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08202012 MD 1


Tutorial 1: Pro/E Wildfire 5.0 Modeling and Drawing

Dept. of Mechanical Engineering 22.321 Mechanical Design I
Written By: Chris Morand and Xiang Li
Revised by: Mark Damplo 8/20/2012

Objectives:

This tutorial is an example of the basic techniques used to create a Pro/E part and drawing file. You can
use the techniques in this tutorial to create the links and base plate needed to complete the design of a
linkage.

After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:
Perform basic solid modeling.
Create sketches and use references.
Create engineering drawings.
Insert new views into a drawing.
Add and modify dimensions.
Add notes into a drawing.

The first step in creating any Pro/E document is creating a working directory in which all files will be saved
to and opened from. This step is especially important when creating assemblies or mechanisms because
all files related to the assembly or mechanism must be contained in the same folder. Setting up a folder
for each project should be the first thing you do.

To set up a working directory, first create a folder on the hard drive or on a removable storage device to
act as a working directory. Then:

1. Open Pro/E Wildfire by clicking Start > All Programs > Pro Engineer > Pro ENGINEER.
Click OK if any errors pop up to continue.

2. Select File > Set Working Directory, navigate to the previously created folder, and click OK.

Once there is a proper working directory, you are ready to begin creating parts, assemblies, and
mechanisms. Remember to save your work throughout the process. To save a file, click the Save button
and click OK to save it in your specified working directory, or use File > Save.

Task 1 Creating the body of the link:

1. Select File > New > select Part and create a Name, such as Link1.
Do not assign a common name, keep Use default template checked on, and select OK.

2. Click the Extrude Tool icon in the right tool box

3. Click the Sketch Tool in the top of the right hand tool box. You can alternatively click
Placement, then Define in the top left tool box shown in Figure 1.




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Figure 1 Extrusion tool options (top left tool box)

4. Click on the FRONT datum plane (this will allow you to sketch on that plane and extrude in the
direction of the arrow)

5. Click Sketch on the Sketch dialog box.

6. Using the Circle Tool (found in the right hand tool box), create two circles with the same
radius (the 2 circles are the exact same size when the notation R appears next to both circles)
with the center of one circle on the cross of the reference axes as shown in Figure 2. The exact
dimensions will be altered later in the tutorial (just draw arbitrary sizes).

Use the middle mouse button to stop drawing circles and return to the normal mouse pointer.



Figure 2 Sketch of circular ends of links


7. Using the Line Tool (found in the right hand tool box) draw two tangent lines between the
circles as shown in Figure 3. (The cursor should snap to the top and bottom of each circle. there
will be a T notated next to the point on either circle when the line is tangent to that circle). Click
the middle mouse button once to stop drawing the first line, then draw the second line. Click the
middle mouse button once to stop drawing the second line and a second time to stop using the
line tool.






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Figure 3 Overall geometry of the link


8. Using the Dynamic Trim Tool (found in the right side tool box), trim off the inside of the
circles by clicking on each section or by using the tool to draw through them (the sections being
trimmed will turn red from yellow). Click the middle mouse button to exit the dynamic trim tool.
Your end results should look similar to Figure 4, but your dimensions may be different.



Figure 4 Link geometry ready for dimension editing

9. The distance between the centers of the two circles is the effective length of the link. Double click
on that dimension and type in your link length (this length is specific to your linkage and is based
on instructions in the assignment memo), then hit Enter.

10. Double click the dimension for the radius of the circles and type in 0.50.

11. Click the Check Mark button in the right hand toolbox to exit the sketch. You may also have
to click the Resume button in the top right hand corner to resume the extrude tool.

12. Enter the thickness of the extrusion as 0.125 in the top left of the screen, in the Extrusion
properties menu.

13. Click the green check mark at the top right corner of the screen.

The first feature of the part is created. It can be rotated and viewed from different sides by holding down
the middle mouse button and dragging. Your results should look like Figure 5.



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Figure 5 Completed body of the link

Task 2 Creating a pinhole and a bearing hole:

Your links will be connected by pins and bearings. Each link will have a bearing on one end and a pin
inserted directly in the other end. The pins and bearings will be press-fit into the links, so the respective
holes must be slightly smaller than the outer diameters of the hardware. The pins have an outer diameter
of 0.125, so the pin holes will have a diameter of 0.124. The bearings have an outer diameter of 0.375,
so the bearing holes will have a diameter of 0.374.

