert four cylinders individually. They

should be pointing in the positive XC-
direction and have the following
dimensions.
Diameter = 8 inches
Height = 20 inches
They should be constructed in the XC-

direction at the following point coordinates.
1 2 3 4
X 162 162 162 162
Y 11.25 11.25 53.75 53.75
Z 210 275 210 275
SUBTRACT these cylinders from the

block in the Boolean dialog box
The block with holes looks like as shown in figure below
The last operation on this model is to create a block and subtract it from the top block.
Create a Block with the following dimensions.

Length = 60 inches
Width = 20 inches
Height = 66 inches
72
Enter the following values in the Point Constructor dialog by clicking the
icon
Axes XC YC ZC
Dimension 130 22.5 209.5
After creating the block, subtract this

block from the block at the top by first
selecting the original block and then
clicking on the newly created block
The final figure will look like this. Save

and close the file.
4.3.3 Model a Hexagonal Nut
Create a new file and save it as Impeller_hexa-nut.prt
Choose INSERT → CURVE → POLYGON
73
Create a hexagon with the option SIDE OF POLYGON and each side measuring 0.28685
inches and constructed at the Origin.
Click on all six lines of the hexagon to choose the surface that is required to be extruded
Enter the End Distance as 0.125 inches
The figure of the model is shown below.
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → SPHERE
Choose CENTER, DIAMETER
Enter the diameter value 0.57 inches

Enter the center point location in the Point Constructor window as follows
Axes XC YC ZC
Dimension 0.0 0.0 0.125
In the Boolean operations dialog box select INTERSECT
The model will look like the following.
74
We will now use a Mirror command.
Choose EDIT → TRANSFORM
Select the model and click OK
Click MIRROR THROUGH A PLANE
Click on the flat side of the model as shown. Be careful

not to select any edges
Click on OK
Click on COPY
Click CANCEL
You will get the following model.
Choose INSERT → COMBINE BODIES → UNITE
75
Select the two halves and Unite them
Insert a Cylinder with the vector pointing in the ZC-Direction and with the following
dimensions.
Height = 1 inch
Put the cylinder on the Origin and Subtract this cylinder from the hexagonal nut
Now, we will chamfer the inside edges of the nut.
Choose INSERT → DETAIL FEATURE → CHAMFER
76
Select the two inner edges as shown and click OK
Enter the Chamfer Offset Diameter as 0.0436 inches and click OK
You will see the chamfer on the nut. Save the model.
4.3.4 Model a Rack with Instances
In this part, we will practice to create instances of a given object.
Open the file Arborpress_rack.prt
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → POCKET
Choose RECTANGULAR in the pop up window
Click on the top surface of the rack as shown in the figure for the placement surface.
Keep an eye on the Cue Line. It gives the next instruction.
77
Click on the edge as shown in the figure for the Horizontal Reference
This will pop up the parameters window.
Enter the values of parameters as shown in the figure and choose OK
Choose Wireframe option in the Display mode for more clarity
When the Positioning window pops up, choose the PERPENDICULAR option
78
Click on the edge on the solid and then click on the blue dotted line as shown below
Enter the expression value as 37.8 and Choose OK
Once again pick the PERPENDICULAR option and then choose the other set of the edges
along the Y-Axis, as shown in the figure below.
Enter the expression value as 10 and choose OK twice. Choose CANCEL.
79
The model will now look as follows.
Let us create the instances of the slot as the teeth of the Rack to be meshed with pinion.
Choose INSERT → ASSOCIATIVE COPY→ INSTANCE FEATURE
Choose RECTANGULAR ARRAY from the selection tabs
Choose RECTANGULAR POCKET

from the Instance Dialog box as shown
in the figure below
Choose OK
Enter the values in the parameter

window as shown in the figure. This
creates 19 copies including the original at the offset
distance of 9.4 inches
Choose OK
Click YES
Click CANCEL
The model of the Rack will look as the one shown in the
figure.
80
We will create a hole with diameter 10 inches and depth 20 inches at the center of the
rectangular cross section.
To determine the center of the cross-section of the rectangular rack, we make use of the Snap
Points
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → CYLINDER
Choose –XC-Direction to in the Specify Vector dialog box
Click on the POINT CONSTRUCTOR
In the Points dialog box select

Between Two Points option and
select the points as shown in the
figure on the right.
Click OK
Enter the following values in the

Dimension dialog box
Diameter – 10 inches
Height – 20 inches
Choose Subtract in the Boolean

dialog box.
The final model is shown below.
81
4.4 EXERCISE - MODEL A CIRCULAR BASE
As an exercise, model a circle base as shown below using the following dimensions:
Outer diameter = 120 inches

Distance of 3 small slots = 17 inches
Distance of the large slot = 30 inches
Diameter of the central rod = 4 inches and length = 30 inches
Length of slots may vary.
Top and Front view dimensions are shown in the figure below.
82
CHAPTER 5 – DRAFTING
The NX7 Drafting application lets you create drawings, views, geometry, dimensions, and
drafting annotations necessary for the completion as well as understanding of a industrial
drawing.
wing. The goal of this chapter is to give the designer/draftsman enough knowledge of drafting
tools to create a basic drawing of their design. The drafting application supports the drafting of
engineering models in accordance with ANSI standards. After exp explaining
laining the basics of the
drafting application, we will go through a step
step-by-step
step approach for drafting some of the models
created earlier.
5.1 OVERVIEW
The Drafting Application is designed to allow you to produce and maintain industry standard
engineering drawings directly from the 3D model or assembly part. Drawings created in the
Drafting application are fully associative to the model and any changes made to the model
mo are
automatically reflected in the drawing. The Drafting application also offers a set of 2D drawing
tools for 2D centric design and layout requirements. You can produce standalone 2D drawings.
The DRAFTING Application is based on creating views from a solid model as illustrated below.
Drafting makes it easy to create drawings with orthographic views, section views, imported
view, auxiliary views, dimensions and other annotations.
83
Some of the useful features of the Drafting Application are:
1) After you choose the first view, the other orthographic views can be added and aligned
with the click of some buttons.
2) Each view is associated directly with the solid. Thus, when the solid is changed, the
drawing will be updated directly along with the views and dimensions.
3) Drafting annotations (dimensions, labels, and symbols with leaders) are placed directly
on the drawing and updated automatically when the solid is changed.
We will see how views are created and annotations are used and modified in the step-by-step
examples.
5.2 DRAFTING OF MODELS
We will draft some models that have already been drawn. We will go through the drafting
options step-by-step to make them easier to understand.
5.2.1 Drafting
Open the file Arborpress_rack.prt
From the NX7 Interface Choose START ALL APPLICATIONS → DRAFTING as

shown
* Note: All other applications such as Modeling, Manufacturing, Assembly, etc. can be opened
in a similar fashion.
84
When you first open the Drafting Application, a window
pops up asking for inputs like the Template, Standard
Size or Custom Size, the units, and the angle of
projection.
Size
Size allows you to choose the size of the Sheet. There

are standard Templates that you can create for frequent
use depending upon the Company Standards. There are
several Standard sized Sheets available for you. You can
also define a Custom sized sheet in case your drawings
don’t fit into a standard sized sheet.
Preview
This shows the design of the Template
Units
Units follow the default units of the parent 3-D model.

In case you are starting from the Drafting Application
you need to choose the units here.
Projection
You can choose the projection method either first angle

or third angle method.
To start using the Drafting Application we will begin by

creating a Standard Sized sheet
Click on the Standard Size radio button.

In the drop-down menu on the Size window, select
sheet B, which has dimensions 11 x 17. Then change
the scale to 1:25 by using the drop-down menu and
choosing the Custom Scale under the Scale.
Click OK
This will open the drafting option and the following

screen will be seen as below. Let us first look at the
Drafting Application Interface.
85
After this you will see another dialog box pops
pops-up
which will define the Base View and its location. If
you do not see the figure on right then
Choose INSERT → VIEW → BASE
You can find a Dialog box with the options of the View
and the Scale of the view, as shown in the figure on
your screen along with a floating drawing of tthe object.
Choose the View to be FRONT
You can find the Front View projection on the screen.

You can move the Mouse cursor on the screen and
click on the place where you want the view.
Once you set the Front view another dialog box will
pop-up asking you
ou to set the other views at any location
on the screen within the Sheet Boundary
Boundary.
86
You can find the views by changing the cursor around the first view (FRONT VIEW). The
following are some snap shots of the views seen at different location of the mouse cursor. If you
want to add any orthographic views after closing this file or changing to other command modes
Choose INSERT → VIEW → PROJECTED VIEW
Now let us create all the other orthographic projected views as shown below and click on the
screen at the desired position.
87
Keep on Clicking in the Sheet to create the side view.
In case you have closed the Projected View dialog box you can reopen it by clicking on the
Projected View icon in the Drafting Layout Toolbar.
Move the cursor to the right side and click there to get the right-side view
Click Close on the Projected View dialog box or Press <Esc> key on the Keyboard to get out
of the View creation.
Before creating the dimensions, let us remove the borders in each view as it adds to the
confusion with the entity lines.
Choose PREFERENCES → DRAFTING
The Drafting Preferences window will pop up.

Click on the VIEW tab button
88
Uncheck the Tick mark on the Display Borders as shown in the figure below and click OK
Now you can find the drawing views without borders as shown below.
89
5.2.2 Dimensioning
Now we have to create the dimensions for these views. The

dimensions can be inserted by either of the two ways as
described below:
1) Choose INSERT → DIMENSION

OR
2) Click on the Dimension Toolbar as shown in the
following figure
Choose INSERT → DIMENSION → INFERRED
The following two option boxes will pop up. The icons on this
toolbar are helpful for changing the properties of the
dimensions.
The first icon lists different styles of displaying the Nominal dimension and
Tolerances as shown in the figure on the right.
The second icon allows you to change the number of significant digits given
in the dimension as shown in figure on right. For example, selecting ‘2’ will
display the dimension till two decimal places as “240.00” while selecting ‘3’
will display the dimension till three decimal places as “240.000”. This is
extremely useful when you are defining the tolerances of the part.
The next icon is the annotation editor, which you can use to edit the
dimension value.
The last icon in the option bar resets these properties to default settings. Now
we will create the first dimension. The Settings tab allows you to configure
the settings of the dimension arrows, alignment, lettering in the annotation
etc. as shown in the figures below.
90
On the First view (FRONT View) that you created, click on the top left corner of the rack
and then on the top right corner
The dimension that represents the distance between these points will appear. You can put the
location of the dimension by moving the mouse on the screen. Whenever you place your views
in the Sheet please take into consideration that you will be placing the dimensions around it.
91
To set the dimension onto the drawing sheet, place the dimension well above the view as
shown and click the left mouse button
Even after creating the dimension, you can edit the properties of the dimensions.
Right-click on the dimension you just created and Choose STYLE
Increase the Character Size to 0.2 and click OK
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Give dimensions to all other views as shown in the following figure
5.2.3 Sectional View
Let us create a Sectional View for the same part to show the depth and profile of the hole.
Choose INSERT → VIEW → SECTION VIEW
Click on the bottom of the Base View as Shown in the figure. This will show a Phantom
Line with two Arrow marks for the direction of the Section plane (orange dashed line with
arrows pointing upwards).
Click on the middle of the View as shown.
This will fix the position of the sectional line (Section Plane).
Now move the cursor around the view to get the direction of the Plane of section. Keep the arrow
pointing vertically upwards and drag the sectional view to the bottom of the Base View.
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Adjust the positions of dimensions if they are interfering. The Final Drawing sheet should look
like the one shown in the following figure.
Save and close your model.
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5.2.4 Drafting and Dimensioning of an Impeller hexagonal bolt
Open the model Impeller_hexa-bolt.prt
Choose START → DRAFTING
On the New Drawing Sheet window, select sheet E-

34 X 44 and change the Numerator Scale value to
8.0
Choose INSERT → VIEW → BASE VIEW
Add the FRONT view by repeating the same

procedure as in the last example
Add the Orthographic Views, including the right

side view and top view
Choose PREFERENCES → DRAFTING
Uncheck the box next to Display Borders under

