Standard Parts (reduce # of holes and leave a dimension hanging)

[Anonymous]

OK I know that topic line was a bit cryptic... (and I'm sure this has been
brought up before)

Since I have been in the custom machine industry my whole life I have never
had the need to make IDWs of "standard" parts. However as I get our product
engineering group up to speed on IV they will need to produce installation
drawings of their parts.

So They make part that is driven by Excel and VBA. Part of this is the # of
installation holes. The # is dependant on the length of the part. So if
they make an IDW of the part (with the max # of holes, say 10) then at some
point go back to the part and change this to anything less than 10, you'll
have orphaned dims.

One workaround was to dim the first hole then say (equally spaced 10x) but
that's a bit cheesy. I have another in mind but it's messy as well.

I'm sure others run into this all the time. How do you work with it?

(And they don't want to make a drawing/model for each part. They want to be
able to change the model, open the IDW and then plot to PDF and send to the
contractor).

--
Sean Dotson, PE
http://www.sdotson.com
Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
www.sdotson.com/faq.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Anonymous]

Well, it might be a bit cheesy, but that's the way I've always done it. To
me it produces a cleaner drawing. What would really be nice is have the 10x
get it data from the model and automatically update. Maybe that's why you
say the technique is a bit cheesy?:)

>
> One workaround was to dim the first hole then say (equally spaced 10x) but
> that's a bit cheesy. I have another in mind but it's messy as well.
>
> Sean Dotson, PE
> http://www.sdotson.com
> Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> www.sdotson.com/faq.html
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

[Anonymous]

Might sound cheesy but I was always told that if you had trouble showing it
just write what you want.
Its not the tail that's wagging the dog is it Sean
The only solution I can think of is to pattern the hole then in IDW show
model dims, gives pitch and quantity in IDW which updates no problemo when
you change the pattern, what more do you want?

--
Laurence,

Power is nothing without Control
---


"Sean Dotson" wrote in message
news:ABE46D585BA3220DE8A6CDFD915670BE@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> OK I know that topic line was a bit cryptic... (and I'm sure this has been
> brought up before)
>
> Since I have been in the custom machine industry my whole life I have
never
> had the need to make IDWs of "standard" parts. However as I get our
product
> engineering group up to speed on IV they will need to produce installation
> drawings of their parts.
>
> So They make part that is driven by Excel and VBA. Part of this is the #
of
> installation holes. The # is dependant on the length of the part. So if
> they make an IDW of the part (with the max # of holes, say 10) then at
some
> point go back to the part and change this to anything less than 10, you'll
> have orphaned dims.
>
> One workaround was to dim the first hole then say (equally spaced 10x) but
> that's a bit cheesy. I have another in mind but it's messy as well.
>
> I'm sure others run into this all the time. How do you work with it?
>
> (And they don't want to make a drawing/model for each part. They want to
be
> able to change the model, open the IDW and then plot to PDF and send to
the
> contractor).
>
> --
> Sean Dotson, PE
> http://www.sdotson.com
> Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> www.sdotson.com/faq.html
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

[Anonymous]

I would do it like Laurence...


--
Cory McConnell

[Anonymous]

The "DRILL (X) HOLES EQ SPACED" callout is a standard in piping and pressure
vessels for calling out flange bolt hole patterns. We also used it for
straight-pattern hole arrays. Admittedly, those drawings were a bit
unconventional, but I don't think the callout is all that weird. If you put
in the first and last hole, with a dim between them, then arrayed one of
them to fill in the rest, you could drive everything off the length of the
part, and the dim for the overall length of the array would never orphan
because the first and last holes woud not be effected by the changes in the
array when the part changed.

Another thing we did with straight arrays was dim between the first two
holes, and add a "TYP" suffix to indicate that the dim applied to the whole
pattern.

Walt

"Sean Dotson" wrote in message
news:ABE46D585BA3220DE8A6CDFD915670BE@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> OK I know that topic line was a bit cryptic... (and I'm sure this has been
> brought up before)
>
> Since I have been in the custom machine industry my whole life I have
never
> had the need to make IDWs of "standard" parts. However as I get our
product
> engineering group up to speed on IV they will need to produce installation
> drawings of their parts.
>
> So They make part that is driven by Excel and VBA. Part of this is the #
of
> installation holes. The # is dependant on the length of the part. So if
> they make an IDW of the part (with the max # of holes, say 10) then at
some
> point go back to the part and change this to anything less than 10, you'll
> have orphaned dims.
>
> One workaround was to dim the first hole then say (equally spaced 10x) but
> that's a bit cheesy. I have another in mind but it's messy as well.
>
> I'm sure others run into this all the time. How do you work with it?
>
> (And they don't want to make a drawing/model for each part. They want to
be
> able to change the model, open the IDW and then plot to PDF and send to
the
> contractor).
>
> --
> Sean Dotson, PE
> http://www.sdotson.com
> Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> www.sdotson.com/faq.html
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

[Anonymous]

Well guys I guess that's the way we'll have to do it. Installation drawings
are sent to the field and given to a contractor or homeowner who maybe
doesn't have the best math skills in the world. It would be ideal to spell
it out for them but if I can't have the perfect solution I guess something
similar to what I'm hearing as the consensus will do.,

Thanks for the opinions guys.