1. Click the Extrude Tool icon in the right tool box.

2. Click the Sketch Tool in the top of the right hand tool box. You can alternatively click
Placement, then Define in the top left tool box which was shown in Figure 1.

3. Click on the top surface of the link and click Sketch in the sketch dialog box.

4. To sketch the first pin hole, using the Circle Tool , draw a circle at the center of the two
references as shown in Figure 6. Use the middle mouse button to stop drawing circles and return
to the normal mouse pointer.

Correctly dimension the hole by double-clicking on the diameter dimension. Again, this first hole
will be for a pin, so enter 0.124 as the diameter size.




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Figure 6 Initial sketch of pin hole

5. To sketch the bearing hole on the other end, a new reference must be created. Click the arrow to
the right of the Circle Tool icon and select Create concentric circle

6. Select the circular edge on the right end of the linkage to turn it into a reference. Left click once
more to create the circle. Make sure this a different size than the outside edge, or else a size
constraint will be made, as denoted by the R symbol that appears.

Once the circle is created, use the middle mouse button to stop drawing circles and return to the
normal mouse pointer. Click the middle mouse button a second time to cancel the concentric
circle tool.

7. Correctly dimension the hole by double-clicking on the diameter dimension. This second hole will
be for a bearing, so enter 0.374 as the diameter size.

8. Your sketch should include both pin and bearing holes, and should look like Figure 7. Click the
check mark button at the right side of the screen.


Figure 7 Initial sketch of pin and bearing holes

9. Click the Resume button in the top right hand corner to resume the extrude tool.


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10. Select the Intersect with All Surfaces tool from the pull down menu shown in #1 of Figure 8.

11. Select the Remove Material button shown in #2 of Figure 8.

12. Click the Preview button shown in #3 of Figure 8. Hold down the middle mouse button to rotate
the part to get a better view of the extrusion. The yellow cylinders should be extruding in the
direction of the link.

13. If the preview is correct, click the check mark shown in #4 of Figure 7. If it is incorrect, click the
Resume button next to the preview button. Then, click the Flip Direction button shown in #5 of
Figure 7.

14. Click the Preview button again to be sure that it is correct, and then click the check mark if it is
correct.
Figure 8 Tool bar used to specify details of the pin hole cut

The second feature is now complete and should look like Figure 9.



Figure 9 Link with pin and bearing hole

Task 3 Creating a dimensioned engineering drawing:

Now, we will create a dimensioned drawing of this link. Before starting the drawing file, be sure to
download the preferred Pro/E A-size template from the course website. The format file is named
linkages_proe_format.frm. The website may have trouble recognizing this format, so there is also a
version available as a .txt file, which you can download and then rename the extension from .txt to .frm.
This format should be recognized by Pro/E. Once this file is downloaded to your hard drive:

1. Select File > New > select Drawing and name it the same name as the drawing file (such as
Link1), keep Use default template checked on and select OK.


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2. Under Specify Template, select empty with format. Click Browse next to the Format option,
navigate to where you have saved the new Pro/E format, and select linkages_proe_format.frm.
Click Open and select OK.

3. Click the General button icon which is on the layout tab.

4. In the message window below the tool bar it will say Select CENTER POINT for drawing view.
Click on any spot near the center of the drawing to drop down the first view.

5. The Drawing View dialog box will appear. While in the View Type category, under Model view
names, select Front and click Apply. A front view of your part should appear. Navigate to the
View Display category, and next to Display style, select Hidden. Now click Apply and Close.

6. To give a cleaner appearance, click the Plane Display , Axis Display , Point Display
, and Csys Display buttons to toggle them off.

7. Only the front view is necessary for the link drawings, as the side views do not provide any
additional information. However, if you are creating a drawing of a part that needs projected
views, you would right click and hold on the front view and select the option Insert Projection
View.

