PTC Academic Program

Assembly Constraints
CREATING PRODUCT MODELS BY ASSEMBLING PARTS AND
SUBASSEMBLIES.

Product Models
Assembling parts and subassemblies into a complete model of a product
is part of the product development process. It is the integration of all of
the parts and pieces that make up a product.

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Defining how parts come together in an assembly requires

the application of constraints that reduce the degrees of
freedom of a part. There are 6 degrees of freedom for any
given part. Three of these degrees follow the translation
axes and they are forward to back, side to side, and up and
down movement. The other three follow rotation axes and
rotate around the X, Y, and Z axes.

Constraints are applied to reduce the degrees of freedom so that parts

are oriented to each other in the appropriate ways. It’s easier to
understand as you do it, so let’s get started.

We’ll begin by applying some basic constraints to an easy model and then
move on to more complex examples. The process of assembling product
models is called system integration and is an important part of product
development.

1. Start PTC Creo Parametric by

double clicking on the icon or
by going to the Start Menu,
finding PTC Creo Parametric,
and selecting it.

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2. From the Home tab, click

Select Working
Directory.

Remember that this allows you

to set the folder that PTC Creo
Parametric will use to open and
save files.

3. Navigate to the How to Model

Almost Anything folder:

• Double-click the
Peg_Block_Assembly
folder.
• Click OK.

4. From the Home tab, click New:

• Change the type of file to

Assembly.
• Type in “Peg_assembly” for
the file name.
• Click OK.

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5. From the In-graphics toolbar:

• Click Datum Display Filters and

disable the display of all datum
features.

6. From the Schools tab,

click Assemble.

7. Select assembly_block.prt
and click Open.

The part will follow your cursor

until you click to drop it in the
Graphics Area.

8. Click anywhere in the Graphics

Area to drop the part.

The Orientation Sphere helps you

reposition a part once you have
dropped it.

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The first part in an assembly

doesn’t have any other parts to
reference, so it needs to be
locked to the origin.

9. From the Automatic pull-

down menu, choose Default.

Default locks the model to the

origin. If the first part is not
placed as default, then any
kinematic constraints will not
function properly

Notice that the part has changed

color, the orientation sphere has
disappeared, and it has the
“STATUS” of Fully Constrained.

10. Click to complete placing the

component.

Now that the first part is in place we can assemble other parts to it. If we
were to assemble a peg into one of the holes in the block it is intuitive
that we would insert it into the hole until it comes to rest. It’s less intuitive
on a computer. We need to place constraints on the peg until it comes to
rest with the correct placement.

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The first constraint we would use is to make the axes of the peg and the
hole coincident so they would line up. You can think of coincident as
another word for “touching”. Next, we would need to make the underside
of the head of the peg coincident with the top of the block.

Assigning constraints consists of selecting two surfaces at a time. The first

constraint in this case would require us to select the cylinder of the peg
and the inside cylinder of the hole. PTC Creo interprets the selection of
those two surfaces as a coincident constraint and aligns the axes.

The second constraint would involve selecting the underside of the head
of the peg and the top of the block. Once again, PTC Creo interprets that
to be a coincident constraint and aligns the flat surfaces.

Let’s do this in PTC Creo so you can see it happen.

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11. Click Assemble:

• Select assembly_peg.prt.
• Click Open.

12. In the graphics area, click to place the

peg above your block as shown.

13. In the ribbon, click the

Placement tab to open it.

The Placement tab documents

the constraints as you create
them. It also allows you to edit
the constraints if you want to
change them.

The next step is to select the two appropriate surfaces to create a

constraint. PTC Creo helps you by highlighting the surfaces your cursor is
on so that you know what surface you would select if you were to click.

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It is important to note that each click of the mouse tells PTC Creo to use a
new surface to make a constraint. You need to be careful not to click
unnecessarily. Only click to select the appropriate two surfaces.

14. If necessary, zoom in

on the peg.

15. Place your cursor on

the cylinder of the
peg and click once
to select it as shown.

16. Hold SHIFT, middle-

click, and drag to
pan your model
until you can see
your block.

17. Place your cursor on

the blue cylindrical
surface of the block
and click once to
select it.

You will notice that

the axes align
automatically.

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Notice that there is now a

coincident constraint under
the Placement tab with two
surfaces listed underneath it.

Also notice that four of the degrees of

freedom have been grayed out, indicating
that there are only two degrees left: up
and down (the green arrow), and rotation
(the green arc).

18. Middle-click and drag to rotate

your model so you can see the
underside of the peg.

19. Click on the flat bottom surface

to select it.

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20. Rotate your model again so you can

see the top of the block.

21. Click on the top yellow surface to

select it.

Notice that initially PTC

Creo defines a Distance
constraint between the peg
and the block. We need a
Coincident constraint.

22. Under the Placement tab,

open the drop-down menu
next to Distance and select
Coincident.

23. Click to complete the

placement.
Congratulations! You have
successfully assembled your first
two parts.

Congratulations! You have successfully assembled your first two parts.