Out of curiosity has anyone had to deal with non-equally spaced holes that
appear and disappear?

--
Sean Dotson, PE
http://www.sdotson.com
Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
www.sdotson.com/faq.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
"Walt Jaquith" wrote in message
news:466A7ABDEA85C65CF7FB971B2255647B@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> The "DRILL (X) HOLES EQ SPACED" callout is a standard in piping and
pressure
> vessels for calling out flange bolt hole patterns. We also used it for
> straight-pattern hole arrays. Admittedly, those drawings were a bit
> unconventional, but I don't think the callout is all that weird. If you
put
> in the first and last hole, with a dim between them, then arrayed one of
> them to fill in the rest, you could drive everything off the length of the
> part, and the dim for the overall length of the array would never orphan
> because the first and last holes woud not be effected by the changes in
the
> array when the part changed.
>
> Another thing we did with straight arrays was dim between the first two
> holes, and add a "TYP" suffix to indicate that the dim applied to the
whole
> pattern.
>
> Walt
>
> "Sean Dotson" wrote in message
> news:ABE46D585BA3220DE8A6CDFD915670BE@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> > OK I know that topic line was a bit cryptic... (and I'm sure this has
been
> > brought up before)
> >
> > Since I have been in the custom machine industry my whole life I have
> never
> > had the need to make IDWs of "standard" parts. However as I get our
> product
> > engineering group up to speed on IV they will need to produce
installation
> > drawings of their parts.
> >
> > So They make part that is driven by Excel and VBA. Part of this is the
#
> of
> > installation holes. The # is dependant on the length of the part. So
if
> > they make an IDW of the part (with the max # of holes, say 10) then at
> some
> > point go back to the part and change this to anything less than 10,
you'll
> > have orphaned dims.
> >
> > One workaround was to dim the first hole then say (equally spaced 10x)
but
> > that's a bit cheesy. I have another in mind but it's messy as well.
> >
> > I'm sure others run into this all the time. How do you work with it?
> >
> > (And they don't want to make a drawing/model for each part. They want
to
> be
> > able to change the model, open the IDW and then plot to PDF and send to
> the
> > contractor).
> >
> > --
> > Sean Dotson, PE
> > http://www.sdotson.com
> > Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> > www.sdotson.com/faq.html
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
>
>
>
>

[Anonymous]

I would do that with ordinate dimensions if I could. If you delete holes,
the dims will orphan though. Could a routine be written that searches the
drawing for orphaned dimensions and deletes them? Then you could create a
part with more holes than you could conceivably want, and use that for a
starting point.

Walt

"Sean Dotson" wrote in message
news:E0E147EA03AEB962B4497F9A3D082357@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> Well guys I guess that's the way we'll have to do it. Installation
drawings
> are sent to the field and given to a contractor or homeowner who maybe
> doesn't have the best math skills in the world. It would be ideal to
spell
> it out for them but if I can't have the perfect solution I guess something
> similar to what I'm hearing as the consensus will do.,
>
> Thanks for the opinions guys.
>
> Out of curiosity has anyone had to deal with non-equally spaced holes that
> appear and disappear?
>
> --
> Sean Dotson, PE
> http://www.sdotson.com
> Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> www.sdotson.com/faq.html
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> ------
> "Walt Jaquith" wrote in message
> news:466A7ABDEA85C65CF7FB971B2255647B@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> > The "DRILL (X) HOLES EQ SPACED" callout is a standard in piping and
> pressure
> > vessels for calling out flange bolt hole patterns. We also used it for
> > straight-pattern hole arrays. Admittedly, those drawings were a bit
> > unconventional, but I don't think the callout is all that weird. If you
> put
> > in the first and last hole, with a dim between them, then arrayed one of
> > them to fill in the rest, you could drive everything off the length of
the
> > part, and the dim for the overall length of the array would never orphan
> > because the first and last holes woud not be effected by the changes in
> the
> > array when the part changed.
> >
> > Another thing we did with straight arrays was dim between the first two
> > holes, and add a "TYP" suffix to indicate that the dim applied to the
> whole
> > pattern.
> >
> > Walt
> >
> > "Sean Dotson" wrote in message
> > news:ABE46D585BA3220DE8A6CDFD915670BE@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> > > OK I know that topic line was a bit cryptic... (and I'm sure this has
> been
> > > brought up before)
> > >
> > > Since I have been in the custom machine industry my whole life I have
> > never
> > > had the need to make IDWs of "standard" parts. However as I get our
> > product
> > > engineering group up to speed on IV they will need to produce
> installation
> > > drawings of their parts.
> > >
> > > So They make part that is driven by Excel and VBA. Part of this is
the
> #
> > of
> > > installation holes. The # is dependant on the length of the part. So
> if
> > > they make an IDW of the part (with the max # of holes, say 10) then at
> > some
> > > point go back to the part and change this to anything less than 10,
> you'll
> > > have orphaned dims.
> > >
> > > One workaround was to dim the first hole then say (equally spaced 10x)
> but
> > > that's a bit cheesy. I have another in mind but it's messy as well.
> > >
> > > I'm sure others run into this all the time. How do you work with it?
> > >
> > > (And they don't want to make a drawing/model for each part. They want
> to
> > be
> > > able to change the model, open the IDW and then plot to PDF and send
to
> > the
> > > contractor).
> > >
> > > --
> > > Sean Dotson, PE
> > > http://www.sdotson.com
> > > Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> > > www.sdotson.com/faq.html
> >
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[Anonymous]