View Tab
The screen will have the following three views:
There are always the hidden lines, which are not seen. To see the hidden lines
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Choose PREFERENCES → VIEW OR
Select the views, right-click and choose STYLE as shown below
A window will pop up with various options pertaining to the views.
Click on the Hidden lines tab
Change INVISIBLE to DASHED LINES as shown below and click OK
You can see the hidden lines as shown below.
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Now we will proceed to dimensioning.
Choose INSERT → DIMENSIONS → VERTICAL
Give vertical dimensions to all the distances shown below.
Now we have to give the dimensions of the bolt head.
Choose INSERT → DIMENSIONS → PARALLEL
Give the two dimensions to the bolt head as shown in the

figure.
For the threading, we will use a leader line.
Click on the Text Symbol icon shown in the Toolbar
In the Annotation Editor window that opens, enter the following text exactly as shown. You
can find Ø and the degree symbol on the Drafting Symbols tab
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Right Hand Ø 0.20 X 1.5
Pitch 0.05, Angle 600
Click on the threaded shaft in the side view, hold

the mouse and drag the Leader line next to the
view. Let go of the mouse and click again to
place the text.
Close the Annotation Editor
Since the height of the Lettering is small, we will

enlarge the character size as well as the arrow size.
Right-click on the Leader and select STYLE
Click on the Lettering tab
Increase the Character Size to make the leader

legible.
Now we will add additional dimensions and views.
Choose INSERT → DIMENSIONS →

DIAMETER
Click the circle of the bolt in the top view to give

the diameter dimension
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Click INSERT → VIEW → BASE VIEW
Select the TFR-ISO view and place the view somewhere on the screen
The final drawing is shown below. Remember to save.
5.3 EXERCISE - DRAFTING AND DIMENSIONING OF A CIRCULAR BASE
As an exercise, perform drafting and give dimensions to the circle base that you modeled in
Exercise 4.4. The model of the part is displayed below.
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CHAPTER 6 – SKETCHING
In this chapter, you will learn how to create and edit sketches in NX7. Sketchin
Sketchingg in NX7 version
is much more user-friendly
friendly compared to its older versions. Unlike in NX5 where you could
create sketch in Sketch environment, in NX7 you can directly create a sketch in Modeling
Application. Up to this point, the only way you have learned to create a new model is by creating
and operating form features. In this second method of modeling, you will first create a sketch and
then extrude, revolve or sweep the sketch to create solids. Many complex shapes that are
otherwise very difficult to modelel using primitives or other form features can easily be drawn by
sketching. In this chapter, we will see some concepts of sketching and then proceed to sketch and
model some parts.
6.1 OVERVIEW
An NX7 sketch is a named set of curves joined in a string that when swept, form a solid. The
sketch represents the outer boundary of that part. The curves are created on a plane in the
sketcher. In the beginning, these curves are drawn without any exact dimensions. The solids
created can be united into single par
parts
ts using constraints. There are two kinds of constraints:
1) Geometric constraints
2) Dimensional constraints
These will be discussed in detail later.
These are the different ways that you can use sketches:
• A sketch can be revolved:
• A sketch can be extruded:
• A sketch can be swept along a guide (line):
Features created from a sketch are associated with it; if the

sketch changes so do the features.
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The advantages of sketching over using primitives are:
a) The curves used to create the profile outline are very flexible and can be used to model
unusual shapes.
b) The curves are parametric, hence associative and they can easily be changed or removed.
c) If the plane in which the sketch is drawn is changed, the sketch will be changed
accordingly.
d) Sketches are useful when you want to control an outline of a feature, especially if it may
need to be changed in the future. Sketches can be edited very quickly and easily.
6.2 SKETCHING FOR CREATING MODELS
In earlier chapters, we dealt with the Form Features and the Feature Operations. In this
chapter, we will model complex shapes by using sketching.
6.2.1 Model an Arbor Press Base
Create a new file and save it as Arborpress_base.prt
In NX7 you can create sketch using two ways. The first
method creates the Sketch in the current environment and
application. For this you will have to use
Choose INSERT → SKETCH
In the other method you can create Sketch using
Choose INSERT → SKETCH in TASK

ENVIRONMENT
In either of the case, it pop-ups a dialog box asking you to define the Sketch Plane. We will use
second method of creating sketch. The screen will display the Sketch options. You can choose
the sketch plane, direction of sketching and type of plane for sketching. The default sketch plane
is the X-Y plane. When you create a sketch using the Create Sketch dialog box, you can choose
the plane on which the sketch can be created by clicking on the coordinate frame as shown. This
will highlight the plane you have selected. The default plane selected is XC-YC.
Choose the XC-YC plane and click OK
The sketch plane will appear and the X-Y directions will be marked.
This is 2D sketching.
The main screen will change to the Sketch Environment. The XY plane
is highlighted as the default plane for sketching. However, you can
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choose to sketch on another plane. If there are any solid features created in the model
beforehand, any of the flat surfaces can also be used as a sketching plane.
This is the basic sketch window. It can be divided into various parts, which ha
have
ve been labeled.
You can change the name of the sketch in the box next to the Finish Flag.
6.2.1.1 Sketch Curve Toolbar
This Toolbar contains icons for creating the common types of curves and Spline curves, editing,
extending, trimming, filleting etc. Each type of curve will have different methods of selection
methods of creation. Let us discuss the most frequently used options.
Profile:
This option creates both straight lines as well as arcs dep

depending
ending on the icon you select in the pop-
pop
up toolbar. You can pick the points by using the coordinate system or by entering the length and
angle of the line as shown in the following figures.
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Line:
This option will selectively create only straight lines.
Arc:
This option creates arcs by either of two methods. The first option creates arc with three
sequential points as shown below.
The second option creates the arc with a center point, radius and sweep angle or by center point
with a start point and end point. The illustration is shown below:
Circle:
Creating a circle is similar to creating an arc, except that circle is closed unlike an arc.
Quick Trim:
This trims the extending curves from the points of intersection of the curves. This option reads
every entity by splitting them if they are intersected by another entity and erases the portion
selected.
Studio Spline:
You can create basic spline curves (B-spline and Bezier) with poles or through points with the
desired degree of the curve. The spline will be discussed in detail in the next chapter (Freeform
Features).
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6.2.1.2 Constraints Toolbar
All the curves are created by picking points. For example, a straight line is created with two
points. In a 2-D environment, any point will have two degrees of freedom, one along X and
another along Y axis. The number of points depends on the type of curve being created.
Therefore, a curve entity will have twice the number of degrees of freedom than the number of
points it comprises. These degrees of freedom can be removed by creating a constraint with a
fixed entity. In fact, it is recommended that you remove all these degrees of freedom by relating
the entities directly or indirectly to the fixed entities. It can be done by giving dimensional or
geometric properties like Parallelity, Perpendicularity, etc. In NX7 smart constraints are applied
automatically, i.e. automatic dimensions or geometrical constraints are interpreted by NX7.
(Note: Any degrees of freedom that are not constrained are displayed in orange arrows . All
these arrows should be removed by applying the constraints to follow a disciplined modeling.)
Dimensional Constraints:
The degrees of freedom can be eliminated by giving dimensions with fixed entities like axes,
planes, the coordinate system or any existing solid geometries created in the model. These
dimensions can be linear, radial, angular etc. You can edit the dimensional values at anytime
during sketching by double-clicking on the dimension.
Geometric Constraints:
Besides the dimensional constraints, some geometric constraints can be given to eliminate the
degrees of freedom. They include parallel, perpendicular, collinear, concentric, horizontal,
vertical, equal length, etc. The software has the capability to find the set of possible constraints
for the selected entities.
Show all Constraints:

Clicking this icon will show all the options pertaining to the entities in that particular sketch in
white.
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Show/Remove Constraints:
This window lists all the constraints and types of constraints pertaining to any entity selected.
You can delete any of the listed constraints or change the sequence of the constraints.
6.2.1.3 Sketcher Toolbar
Besides being able to change the name of the Sketch, the sketcher toolbar also has some other
highly useful features mentioned below.
Orient View to Sketch:

If the model file is rotated during the process of sketching, click on this icon to view the sketch
on a plane parallel to the screen.
Reattach Sketch:
This function allows you to reattach the sketch to the desired plane without recreating all the
curves, dimensions, and constraints.
Update Model:
When you make changes in a sketch, click on this icon to see the effects of those changes
without exiting the Sketch mode.
Now we will draw curves using the options discussed above.
Choose INSERT → PROFILE if the Profile window is not already showing.
Draw a figure similar to the one shown below. While

making continuous sketch, click on the Line icon on
the Profile dialog box to create straight lines and the
Arc icon to make the semicircle. (Look at the size of
the XY plane in the figure. Use that perspective for the
approximate zooming.)
Once the sketch is complete, we will constrain the sketch. It

is better to apply the geometric constraints before giving
the dimensional constraints.
Choose INSERT → CONSTRAINTS or click on the

Constraints icon in the side toolbar
You will be able to see all the degrees of freedom on the screen represented by orange arrows.
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Note the automatic dimension constraints being applied to each entity. Now we will start by
constraining between an entity in the sketch and the datum or fixed reference. Note that when the
figure is not completely constrained it will appear light green.
We will first place the center of the arc at the origin. This creates a reference for the entire figure.
We can use the two default X and Y axes as a datum reference.
Select the Y-axis and then the center of the arc, which is marked by the ‘+’ sign. The center
of the arc will be marked by a red asterisk once it has been selected.
Click the Point on Curve icon
Repeat the same procedure to place the center of

the arc on the X-axis
Do not worry in case the figure gets crooked. The

figure will come back to proper shape once all the
constraints are applied. Note that when you initially
draw the unconstrained figure, that into consideration
the final shape of the object.
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Select the two slanted lines and make them equal in length
Similarly select the two long vertical lines and make them equal in length
Select the bottom two horizontal lines and make them collinear and then click on the same
lines and make them equal in length
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If you DO NOT find the two Blue circles (Tangent Constraints) near the semicircle as shown in
the figure, follow the below steps. Otherwise, you can ignore this and skip down to the
dimensional constraints.
Select the circular arc and one of the two vertical lines connected to its endpoints
Select the Tangent icon
If the arc and line is already tangent to each other, the icon will be grayed out. If that is the case
click on EDIT → SELECTION →, DESELECT ALL. Repeat the same procedure for the arc
and the other vertical line.
Select the two vertical lines and make them equal
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Similarly select the two small horizontal lines and make them collinear and equal
Similarly select the two vertical lines and make them equal
So far, we have created all the Geometric constraints. Now we have to create the Dimensional
constraints. You will find that as we add on dimensions, the degrees of freedom represented by
the yellow arrows will disappear. NX7 will not allow duplication of dimensions. This is why it is
better to apply the geometric constraints first. If there is any conflict between the dimensional
and geometric constraints, those entities will be highlighted in yellow.
Choose the Inferred Dimensions icon in the Constraints toolbar
Add on all the dimensions as shown in the following figure
For example, to create a dimension for the top two corners, you may have to click on the arrow
next to the Inferred Dimensions icon and click on the Horizontal icon. Then click somewhere
near the top of the two diagonal lines to select them. While dimensioning, if you find the
dimensions illegible, but do not worry about editing the dimensions now. Make sure the small
arrows are disappearing as constraints are placed.
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Now we will edit all the dimension values one by one. It is highly recommended to start editing
from the biggest dimension first and move to the smaller dimensions.
Edit the values as shown in the figure below. Double click on each dimension to change the
values to the values as shown in figure below:
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Click on the Finish flag on the top left corner of the screen when you are finished
Click on the sketch and right-click
Click INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → EXTRUDE
Extrude this sketch in the Z-direction by 60 inches
Create a hole with a diameter of 4 inches and a height of 30 inches at the point (0, 35, 0)
from the WCS
The final figure is shown below. Save and close the file.
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6.2.2 Model an Impeller Lower Casing
Create a new file and save it as Impeller_lower-casing.prt
Click on INSERT → SKETCH in TASK ENVIRONMENT
Set the sketching plane as the XC-YC plane

