Autodesk AutoCAD AutoCAD Mechanical Desktop - 6.0 Instruction Manual

Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop

®

User’s Guide

6

20507-010000-5020A May 3, 2001

Copyright © 2001 Autodesk, Inc.

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Contents

Part I Getting Started with Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop® .1

Chapter 1 Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What is Autodesk Mechanical Desktop?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Making the Transition from AutoCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Migrating Files from Previous Releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Data Exchange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chapter 2 Modeling with Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Mechanical Desktop Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 3 The User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Mechanical Desktop Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Mechanical Desktop Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Assembly Modeling Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Part Modeling Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Mechanical Desktop Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Desktop Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Issuing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Chapter 4 Documentation and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Printed and Online Manuals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Mechanical Desktop Printed Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

AutoCAD Printed Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Online Installation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

AutoCAD 2002 Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

iii

Mechanical Desktop Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Updating Help Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Product Support Assistance in Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Updating the Support Assistance Knowledge Base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Learning and Training Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Internet Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Part I Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop® Tutorials. . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 5 Using the Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

How the Tutorials are Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Accessing Mechanical Desktop Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Positioning the Desktop Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Backing up Tutorial Drawing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Chapter 6 Creating Parametric Sketches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Basic Concepts of Parametric Sketching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Sketching Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Creating Profile Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Creating Text Sketch Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Creating Open Profile Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Creating Closed Profile Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Using Default Sketch Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Using Custom Sketch Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Using Nested Loops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Creating Path Sketches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Creating 2D Path Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Creating 3D Path Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Creating Cut Line Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Creating Split Line Sketches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Creating Break Line Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Chapter 7 Constraining Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Basic Concepts of Creating Constraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Constraining Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

Constraining Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

iv | Contents

Applying Geometric Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Showing Constraint Symbols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Replacing Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Applying Dimension Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Creating Profile Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Adding Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Appending Sketches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Modifying Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Using Construction Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Creating Profile Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Adding Project Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Adding Parametric Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Constraining Path Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Controlling Tangency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Chapter 8 Creating Sketched Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Basic Concepts of Sketched Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Creating Extruded Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Extruding Closed Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Editing Extruded Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Extruding Open Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Creating Rib Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Creating Thin Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Creating Emboss Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Editing Emboss Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Creating Loft Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Creating Linear Lofts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Creating Cubic Lofts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Editing Loft Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Creating Revolved Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Editing Revolved Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Creating Face Splits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Editing Face Splits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Creating Sweep Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Creating 2D Sweep Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Creating 3D Sweep Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Editing Sweep Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Creating Bend Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Editing Bend Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Contents | v

Chapter 9 Creating Work Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168

Basic Concepts of Work Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169

Creating Work Planes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

Editing Work Planes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

Creating Work Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

Editing Work Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177

Creating Work Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179

Editing Work Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182

Chapter 10 Creating Placed Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Basic Concepts of Placed Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187

Creating Hole Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Creating Thread Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190

Editing Hole Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192

Editing Thread Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

Creating Face Drafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Editing Face Drafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198

Creating Fillet Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199

Editing Fillet Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202

Creating Chamfer Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204

Editing Chamfer Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Creating Shell Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209

Editing Shell Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210

Creating Surface Cut Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212

Editing Surface Cut Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

Creating Pattern Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214

Editing Pattern Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Editing Array Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Creating Copied Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224

Editing Copied Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

Creating Combined Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

Editing Combined Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228

Creating Part Splits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229

Editing Part Splits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

Chapter 11 Using Design Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

Basic Concepts of Design Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235

Preparing The Drawing File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236

vi | Contents

Using Design Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Active Part Design Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Global Design Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Creating Active Part Design Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Assigning Design Variables to Active Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Modifying Design Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Working with Global Design Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Chapter 12 Creating Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Basic Concepts of Creating Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Creating Base Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Sketching Base Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Creating Work Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Defining Sketch Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Creating Extruded Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Constraining Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Dimensioning Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Creating Constraints Between Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Editing Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Extruding Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Creating Revolved Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Creating Symmetrical Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Constraining Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Refining Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Shading and Lighting Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Chapter 13 Creating Drawing Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Basic Concepts of Creating Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Planning and Setting Up Drawings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Creating Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Cleaning Up Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Hiding Extraneous Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Moving Dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Hiding Extraneous Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Enhancing Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Changing Dimension Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Creating Reference Dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Creating Hole Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Creating Centerlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Creating Other Annotation Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Modifying Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Exporting Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Contents | vii

