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Tutorial 2: Extrusions, Sketching and Cuts
1. Introduction
Extrusions are one of the most basic ways to design a part in
Pro/E where they can be used for creating solids and
for making cuts as well. Sketching is an essential component of
the design process in Pro/E where every solid
feature starts with a 2D sketch. In this tutorial, you will
learn the basics of solid modeling by creating a simple part
using an extrusion. You will then modify the part using a
cutting operation. Finally you will personalize the part by adding
an extruded text.
2. Creating New Extruded Part
1. Start Pro/E.
2. Choose [File] -> [Set Working Directory…], and select a
folder to save your work in.
3. Choose [File] -> [New] (or use the New icon from the File
Management toolbar) to create a new file.
A pop-up window will appear as shown in Figure 2.1.
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[Figure 2.1]
4. Make sure that the new file Type is Part and the Sub-type is
Solid (this is the default file type).
5. Type in Tutorial2 in the Name field then click [Ok]. The new
part file will start and the Pro/E main window
should look similar to that shown in Figure 2.2.
[Figure 2.2]
Note that when you start any new part you will have the part
coordinate system and three datum planes
(named as RIGHT, TOP & FRONT representing the y-z, z-x and
x-y planes) already available. The
coordinate system and the datum planes can be seen in the
modeling area and also they are listed in the
model tree as indicated in the above figure. The datum planes
are essential for creating any solid feature
where you will choose one of them to draw your sketch.
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6. Start a new extrusion by pressing the Extrude icon from the
Feature Creation Toolbar as indicated
in Figure 2.2 (or by choosing [Insert] -> [Extrude] from the
Menu Bar). The new extrusion will start and
the extrusion options will be displayed in the Dashboard at the
bottom of the Pro/E main window as seen in
Figure 2.3.
[Figure 2.3]
7. From the Dashboard at the bottom of the screen click on the
Placement button then the Define
button (as indicated in Figure 2.3). The sketch pop-up window
will
appear as shown in Figure 2.4.
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[Figure 2.4]
8. Select the plane labeled as FRONT from the background by
moving the mouse over the plane until it is
highlighted in blue then clicking it with the left mouse button
(you can also select the plane from the Model
Tree) then click the Sketch button in the pop-up window. Pro/E
will switch to the Sketching
mode and the References pop-up will appear as shown in Figure
2.5.
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[Figure 2.5]
9. Click the button to close the References Dialog Box.
Now Pro/E is in the Sketching Mode and the Sketcher Toolbar is
displayed at the right side of the screen.
Figure 2.6 shows the different icons in the Sketcher Toolbar and
their functions.
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[Figure 2.6]
Sketching
Pro/E is based on the solid modeling concept. An extrusion for
instance is a solid that is produced by moving a
planar area along its normal direction. When making an extrusion
we start by sketching the cross sectional
shape which must form a closed loop (such that a solid feature
is generated by moving this shape). Now we will
start by sketching the shape shown in Figure 2.7.
10. Select the Line icon from the Sketcher Toolbar. Click the
left mouse button to create point 1 then
continue the sketch by clicking the left mouse button again on
point 2, (make sure that (V) appears next
to the line before you click point 2 to make sure that the line
is vertical), click again on points 3, 4 and 5,
and click on point 1 again to close the shape.
11. Click the Select Item icon to stop the line command (or you
can click the middle mouse button to
stop the line command). Your sketch should look similar to that
shown in Figure 2.7 where the dimensions
appear automatically but the values of your dimensions will be
different than those seen in the figure.
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[Figure 2.7]
Modifying and Adding Dimensions
Now we will change the values of the dimensions designated with
letters A, B and C, and add a new dimension
to the line designated by D as indicated in Figure 2.7.
12. Double click on dimension A, and type 200 in the textbox
then hit ENTER, the dimension will be
changed to 200.
13. Repeat the same thing for dimensions B and change it to
400.
14. Now we will change dimension C but we will use a different
method, click the Modify Dimension
icon then click on dimension C. The Modify Dimensions window
will pop-up as shown in Figure
2.8. From that window you can move the wheel left or right using
the mouse (by pressing and
holding the left mouse button while moving the cursor over the
wheel) to change the dimension
value or you can type in the desired value directly in the text
field. Change the dimension to 200
then press the Check button to save the change and close the
window.
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[Figure 2.8]
15. Now to add a new dimension to line D, choose the Create
Defining Dimensions icon. Click on
point 4 and point 3 then click the middle mouse button somewhere
close to the middle of the line.
Click [OK] in the pop-up window that appears. The new dimension
will appear along the length of
the line. You can create this same dimension by clicking on the
line itself, instead of clicking the two
end points, and then click the middle mouse button somewhere
close to the middle of the line. If you
want to try that you need to press the undo icon first to remove
the dimension you already
added and then add the new dimension. 16. Double click on the
new dimension you just added and change its value to 300 then hit
ENTER.