Make sure the Profile window is showing and draw the following curve
Line 2
Curve 1
Line 1
Curve 2
Click INSERT → DATUM/POINT
Create a point at the origin (0, 0, 0) and click OK
Click Close to exit the POINT CONSTRUCTOR window
Next, we will constrain the curve.
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Click on the Geometric Constraints icon
Select the point at the origin and click on the Fixed constraint
icon
Make all of the curve-lines and curve-curve joints tangent
Then apply the dimensional constraints as shown in the figure below:
Select all the dimensions. Right click and Hide the

dimensions
Choose EDIT → MOVE OBJECT
Select all the curves. You should see ‘4’ objects

being selected in Select Object
Specify the Motion to be Distance
Choose –YC-Direction in the Specify Vector
Enter the Distance to be 0.5 inch
In the Result dialog box make sure you the click on

the Copy Original radio button
Click OK
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Click Cancel to get out of the MOVE OBJECT dialog box
Do not hit OK again otherwise the distance increases every time you hit OK.
Then join the end-points at the two ends using the basic curves to complete the sketch
The sketch is ready.
Select the outer curve as shown in the figure below. Be sure to select all the four parts of the
curve.
Move the lower curve in the Y-direction by -1.5 inches. This is the same as translating it in
the negative YC-direction by 1.5 inches
This will form a curve outside the casing.
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Using straight lines join this curve with the inside curve of the casing
It will form a closed chain curve as shown.
Now we will create the curve required for outside of the

casing on the smaller side which will form the flange
portion.
Select the outer curve as shown in the figure on the

right.
Move the lower curve in the XC-direction by -0.5

inches. This is the same as translating it in the
negative XC-direction by 0.5 inches
Using straight lines join the two lines as shown in

the figure on right side
Click on the Finish Flag
Click on INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → REVOLVE
Make sure that the Selection Filter is set to Single Curve as shown below on
the Selection Filter Toolbar
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Click on each of the 10
curves as shown
In the Axis dialog box ,

in the Specify Vector
option choose the
positive XC-direction
In the Specify Point

option, enter the
coordinates (0, 0, 0) so
the curve revolves
around XC-axis with
respect to the origin
Keep the Start Angle as

0 and enter 180 as the
value for the End Angle
Click OK
The solid is seen as below.
Now, we will create edges.
Click on INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → EXTRUDE
Select the outer curve of the casing as shown in the figure below.
Again make sure that the Selection Filter is set to Single Curve.
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In case you are not able to select the proper lines then
left-click and hold the mouse button and you will see a
dialog box pop-up, which will provide you the options
of which curve to select as shown
Select the curve you just created in the second Sketch
Extrude this piece in the negative Z-direction by 0.5

inches
The final solid will be seen as follows.
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We will now use the Mirror option to create an edge on the other side.
Choose EDIT → TRANSFORM
Select the solid edge as shown. For this you will have to change the Filter in the dialog box
to Solid Body
Choose MIRROR THROUGH A PLANE
Under Principal Planes, click on the XC-ZC icon as

shown and click OK
Select COPY
Click Cancel
The edge will be mirrored to the other side as shown below.
We will create an edge at the smaller opening of the casing as shown.
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Click on INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → REVOLVE
Again make sure that the Selection Filter is set to Single Curve. The default Inferred Curve
option will select the entire sketch instead of individual curves.
Revolve this rectangle in the positive XC-direction relative to the Origin just like for the
casing. The End Angle should be 180
This will form the edge as shown below.
The lower casing is complete. Save the model.
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6.2.3 Model an Impeller
Create a new file and save it as Impeller_impeller.prt
Click on INSERT → SKETCH
Set the sketching plane as the XC-YC plane
Click on INSERT → POINT
Create two Points, one at the origin (0, 0, 0) and one at (11.75, 6, 0)
Click on the Arc icon on the side toolbar and click on the Arc by Center and Endpoints
icon in the pop-up toolbar
Click on the point at the origin and create an arc with a Radius of 1.5 similar to the one
shown in the figure below
Click on the point at (11.75, 6, 0) and create an arc with a radius of 0.5
Click on the Arc by 3 Points icon in the pop-up toolbar
Select the top endpoints of the two arcs you just created and click somewhere in between to
create another arc that connects them. Do the same for the bottom endpoints
Click on the Constraints icon in the side toolbar and make sure that all the arcs are tangent
to one another at their endpoints
Click on the point at the origin and click on the Fixed icon
The sketch should look like the following.
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Then click on the Inferred Dimensions icon
Give the Radius dimensions for each arc. Edit dimensions so that the two arcs on the end are
1.5 and 0.5 inches and the two middle arcs are 18 and 15 inches as shown in the figure
below:
Select the Parallel dimensioning option from the Dimensions drop-down menu
Create a dimension giving the distance between the origin point and the other point and edit
the distance to be 13.19 inches
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Click on the Finish Flag
Now the sketch is ready as shown below.
Now let us model a cone.
Choose INSERT → DESIGN FEATURE → CONE
Select DIAMETERS, HEIGHT
Select the –XC-Direction in the Specify Vector dialog

box
In the Point Constructor, enter the coordinates (14, 0,

0) in the Specify Point dialog box
Enter the following dimensions:

Base Diameter = 15 inches
Top Diameter = 8 inches
The cone will be seen as shown below.
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Extrude the aerofoil curve in the Z-direction by 13 inches. Unite the two solids in the
Boolean operation dialog box
The model will be as follows.
Now let us create five instances of this blade to make the impeller blades.
Click on INSERT → ASSOCIATIVE COPY → INSTANCE FEATURE
Select CIRCULAR ARRAY
Select EXTRUDE
For Number, type in 5 and for Angle, enter 72.
Click OK
Select POINT, DIRECTION
Select the XC-Direction for the Specify Vector and the Origin for the Specify Point
Click YES
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The model will be seen as follows.
Now let us create two holes in the cone for the shaft and the locking pin. Note that these holes
can also be created by HOLE menu option.
Subtract a cylinder with a diameter of 4 inches and a height of 16 inches from the side of
the cone with the larger diameter as shown
Subtract another cylinder with a diameter of 0.275 inches and a height of 0.25 inches from
the side of the cone with the smaller diameter
The final model will look like the following. Save your work.
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6.3 EXERCISES
Exercise 1 - Model an Impeller Upper Casing:
As an exercise, model the upper casing of the Impeller as shown below.
The dimensions of the upper casing are the same as for the lower casing, which is described in
the previous exercise in detail. The dimensions for the manhole should be such that impeller
blades can be seen and a hand can fit inside to clean the impeller.
Exercise 2 - Modeling a Die-Cavity:
Model the following part to be used for the Chapter 9 Manufacturing Module. Create a new file
‘Die_cavity.prt’ with units in mm not in inches. Create a rectangular Block of 150, 100, 40
along X, Y and Z respectively with the point construction value of (-75,-50,-80) about XC, YC
and ZC.
Create and Unite another block over the first one with 100, 80 and 40 along X, Y and Z. and
centrally located to the previous block.
Create a sketch as shown below including the spline curve and add an Axis line. Dotted lines are
reference lines. While sketching, create them as normal curves. Then right click on the curves
and change display property into Phantom lines (Dashed Dot) lines. Give all the constraints and
dimensions as shown in the figure below.
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Revolve the curves about the dashed axis as shown above, and subtract the cut with start angle
and end angle as -45 and 45.
Subtract a block of 70, 50, and 30 to create a huge cavity at the centre. Create and Unite 4
cylinders at the inner corners of the cavity with 20 inches diameter and 15 inches height.
Add edge blends at the corners as shown in the final Model below. Keep the value of blend as 10
radii for outer edges and 5mm radii for the inner edges.
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CHAPTER 7 – FREEFORM FEATURE
In this chapter, you will learn how to create freeform models in NX7. Up to this point, you have
learned different ways to create models by using Form Features or by Sketch. Freeform
modeling involves creating solids in the form of surfaces particularly the B-surface. Because of
their construction techniques and design applications, these surfaces are usually stylistic. A few
freeform features are shown below.
To create Freeform Features, you must first need a set of points, curves, edges of sheets or
solids, faces of sheets or solids, or other objects. The following topics will cover some of the
methods that you can use to create solids using some of the freeform features.
7.1 OVERVIEW
The Freeform Features in NX7 are grouped under various menus and located in the INSERT
menu. There are a lot of ways in which you can create Freeform Features from the existing
geometry you have like points, edges, curves, etc. A few of the menus are discussed below.
7.1.1 Creating Freeform Features from Points
In the case where the geometry you are constructing or pre-existing data includes only points,
you may be able to use one of these three options to build the feature from the given points.
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Click on INSERT → SURFACE
• From Point Cloud - if you

have scattered points in the form of
cloud.
Through Points – if the points

form a rectangular array.
• From Poles - if defined points

form a rectangular array tangential to
the lines passing through them.
7.1.2 Creating Freeform Features from Section Strings
If construction geometry contains strings of connected objects (curves and edges), you may be
able to use one of these two options to build the feature.
Click on INSERT → MESH SURFACE
• Ruled – Used if the two strings

are roughly parallel.
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• Through Curves – Used if the three or more strings are roughly parallel.
If construction geometry contains two or more strings (curves, faces, edges) that are roughly
parallel to each other, and one or more section strings that are roughly perpendicular to the first
set of curves (guides), you may be able to use one of these following options to build the feature.
• Through Curve Mesh – Used if at least four section strings exist with at least two
strings in each direction (parallel and perpendicular).
If the two sections are perpendicular then choose INSERT → SWEEP
• Swept – Used if at least two section strings are roughly perpendicular.
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7.1.3 Creating Freeform Features from Faces
If the construction geometry contains a sheet or face, you may be able to use one of the
following three options to build the feature.
Click on INSERT → OFFSET/SCALE
• Offset Surface – Use this option if you have a face to offset.
Click on the INSERT → SURFACE → EXTENSION
• Extension – Use this option if you have a face and edges, edge curves, or curves on
the face.
7.2 FREEFORM FEATURE MODELING
Let us do some freeform modeling on structured points, a point cloud, curves and faces.
Structured points are a set of point’s defined rows and columns. A point cloud has a set of
scattered points that form a cloud.
7.2.1 Modeling with points
Open the file freeform_thrupoints.prt
Right-click on the Toolbars and make sure the SURFACE Toolbar is checked
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You will see seven rows with many points.
Choose INSERT → SURFACE → THROUGH POINTS
OR
Click on the Icon in the Toolbar
The dialogue box will pop up as shown in the right.
For Patch Type, select Multiple
For Closed Along, select Neither
For Row Degree and Column Degree, enter 3.
Click OK
The next dialogue box will be as shown.
132
Click CHAIN FROM ALL
Select the top starting point and the bottom ending point of the left most row as shown in the
following figure
The first row of points will be highlighted.
133
Repeat the same procedure to select the first four strings of points. After that, a window should
pop up asking if all points are specified or if you want to specify another row.
Select SPECIFY ANOTHER ROW until all rows are specified
When all the rows are specified, choose ALL POINTS SPECIFIED
Click CANCEL on the Through Points

window
Click on the Shaded icon
You will see the surface as shown below.
Do NOT save these files.
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7.2.2 Modeling with a point cloud
OPEN the file named freeform_cloud.prt
The point cloud will be seen as follows.
Choose INSERT → SURFACE → FROM POINT CLOUD or click on this icon on

the Surface Toolbar
The following dialogue box will appear.
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At the bottom of the window, you can see the option Confirm Upon Apply. This option lets you
view and analyze the feature before you create it.
Uncheck the Confirm Upon Apply box
Select all the points on the screen by dragging a rectangle around them
After you have selected the points, the screen will look like the following.
In the Coordinate System drop-down menu, choose WCS for the Coordinate System. This
matches the point cloud coordinate system with original system
Under Boundary, choose Minimum Box. This is the boundary for the point cloud
Keep the default values for U and V Degree as 3
Click OK
Change the VIEW to Shaded to see the model as a solid
The final sheet will look like the following. Again, do NOT save these files.
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7.2.3 Modeling with curves
OPEN the file named freeform_thrucurves_parameter.prt
The curves will be seen as in the figure on the right.
Choose INSERT → MESH SURFACE → THROUGH CURVES or click on this Icon
on the Toolbar
Select the first section string as shown below. Be sure to select somewhere on the left side of
the arc.
A direction vector displays at the end of the string.
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You should see the screen as shown below.
Click the middle mouse button MB2
Click on the next curve similar to first one and click the middle mouse button MB2. You can
see a surface generated between the two curves as shown in the figure
Repeat the same procedure to select the remaining strings. Remember to click MB2 after
selecting each curve.
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In the Alignment and Output Surface dialog box,
choose the following:
For Patch Type, choose Single
For Alignment, choose Parameter
For Construction, choose Simple
When the Simple option is activated, the system tries

to build the simplest surface possible and minimize the
number of patches.
Click OK
If you are not able to see the surface then click on the
Shade icon on the toolbar
The following curved surface will be generated.