Chapter 14 Creating Shells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346

Basic Concepts of Creating Shells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347

Adding Shell Features to Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347

Using Replay to Examine Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348

Cutting Models to Create Shells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350

Editing Shell Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .352

Adding Multiple Wall Thicknesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .354

Managing Multiple Thickness Overrides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358

Chapter 15 Creating Table Driven Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362

Basic Concepts of Table Driven Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363

Setting Up Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364

Displaying Part Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .366

Editing Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367

Resolving Common Table Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .369

Suppressing Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371

Working with Two Part Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377

Creating Drawing Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379

Cleaning Up the Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384

Displaying Dimensions as Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384

Hiding Extraneous Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .385

Moving Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387

Enhancing Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .390

Creating Power Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .390

Creating Hole Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .393

Pasting Linked Spreadsheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .396

Chapter 16 Assembling Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400

Basic Concepts of Assembling Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .401

Starting Assembly Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402

Using External Parts in Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403

Assembling Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406

Constraining Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407

Using the Desktop Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414

Getting Information from Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417

Checking for Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417

Calculating Mass Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418

Creating Assembly Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .420

viii | Contents

Creating Assembly Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Editing Assemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Editing External Subassemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Editing External Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Editing Assembly Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Chapter 17 Combining Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Basic Concepts of Combining Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Working in Single Part Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

Creating Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Creating Toolbody Part Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Working with Combine Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458

Creating Relief Toolbodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

Combining Toolbodies with Spacers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Adding Weight Reduction Holes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Adding Weight Reduction Extrusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471

Adding Mounting Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Chapter 18 Assembling Complex Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478

Basic Concepts of Complex Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Starting the Assembly Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Creating Local and External Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

Applying Assembly Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

Creating New Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491

Creating Subassemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

Defining and Activating Subassemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

Using External Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Instancing Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496

Completing Assemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497

Applying Assembly Constraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497

Restructuring Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

Analyzing Assemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

Editing Mechanical Desktop Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Reloading External References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

Assigning Mass Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

Calculating Mass Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511

Reviewing Assembly Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

Creating Exploded Assembly Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

Using Tweaks and Trails in Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515

Creating Assembly Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518

Contents | ix

Creating Bills of Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .522

Customizing BOM Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .523

Working with Part References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .525

Adding Balloons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .527

Placing Parts Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .529

Finishing Drawings for Plotting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .531

Chapter 19 Creating and Editing Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .534

Basic Concepts of Creating Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .535

Working with Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .536

Creating Motion-Based Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .538

Revolved Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .538

Extruded Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .539

Swept Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .540

Creating Skin Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .546

Ruled Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .546

Trimmed Planar Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .554

Lofted Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .555

Creating Derived Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .559

Blended Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .559

Offset Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .563

Fillet and Corner Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .565

Editing Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .569

Adjusting Adjacent Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .569

Joining Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570

Trimming Intersecting Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .571

Trimming Surfaces by Projection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .573

Chapter 20 Combining Parts and Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .576

Basic Concepts of Combining Parts and Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .577

Using Surface Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .577

Creating Surface Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .579

Attaching Surfaces Parametrically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .582

Cutting Parts with Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .584

Creating Extruded Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .586

Creating Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .598

Creating Features on a Work Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .601

Modifying Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .609

Finishing Touches on Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .611

x | Contents

Chapter 21 Surfacing Wireframe Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614

Basic Concepts of Surfacing Wireframe Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Discerning Design Intent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Identifying Logical Surface Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616

Identifying Base Surface Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617

Using Trimmed Planar Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619

Choosing a Surfacing Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620

Verifying Surfacing Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623

Surfacing Wireframe Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624

Creating Trimmed Planar Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626

Joining Surfaces on Complex Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634

Creating Swept and Projected Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645

Creating Complex Swept Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655

Using Projection to Create Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661

Using Advanced Surfacing Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665

Viewing Completed Surfaced Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669

Chapter 22 Working with Standard Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672

Tutorial at a Glance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673

Basic Concepts of Standard Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673

Inserting Through Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674

Using Cylinder Axial Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674

Using Cylinder Radial Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677

Inserting Screw Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681

Chapter 23 Creating Shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690

Tutorial at a Glance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691

Basic Concepts of the Shaft Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691