8. To move your views, right click and hold on a view and uncheck lock view movement.

Now that you have the drawing view inserted, it is time to add dimensions. To add dimensions:

1. Click on the annotate tab.

2. Select Show Model Annotations. You can also right click on a view to bring up the Show Model
Annotations.

3. Select the dimensions you wish to apply to so that all important dimensions are defined once, and
so the drawing is easily readable. Click on the front view, hold down control, and click on the
dimensions that you wish to keep. When this is done, select Apply in the Show Model
Annotations dialogue box. Then, click Cancel to exit the dialogue box.

4. You can change the number of decimal places in dimensions by selecting the dimension, clicking
decimal places... in the annotate tab, entering the number you want and clicking the green
check mark. Alternatively, you can double left click the dimension value to enter the Dimension
Properties menu, and edit the decimal places there.

Your drawing must now be formatted so that all important information is readily available



Important Note: Format your drawing according to the example. When completed it should look
exactly like the example except for the dimensions of the links which are specific to your linkage.






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Extra tips for drawing and dimensioning in Pro/E:

1. You can zoom into the drawing for more accuracy by scrolling with the mouse wheel. You can
zoom back out to the extents of the drawing by clicking the button in the top tool bar.

2. You can drag the dimensions around so that they can all be seen by clicking on them and then
clicking a second time and dragging.

3. The arrows can be flipped by holding right click on the dimension then selecting flip arrows.

4. To edit the scale of the drawing, double left click on the Scale value in the bottom left hand
corner of the screen. Choose a scale that leaves very little unused space on the page. Make
sure to manually add note a note of this scale in the title block, as addressed in step 8.

5. The critical dimensions on the links are the effective length between the holes, and the pin and
the hole and pin diameters as well as pin height. Therefore these dimensions should be precise
to 3 decimal places. Likewise, the radius of the ends of the links should only be precise to 2
decimal places as these dimensions are not as critical as the link dimensions. The thickness of
the link does not have to be dimensioned as long as the thickness of the stock is properly labeled
in the material section of the title block.

6. Notes for quantity (i.e. 2X) or other instructions (i.e. TYP) can be added by double left clicking on
the dimension of interest to open the Dimension Properties menu, click the Display tab at the
top, and entering the text around the dimension in the text window on the right.

7. Text can be added to the text blocks by holding down right click while in the Annotate mode, and
selecting Note. Click Make Note at the bottom of the Menu Manager and selecting a location
for the note. Text is entered in the message window at the top left of the screen. Pressing enter
after each line of text and pressing enter twice after the last line of text. Different text patterns
with and without leaders can be done by using the options given in the Menu Manager after
clicking the make note button. Your drawing should look similar to Figure 12 with a correct title
block (the link dimensions will differ).

Once a note is created you can move it around so it is in the correct box. Also if the text was
entered wrong or if it needs to be resized, the text can be formatted by clicking on a note to
select it and then right clicking the note and selecting Properties, or by double left clicking the
note. You only need to fill in your name, scale, the date, the sheet, revision, material and the title
of your part blocks.

8. The dimensions of the holes should include proper tolerances. Because the holes are being used
for a press fit, we do not want them machined any larger than specified, but its alright if they are
0.001 smaller than specified. To properly add tolerances, the Tolerance Mode of the dimension
must be changed. Unfortunately, this option requires administrator access to change. Instead,
we will create notes for these tolerances.

Follow the instructions in step 7 to create a note. Enter +0.000 for the first line, and -0.001 for the
second line. Double click this note, move to the Text Style tab and change the text size to 0.10.
Then relocate this note to the end of the hole dimension of interest. If the leader line is in the
way, simply edit that dimension as described in step 6 and add some empty space after the
dimension. This procedure should be done for both holes.





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9. If at any point there are features of your drawing that you have gotten rid of but do not disappear
(either extra dimensions or visible planes/axes), try clicking the Update Sheets button
(located in the top toolbar) before looking any further. Sometimes the Pro/E drawing mode does
not update immediately and this can resolve any resulting confusion.

10. Important note: Do not paste a screenshot of the Pro/E drawing into your report. The suggested
way to paste crisp drawings into MS Word is to first save the drawings as a PDF file. The
drawings can be saved as a PDF file by choosing the Publish tab (located at the top of the
screen), selecting PDF, clicking Export, and navigating to your preferred save location. Once the
drawing is a PDF, open the PDF drawing in Nuance PDF Professional 6 (installed in the
computer lab) or Adobe Acrobat, and save the PDF as a PNG file. The PNG file can be easily
inserted into Microsoft Word as a normal image. Make sure to adjust the size of the drawing in a
landscape orientation, to utilize the maximum amount of space per page.