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Assembly models are created by constraining each part one at a time until
the complete product model is constructed. If we know ahead of time
how parts will interact, we can set up prearranged constraints so that the
assembly process is easier. In the case of the peg and the block, the
selection of the cylindrical surface of the peg and the flat underside of the
top of the peg can be automatically predefined so that as you assemble
the peg you only need to click on the blue cylinder of the hole and the
yellow flat surface of the block. We’ll show you how this is done with a
new assembly model.

Also, there are other types of constraints that we can use when
assembling to allow parts to move with respect to each other. These types
of constraints are called kinematic constraints. Let’s try a little more
complicated model.

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24. From the Quick Access Toolbar, click Close to exit

the Peg Assembly.

25. From the Home tab, click Erase Not Displayed.

26. Click OK to clear the session from memory.

27. From the Home tab, click

Select Working
Directory.

28. Navigate to the How to Model

Almost Anything folder:

• Double-click the Lego_Truck

folder.
• Click OK.

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29. From the Home tab, click

Open:

• Select truck_top_level.asm.
• Click Open

30. Click Assemble:

• Select
front_wheel.asm.
• Click Open.

31. In the graphics area,

click to place the wheel
near the truck as
shown.

Notice that there are two constraints

that have been predefined. This means
that you just need to choose the
corresponding surfaces to place the
wheel.

32. If necessary, zoom in on the front axle.

33. Click on the blue cylinder of the axle.

34. Click on the yellow base of the

axle.

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The wheel is now assembled in the

correct orientation.

35. Click to complete the placement.

36. On your keyboard, hold

down CTRL + ALT and click
and drag the wheel to spin it.

The wheel spins around the

axle because we used a
kinematic constraint when
we assembled it.

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There are still a few parts

missing from the truck, let’s
finish assembling them now.

37. Click Assemble:

• Select engine_cover.asm.
• Click Open.

38. In the graphics area, click to

place the engine cover near
the truck as shown.

When you constrain a part with a curved surface (such as putting on the
wheels) the first step is to align the two axes. The alignment of these axes
constrains two of the translation axis and two of the rotation axis. This
eliminates four of the six degrees of freedom. Usually you only need to
constrain one more surface for the part to be fully constrained.

When you are constraining a part with a flat surface (such as placing
bricks on top of each other) you must apply an additional constraint. The
alignment of flat surfaces only constrains one translation axis and one
rotational axis. This only eliminates two of the six degrees of freedom. To
finish the constraint, we will need to apply three total constraints which
pair up six surfaces.

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Again, we have applied the

constraints on part for you.
You just need to click on the
surfaces on the assembly to
complete the placement.

39. Click the blue surface first, the

yellow surface second, and
the green surface third.

The engine cover is now

assembled in the correct
orientation.

40. Click to complete the

placement.

41. Using what you have learned,

finish assembling the trucking
by putting on two
front_light.prt

If you are having trouble, refer

back to steps 7-12.

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Congratulations, you have

finished assembling the Lego
Truck!

Review
Let’s review what we have been able to do in PTC Creo to this point:

1. Create a new assembly (Step 4)

2. Assembling to first part into an assembly (Step 6-10)
3. Using the default constraint (Step 9)
4. Assembling a static component into an assembly (Step 11-23)
5. Defining a coincident constraint (Step 14-17)
6. Modifying a constraint type (Step 22)

Now that you have had a chance to practice each of the steps in the PTC
Creo, try answering these questions:

1. What are constraints and how are parts assembled in PTC Creo
Parametric?
2. What are degrees of freedom? How many are there?
3. How do you know if a degree of freedom has been constrained?
4. What do you always do to the first part in an assembly?
5. How do you make an assembly constraint? What do you click on?
6. What do we call a constraint that allows parts to move with
respect to each other?

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Practice Exercise
Let’s see if you can use the skills learned thus far to put together the
glider model from Exercise 1.

1. Set your working directory to the

Glider_Assembly folder.

2. Click New.

• Change type to Assembly.

• Type “Glider_top_level” as the

name.

3. Assemble fuselage_assembly.asm
with a Default constraint

If you are having trouble, refer

back to steps 7-10 of the peg and
block activity.

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4. Assemble wing_left.asm,
wing_right.asm, and tail.asm to
the glider.

Assemble by clicking the blue,

yellow and then green surfaces.

If you are having trouble, refer

back to steps 14-17 of the Lego
truck activity.

5. When you have finished

assembling the parts you should
have a completed glider!

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FINAL ASSESSMENT
Begin by setting Mars_Rover folder as the working directory and opening
the mars_rover.asm model in PTC Creo Parametric. Follow the
instructions here. At the end of each step do a screen capture and save
the picture using the step number as its name. These pictures can be used
to assess your learning.

1. Open mars_rover.asm (Located in

the Mars_Rover folder of How to
Model Almost Anything) in PTC
Creo Parametric.

2. Assemble the antenna (antenna.prt)

to the rear left hole of the rover.

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3. Assemble the Radar Subassembly

(radar_subassembly.asm) to the
rear right hole of the rover.

4. Assemble the Eye Pole Subassembly

(eye_pole_subassembly.asm) to the
front hole of the rover.

Congratulations! You have completed this exercise.

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