That was one of my thoughts but

a) I don't think the API is evolved enough
b) If I make a part w/ 10 holes, dim them all, change to 6 then delete the
orphaned dims, and then change back to 7 at some later point I am left
without a dim. Possibly hide the dims? I don't think that's in the API
either...

It seems to me this would be some good functionality to add. If a feature
disappears the dim with it hides also but will reappear if the feature
returns.


--
Sean Dotson, PE
http://www.sdotson.com
Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
www.sdotson.com/faq.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Walt Jaquith" wrote in message
news:0701529FC3A6998C119CB5465155C7BD@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> I would do that with ordinate dimensions if I could. If you delete holes,
> the dims will orphan though. Could a routine be written that searches the
> drawing for orphaned dimensions and deletes them? Then you could create a
> part with more holes than you could conceivably want, and use that for a
> starting point.
>
> Walt
>
> "Sean Dotson" wrote in message
> news:E0E147EA03AEB962B4497F9A3D082357@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> > Well guys I guess that's the way we'll have to do it. Installation
> drawings
> > are sent to the field and given to a contractor or homeowner who maybe
> > doesn't have the best math skills in the world. It would be ideal to
> spell
> > it out for them but if I can't have the perfect solution I guess
something
> > similar to what I'm hearing as the consensus will do.,
> >
> > Thanks for the opinions guys.
> >
> > Out of curiosity has anyone had to deal with non-equally spaced holes
that
> > appear and disappear?
> >
> > --
> > Sean Dotson, PE
> > http://www.sdotson.com
> > Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> > www.sdotson.com/faq.html
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> > ------
> > "Walt Jaquith" wrote in message
> > news:466A7ABDEA85C65CF7FB971B2255647B@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> > > The "DRILL (X) HOLES EQ SPACED" callout is a standard in piping and
> > pressure
> > > vessels for calling out flange bolt hole patterns. We also used it
for
> > > straight-pattern hole arrays. Admittedly, those drawings were a bit
> > > unconventional, but I don't think the callout is all that weird. If
you
> > put
> > > in the first and last hole, with a dim between them, then arrayed one
of
> > > them to fill in the rest, you could drive everything off the length of
> the
> > > part, and the dim for the overall length of the array would never
orphan
> > > because the first and last holes woud not be effected by the changes
in
> > the
> > > array when the part changed.
> > >
> > > Another thing we did with straight arrays was dim between the first
two
> > > holes, and add a "TYP" suffix to indicate that the dim applied to the
> > whole
> > > pattern.
> > >
> > > Walt
> > >
> > > "Sean Dotson" wrote in message
> > > news:ABE46D585BA3220DE8A6CDFD915670BE@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> > > > OK I know that topic line was a bit cryptic... (and I'm sure this
has
> > been
> > > > brought up before)
> > > >
> > > > Since I have been in the custom machine industry my whole life I
have
> > > never
> > > > had the need to make IDWs of "standard" parts. However as I get our
> > > product
> > > > engineering group up to speed on IV they will need to produce
> > installation
> > > > drawings of their parts.
> > > >
> > > > So They make part that is driven by Excel and VBA. Part of this is
> the
> > #
> > > of
> > > > installation holes. The # is dependant on the length of the part.
So
> > if
> > > > they make an IDW of the part (with the max # of holes, say 10) then
at
> > > some
> > > > point go back to the part and change this to anything less than 10,
> > you'll
> > > > have orphaned dims.
> > > >
> > > > One workaround was to dim the first hole then say (equally spaced
10x)
> > but
> > > > that's a bit cheesy. I have another in mind but it's messy as well.
> > > >
> > > > I'm sure others run into this all the time. How do you work with
it?
> > > >
> > > > (And they don't want to make a drawing/model for each part. They
want
> > to
> > > be
> > > > able to change the model, open the IDW and then plot to PDF and send
> to
> > > the
> > > > contractor).
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Sean Dotson, PE
> > > > http://www.sdotson.com
> > > > Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
> > > > www.sdotson.com/faq.html
> > >
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>