Adding Constraints
Now we will force the two vertical lines to have the same length
by adding an equal length constraint such that
if we change the length of one of them the other will change
equally.
17. Click the Constraints icon. The constraints pop-up window
shown in Figure 2.9 will appear
where the different icons indicate different types of
constraints.
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[Figure 2.9]
18. Click the Create Equal Length icon and select the two
vertical lines then click [OK] in the
new pop-up window. Now the length of the two lines will be made
equal and the constraint indicators
labeled as L1 will appear next to the two lines as seen in
Figure 2.10.
19. Click the button to close the Constraints window.
[Figure 2.10]
Completing the Sketch
Once your sketch is complete and you have adjusted all
dimensions to the desired values, you will need to exit
from the sketcher mode to proceed with the extrusion.
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20. Now the sketch is complete, so you need to press the
Complete icon in the Sketcher Toolbar to
exit the sketching mode. If there are any errors in the sketch
(such as if your sketch is not a closed loop) you will get an error
message and will not be able to exit the sketcher until you fix the
error.
Extrusion Options
You are now out of the Sketcher and back to the Extrude command
as seen in Figure 2.11. The different
options available under the extrusion command (such as extrusion
depth and direction) are available in the
Dashboard at the bottom of the screen. For now, we are just
going to change the depth of the extrusion.
21. Type in 400 into the Extrusion Depth box in the dashboard
and hit Enter.
22. Click the check button to complete the extrusion.
[Figure 2.11]
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23. Click on the Saved view list icon, the list of saved views
will open as shown in Figure 2.12,
form the list choose Standard Orientation. If you followed the
instructions correctly, your extruded solid should look similar to
that shown in Figure 2.13.
[Figure 2.12]
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[Figure 2.13]
24. Select [File] -> [Save] from Menu Bar then click [Ok] to
save the part.
Note on Saving: Do not try to save your work while you are in
the Sketching Mode or if you have not
completed the command that you have started yet. Such attempts
will not save the solid feature but instead
they will lead to unwanted files to be saved (such as 2D
sketches) or the Save command will not be activate.
3. Creating Extruded Cuts
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Extrusions are used for creating solids, but also they can be
used for making cuts as well. Cuts (and extrusions
in general) can be created one at a time or several cuts can be
created together as long as they have the same
depth and direction.
Single Cut
1. Select the Extrude icon from the Feature Creation Toolbar on
the right of the screen.
2. Select the Remove Material icon from the Dashboard, as shown
in Figure 2.14.
[Figure 2.14]
3. Select the Placement button then the Define button.
The Sketch pop-up window will appear where you need to choose
the surface to draw your sketch
on.
4. Choose the side surface designated by the letter A (as shown
in Figure 2.15) by moving the mouse
to that surface until it is highlighted in blue then clicking
the left mouse button to select the surface
as seen in Figure 2.15.
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5. In the Sketch pop-up window, make sure that the Orientation
is [Right], if the orientation is different click on the arrow to
open the dropdown list then choose [Right].
[Figure 2.15]
6. Click the Sketch button to switch to the sketcher mode.
7. Click the button to close the References Dialog Box.
8. Select [Line] from the Sketcher Toolbar. Draw the sketch
shown in Figure 2.16 by clicking the
left mouse button to create point 1 then continue the sketch by
clicking the left mouse button
again on point 2, click again on points 3, and finish at point 4
then click the middle mouse button.
Notice that the rectangle is not fully closed. However, the
reference line on the bottom acts as a
fourth side and completes the rectangle.
9. Change the dimensions of the sketch to be as shown in Figure
2.16.
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[Figure 2.16]
10. Use the left mouse button to select the Horizontal line
connecting points 2 and 3 then hit Delete
on the keyboard to delete that line.
11. Select Arc icon (tangent to end point) from the Sketcher
Toolbar and click on point B then point
C (shown in Figure 2.17) with the left mouse button, after
clicking the two points when you move
the mouse cursor up and down you will see that the location of
the center of the arc will move also.
Move the cursor until the arc ends become tangent to the two
lines (the letter T will appear near the
ends when they are tangent) then click the Left mouse button to
finish the arc. Make sure that letter T is shown next to the two
ends as shown in Figure 2.17.
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[Figure 2.17]
12. Click the Complete button to finish the sketch.
13. Click on Saved view list icon; choose [Standard
Orientation]. Now your part should look
similar to that shown in Figure 2.18.
Make sure that the two yellow arrows (which define the direction
of the material to be removed) are pointed in
the same directions shown in Figure 2.18. If for any reason any
of the arrows is pointing in the wrong direction
click on the yellow cutting direction arrow to flip its
direction. Try clicking on the arrows anyway and see
how that changes the direction of the cut.
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[Figure 2.18]
14. From the Dashboard click the arrow next to the depth icon to
open the depth options list (as seen in
Figure 2.19), then from the list select the Through all
icon.
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[Figure 2.19]
15. Click the check button to complete the extrusion. If you
have done everything correctly then your part should look similar
to that shown in Figure 2.20.