Using the Shaft Generator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692

Creating Shaft Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693

Adding Threads to Shafts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695

Adding Profile Information to Shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

Editing Shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698

Adding Standard Parts to Shafts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701

Displaying and Shading 3D Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

Contents | xi

Chapter 24 Calculating Stress on 3D Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .708

Tutorial at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .709

Basic Concepts of 3D FEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .709

Using 3D FEA Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .710

Performing Finite Element Analyses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .710

Defining Supports and Forces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .711

Calculating and Displaying the Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .715

Desktop Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .720

Part Modeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .721

Part Modeling ➤ New Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .721

Part Modeling ➤ New Sketch Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .722

Part Modeling ➤ 2D Sketching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .722

Part Modeling ➤ 2D Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .725

Part Modeling ➤ Profile a Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .726

Part Modeling ➤ Sketched Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .727

Part Modeling ➤ Placed Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .727

Part Modeling ➤ Work Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .727

Part Modeling ➤ Power Dimensioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728

Part Modeling ➤ Edit Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728

Part Modeling ➤ Update Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728

Part Modeling ➤ Part Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .729

Part Modeling ➤ Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .729

Toolbody Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .730

Toolbody Modeling ➤ New Toolbody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .730

Toolbody Modeling ➤ Part Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .730

Toolbody Modeling ➤ 3D Toolbody Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . .731

Toolbody Modeling ➤ Power Manipulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .731

Toolbody Modeling ➤ Check Interference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .731

Toolbody Modeling ➤ Toolbody Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .732

Assembly Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .732

Assembly Modeling ➤ New Subassembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .733

Assembly Modeling ➤ Assembly Catalog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .733

Assembly Modeling ➤ 3D Assembly Constraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .733

Assembly Modeling ➤ Assign Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .734

Assembly Modeling ➤ Power Manipulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .734

Assembly Modeling ➤ Mass Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .734

Assembly Modeling ➤ Assembly Visibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .734

xii | Contents

Surface Modeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

Surface Modeling ➤ AutoSurf Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

Surface Modeling ➤ Swept Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736

Surface Modeling ➤ Loft U Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736

Surface Modeling ➤ Blended Surface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736

Surface Modeling ➤ Flow Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

Surface Modeling ➤ Object Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

Surface Modeling ➤ Surface Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

Surface Modeling ➤ Stitches Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

Surface Modeling ➤ Grip Point Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

Surface Modeling ➤ Lengthen Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

Surface Modeling ➤ Extract Surface Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Surface Modeling ➤ Edit Augmented Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Surface Modeling ➤ Wire Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740

Scene ➤ New Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740

Scene ➤ Scene Visibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741

Drawing Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741

Drawing Layout ➤ Power Dimensioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742

Drawing Layout ➤ Drawing Visibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744

Mechanical View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744

Mechanical View ➤ Zoom Realtime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745

Mechanical View ➤ 3D Orbit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745

Mechanical View ➤ Sketch View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746

Mechanical View ➤ Restore View #1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746

Mechanical View ➤ Toggle Shading/Wireframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

Contents | xiii

xiv

Part I

Getting Started
with Autodesk
Mechanical Desktop

Part I provides information for getting started with your Mechanical Desktop 6 software. It

includes information to help in the transition from AutoCAD

from previous releases. It explains the user interface and the basics of modeling in the

different work environments in Mechanical Desktop.

In addition, Part I provides a guide to both the print and online documentation that you

®

®

®

and the migration of files

received with your Mechanical Desktop software. Information about training courseware

and Internet resources are also included.

1

2 |

Welcome

In This Chapter

1

This chapter provides an overview of the capabilities of

®

Autodesk

about the transition from AutoCAD

and the migration of files from previous releases with the

Mechanical Desktop Migration Assistance.

Mechanical Desktop® 6 software. You learn

®

, data exchange,

About Mechanical Desktop

■

■ Making the transition from

AutoCAD

■ Migrating files from previous

releases

3

What is Autodesk Mechanical Desktop?