Again, do not save the file.
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7.2.4 Modeling with curves and faces
Open the file named freeform_thrucurves_faces.prt
The curve and faces will be seen as follows.
Choose INSERT → MESH SURFACE →

THROUGH CURVES
Select the left edge of the top plane as shown below

and click MB2
Now select the middle edge and click MB2
In the Settings Dialog box, uncheck the Preserve Shape check box
You would get the following shape displayed on screen.
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Make sure that all the arrows are pointing in the same direction. If not, click CANCEL and
reselect the strings.
In the Alignment dialog box choose Parameter
In the Continuity dialog box select G2 (Curvature) option and select the two faces of the
top plane as shown
Click APPLY
Now select the middle edge and click MB2
Select the edge of the lower plane and click

MB2
Click MB2 to finish the curve selection
Change the option to G2 (Curvature) in the

Continuity dialog box
Select the three faces of the lower surface as

shown and click MB2
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Face for first
section
Select the face you just created for the continuity constraint for first section as shown above
Click APPLY and then click CANCEL
The final curve will be seen as shown below. Do not save the files.
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7.3 EXERCISE - MODEL A MOUSE
Model a computer mouse similar to the one shown below or use your imagination to model a
different mouse. As a hint, create some boundary curves on different planes and use them to
form freeform surfaces. Use these quilt surfaces to create the solid. Add and subtract blocks and
pads to attach the accessories like buttons.
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CHAPTER 8 – ASSEMBLY MODELING
This chapter introduces assembly modeling. Every day, we see many examples of components
that are assembled together into one model such as bicycles, cars, and computers. All of these
products were created by designing and manufacturing individual parts an and
d then fitting them
together. The designers who create them have to carefully plan each part so that they all fit
together perfectly in order to perform the desired function.
In this chapter, you will be learning two kinds of approaches used in Assembly modeling. We
will practice assembly modeling using the impeller assembly as an example. Some parts of this
assembly have already been modeled in earlier chapters.
8.1 OVERVIEW
NX7 Assembly is a part file that contains the individual parts. They are added to the part file in
such a way that the parts are virtual in the assembly and linked to the original part. This
eliminates the need for creating separate memory space for the individual par
parts
ts in the computer.
All the parts are selectable and can be used in the design process for information and mating to
insure a perfect fit as intended by the designers. The following figure is a schematic, which
shows how components are added to make an ass assembly.
8.2 TERMINOLOGIES
Assembly
An assembly is a collection of pointers to piece parts and/or subassemblies. An assembly is a

part file, which contains component objects.
Component Object
A component object is a non non-geometric

pointer to the part file that contains the
component geometry. Component Object
stores information such as the Layer
Layer, Color,
Reference set, position data for component
relative to assembly and path of the
component part on file system.
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Component Part
A component part is a part file pointed to by a component object within an assembly. The actual
geometry is stored in the component part and is referenced, not copied by the assembly.
Component Occurrences
An occurrence of a component is a pointer to geometry in the component file. Use component
occurrences to create one or more references to a component without creating additional
geometry.
Reference Set
A reference set is a named collection of objects in a component part or subassembly that you
can use to simplify the representation of the component part in higher level assemblies.
8.3 ASSEMBLY MODELS
There are two basic ways

ays of creating any assembly model.
• Top-Down Approach
• Bottom-Up Approach
8.3.1 Top-Down Approach
The assembly part file is created first and components are created in that file. Then individual
parts are modeled. This type of modeling is useful in a new design.
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8.3.2 Bottom-Up Approach
The component parts are created first in the traditional way and then added to the assembly part
file. This technique is particularly useful, when part files already exist from the previous designs,
and can be reused.
8.3.3 Mixing and Matching
You can combine these two approaches, when necessary, to add flexibility to your assembly
design needs.
8.4 ASSEMBLY NAVIGATOR

The Assembly Navigator is located on top of the Part Navigator in the Resource Bar on the left
of the screen. The navigator shows you various things that form the assembly, including part
hierarchy, the part name, information regarding the part such as whether the part is read only, the
position, which lets you know whether the part is constrained using assembly constraints or
mating condition, and the reference set. Following is a list of interpretation of the Position of the
components.
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- Indicates a fully constrained component
- Indicates a fully mated component
- (Fixed) Indicates that all the degrees of freedom are constrained
- Indicates partially constrained component
- Indicates partially mated component
- Indicates that the component is not constrained or mated
8.5 MATING CONDITIONS
After the component objects are added to the assembly part file, each component object is mated
with the existing objects. By assigning the mating conditions on components of an assembly, you
establish positional relationships, or constraints, among those components. These relationships
are termed mating constraints. A mating condition is made up of one or more mating
constraints. There are different mating constraints as shown below:
• Touch/Align – Planar objects selected to align will be coplanar but the normals to
the planes will point in the same direction. Centerlines of cylindrical objects will be in
line with each other. This is same as the Mate in NX5.
• Angle – This fixes a constant angle between the two object entities chosen on the
components to be assembled.
• Bond – Creates a weld and welds components together to move as single object.
• Parallel – Objects selected will be parallel to each other.
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• Perpendicular – Objects selected will be perpendicular to each other.
• Center – Objects will be centered between other objects, i.e. locating a cylinder
along a slot and centering the cylinder in the slot.
• Concentric - Constrains circular or elliptical edges of two components so the centers

are coincident and the planes of the edges are coplanar.
• Distance – This establishes a +/- distance (offset) value between two objects
The Mating Conditions dialog box is shown on right.
8.6 IMPELLER ASSEMBLY
We will assemble the impeller component objects. All the part files will be provided to you.
Create a new file and save it as Impeller_assembly.prt
Choose APPLICATION → MODELING
Click on APPLICATION again and make sure there is a check mark next to
ASSEMBLIES. If not, click on it
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A new toolbar will appear on the screen as shown below.
Click on ASSEMBLIES from the menu bar
We will be mostly using the COMPONENTS option, which includes:
• ADD COMPONENT – This option adds new component objects whose part files are
already present.
• CREATE COMPONENT – This option lets you create new component geometries
inside the assembly file in case you are using Top-Down approach of assembly.
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The component position menus allow you to create
assembly constraints and allow you to reposition the
components wherever you want them in the assembly.
• MOVE COMPONENT – Allows you to move

and reposition component objects.
• ASSEMBLY CONSTRAINTS – They are used

to mate or align the component objects.
Choose ASSEMBLIES → COMPONENTS →

ADD COMPONENT
The dialogue box on the right side will pop up. You can
select the part files from those existing or else you can
load the part files using the OPEN file options in the
dialog box. This will load the selected part file into the
LOADED PARTS dialog box.
Click on the file Impeller_upper-casing.prt
Click OK in the part name dialog box
You will see that a small copy of the component object

appears in a separate window on the screen as shown in
the figure below.
You will need to place this figure initially at certain location. This can be done by changing the
Positioning option in the PLACEMENT dialog box to Absolute Origin as shown.
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Click OK
You will see the object on the screen as follows:
Now we will add the second component, the lower casing.
Click on ASSEMBLIES → COMPONENTS → ADD COMPONENT
Select the file Impeller_lower-casing.prt
In the POISTIONING dialog box change the

option to By Constraints
Choose APPLY
This will show you the added component in a

COMPONENT PREVIEW window as before.
Now let us mate the upper and the lower casing.

Unlike NX5 where Mate command used to make
the two objects touch each other to make them
coplanar, in NX7 we have the Touch/Align
command. You can access all the constraints in the
drop-down menu in the Type dialog box in the
ASSEMBLY CONSTRAINTS menu.
The following dialog box will appear.
Here you can see the different Mating Types, which were explained above in section 8.4.
Now let us give the Mate constraint.
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Make sure the Touch Align icon is selected in the TYPE dialog box
First, select the face that the arrow is pointing to in the Component Preview window as
shown below in the figure on the left figure below.
Click on the face of the Upper Casing in the main screen as shown in the figure on the right.
You may have to rotate the figure in order to select the faces.
The two assembled components will be seen as shown in the figure below.
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The lower casing is constrained with respect to the upper casing. Now let us add the impeller.
Choose ASSEMBLIES → COMPONENTS → ADD COMPONENT
Open the file Impeller_impeller.prt
Click OK on the dialog box
We will apply the Distance constraint.
Click on the Distance icon in the TYPE dialog box
Select the two faces, first on the impeller and then on the casing, as shown in the figure
below
Click OK
In the Distance dialog box in the Assembly Constraints window, enter a value of 3
On the Assembly Constraints window, unclick the Preview Window option
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The preview will show the impeller oriented in the direction opposite to the one we want.
On the Assembly Constraints window, click on

the Cycle Last Constraint option in the Geometry
to Constrain as shown in the figure on right
Now the impeller will be oriented in the right direction.
Now we will apply the Center constraint to the model. Save the assembly file. We will now add
the shaft.
Open the file Impeller_shaft.prt
Click OK on the dialog box
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Choose the Center icon
Choose the Infer Center/Axis option in the

Geometry to Constrain dialog box in the Assembly
Constraints window as shown in the figure on right
Select the two surfaces, first on the shaft in the

preview window and then on the impeller on the
main screen as shown in the figures below
Choose the Touch Align constraint
First, select the face on the shaft and then select the bottom face of the hole in the impeller as
shown.
Choose APPLY and then click OK
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The assembly will now look like the figure below.
Open the file Impeller_hexa-bolt.prt
Choose the Touch Align constraint. Use the Infer Center/Axis option in the Geometry to
Constrain dialog box
First, select the outer cylindrical threading on the bolt and then select the inner surface of the
hole on the upper casing as show in the figures below.
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Again in the Touch Align constraint change the Geometry to Constrain option to Prefer
Touch
Select the flat face on the bolt and the face on the rib of the upper casing as shown
Click APPLY and then OK
The assembly is shown below.
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Repeat the same procedure as before to add the part file Impeller_washer.prt
Choose the Touch Align constraint. Use the Infer Center/Axis option in the Geometry to
Constrain dialog box
Select the inner face of the washer and the cylindrical threading on the bolt as shown
Again in the Touch Align constraint change the Geometry to Constrain option to Prefer
Touch
Select the flat face of the washer and then the face on the rib of the lower casing as shown
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Click APPLY and then OK
The Assembly is shown below.
Add the part file Impeller_hexa-nut.prt in the same way as we attached the bolt and the
washer.
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Repeat the same procedure to add bolts, washers, and nuts to all the holes in the casing. This
completes the assembly of the impeller
There is a simpler way to assemble the bolt, washer, and nut set. Instead of adding the three parts
individually, you can assemble these components separately in another file. This will be a sub-
assembly. You can insert this subassembly and mate it with the main assembly.
The Final Assembly will look as the shown below. Save the Model.
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8.7 EXPLODED VIEW OF IMPELLER ASSEMBLY
In this section, we are going to create an Exploded view of the Assembly to show a separated
part-by-part picture of the components that make the assembly. In today’s industrial practice,
these kind of views are very helpful on the assembly shop floor to get a good idea of which item
fixes where. The user should understand that exploding an assembly does not mean relocation of
the components, but only viewing the models in the form of disassembly. You can ‘Unexplode’
the view at any time you want to regain the original assembly view. Let us explode the Impeller
Assembly.
Choose ASSEMBLIES → EXPLODED