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[Figure 2.20]
16. Select [File] -> [Save] from the Menu Bar then click [Ok]
to save the part.
Several Cuts in One Step
Now we will create another two cuts having the same depth.
1. Select the Extrude icon from the Feature Creation Toolbar on
the right of the screen.
2. Select the Remove Material icon from the Dashboard.
3. Select the Placement button then the Define button.
The Sketch pop-up window will appear as seen in Figure 2.21.
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[Figure 2.21]
4. Select the side surface (as shown in Figure 2.21) to be the
sketching surface. 5. Make sure that the Orientation is [Right], if
the orientation is different click on the arrow to open
the dropdown list then choose [Right].
6. Click the Sketch button to switch to the sketcher mode.
7. Click the button to close the References Dialog Box.
Now we will sketch the shape shown in Figure 2.22.
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[Figure 2.22]
8. Select the circle icon and click on point A with the left
mouse button then move the cursor
and click the left mouse button again to finish the circle.
Click the middle mouse button to end
the circle command then change the dimensions to be as shown in
Figure 2.22.
9. Select the rectangular icon and click on point B then point C
with the left mouse button to
create the rectangle. Click the middle mouse button to end the
rectangle command then change
the dimensions to be as shown in Figure 2.22.
10. Click the Complete button to finish the sketch.
11. Click on the Saved view list icon; choose [Standard
Orientation]. If necessary change the
direction of the cut to be in the appropriate direction (as seen
in Figure 2.23) by clicking on the
yellow arrows.
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[Figure 2.23]
12. Type 200 into the Extrusion Depth box and hit Enter.
13. Click the check button to finish the extrusion. If you have
done everything correctly then your part should look similar to
that shown in Figure 2.24.
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[Figure 2.24]
14. Select [File] -> [Save] from the Menu Bar then click [Ok]
to save the part.
4. Creating Extruded Text
Extrusions can also be used for adding text to existing parts
whether as an extruded solid or as a cut. In this
section we will personalize the part by adding extruded text. We
will also see how to add sketcher references.
1. To make it easier to view the part, change the view mode to
wireframe with no hidden lines by
selecting the No Hidden icon from the Model Display Toolbar. You
will see the model as in
Figure 2.25.
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[Figure 2.25]
2. Start a new extrusion by selecting the Extrude icon from the
Feature Creation Toolbar.
3. Select the Placement button then the Define button
from the Dashboard. The Sketch pop-up window will appear.
4. Select the inclined surface designated by the letter A (shown
above in Figure 2.25) to be the
sketching surface where the text will be added. Make sure that
the Orientation [Right] is selected
then press the Sketch button to switch to the Sketching
Mode.
5. Now the References pop-up window will open (do not close
it).
Adding Sketcher References
Notice that this time the references list it is empty (as seen
in Figure 2.26) and there are no references. Usually
two references are selected automatically, however this time no
references were selected because the
sketching surface is not parallel to any of the original datum
planes. So, in such case you need to select the
references manually and at least two references need to be
selected. References are necessary to determine
the location of anything you sketch.
6. Click on the FRONT datum plane to select it as your first
reference. Notice that when a reference is
selected it will be shown using a dashed line and its name will
be added in the References dialog box.
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7. The lower edge of the roof (as shown in Figure 2.26) will be
selected as the second reference,
however it can not be selected with the current type of Filter.
Click on the arrow next to the Filter
type and select Edge from the drop list then select the lower
edge of the roof as your second
reference.
8. Click the [Close] button to close the References pop-up
window.
[Figure 2.26]
9. Click on the Text icon from the Sketcher Toolbar. To create a
text it is first required to specify
the location where the text will be added. To specify the
location, first click at point A then at point B
as indicated in Figure 2.27 (a dashed line will be created
between the two points where this line
specifies the location and size of the text). The Text pop-up
window will appear.
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[Figure 2.27]
10. In the textbox type in HU, and press [OK] then click the
middle mouse button to finish. You
should see the text as shown in Figure 2.28.
11. Change dimensions A, B, and C to 75, 150 and 325,
respectively.
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[Figure 2.28]
12. Click the Complete button to finish the sketch.
13. Type in 25 into the Extrusion Depth box in the dashboard and
hit Enter.
14. Click the check button to finish the extrusion.
15. Click on the Saved view list icon; choose Standard
Orientation.
16. Change the part back to a solid view by clicking the Shading
icon from the Model Display
Toolbar.
17. From the Datum Display Toolbar click the Datum plane on/off
, the Datum axis on/off
and the Coordinate system on/off to hide them in order to have a
better display of the part. If you followed the instructions
correctly, your part should look similar to that shown in Figure
2.29.
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[Figure 2.29]
18. Select [File] -> [Save] from Menu Bar then click [Ok] to
save the part.
This completes Tutorial 2.
Homework
Estimate appropriate dimensions for the part shown below then
create it. Add your student ID
number to the surface as shown.