modeling bent wire

[JD]

Could anyone give me some tips on modeling bent wire products?
I've been using simple intersect curves and sweeps so far. The
problem is that this can get a little tricky to modify specific
dimensions and is a bit unrealistic as it relates to the forming
process. For example, something that should be a radius may
actually be an ellipse in Pro. Additionally, it would be great to

 

[pmack009]

You should try Pro/Piping You can't unbend but Pro will give you the Length of the wire. I'm not sure that this will solve your Radius/ellipse problem.

 

[jeff4136]

Can you post a pic or something that give a better idea of what you are dealing with?

Some thoughts that come to mind are datum point arrays, datum curve thru pts using the rad option.

Datum Evaluate features can be used to measure trajectory lengths.

 

[donha]

The datum curve is a good option for calculating overall length. If you started your parts with datum curves, you could create a composite curve (a curve consisting of all the datum curves) and use the Evaluate feature to calculate the length. Sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[guru_junkmail@y]

u can create a 3d curve and use blend-swept option.
Its in advanced - sweep-blend.
specify the curve and c/s at two ends.
if creating the 3d curve is the problem, then i'll let know in a day or two.
if any one can help draw a 3d curve in pro-e, please suggest

 

[mmead0ws]

Don't forget aboutthe pipe feature (insert > Advanced > Pipe...). Earlier this week I created a datum curve through points so I could capture the overall length of abent wire. Then I tried a sweep along the curve. After a few minutes of regeneration and saving, the resulting file was 40 MB. So I deleted the sweep and tried a pipe feature. It took less time to regenerate and save and the file was 12 MB. These fileswere so big because there were over 50bends and the length was over 1000 inches for one wire.


I defined my points using equations in Excel. Then I imported them via a *.pts file to create my array. Once created, I can"update" the array at any time andpaste newpoint locations out of Excel into the update dialog (notepad). I thinkPTC added the update capability toWildfire 2.0 (M100).This technique isn't necessary if you only have a few points.


If you look at the feature info for a pipe feature, it will report the overall length. But this isn't a parameter. You have to follow Jeff's technique to capture the length in a parameter.


There are no tools to unbend a wire like you would sheet metal. But all you really need is the overall length. Just remember, Pro/E doesn't take stretch into consideration for bends in wires.


Good Luck

 

[dr_gallup]

I use a pipe feature through datum points as well. I think it is a lot easier than swept blends. One of the nice things is that you can easily insert additional points if you need to tweak the trajectory. I find this technique quite useful to wrap magnet wire around flat terminal blades. If you dimension some of the points relative to the terminal the wire will even bend with the terminals after welding!

Be sure to create a layer in your part (such as feat_pipe) so you can turn that layer off in your drawings. It is the only way to get rid of pipe centerlines!
Edited by: dr_gallup