VIEWS → NEW EXPLOSION
This will pop a Dialog box asking for the name of

the Explosion view to be created. You can leave
name as the default name and choose OK
Now the UG environment is in Exploded view environment though you do not find any
difference. When we start exploding some assembly, we should decide upon a component to
keep that component as the reference. This component should not be moved from its original
position. In the case of the impeller assembly, the impeller will be the right option as it is central
to the entire assembly. Now let’s start exploding the components.
Right Click on the Upper casing and choose EDIT EXPLOSION
The Edit Explosion window will pop up along with a Coordinate system on the component.
Click on the Z axis; hold the mouse and drag upwards until the reading in the Distance
shows 20 as shown in the following figure.
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Choose OK
Right click on the Lower casing and choose EDIT EXPLOSION
Again, this will pop up a Dialog window for Edit Explosion and a Coordinate system on the
component.
Click on the Z-axis; hold the mouse and drag downwards until the reading in the Distance
shows -20 as shown in the following figure. Choose OK
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Right click on the shaft and choose EDIT EXPLOSION.
This time click on the X-axis; hold the button and drag to the right side until the reading in
the distance shows -25 as shown in the following figure
Choose OK
Select all the six hexagonal bolts in the assembly by clicking on them
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Right click on one of them and choose EDIT EXPLOSION
This time click on the Z-axis; hold the button and drag upwards until the reading in the
Distance shows 25 as shown in the following figure. This will move all the six bolts together
to the same distance.
Choose OK
Likewise, select all the six hexagonal nuts together and move them downwards to a value of -30
and the six washers to the distance of -27. This is the Exploded view of the assembly. The
following are the pictures of the Final Exploded view. You can rotate and see how it looks like.
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It you want to retain the original assembly view you can unexplode any particular component,
Right click on the component and choose UNEXPLODE.
If you want to unexplode all the components,
Choose ASSEMBLIES → EXPLODED VIEWS → UNEXPLODE COMPONENT
Select all the components and choose OK.
8.7 EXERCISE - ARBOR PRESS ASSEMBLY
In this tutorial, we have modeled various parts, some of which are components of the arbor press,
which is shown below. Assemble the arbor press using the components that you have modeled in
addition to ones that are provided to you that you have not modeled before. The complete list of
parts that the arbor press assembly consists of includes:
• Allen Bolt
• Allen Nut
• Base
• Circle base
• End clip
• Handle
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• Hexagonal Bolt
• L-bar
• Pin
• Pinion
• Pinion handle
• Plate
• Rack
• Sleeve
All these parts are provided in a folder that can be accessed along with this tutorial in the same
internet address.
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CHAPTER 9 - FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS
FEA, or Finite Element Analysis, is a technique for predicting the response of structures and
materials to environmental factors such as forces, heat and vibration. The process starts with the
creation of a geometric model. The model is then subdivided (meshed) into small pieces
(elements) of simple geometric shapes connected at specific node points. In this manner, the
stress-strain relationships are more easily approximated. Finally, the material behavior and the
boundary conditions are applied to each element. Software such as NX7 computerizes the
process and makes it possible to solve complex calculations a matter of minutes. It can provide
the engineer with deep insights regarding the behavior of objects.
Some of the applications of FEA are Structural Analysis, Thermal Analysis, Fluid Flow
Dynamics, and Electromagnetic Compatibility. Of these, FEA is most commonly used in
structural and solid mechanics applications for calculating stresses and displacements. These are
often critical to the performance of the hardware and can be used to predict failures. NX7 has an
NASTRAN solver to perform the FEA. NX7 offers two modules for FEA i.e, Advanced
Simulation and Design Simulation. Advanced Simulation can be used to perform Thermal
analysis, Flow simulation and can also be used to analyze Electronic and Space systems. It has
more options for geometry idealization and also provides 1D and 2D mesh generation options
along with 3D mesh, which is the only option in Design Simulation module. Design Simulation
is generally used for structural analysis. In this chapter, we are going to deal with the structural
stress and strain analysis of solid geometries.
9.1 INTRODUCTION
9.1.1 Element shapes and nodes
The elements can be classified into different types based on the number of dimensions and the
number of nodes in the element. The following are some of the types of elements used for
discretization.
One-dimensional elements:
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Two-dimensional elements:
Triangular:
Quadrilateral:
Three-dimensional elements:
Tetrahedral (a solid with 4 triangular faces):
Hexahedral (a solid with 6 quadrilateral faces):
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Types of nodes:
Corner nodes
Exterior nodes
Side nodes
Interior nodes
The results of FEA should converge to the exact solution as the size of finite element becomes
smaller and smaller.
9.1.2 Structure Module
Copy and paste the file Impeller_impeller.prt into a new folder to avoid changes being
made to the assembly
Open this newly copied file
Click on START → ALL APPLICATIONS → DESIGN SIMULATION
The following figure is the toolbar for Finite Element Modeling and Analysis of Structures.
Solution: Clicking on this icon will open up the CREATE SOLUTION window where
you can select the solver algorithm from one of these: NX NASTRAN, MSC NASTRAN,
ANSYS or ABAQUS. In addition, you can choose the type of analysis to be performed. In this
tutorial, only Structural Analysis will be covered with NX NASTRAN.
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Material Properties: This allows you to change the physical properties of the material that
will be used for the model. For example, if we use steel to manufacture the impeller, we can
enter the constants such as density, Poisson’s ratio, etc. These material properties can also be
saved in the library for future use or can be retrieved from Library of Materials available in NX7.
Loads: This option allows you to exert different types of forces and pressures to act on the
solid along with the directions and magnitudes.
Boundary Conditions: Boundary conditions are surfaces that are fixed to arrest the degrees
of freedom. Some surfaces can be rotationally fixed and some can be constrained from
translational movement.
3D Tetrahedral Meshes: This icon is one of the mesh options that can be used to discretize
the model as discussed in beginning of the chapter. Normally, we select tetrahedral shapes of
elements for approximation. You can still select the 2-D and 1-D elements depending on the
situation and requirements by choosing these options from the drop-down menu.
Solve: This is the command to solve all the governing equations by the algorithm that you
choose and all the above options. This solves and gives the result of the analysis of the scenario.
9.1.3 Simulation Navigator
The Simulation Navigator provides the capability to

activate existing solutions, create new ones, and use
the created solution to build mechanisms by creating
and modifying motion objects. To display the
Simulation Navigator, click the Simulation
Navigator tab in the Resource bar as shown in the
figure.
It shows the list of the scenarios created for the master

model file. In each scenario, it displays the list of
loads, boundary conditions, types of meshes, results,
reports generated and so on.
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9.2 SOLUTION CREATION
The DESIGN SIMULATION module is in a way different from when the first scenario is
created. NX7 creates a folder of the same name as that of the file and at the same location where
the file is located. For every scenario or Solution, it creates five different files with the name of
the scenario. They are xxx.SIM, xxx.DAT, xxx.txt, xxx.out and xxx.VDM. All the results
generated for the scenarios are saved as .vdm files. You can think of a scenario model as a
variation of a master design model. Scenarios contain all the geometric features of the master
model. They also support body promotions and interpart expressions.
Body promotions are used to provide an independently modifiable copy of the master model
geometry and serve as a place to hold scenario-specific features such as mid-surfaces.
The scenario model's geometry is linked to the master

model geometry, but a scenario may have additional
unique information. For example, the master model may
contain all the information about the model's geometry,
but the scenario model will contain additional motion
data, such as information about links and joints.
Now we will create a scenario. Note: When you first

open any file in Design Simulation module, it will
automatically pop up with Solution creation window to
create a solution.
Click on the Simulation Navigator icon on the

navigator toolbar
Right-click on Impeller_impeller and choose New

FEM And Simulation
This will pop up the New FEM and Simulation dialog

box to create a new scenario.
Click OK
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This pops up another window that creates different scenarios as shown below
In the Create Solution window, you can select the Solver and the Solution Type.
Enter the Name of the first scenario as Analysis_1
The default Solver type is NX NSATRAN DESIGN and Analysis type as STRUCTURAL.
Choose OK to create a new Solution called Analysis_1, which is displayed in the

Simulation Navigator
The Simulation Navigator will now look like the following figure.
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9.2.1 Material Properties
The next step is to give the material properties to the solid model for this scenario. Because we
don’t have any data in the library to retrieve for standard material, we will create one. Let us
assume that we will use steel to manufacture the impeller.
Click on the Material Properties icon on the Toolbar
The Materials window will pop up. You have the option of choosing the pre-defined materials
from the library or create another material.
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Enter the name and values as shown in the following figure. Pay attention to the units.
(Note that 30e6 represents 30X106)
Choose OK to exit the Isotropic Material window
Click on the Impeller model
Click Apply and then OK
This will assign the material properties to the impeller. The next step is to mesh the model.
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9.2.2 Mesh
The ‘Mesh’ option discritizes the model into small elements. The model has to be meshed before
applying the boundary conditions and loads in the process of FEA.
Click on the 3D Tetrahedral Mesh icon
A window will pop up asking for the type and size of the elements.
Click on the solid object model on the graphic screen
There are two types of tetrahedral elements available in Design Simulation module of NX7. One
is 4-nodes and another is 10-node.
Choose the Type to be TETRA10
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Enter the Overall Element Size as 1.0
Choose OK
You can find the Solid model with small tetrahedral elements. It will look like the figure shown
below.
Note: While meshing the solid there is a trade-off you need to consider. If you choose a smaller
element with higher nodes you will get better accuracy in your analysis than larger element.
However, the time required to solve the model with smaller elements will much greater than with
larger element. Hence, based on the accuracy requirement of the study and how critical the
component is in terms of the end product choose the appropriate size of the elements and nodes.
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9.2.3 Boundary Conditions
Let us give the boundary conditions for this scenario. The

impeller rotates about the axis of the cone with the shaft as you
can see in the assembly in the previous chapters. It is not fixed.
But our concern is the deformation of the blades with respect to
the core of the impeller. The conical core is relatively fixed and
the deformations of the blades are to be analyzed accordingly.
Click on the Constraint Type icon
Select the Fixed Constraint
This type of constraint will restrict the selected entity in six DOF from translating and rotating.
You can see the different constraints available by clicking the Constraint drop-down menu on the
toolbar.
Click on the meshed conical surface of the impeller as shown in the following figure
Choose OK
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9.2.4 Loads
The loads applied on the meshed model should be input to the system. For the impeller, the
major force acts on the concave surfaces of the turbine blades. This loading can be approximated
by normal pressure on all the five surfaces. Since we are not too concerned about the magnitude
of the load, let us take the value to be 100 lbf/sq inch to exaggerate the deformation of the
blades.
Click on the Loads icon
Click on the five concave surfaces of the blades as shown in the

following figures
Enter the value for Pressure as 100 and keep the units as lb-f/in2 (psi)
Choose OK
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9.3 RESULT AND SIMULATION
9.3.1 Solving the Scenario
The Finite Element Model is now ready for solving and analysis. It is a good practice to first
check for model completion before we get into solving the model. To check the model
Click on the Check icon on the

Toolbar
This will pop-up a menu as shown on the right.
Choose OK
This will display the result of the Check. You will be able
to see any errors and warnings in a separate window. The
errors or warnings in the FEA model creation are; no
material, no loads and so on. In case you get these errors or warnings go back to the previous
steps and complete the required things.
If you do not get errors or warnings you are ready to

solve the FEA problem.
Click on the Solve icon
This will open the Solve window.
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Click OK without making any changes
Note: In case of any error messages while solving, the solver can be manually specified by
clicking on the “Edit Solver Parameters” link in the solve window. This generally happens when
there are multiple solvers installed or if the previous version of NX is not uninstalled properly.
The following procedure needs to be followed in this case:
Edit Solver Parameters Uncheck “use environmental variable UGII_NX_NASTRAN” in

solver executable user defined select the solver manually at the following location
C:\Program Files\UGS\NX 7.5\NXNASTRAN\bin\nast7.exe Click OK
It may take a while to generate the results. Wait until the Analysis Job Monitor window
appears, showing the job to be Completed. While the solver is doing computations, the Analysis
Job Monitor will show as Running
Click on CANCEL when the Analysis Job Monitor window says Completed
9.3.2 FEA Results
Open the Simulation Navigator
Double-click on RESULTS to see the analysis results
This will take you into the Post-Processing Navigator. The Post-Processing Navigator shows all
the Solution you created. If you click the ‘+’ sign in front of the Solution you will see the
different analyses that have been performed on the model.
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Double-click on the Displacement-Nodal menu
The screen will now appear as shown below.
You can easily interpret the results from the color-coding. The orange-red color shows the
maximum deformation zones and the blue area shows the minimum deformation zones. You can
observe that because the conical core is fixed, it experiences zero deformation. The analysis also
shows that the maximum deformation experienced at the tip of the
blades is 1.68 x 10-3 inches.
On the Post-Processing Navigator, you can keep changing the

results by double clicking each option as shown below. You can
click on the other inactive marks to see various results.
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Some of the other results are shown below.
9.3.3 Simulation and Animation
The Post Processing Toolbar should appear when you select the Design Simulation Module.
However, in case it does not become visible follow these steps.
Right click anywhere in the empty space in front of the Design Simulation toolbar and you
will get a list of toolbar options available. Click on the Post-Processing Toolbar option. You
will get the following toolbar
Click on the Animation icon on the Post Processing Toolbar
In the Animation Setup window, change the number of frames to 10 and click on the Play
button to see the animation of the deformation
You can also find the play button on the Post Processing Toolbar itself.
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You can now see an animation of how the impeller is deformed as the loads are applied to the
blades.
To make any setting changes in the results display, click on the Post View icon as shown in
figure below
In the popped up Post View Dialog box click on Deformed Results under DISPLAY tab
button
In the Deformed Results dialog box check the Show Un-deformed Model as shown in the
second figure below and choose OK
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Now press on the Play button to see the animation. This will show the animation of deformation
with the original shape in Grey color, as shown in the figure below.
Click on the Stop button
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Right-click on the Analysis_1 in the Post-Processing bar and click on Unload. This should
take your screen back to the meshed model
There are two ways to improve the accuracy of FEA results.
• Reduce the size of element