Mechanical Desktop is a powerful and easy-to-use 3D parametric modeler
used in mechanical design. Built on AutoCAD 2002, the Mechanical Desktop
6 design software package includes:

■ AutoCAD Mechanical 6 with the power pack (2D Parts and Calculations)

■ Mechanical Desktop 6 with the power pack (Mechanical Desktop 6, 3D

Parts and Calculations)

■ AutoCAD 2002

When you start Mechanical Desktop 6, you have the option to run it with or
without the power pack.

The Mechanical Desktop software provides design tools to

■ Create parts from sketched and placed features

■ Combine parts and toolbodies

■ Build assemblies and subassemblies

■ Define scenes for drawing views

■ Set up drawing sheets and views

■ Annotate drawings for final documentation

■ Manage and reuse design data

■ Migrate and edit legacy solids data

Productivity and collaboration tools in Mechanical Desktop enable you to
improve workflows and comply with company practices.

Web tools are provided in a design portal called the Today page. From the
Today page, you can

■ Start a new drawing or open an existing drawing

■ Access symbol libraries

■ Communicate to design team members through a Web page you create

from a template provided

■ Link directly to design information on the Web

■ Link directly to Autodesk Web pages

For more information about the Today page, see “Mechanical Desktop
Today” on page 14.

4 | Chapter 1 Welcome

Making the Transition from AutoCAD

Mechanical Desktop 6 is built on AutoCAD 2002 and uses many of the tools
you may already be familiar with. Because Mechanical Desktop is a parametric
modeling program, exercise care in using standard AutoCAD commands.

In the sketching stage, you can use any AutoCAD command to create the
geometry for your sketch. You can use AutoCAD drawing and editing tools
to edit sketch geometry after it has been consumed by a feature.

In general, follow these rules:

■ Use Mechanical Desktop dimensions. AutoCAD dimensions are not

parametric and cannot control the size, shape, or position of Mechanical

Desktop parts and features.

■ Use sketch planes and work planes to control the UCS orientation. Using

the AutoCAD

your part.

■ Do not use the command EXPLODE. Exploding a part deletes the part

definition from a Mechanical Desktop drawing.

■ Use the Assembly Catalog or the Browser to insert external part files into

drawings and externalize part files. Using the AutoCAD

XREF, and XBIND commands could corrupt Mechanical Desktop data.

■ Use the Mechanical Desktop drawing view commands to create drawing

views. The AutoCAD

of your parts.

UCS command does not associate the current plane with

INSERT, WBLOCK,

MVIEW command does not create associative views

Migrating Files from Previous Releases

In Mechanical Desktop 6, you can add more than one part to a part file for
creating combined parts. The first part becomes the part definition, while all
other parts become unconsumed toolbodies. You combine toolbodies with
each other and the first part to create a complex part.

To migrate parts from a part file that contains more than one part and was
created before Mechanical Desktop Release 2, you need to follow specific
procedures. See "Running the Desktop File Migration Utility" in the Autodesk
Mechanical Products Installation Guide on the product CD.

The File Migration Tool (FMT) is a component of Mechanical Desktop
Migration Assistance, an independent Visual Basic (not VBA) application
located on your product CD. The FMT migrates multiple files from previous
releases of Mechanical Desktop to the current format. You can install
Mechanical Desktop Migration Assistance during or after the installation of
your Autodesk mechanical product.

Making the Transition from AutoCAD | 5

To install the Mechanical Desktop Migration Assistance from your product CD
1 Hold down the

drive. This prevents Setup from starting automatically.

2 In the file tree of the CD-ROM drive, navigate to the Migrate folder and click

setup.exe.

3 Respond to the directions in the Mechanical Desktop Migration Assistance

installation dialog boxes.

NOTE For more information about installing the Migration Assistance and

running the FMT, see "Mechanical Desktop Migration Assistance" in the
Autodesk Mechanical Products Installation Guide on your product CD.

Data Exchange

During your design process, you may want to complement Mechanical
Desktop with other computer-aided design (CAD) software. Mechanical
Desktop 6 includes the STEP translator and the IGES Translator. The Standard
for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) is International Standards
Organization (ISO) 10303. The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification
(IGES) is the ANSI standard for data exchange between CAD systems and is
supported by many CAD vendors.

