Exploding an assembly

The Explode Assembly command in the program has enhancements that allow designers to communicate information on assemblies much more effectively. We take the example of a sub assembly of a Hydraulic gear pump for exploring the functionalities available. The Pump assembly file Assy_pump.e3 is available in the Sample folder of your think3 application installation.



Some of the components of the above assembly are Unloaded and some are in Light Representation mode for this task and saved as a new file Pump_exp_view.e3. The effective set of components we use for this example is shown below.

1 Open the file Pump_exp_view.e3

  1. Start Explode Assembly command.
    • In the selection list, key in the Visual Bookmark name as Pump_Assy1, make sure the Explosion drop down list reads Movements (and if it doesn't, select the Movements item).
    • Ensure that the Default explosion offset menu (under More Options) reads 150mm, Sketch path lines and Show path lines drop down menus read None.
    • Click the Default Explosion button on the top of the selection list.
      You will get a warning message as shown below.



      Note
      As the message suggests, the program ignores components in the assembly that are Unloaded or in Light representation mode.

    • Click OK to generate the default explode as shown below.



    • Click the Apply button on the top of the selection list to execute the command.

      What happens at this point?
      1.The program creates a special type of Visual Bookmark capturing the default exploded view under the Exploded Assemblies folder in the VB tree, with the name that was specified in the selection list i.e Pump_Assy1 in this case. To view the bookmark, right click on it in the VB tree and select View Exploded Assembly.
      2.The View Exploded Assembly bookmark is Read Only.
      3.The number of Steps required to produce the explosion is calculated automatically.(You can check this in the expanded selection list)
      4.The view of the assembly is restored to its original state.


      Modify
      Note here that if the Default Explosion is not as per your requirements, you can modify the view by editing one or more Steps.
2 The Path lines enable very clear depiction of the assembly sequence of components and give you better control on the exploded view that is generated. Let's see how it works.
Continue the Explode Assembly command.
  • In the selection list, key in the Visual Bookmark name as Pump_Assy2, make sure the Explosion drop down list reads Movements (and if it doesn't, select the Movements item).
  • Change the Sketch path lines to read Automatic mode and Show path lines drop down menu to read Till current step.
  • Click Step1 (Under Group1) and select all the M8 (component M8X80) bolts. The displacement control handle appears once you select the first entity.
  • Double click the origin of the handle to move and place it at the center of the component Back_plate as shown.



    Note
    1.Thus you have set the center of movement for the selected components and the origin of the Path line.
    2.It is possible to align the axes Handle just like in the Move Copy Entities command.

  • In the Move Y minidialog, key in 200mm as Y axis displacement for the set of bolts.
  • Click Step2 and select the next component, Back_plate.
  • Again place the handle origin at its center as before.
  • In the Move Y minidialog, key in 100mm as Y axis displacement for the Back plate.
  • Click Step3 and select the component Plate.
  • In the Move Y minidialog, key in -100mm as Y axis displacement for the Plate. Your screen should be as shown.



  • Click the Apply button on the top of the selection list to execute the command.
  • To check the VB that is created, go to the Visual Bookmarks tab, right click on the Pump_Assy2 VB and say View Exploded Assembly.
    The Exploded view captured as a bookmark is seen with the Path lines highlighted.



    Note
    1.In this case, you have controlled the exploded view by specifying the Steps and the components that are to be included in them, while the Path lines are generated automatically.
    2.The Show path lines setting, Till Current Step displays the Path lines generated in all the Steps involved. If you want to display the Path line of a specific Step, set this option to Current step only.
    3.Each Step can be edited at any time, to add parts, movements and Path lines.
    4.It is possible to add a Part which belongs to a previous Step to the current Step.
3 Suppose you want to have control on the Path lines being generated, the Sketch path lines option should read Follow movements, so that your movements are captured.
To check this option, you will displace only the component Sleeve from the assembly. There are 8 instances of this component. First orient your Work plane so that these components are visible neatly. Switch to Wireframe view.
  1. Start the Explode Assembly command.
    • In the selection list, key in the Visual Bookmark name as Pump_Assy3, make sure the Explosion drop down list reads Movements (and if it doesn't, select the Movements item).
    • Ensure that the Sketch path lines reads Follow movements and Show path lines drop down menu reads Till current step.
    • Click Step1 (Under Group1) and select the first instance of the component Sleeve. The displacement control handle appears.
    • Double click the origin of the handle to move and place it at the center of the component.
    • Give a displacement to the component in perpendicular direction.

      Similarly select and move each instance of the Sleeve in separate Steps.

      Groups
      When working with complex assemblies containing hundreds of Parts, Groups provide for a useful structure to define Steps, so that it helps to locate Parts quickly and aid in editing them.




    • Click the Apply button on the top of the selection list to execute the command.
    • To check the VB that is created, go to the Visual Bookmarks tab, right click on the Pump_Assy3 VB and say View Exploded Assembly.
      The Exploded view captured as a bookmark is seen with the Path lines highlighted.



      Note
      In this case:
      1.The Path lines created follow the user defined movements.
      2.You can choose to display the Path line for a specific step only and have a Visual bookmark capture it, with the Show path lines option reading Current step only.
4 There can be situations when you prefer to have complete control on the Path lines created and not have the program generate them for you with either the Default Explosion or the Automatic mode options. In such a scenario, you can use the Path lines option in the Explosion drop down list. First you will move one of the components in the sub assembly and then check the dynamics of using this option.
  1. Start the Explode Assembly command.
    • In the selection list, key in the Visual Bookmark name as Pump_Assy4, make sure the Explosion drop down list reads Movements (and if it doesn't, select the Movements item).
    • Ensure that the Sketch path lines menu reads None and Show path lines drop down menu reads Till current step.
    • Click Step1 (Under Group1) and select the component Plate. Ensure that the displacement handle is at its center and key in Move Y and Move X minidialog values as -200mm and 100mm respectively as shown.



    • Change the Explosion option to read Path lines keeping Step1 active.
      The program presents you with another selection parameter, 2 points (under Step1).
    • Click 2 points and select the center's of Plate and Back_plate.
      The Path lines appear as seen below.



      Note
      The Path lines always appear on perpendicular planes.

      Editing these Path lines is very simple and interactive. If you right click on the Path line, you will be presented with 5 action options.
    • Add point-To insert an additional point within the Path line.
    • Delete segment-To delete a specific portion of the Path line.
    • Delete-To delete the complete Path line.
    • Align segment-Available only on the first and lastsegments of the Path line chain. The other segments are perpendicular to the previous and following ones (This situation may occur when you use Follow movements option for generating Path lines).
      When this option is activated you will be provided with 5 variables to choose from for specifying the Direction reference for alignment namely Line, 2 Points, X, Y and Z axes.
    • Add Jog-When you need to show a movement that avoids an obstructing component, you use Jog lines. The below picture shows the placement of a Jog line.



    • Click the Ok button at the top of the selection list to complete the command.
    • To check the VB that is created, go to the Visual Bookmarks tab, right click on the Pump_Assy4 VB and say View Exploded Assembly.
      The Exploded view captured as a bookmark is seen with the Path lines highlighted.



      Editing the Path lines
      Apart from the 4 options presented for editing the Path lines, you can also resize/modify them by:
      1.Pulling the Points on the Path lines
      2.Pulling on the line itself (Here you will have the option to control/invert the normal direction of pull.


Tips and Tricks