Creating Mold Bases with NX Expressions

By Murat Ugur, April 29, 2013

In this article, I introduce Siemens PLM Systems NX expressions, part families, and the visual parameter editor. I
show how to create a custom mold set wizard. I have experience with other CAD systems, but this is my first time
with NX.
As with other MCAD packages, expressions are mathematical formulas that can be used to control the sizes of
objects and distances between them parametrically. Siemens PLM Systems licenses NXs Mold Wizard as a
separate module. The module has extensive capabilities and can be customized.
About NX
NX is the high-end CAD system from Siemens PLM Systems. (Sometimes, you can still hear people calling it by its
original name, UGS, short for Unigraphics.) It uses the Parasolid geometric modeling kernel, D-Cubed sketch and
constraint engine, Synchronous Technology for direct modeling and editing, and outputs JT-format files for data
exchange. That it uses all this technology is not surprising, because Siemens PLM owns it all.
It is used for CAM, CAM, and CAE by some of the largest manufacturing companies in the world, such as General
Motors, United Aircraft, NASA, and HP. These companies use NX for parametric solids and freeform surface
modeling, reverse engineering, sheet metal and electrical design, digital mockups, and mold design. It supports PMI
[product and manufacturing information], analytics, validation, and NC [numerical control]. Its models can be tested
through FEA [finite element method], kinematics, CFD [computational fluid dynamics], and thermal analysis. It is a
very complete CAD system, and unlike most other CAD systems, it runs on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. The
current version is v8.5.
Customizing Mold Design
Over time, CAD vendors add more functions to their software, but sometimes we cant wait that long. When it comes
to mold design, some function may not be available in all countries. This creates a disadvantage. For example, I live
in Turkey and so I need to use Turkish standards for design work. This creates a disadvantage. For example, I live in
Turkey and so I need to use Turkish standards for design work.
A solution available to everyone who spends a bit of time thinking about it. I created a simple but fast method that I
use now: a generic mold design that is driven in NX by expressions. By changing values input to the expression, NX
draws different -size molds.
I started by drawing a tree of the workflow. This gives me an outline of the tasks I need the expressions to do (see
figure 1).

Figure 1: The workflow for customizing a specific mold design
The sizes of different parts are specified by labels, such as the size of bushings and the distance between columns
(see figure 2).

Figure 2: The relationship between labels and parts of the mold
The values of the labels change as the use of the mold is specified. The values are shown below in figure 3, after
putting together the expressions from a file I named "ASB."

Figure 3: Typical values of expressions
I wanted to create the mold using these values of the components of the structure created in figure 4. All transactions
will be shown in the figure when the assembly is given in figure 5.

Figure 4: Variables used by expressions

Figure 5: Parts tree in NX
I created the structure by selecting the part family in an Excel spreadsheet (see figure 6). This table uses the mold
standards in Turkey.

Figure 6: An Excel spreadsheet of parts designed according to Turkish standards
Well, it worked to create individual part files. Variables used in each assembly file created my ASB file with the link to
the spreadsheet. I tried different values, and the result of each set was a success. After this, I mated the parts from
the asb.prt file and I created links to get values from ASB file in figure 7.

Figure 7: Expressions in NX (at left) and the resulting mold (at right)
Here, for example, is the function I used (as described by Asb M8 M12) adjusts the diameter of the hole when the
value is changed:
P17 = if(M==12)(10.2)else(if(M==16)(14)else(if(M==20)(17.5)else(19.5)))
P18 = if(M==4)(3.3)else(if(M==6)(5)else(if(M==8)(6.8)else(if(M==10)(8.5)else(p17))))

Thickness usually varies from the size of sets of mold-centering columns. These are a part of a set of a family
members in the mold. I can click with the mouse in the image to pick the visual parameter, and then modify the
measurement.
Figure 8 shows how I can manipulate control points. NX supports the slightest variations among functions in the
system.

Figure 8: Parameter values and their location (at left) and isometric view of the mold (at right)


Figure 9: Changing the dx parameter
In figure 9, I change the value of dx to 0 for the two bushings pointed out in figure 10.

Figure 10: The result of changing DX to 0
Summary
I have described a simple design of a mold to test the capabilities of NX in using expressions to control the size of the
mold. By using expressions, I am not stuck in the early design stage by setting a specific size. I can change sizes
parametrically by selecting the appropriate set of values. This shortens the design time and allows the manufacturing
process to continue more quickly.