SHIFT key while you insert the product CD into the CD-ROM

The IGES Translator is compliant with the most recent version of IGES and
related standards. It supports both the United States Department of Defense
Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support initiative (CALS) and the Japa­nese Automotive Manufacturers Association subset of IGES (JAMA).

Besides creating and maintaining a flexible CAD tool environment, the
Translator preserves the investment you have made in previous designs
developed with other CAD systems.

The Translator supports the following types of design objects:

■ 2D and 3D wireframe geometry

■ Ruled, parametric, and NURBS surfaces

■ Mechanical Desktop and AutoCAD native solids, and IGES boundary

representation solids (B-rep).

For more information, see STEP and IGES in the Mechanical Desktop Help.

6 | Chapter 1 Welcome

Modeling with Autodesk®
Mechanical Desktop

This chapter describes the basic concepts of mechanical

design with Autodesk Mechanical Desktop software,

including fundamentals of parametric design.

If you understand the underlying concepts in this chap-

ter, you can become proficient in using the Mechanical

Desktop software.

®

In This Chapter

Mechanical Desktop basics

■

■ Mechanical Desktop work

environments

2

7

Mechanical Desktop Basics

g

Mechanical Desktop is an integrated package of advanced 3D modeling tools
and 2D drafting and drawing capabilities that helps you conceptualize,
design, and document your mechanical products.

You create models of 3D parts, not just 2D drawings.

You use these 3D parts to create 2D drawings and 3D assemblies.

2D drawin

Mechanical Desktop, a dimension-driven system, creates parametric models.

Your model is defined in terms of the size, shape, and position of its features.
You can modify the size and shape of your model, while preserving your
design intent.

original part revised part

You build parts from features—the basic shapes of your part.

Building blocks like extrusions, lofts, sweeps, bends, holes, fillets, and cham­fers are parametrically combined to create your part.

3D part

revolved feature

extruded feature

8 | Chapter 2 Modeling with Autodesk Mechanical Desktop

You create most features from sketches.

Sketches can be extruded, revolved, lofted, or swept along a path to create
features.

sketch for revolved feature

sketch for extruded feature

You work in the Part Modeling environment to create single parts.

In this environment, only one part can exist in a drawing. Additional parts
become unconsumed toolbodies for the purpose of creating a combined part.
Use part files to build a library of standardized parts.

examples of single part files

You work in Assembly Modeling to create multiple parts and assemblies.

In this environment, any number of parts can exist in one drawing. Parts can
be externally referenced from part and assembly files, or localized in the
assembly drawing.

assembly file containing four external part files

Mechanical Desktop Basics | 9

Individual parts can be fit together to create subassemblies and assemblies.

Assembly files contain more than one part. Parts are fit together using assem­bly constraints to define the positions of the individual parts that make up
your final product.

individual parts in an assembly file

completed assembly

For standard parts, you can define different versions using a spreadsheet.

Instead of a large library of parts that differ only in size, like springs, bolts,
nuts, washers, and clamps, you can create one part and define different ver­sions of that part in a spreadsheet that is linked to your drawing.

table driven part versions

You can also create 3D surface models.

Surface modeling is useful in the design of stamping dies, castings, or injec­tion molds. You can also use surfaces to add to or cut material from a solid
part to create hybrid shapes.

surfaces used to create a part

surface cut applied to a part

10 | Chapter 2 Modeling with Autodesk Mechanical Desktop

You can create scenes to define how your design fits together.

To better conceptualize the position of the parts in your assembly, you define
scenes using explosion factors, tweaks, and trails that illustrate how your
design is assembled.

exploded scene

You can create base, orthogonal, isometric, section, and detail views.

To document your design, drawing views can be created from scenes, parts,
or groups of selected objects. Any design changes are automatically updated
in these drawing views.

parametric drawing views

Add annotations and additional dimensions to finalize your documentation.