• Increase the order of interpolation polynomial (i.e. use
quadratic or even cubic instead of linear polynomials)
The second approach is preferred because it is more efficient

in terms of computation time and takes less memory space.
However, let us try to create a scenario using the first option.
Right-click on Analysis_1 in the Simulation Navigator
Choose CLONE to copy the first scenario
Choose OK on the Message box
Once Copy of Analysis_1 is created, rename it to

Analysis_2
Right click on the 3D Mesh (1) and click Edit
In the dialog box shown, change the Type to TETRA4
Choose OK
Click on the Solve icon to solve the scenario
Click OK
The Analysis Job Monitor should show the status of

Analysis_2 to be Completed.
Click CANCEL
In the Simulation Navigator, double-click on Results

for Analysis_2
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The figure below shows the analysis. You can observe the change in the maximum deviation.
Save all the scenarios and close the files.
9.4 EXERCISE - ARBORPRESS L-BAR
Open the file ‘Arborpress_L-bar.prt’ and do a similar structure analysis, considering the
material as steel. For the mesh, the element size should be 10.00 and the type Tetra10.
For the loads, apply a normal pressure with a magnitude of 500 on the top surface as shown in
the figure below.
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For the boundary conditions, fix the three flat faces (the front highlighted face, the face parallel
to it at the backside and the bottom face) as marked in the following figure.
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CHAPTER 10 - MANUFACTURING
As we discussed in Chapter 1 about the product realization process, the models and drawings
created by the designer have to undergo other processes to get to the finished product. This being
the essence of CAD/CAM integration, the most widely and commonly used technique is to
generate program codes for CNC machines to mill the part. This technological development
reduces the amount of human intervention in creating CNC codes. This also facilitates the
designers to create complex systems. In this chapter, we will cover the Manufacturing Module of
NX7 to generate CNC codes for 3-Axis Vertical Machining Centers. The manufacturing module
allows you to program and do some post-processing on drilling, milling, turning and wire-cut
EDM tool paths.
10.1 GETTING STARTED WITH MANUFACTURING MODULE
A few preparatory steps need to be performed on every CAD model before moving it into the
CAM environment. Throughout this chapter, we are going to work with one of the models that
were given in the exercise problems. For a change, all the units are followed in millimeters in
this model and manufacturing of the component.
Before getting started, it would be helpful if you

can get into a CAM Express Role. To do this, go
to the Roles menu on the Resource Bar and click
on the INDUSTRY SPECIFIC tab. A drop-
down menu will pop up in which the CAM
Express role can be seen as shown in the figure.
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10.1.1 Creation of a Blank
After completing the modeling, you should decide upon the raw material shape and size that
needs to be loaded on the machine for the actual machining. This data has to be input in NX7.
This can be achieved in two ways. The first method is by creating or importing the model of the
raw material as a separate solid in the same file and assigning that solid as the Blank. The
second method is by letting the software decide the extreme dimensions of the designed part and
some offset values if wanted. The later method allows a quick way of assigning the raw size
details but it can only be used for prismatic shapes.
Open the file ‘Die_cavity.prt’ of the exercise problem in Chapter 6
Click on START → MODELING
INSERT a block with the following dimensions and positioning.

Length = 150 mm
Width = 100 mm
Height = 80 mm
In the Point Constructor icon located on the toolbar as shown position the block at the point
(-75, -50, -80).
This block encloses the entire design part so we will change the display properties of the block.
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Click on the EDIT OBJECT DIPLAY icon on the
toolbar as shown.
Two features, labeled as BLOCK, show up in the

QUICKPICK menu, one for the design part and one for the
block.
Move your mouse on the labels to see which one

represents the block you created just now.
Select the block you created
Click OK
When the window pops up, change the display color and
change the Translucency to 50
Then click OK
Hide the block you just created by right clicking on the block in the Part Navigator. This will
make the raw block disappear from the environment. Whenever you want to view or work on
this solid, reverse the blanks. This is done by pressing <Ctrl> + <Shift> + B.
10.1.2 Setting Machining Environment
Now we are set to get into the Manufacturing module.
Select START → MANUFACTURING
A window will pop up asking for the Machining Environment

Setup. There are many different customized CAM sessions
available for different machining operations. Here, we are only
interested in the Milling operation.
For CAM Session Configuration, select cam_general and for

CAM Setup, select mill_contour. This window pops up when you start the Manufacturing
Application
Click OK
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10.1.3 Operation Navigator
As soon as you get into the Manufacturing environment, you will notice many changes in the
main screen such as new icons that are displayed.
Click on the OPERATION NAVIGATOR tab on the right on the RESOURCE BAR
The Operation Navigator gives information about the programs created and corresponding
information about the cutters, methods, and strategies.
The list of programs can be viewed in different categorical lists. There are four ways of viewing
the list of programs in the Operation Navigator. The four views are Program Order view,
Machine Tool view, Geometry view and Machining Method view. If you want to view the list of
programs under different cutter tools, you can do so by clicking the particular icon in the
Manufacturing Toolbar at top of the graphic screen.
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10.1.4 Machine Coordinate System (MCS)
Click on the Geometry View icon in the toolbar to

initiate setup for programming
You will see a Create Geometry pop-up.
You should be able to see the Mill_MCS as the program

name in the Operation Navigator. If you do not see it, click
on the Geometry View button in the Toolbar again.
Click OK
Another pop-up window will allow you to set the MCS

wherever, you want. By default NX7 takes the original WCS
as the MCS.
Click on the button shown. This will highlight the default

WCS of the part and assign it as the MCS
Click OK to select it as the MCS
Click OK when you are done orienting and positioning

the MCS
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10.1.5 Geometry Definition
Double-click on WORKPIECE in the Operation

Navigator. If you don’t see it, click on the plus sign next
to MCS_MILL
The pop up window MILL GEOM appears. This is where you

can assign the part geometry, blank geometry, and check
geometry if any.
Click on the Part icon
Select the design part and click OK
Now we have to select the Blank Geometry.
Click the Blank icon
This will open the Blank Geometry Window. As mentioned earlier there are many ways to
assign the blank. You can use a solid geometry as the Blank or can allow the software to assign a
prismatic block with desired offsets in the X, Y, and Z directions. As we have already created a
Rectangular Solid we can use that as the Blank geometry.
Remember that our block is hidden.
Retrieve the block by pressing <Ctrl> + <Shift> + B
In the Blank Geometry window, make sure the

Geometry radio button is selected
Select the block and click OK
Bring the part geometry back by pressing <Ctrl> +

<Shift> + B once again
Click OK on the MILL_GEOM dialog box
Now we are finished assigning the Part and Blank geometries. Sometimes it may be required to
assign Check geometry. This option is more useful for shapes that are more complex or 5-Axes
Milling operations where the Tool cutters have a higher chance of dashing with the fixtures. In
our case, it is not very important to assign a Check Geometry.
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10.2 CREATING OPERATION AND PARAMETER SETTING
10.2.1 Creating a new Operation
The Manufacturing setup is now ready for us to work further with Programming Strategies.
There are many different manufacturing strategies involved in programming and it takes practice
to know which one is the most efficient. Here, the basic guidelines are given for the most widely
and frequently used strategies. The chapter will also cover important parameters that are to be set
for the programs to function properly.
Click on the Create Operation icon in the toolbar as shown
The Create Operation window will pop up.
Make sure the Type of Operation is mill_contour

There are many different subtypes under Mill-Contour, namely Cavity Mill, Z-Level Follow
Cavity, Follow Core, Fixed Contour, and so on. These different subtypes are used for different
situations and profiles of the design part. As mentioned before, how you select a strategy for any
situation depends on your experience.
Click on the CAVITY_MILL icon at the top left as shown in the figure
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Change the Program from NC_PROGRAM to
PROGRAM
Change the Use Geometry to WORKPIECE
The program takes the default name CAVITY_MILL
Click OK
The program parameters window with CAVITY_MILL in

the title bar will pop up. On this window, you can set all
the parameters for the program. A brief introduction on
every important parameter and terminology will be given
as we go through the sequence.
10.2.3 Tool Creation and Selection
One of the most important decisions to make is to select

the right shape and size of the tool to use. Before starting
with the Tool parameter settings, we must first know
about the types of Tool cutters. The Milling tool cutters are categorized into three forms of
cutters. Hence, when selecting a cutter, it is important to take into consideration the size, shape,
and profiles of the design parts. For example, if the corner radius of a pocket is 5 mm, the pocket
should be finished by a cutter with diameter less than or equal to 10 mm. Otherwise it will leave
material at the corners. There are other special forms of cutters available in markets that are
manufactured to suit this need.
Flat End Mill Cutters:

These cutters have a sharp tip at the end of the cutter as shown in the figure. These cutters are
used for finishing parts that have flat vertical walls with sharp edges at the intersection of the
floors and walls.
Ball End Mill:

These cutters have the corner radii exactly equal to half the diameter of the shank. This forms the
ball shaped profile at the end. These cutters are used for roughing and finishing operations of
parts or surfaces with freeform features.
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Bull Nose Cutters:
These cutters have small corner radii and are widely used for roughing and/or semi-finishing the
parts as well as for finishing of inclined and tapered walls.
The cutter that we are going to use to rough out this

huge volume is BUEM12X1 (Bullnose End Mill with
12 diameter and 1 corner radius).
In the CAVITY_MILL pop-up menu click on the
Create New button in the TOOL, dialog box
Click NEW
On the New Tool window, select the Mill icon
Type in BUEM12X1 as the Name and click OK
This will open another window to enter the cutter

dimensions and parameters. You can also customize the
list of tools that you would normally use and call the
cutters from the library.
Enter the values as shown in the figure below.
Click OK
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In the CAVITY_MILL menu click on the Path Settings option
10.2.4 Tool Path Settings
There are different options in which the tool can move. The following is a description of each.
Zig-Zag: This tool takes a zigzag path at every level of depth. It saves time by reducing
amount of air cutting time (idle running). The climb and conventional cuts alternate.
Zig: This takes a linear path in only one direction of flow.
Zig with Contour: This takes the path in one direction either climb or conventional. The
unique thing is that it moves along the contour shape nonlinearly.
Follow Periphery: This takes the path depending upon the periphery profile. For example,
the outer periphery of our part is rectangular. So the tool path will be generated such that it
gradually cuts the material from outside to inside with the Stepover value. This option is mostly
used for projections and cores rather than cavities.
Follow Part: This is the most optimal strategy where the tool path is manipulated
depending on the part geometry. If there are cores and cavities in the part, the computer
intelligently considers them to remove the materials in an optimal way. This is widely used for
roughing operations.
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Trochoidal: This cutter is huge and is used for removing a large amount of material. The
bulk of material is removed by gradual trochoidal movements. The depth of cut used will be very
high for this strategy.
Profile: This takes the cut only along the profile of the part geometry. It is used for semi-
finishing or finishing operations.
For this exercise, select the Follow Part icon from the Cut Pattern drop-down menu since
we have both projections and cavities in our part.
10.2.4 Step Over and Scallop Height:
Step Over:
This is the distance between the consecutive passes of
milling. It can be given as a fixed value or the value in
terms of cutter diameter. The step-over should not be
greater than the effective diameter of the cutter
otherwise; it will leave extra material at every level of cut
and result in an incomplete milling operation. The
numeric value or values required to define the step-over
will vary depending on the step-over option selected.
These options include Constant, Scallop, Tool Diameter,
etc. For example, Constant requires you to enter a
distance value in the subsequent line.
Scallop Height:
Scallop Height controls the distance between parallel passes according to the maximum height of
material (scallop) you specify to be left between passes. This is affected by the cutter definition
and the curvature of the surface. Scallop allows the system to determine the Stepover distance
based on the scallop height you enter.
For the Step-over, select TOOL FLAT and change the Percent to 70.
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10.2.5 Depth per cut
This is the value to be given between levels to slice

the geometry into layers and the tool path cuts as per
the geometry at every layer. The cut depth value can
vary for each level. Levels are horizontal planes
parallel to the XY plane. If we do not give cut levels,
the software will unnecessarily try to calculate slices
for the entire part and machine areas that are not in
our interest.
Change the Common Depth per Cut value to be 0.5
Now we will add the level ranges. This will split the part
into different levels along the Z-direction to be
machined.
Click on CUT LEVELS as shown below
This will pop up a Dialog box for Cut Levels. You need
to set the level of the cut. You can either point to the
object till which the cut level is or provide it as Range
Depth value (0-100). We are not going to mill up to the
bottommost face of the Part, but up to the floor at 40mm
from top. Therefore, we must delete the last level.
Use the up and down scroll buttons until you reach

the level that has a Range Depth of 80
Select OK after making these adjustments
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10.2.6 Cutting Parameters
On the parameters window, click CUTTING

