7/5/2018 Modifying GD&T and FTA in CATIA

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Modifying GD&T and FTA in CATIA

by Benjamin Reese, on Jul 8, 2014 11:43:00 AM

Modify GD&T and FTA in CATIA

There are some tricks to using FTA in CATIA
and creating your GD&T that can make your modeling a lot
easier. Read on to nd out more.
 

When adding GD&T to a part in Catia, Catia's  application method often

causes changes in appearance. The user may have to change the surface a
datum is on, reconnect a prequali er or alter the appearance of the GD&T
itself in order to properly display their GD&T. 

Here are a few tips for changing and improving GD&T in Catia. 

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Setting Options
First thing's rst. Make sure all of the Dimension Manipulators are active. These are the
options that allow you to use all of the FTA and GD&T options within Catia. 

To turn all of these on, go to Tools -> Options. 

In the tree, select Mechanical Design and then select Functional Tolerancing and
Annotation. Under the Manipulator's tab, add all the checks for Dimension
Manipulator under Creation and Modify. 

You can also change the Manipulator's size by either increasing the reference size or
turning o the "Zoomable" function. 


Zoomable - will make the symbol larger or smaller when zooming in or out.


Reference Size - determines the size of your GD&T. When Zoomable is on, the symbol will remain 2mm;
when Zoomable is o , the symbol will remain the same size on your screen.

New Options
After turning on the Dimension Manipulators, options will be available to the user
outside of Preferences. You can Right-click on the yellow options diamond to bring up an
options menu. 

There are di erent options for each feature in Catia. Dimensions and text have similar
options, while GD&T has a lot of other hidden options.  
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Options: Dimension Lines and Text

Overrun and Blanking

These two options are located at the top and bottom of a dimension (length dimension,
etc.). To edit one, double-click on one of the squares and enter in a value or drag the
squares up and down. You're going to want to see a picture for this.

Text before and After

These are located before and after a dimension number. Select the arrows before or after
the dimension to enter in text.  
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Note: If using the Tolerance Advisor, text may already be inserted into the dimension (see
4x below for an example). 

Move Value 

This will move the dimension value along the dimension line. Some dimensions may have
two or more values. 

Move Dimension Line

This option is located in the center of the dimension line.

The dimension will also move by dragging the dimension line, but with the block in the
center, the value will not snap to the mouse. 

Move Dimension Leader

The dimension leader will only show if the user changes the dimenion line. To change the
dimension line, select a dimension and then select the dimenison line option. 

Options: GD&T 
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It's time to change up some GD&T. Right click

your GD&T and take a look at the options list. 

Here are some of the options you should see:

Associated Geometry: If the leader of the GD&T is pointed

to a surface, the user can change the pointed geometry
without destroying links made by the Tolerance Advisor.

Select Views: Select the view the GD&T (as well as

Dimensions and text) is associated with. 

Transfer to View: After adding a new view plane, the user

can change the GD&T to the new view plane. 

Add leader: Add a leader from the GD&T to either a

surface, line or a dimension. It will also keep the GD&T
parallel to the view plane and create a positional link to
that dimension. 

Annotation Links: The user can remove a positional or

orientation link along with other dimensions or datums. 

Connection Management
A dialog box will appear after selecting this option. To change the GD&T to a di erent surface:

1. Right-click on the GD&T and select Associated Geometry

2. Select one of the components to show which surface to change
3. Right-click on the component surfaces and select Connect, the icon to the left will change
4. Pick the new surface in the graphic window
5. Pick the Check Validity button to verify that the change worked with that speci c surface and their
Datums. 
6. Select OK. 

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Leaders

Leader Position: The leader position can be dragged through the FT&A. It can be moved to each corner and mid-
point on each square. Right-click to set other options:

 Automatic Mode: This will set the position of the leader to the corner.
 Standard Behavior On/O : With this on, the circle will only go to the mid-points of each end; with it o , the
user will be able to set it to the end point and/or mid-point.

Leader Anchor: After right-clicking on the Leader Anchor, this set of options
comes up:

 Breakpoint: Adding a breakpoint will break the leader by adding

another segment. From there the user can create one or more leader
lines.

 Interruption: This will add a space to the leader, if, for example, it is
crashing through another dimension line. 

More Leaders
 Remove Leader/Extremity: Removes a leader. If there are more extremities, it will still remove the whole
leader. 

 All Around: Add a circle to the corner of the leader. 

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 Perpendicular Leader: This makes the leader perpendicular to the

surface or line. 

 Dimensions of Visualizations: Will add a dimensions line to the FT&A.

However, the dimesnion line will be separate from the FT&A and
cannot be modi ed. 

 Symbol: Change the shapes of the arrow at the end of the leader. 

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