After you have created drawing views, finalize your design by adding bal­loons, bills of material, notes, reference dimensions, and mechanical
symbols.

annotations added to drawing

Mechanical Desktop Basics | 11

12

The User Interface

In This Chapter

3

When you start the Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop® 6

software, a page called the Today window is displayed.

This chapter provides an overview of the options on the

Today window to help manage your work, collaborate

with others, and link to information on the Web.

Information about the work environments and the user

interface are included to help you get started using the

Mechanical Desktop software.

The Today window

■

■ Work environm e nts

■ Mechanical Desktop interface

■ Working in the Browser

■ Methods for issuing commands

13

Mechanical Desktop Today

The first time you open the Mechanical Desktop 6 program, the Today window
is displayed on top of the program interface, along with instructions about how
to use it. The Today feature is a powerful tool that makes it easy to manage draw­ings, communicate with design teams, and link directly to design information.

In the Today Window, you can expand the following options for access to the
the services you require.

My Workplace Connect directly to files on your computer and your local

network.

My Drawings Open existing drawings, create new ones, or access

symbol libraries.

Bulletin Board Post your own Web page with links to block libraries, CAD

standards, or other folders and directories on your
company network. CAD managers can use the Bulletin
Board to communicate with their design teams. An HTML
bulletin board template is provided.

The Web Connect directly to the Internet.

Autodesk
Point A

You can close the Today Window and use the File menu to create new draw­ings or open existing drawings.

To reopen Today, in the Assist menu choose Mechanical Desktop Today.

If you prefer not to see the Today Window when you start Mechanical
Desktop, you can turn it off in Assist ➤ Options ➤ System ➤ Startup.

Link directly to design information and tools such as
Buzzsaw.com on the Web. Use the units converter, link to
Autodesk Web sites, and much more.

Login and create your free account. Customize the
information in Autodesk Point A for your specific needs.

14 | Chapter 3 The User Interface

Mechanical Desktop Environments

Mechanical Desktop has two working environments: Assembly Modeling
and Part Modeling.

Assembly Modeling Environment

This is the environment Mechanical Desktop uses when you start the
program or create a new file by using File ➤ New. Any number of parts and
subassemblies can coexist in the same drawing.

The advantages of the Assembly Modeling environment are

■ More than one part can be created in the same drawing.

■ Individual part files, and other assemblies or subassemblies, can be exter-

nally referenced or localized and used to build a complex assembly.

■ Different versions of a part can be displayed in the same file.

■ Scenes containing explosion factors, tweaks, and trails can be created.

There are three modes in the Assembly Modeling environment: Model,
Scene, and Drawing.

Model Mode

In Model mode, you create as many parts as you need. Parts may be local or
externally referenced. Create subassemblies and save them for use in larger
assemblies. Build assemblies from any number of single part files, subassem­blies, and assemblies. You can also generate a BOM (Bill of Material) database
so a list of parts can be placed in your final drawing.

Scene Mode

In Scene mode, you set explosion factors for your assembled parts and create
tweaks and trails. These settings govern how your drawing views represent
your assemblies.

Drawing Mode

In an assembly file, you can place balloons to reference the parts in your
assembly. You can create a parts list with as much information as you need
to define your parts. To illustrate how parts in an assembly fit together, you
can create base views on exploded scenes.

Mechanical Desktop Environments | 15

Part Modeling Environment

To begin a new drawing in the Part Modeling environment, choose File ➤
New Part File. Only one part may exist in the drawing. If you add more parts,
they automatically become unconsumed toolbodies. You use toolbodies to
create complex combined parts.

The advantages of the Part Modeling environment are

■ A library of standard parts can be created for use in assembly files.

■ The interface is streamlined to allow only those commands available in a

part file.

■ File sizes are minimized because the database doesn’t need additional

assembly information.

There are two modes in the Part Modeling environment: Model and Drawing.

Model Mode

In Model mode, you build and modify your design to create a single paramet­ric part. The part takes the name of the drawing file.

Drawing Mode

In Drawing mode, you define views of your part and place annotations for
documentation. You can also create a parts list and balloons to reference a
combined part and its toolbodies.

16 | Chapter 3 The User Interface