PARAMETERS
This pops up another dialog box.
Under the ‘Strategy’ tab button, change the Cut Order

from Level First to DEPTH FIRST
Changing the cut order to Depth First orders the software to generate the tool path such that it
will mill one island completely up to the bottom-most depth before jumping to another level. The
Depth First strategy reduces the non-cutting time of the program due to unnecessary retracts and
engages at every depth of cut.
Click on the Stock tab
Change the value of the Part Side Stock to 0.5
This value is the allowance given to every side of the part. If you want to give different values to
the floors (or the flat horizontal faces) uncheck the box next to ‘Use Floor Same As Side’ and
enter a different value for Part Floor Stock.
Choose OK
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10.2.7 Avoidance
Click the NON CUTTING MOVES
Click the AVOIDANCE tab
This window consists of many avoidance points like, Start Point, Go Home Point, etc. Of these,
we are concerned with three points. They are as follows.
From Point:
This is the point at which the

tool change command will be
carried out. The value is
normally 50 or 100 mm above
the Z=0 level to enhance the
safety of the job when the
cutter is changed by the
Automatic Tool Changer
(ATC).
Click FROM POINT
Choose SPECIFY
In the Point Constructor, enter the coordinates of XC, YC and ZC as (0, 0, 50)
Choose OK
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Choose OK again to go back to the Avoidance window
Start Point:
This is the point at which the

program starts and ends. This
value is also 50 or 100 mm
above the Z=0 level to enhance
safety. It is also the point at
which the machine operator
checks the height of the tool
mounted on the spindle with
respect to the Z=0 level from the
job. This cross checks the tool
offset entered in the machine.
Click on START POINT
Choose SPECIFY
Enter the coordinates (0, 0, 50) in the Point Constructor
Click OK to exit the Point Constructor
Clearance Plane:
This is the plane, on which the tool cutter will retract before moving to the next region or island.
This is also known as Retract Plane. Sometimes the Clearance Plane can be the previous
cutting plane. However, when the tool has to move from one region to another, it is necessary to
move to the clearance plane
before doing so. The value of the
clearance plane should be at least
2 mm above the top most point of
the workpiece or fixture or
whichever is fixed to the machine
bed.
Click on the
TRANSFER/RAPID tab
Choose PLANE in the

CLEARANCE OPTION
Choose the XY Plane from the drop-down menu in Type tab
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Under the Offset and Reference tab enter the value as 3
in the Plane Constructor window
Click OK twice to go back to the CAVITY_MILL

parameters window
10.2.8 Speeds and Feeds
Choose FEEDS AND SPEEDS to enter the feed and speed

parameters
Speed:
Speed normally specifies the rpm of the spindle (spindle
speed). However, technically the speed refers to the
cutting speed of the tool (surface speed). It is the linear
velocity of the cutting tip of the cutter. The relative
parameters affecting this linear speed are rpm of the
spindle and the diameter of the cutter (effective diameter).
Enter the Spindle Speed value as 4500 rpm
For the Surface Speed and the Feed per Tooth, you should
enter the recommended values given by the
manufacturers of the cutter. By entering these values,
the software will automatically calculate the cutting
feed rate and spindle speed. You can also enter your
own values for feed rates and spindle speeds.
Feeds:
There are many feeds involved in a single program.
The most important is the Cutting feed. This is the
feed at which, the tool will be in engagement with the
raw work-piece and actually cutting the material off
the work-piece. It is the relative linear velocity, at
which the cutter moves with respect to the job.
The other feeds are optional. Some machine control
systems use their default retracts and traverse feed. In
those cases, even if you do not enter the values of other
feeds, there would not be any problems. Some control
systems may look for these feed rates from the
program. It can be slightly less than the machine’s
maximum feed rate.
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For this exercise, enter the values as shown in the figure. Make sure to enter the Cut value as
1200 mmpm.
Click OK
10.3 PROGRAM GENERATION AND VERIFICATION
10.3.1 Generating Program
Now we are done entering all the parameters required for the roughing program. It is time to
generate the program.
Click on the Generate icon at the bottom of the window
You can now observe the software slicing the model into depths of cuts and creating tool-path at
every level. You can find on the model cyan, blue, red and yellow lines as shown in the figure.
During the generation, you will be prompted with a

Display Parameters window.
Uncheck the box next to Pause After Each Path
Then click OK to see the display of cut-levels and tool paths
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After the generation is done, click OK in the parameters window
10.3.2 Tool Path Display
Whenever you want to view the entire tool-path of the program, right-click on the program in
Operation Navigator and click Replay. It will give the display as shown in the Figure.
You can now observe that next to the program in the Operation Navigator is a yellow
exclamation point instead of a red mark. This means that program has been generated
successfully but has not been post-processed. If any change is made in the model, the program
will again have a red mark next to it. This implies that the program has to be generated again.
However, there is no need to change any parameters in the program.
10.3.3 Tool Path Simulation
It is very important to check the programs you have created. This prevents any improper and
dangerous motions from being made in the cutting path. It is possible that wrong parameters and
settings will be given that cause costly damages to the work piece. To avoid such mistakes, NX7
and other CAM software provide Tool-path verification and a Gouge check.
Verify:
The Tool-Path verification can be used to view the cutter motion in the entire program. You can
observe how the tool is engaged and how it retracts after cutting. It also shows the actual material
being removed through graphical simulation. You can also view the specific zone of interest by
moving the line of the program.
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Right-click on the program in the Operation Navigator and choose TOOL PATH →
VERIFY or click on the Verify Tool Path button in the toolbar
This will allow you to set the parameters for visualization

of the Tool-Path.
On the Tool Path Visualization window, click on the

Play icon to view the Tool Path motion
You can also view the visualization in different modes by

changing the options in the drop-down menu next to
Display.
Click on the 3D DYNAMIC tab on the same window
Click on the DISPLAY OPTIONS button on the

same window
Change the Number of Motions to 50
Change the Animation Accuracy to FINE
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Change the IPW Color to Green
Click OK
Click on the Play button again
The simulation will look as shown in the figure

below.
With this option, you will be able to view the
actual cutting simulation and material removal
through computer graphics. This is 3D Dynamic,
where you can rotate, pan and zoom the
simulation when it is playing. The cutting
simulation is 3D.
Let us try the 2D Dynamic simulation. When this simulation is playing, you cannot do any other
actions in NX7. Unlike 3D, you cannot rotate or zoom while playing. If you want to see the other
side of the part, you have to stop the simulation, rotate and play again. This is faster than 3D
Dynamic.
10.3.4 Gouge Check
Gouge Check is used to verify whether the tool is removing

any excess material from the workpiece with respect to Part
Geometry. Considering a Design Tolerance, any
manufacturing process may produce defective parts by two
ways. One is removing excess material, which is also called
Less Material Condition. The other one is leaving materials
that are supposed to be removed which is More Material
Condition. In most cases, the former is more dangerous since
it is impossible to rework the design part. The latter is safer
since the leftover material can be removed by reworking the
part. The gouge check option checks for the former case
where the excess removal of material will be identified.
Right Click the program in the Operation Navigator
Choose TOOL PATH → GOUGE CHECK

After the gouge check is completed, a message box will pop
up saying “No gouged motions were found.” If in case there
are any gouges found, it is necessary to correct the program.
Click OK on the message box
Close the pop-up window, which says that there are no gauge motions found.
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10.4 OPERATION METHODS
10.4.1 Roughing
In case of milling operation, the first operation should be rough milling before finishing the job.
The main purpose of roughing is to remove bulk material at a faster rate, without affecting the
accuracy and finish of the job. Stock allowances are given to provide enough material for the
finishing operation to get an accurate and good finish job. What we did in the earlier part of this
chapter is generate a roughing program. Now we have to moderately remove all the uneven
material left over from the previous program.
10.4.2 Semi-Finishing
Semi-Finishing programs are intended to remove the unevenness due to the roughing operation
and keep even part stock allowance for the Finishing operations. Once we are done with the first
roughing program, semi-finishing is always easier and simpler to perform.
Now we will copy and paste the first program in the Operation Navigator. In the new program,
you only have to change a few parameters and cutting tool dimensions and just regenerate the
program.
Right-click CAVITY_MILL program in the

Operation Navigator and click COPY
Right-click CAVITY_MILL again and choose

PASTE
Right-click the second CAVITY_MILL_COPY

you just made and click RENAME. Rename the
second program CAVITY_MILL_1
You can see that next to the newly created CAVITY_MILL_1 is a red mark, which indicates
that the program is not generated.
Cutter Selection:
Let us now set the parameters that need to be changed for the second program. Before we even
start, we should analyze the part Geometry to figure out the minimum corner radius for the cutter
diameter. In our model, it is 5 mm and at the floor edges, it is 1 mm. Therefore, the cutter
diameter can be anything less than 10 mm. For optimal output and rigidity, we will choose a Bull
Nose Cutter with a diameter of 10 and a lower radius of 1.
Double-click CAVITY_MILL_1 on Operation Navigator to open the parameters window
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Just as we did in the previous program, we have to create a
new cutter. In the TOOL tab, you will see the cutter you first
chose. It will show BUEM12X1 as the current tool.
Create a new cutter and name it BUEM10X1. It should

have a diameter of 10 and a lower radius of 1
Click the Common Depth per Cut as 0.25 in the Path

Settings tab.
Then click on CUTTING PARAMETERS tab
Click on the STOCK tab button
Uncheck the box next to Use Floor Same As Side
Enter 0.25 for Part Side Stock
Enter 0.1 for Part Floor Stock
Click on the CONTAINMENT tab button
In the drop-down menu next to In Process Workpiece, choose USE 3D
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In-Process Workpiece is a very useful option in NX7. The software considers the previous
program and generates the current program such that there is no unnecessary cutting motion in
the No-material zone. This strategy reduces the cutting time and air cutting motion drastically.
The algorithm will force the cutter to only remove that material, which was left from the
previous program and maintain the current part stock
allowance.
Choose OK to return to the parameters window
Click FEEDS AND SPEEDS
Enter the Speed and Feed values as shown in the

following figures
Then click OK
The parameters and settings are finished for the semi-

finishing program.
Regenerate the program by clicking on the
Generate icon
After the software finishes generating click OK
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Then replay the Tool Path visualization. The overall Tool Path generated in the second program
will look like the following figure.
10.4.3 Finishing Profile
So far, we are done with the roughing and semi-finishing programs for the part. There is a
sufficient amount of material left in the Workpiece to be removed in the finishing programs to
obtain the accurate part geometry as intended in the design. The finishing programs should be
generated such that every surface in the part should be properly machined. Therefore, it is better
to create more than one program to uniquely machine sets of surfaces with relevant cutting
parameters and strategies rather than make one program for all the surfaces. The following
illustrates how to group the profiles and surfaces and create the finishing programs.
Outer Profile:
This program is intended to finish the outer inclined walls onto the bottom of the floor. Because
the program should not touch the contour surface on the top, we have to give Check and Trim
boundaries in the program.
Repeat the same procedure as before to copy and

paste CAVITY_MILL_1 on Operation Navigator
Rename the program CAVITY_MILL_2
Double click CAVITY_MILL_2 to make parameter changes
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In the pop-up parameters window, change the Cut Pattern to Profile and the Stepover
percentage to 40 as shown in the figure
Click on the Specify Trim Boundaries tab
The Trim Boundary window will pop up. Make sure to

carry out the following procedure in the right sequence. Keep
the default setting of TRIM SIDE to INSIDE. This tells the
software that the cutter should not cut material anywhere
inside the boundary. Trim allows you to specify boundaries
that will further constrain the cut regions at each cut level.
Uncheck the Ignore Holes and check the box in front of

Ignore Islands
Change Filter Type to CURVES
Change the Plane tab from Automatic to Manual
A new window will pop up as shown below. The window

will ask for the mode of selection of the plane on which the
curves should be projected. This should normally be over the
topmost point of the part geometry. Precisely, it should be
over the MCS.
Choose the XC-YC Plane from the drop-down menu

under Type
Enter a value of 3 next to it
Click OK
Now we will start selecting edges from the part. These

selected edges will be projected on the Z = 3 plane as curves
and used as the boundary.
Select all the top outer edges on the wall along the contour
surface as shown in the figure. Make sure to select all 8
edges and in a continuous order
Choose OK
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Enter the Common Depth per Cut as 0.2
Click CUTTING PARAMETERS
In the pop up Dialog box,

click on STOCK tab
Enter the Part Side Stock

and Part Floor Stock
values to be 0.00
Intol:
Intol allows you to specify the
maximum distance that a cutter
can deviate from the intended
path into the workpiece.
Outtol:
Outtol allows you to specify the
maximum distance that a cutter can deviate from the
intended path away from the workpiece.
Enter the Intol and Outtol values to be 0.001 as

shown in the figure
Click on CONTAINMENT tab and change the

In-process Workpiece to NONE
Click OK
Click on the Generate icon to generate the program in the Main Parameters window
Click OK on the parameters window when the program generation is completed
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The finishing program for the outer profile is now ready. You can observe while replaying the
tool path that the cutter never crosses the boundary that has been given for trim and check. The
cutter retracts to the Z=3 plane for relocation.
Inner profile:
Repeat the same procedure as before to copy and paste
CAVITY_MILL_2 on Operation Navigator and rename it as
CAVITY_MILL_3.
Double-click CAVITY_MILL_3 to edit the parameters or

right click on it and choose Edit
Select the Specify Trim Boundaries tab and choose Trim

Side to be OUTSIDE in the pop up dialog box.
This will prevent the cutter from passing outside the boundary.
Select the Filter Method to be CURVES
Change the plane manually to be the XC-YC plane and

enter the offset distance as 3
Click OK
Select all the top inner edges along the contour surface as
shown in the figure. Again, make sure all 8 edges are
selected in a continuous order.
Then click OK
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Choose OK to return to the parameters window
Generate the program.
Click OK when the generation is finished.
Click on OK if you get any warning message about the tool fitting
The finishing program for the outer profile is now ready. By replaying the tool path, you can
observe that the cutter never crosses the boundary that has been given for trim and check.
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10.4.4 Finishing Contour Surface
Now we have to use a different type of strategy to finish the

top freeform surface.
Click on the Create Operation icon in the Toolbar
Then click on the FIXED_CONTOUR icon as shown in

the figure
Choose PROGRAM for Program
Choose WORKPIECE for Geometry
Keep the default name of program
Click OK
On the parameters window, under Drive Method, select

BOUNDARY even if it is already shown
Click on the Spanner icon as shown in the figure above

to open the Boundary Drive Method menu
On the Create Boundary window, change the Mode to

CURVES/EDGES
Select the Material Side to be OUTSIDE
Select the Tool Position to be ON
The tool position determines how the tool will position

itself when it approaches the boundary member. Boundary members may be assigned one of
three tool positions: On, Tanto, or Contact.
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• In ON position, the center point of the tool aligns with the boundary along the tool axis or
projection vector.
• In Tanto position, the side of the tool aligns with the boundary.
• In Contact position, the tool contacts the boundary.
For the Plane, choose USER-DEFINED
Again, set the plane to be XC-YC = 3
Click OK
Select the outer loop of the top contour surface as shown in the figure. Remember to select
the edges in a continuous order.
Click OK
We have trimmed the geometry outside the loop. Now we

have to trim the geometry inside the inner loop so that the
only geometry left will be the area between the two loops.
Choose the Mode to be CURVES/EDGES
Choose the Material Side to be INSIDE and Tool

Position to be ON
Choose the plane to be user-defined at XC-YC = 3
Select the inner edges of the contour surface as shown
Click OK to return to the Boundary Drive Method window
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Change the Stepover method to SCALLOP and enter the
height to be 0.001 and click OK
Click on Cutting Parameters
Change the Tolerance values so that the Part Intol and

Part Outtol is 0.001
Click on the MORE tab button and enter the value of Max Step as 1.0
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Click OK
Click on the FEEDS AND SPEEDS icon on the

parameters window
Enter the parameters as shown in the figure on right
Click OK
In the main Parameters window,
Create a new tool and name it BEM10
Change the diameter to be 10 mm and the lower radius to

be 5 mm.
Click OK
Generate the program
The contour surface is now finished and you can view the simulation by Tool Path verification.
10.4.5 Flooring
Flooring is the finishing operation performed on the horizontal flat surfaces (Floors) of the part.
In most of the milling processes, flooring will be the final operation of the process. All the
219
horizontal surfaces have to be finished. This planar operation runs the cutter in a single pass on
every face.
Click on the Create Operation icon on the

Toolbar
Change the Type to be mill_planar at the top of the

window
Change all the options as shown in the figure
Click OK
In the parameters window, change the Cut Pattern to

be Follow Part
Change the percent of the tool diameter for Stepover

to be 40
In flooring operations, it is always better to keep the Stepover value to be less than half of the
diameter of the cutter in order to achieve more flatness on the planar surfaces.
Unlike previous programs, we have to select a cut area.
Click on the Specify Cut Area tab
Select the highlighted surfaces shown in the figure

below.
In case you are not able to select the surfaces as shown go

to Part Navigator and Hide the Blank, select the surfaces
and Unhide the Blank again.
220
Click OK
Click on CUTTING PARAMETERS in the main parameter window
Choose the STOCK tab button and enter the Intol and Outtol values as shown in the figure
Click OK
Click on FEEDS AND SPEEDS
Because this is a Flooring operation, it is better to make the spindle speed high and the feed rates
low compared to the previous operations.
221
Enter the values exactly as shown in the figure
Choose OK
In the main Parameters window,

Create a new tool and name it BEF105
Change the diameter to be 10 mm and the lower radius

to be 5 mm.
Click OK
Generate the program. Then replay and verify the cutter

path
The following figure shows the ToolPath display for the

flooring.
10.5 POST PROCESSING
The primary use of the Manufacturing application is to generate tool paths for manufacturing
parts. Generally, we cannot just send an unmodified tool path file to a machine and start cutting
because there are many different types of machines. Each type of machine has unique hardware
capabilities, requirements and control systems. For instance, the machine may have a vertical or
a horizontal spindle; it can cut while moving several axes simultaneously, etc. The controller
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accepts a tool path file and directs tool motion and other machine activity (such as turning the
coolant or air on and off).
Naturally, as each type of machine has unique hardware characteristics; controllers also differ in
software characteristics. For instance, most controllers require that the instruction for turning the
coolant on be given in a particular code. Some controllers also restrict the number of M codes
that are allowed in one line of output. This information is not in the initial NX7 NX tool path.
Therefore, the tool path must be modified to suit the unique parameters of each different
machine/controller combination. The modification is called post processing. The result is a post-
processed tool path.
There are two steps involved in generating the final post-processed tool path.
1. Create the tool path data file, otherwise called CLSF (Cutter Location Source File).
2. Post process the CLSF into Machine CNC code (Post processed file). This program reads
the tool path data and reformats it for use with a particular machine and its accompanying
controller.
10.5.1 Creating CLSF
After an operation is generated and saved, the

resulting tool path is stored as part of the operation
within the part file. CLSF (Cutter Location Source
File) provides methods to copy these internal paths
from the operations in the part file to tool paths within
the CLSF, which is a text file. The GOTO values are a
"snapshot" of the current tool path. The values
exported are referenced from the MCS stored in the
operation. The CLS file is the required input for some
subsequent programs, such as postprocessors.
Click on one of the programs that you want to post
process in the Operation Navigator
Click TOOLS → OPERATION NAVIGATOR

→ OUTPUT → CLSF
A window will pop up to select the CLSF Format.
Choose CLSF_STANDARD and enter a location

for the file
Choose OK
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The CLSF file will be created. It will be similar to the figure below. The contents of the file
contain the basic algorithm of the cutter motion without any information about machine codes
and control systems. This file can be used for post-processing any machine control. The
extension of the file is .cls (XXX.cls).
Any program that has been output to CLSF or post-processed will have a green checkmark next
to it in the Operation Navigator.
224
10.5.2 Post-Processing
Click on a program in the Operation Navigator that you want to post process.
Click TOOLS → OPERATION NAVIGATOR → OUTPUT → NX

POSTPROCESSING
Select the MILL_3_AXIS machine and enter a location for the file
Select OK
This will create the post-processed file for the desired machine. You can find the block numbers
with G and M codes concerning the Machine controller type. The extension of the file is .ptp
(XXX.ptp).
The final output (XXX.ptp) file can be transferred to the machine through DNC or punched tapes
and the actual milling operation be done. This entire sequence starting from the transfer of the
model into the Manufacturing module to the transfer of the files to the machine and cutting the
raw piece into the final part is called Computer Aided Manufacturing.
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NX7

7 FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. i

The NX software integrates knowledge-based principles, industrial design, geometric modeling,

The modern manufacturing environment can be characterized by the paradigm of delivering

1.1 PRODUCT REALIZATION PROCESS

Below are some of the commercial packages in the present market.

1.3.1 Computer Aided Design – CAD

1.3.2 Computer Aided Manufacturing – CAM

1.3.3 Computer Aided Engineering – CAE

Chapter 9 will be a real-time experience of implementing a designed model into a manufacturing

2.1 STARTING NX7 SESSION AND OPENING FILES

2.1.1 Open NX7 Session

2.1.2 Open a New File

Enter the location of the file and then and click OK

2.1.3 Open a Part File

Click FILE → OPEN

Click CANCEL to exit the window

2.2.1 Print a NX7 Image

Click FILE → PRINT

You can also click the Print icon on the Standard

Click CANCEL to exit the window

It is imperative that you save your work very frequently. If

On the File drop-down menu, there are five different options

2.2.3 Close Part Files

Click FILE → CLOSE

2.2.4 Exit an NX7 Session

Click FILE → EXIT

Since we are not ready to exit NX7, click NO

Select NO, save the files and then Exit

2.2.5 Simultaneously Saving All Parts and Exiting

Click FILE → CLOSE → SAVE ALL and EXIT

The Save and Exit warning dialog window is shown below.

2.3.1 Mouse Functionality

It is highly recommended to use a three-button mouse or a scroll-mouse while working with

2.3.1.1 Left Mouse Button (MB1):

2.3.1.2 Middle Mouse Button (MB2):

2.3.1.3 Right Mouse Button (MB3):

2.3.1.4 Mouse Functionality

2.3.2 NX7 Gateway

• The name of the currentlyly displayed part

Click on the Part Navigator icon, the second icon

The Part Navigator provides a visual representation of

The Part Navigator is available for all NX applications

Click on the History icon, the fourth from

The History Palette provides fast access to

The History Palette remembers the last palette

To re-use a part, drag and drop it from the

General Object Selection:

If you want to select an entity that is hidden behind the displayed

Click the left mouse button (MB1) to get a ‘Selection Confirmation’

2.3.4 User Preferences

Choose PREFERENCES→USER INTERFACE

The User Interface option customizes how NX works

• The General tab allows you to set the precision

Choose PREFERENCES → VISUALIZATION

This dialog box controls attributes that affect the

Click on the different tab buttons to find the

Choose PREFERENCES → COLOR PALLETE