Figure 10 Complete dimensioned link drawing









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Task 4 Creating pins and bearings:

The pins and bearings used in your linkage will be purchased parts, so they do not need their own
dimensioned engineering drawings. However, the pins and bearings are needed in the assembly
drawings, so parts must be created for them.

1. Select File > New > select Part and create a Name, such as Pin1.
Do not assign a common name, keep Use default template checked on, and select OK.

2. Click the Extrude Tool icon in the right tool box

3. Click the Sketcher Tool in the top of the right hand tool box. You can alternatively click
Placement, then Define in the top left tool box shown.

4. Click on the FRONT datum plane (this will allow you to sketch on that plane and extrude in the
direction of the arrow).

5. Click Sketch on the Sketch dialog box.

6. Using the Circle Tool (found in the right hand tool box), create a circle with its center on the
cross of the reference axes. Use the middle mouse button to stop drawing circles and return to
the normal mouse pointer. The diameter of this circle should be set to 0.125 (the pin outer
diameter).

7. Click the Check Mark button in the right hand toolbox to exit the sketch. You may also have
to click the Resume button in the top right hand corner to resume the extrude tool.

8. At the top left of the screen, in the Extrusion properties menu, enter the thickness (length) of this
pin as 1. In the future, your linkage assemblies may require pins of different lengths.

9. Click the green check mark at the top right corner of the screen. Your pin should look like
Figure 11. You can now save and exit the pin model.


Figure 11 Completed pin model



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10. Select File > New > select Part and create a Name, such as Bearing1.
Do not assign a common name, keep Use default template checked on, and select OK.

11. Click the Extrude Tool icon in the right tool box

12. Click the Sketcher Tool in the top of the right hand tool box. You can alternatively click
Placement, then Define in the top left tool box shown.

13. Click on the FRONT datum plane. (This action will allow you to sketch on that plane and extrude
in the direction of the arrow).

14. Click Sketch on the Sketch dialog box.

15. Using the Circle Tool (found in the right hand tool box), create two circles of different
diameters, each with its center on the cross of the reference axes. Use the middle mouse button
to stop drawing circles and return to the normal mouse pointer. The diameter of the outer circle
should be set to 0.375 (the bearing outer diameter). The diameter of the inner circle should be set
to 0.124 (again, because the pins will be press fit into the bearings).

16. Click the Check Mark button in the right hand toolbox to exit the sketch. You may also have
to click the Resume button in the top right hand corner to resume the extrude tool.

17. At the top left of the screen, in the Extrusion properties menu, enter the thickness of this bearing
as 0.125. The bearings are the same thickness as the links.

18. Click the green check mark at the top right corner of the screen. Your bearing should look
like Figure 12. You can now save and exit the bearing model.


Figure 12 Completed bearing model




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Task 5 Creating a base plate with a dimensioned drawing:

1. Select File > New > select Part and create a Name, such as Baseplate.
Do not assign a common name, keep Use default template checked on, and select OK.

2. Click the Extrude Tool icon in the right tool box

3. Click the Sketcher Tool in the top of the right hand tool box. You can alternatively click
Placement, then Define in the top left tool box shown.

4. Click on the FRONT datum plane. (This action will allow you to sketch on that plane and extrude
in the direction of the arrow).

5. Click Sketch on the Sketch dialog box.

6. Using the Rectangle Tool (found in the right hand tool box), create a square by first clicking
the center of the crossing reference axes, and then click somewhere above and to the right of it.
When an L appears on both the right and bottom sides of the rectangle, a constraint is placed on
both of these lengths, making a square. Use the middle mouse button to stop drawing rectangles
and return to the normal mouse pointer. The length of one side should be defined as 12.

7. To define the two holes in the baseplate, use the Circle Tool (found in the right hand tool
box) to create two circles of equal diameter anywhere on the surface on the plate. Use the middle
mouse button to stop drawing circles and return to the normal mouse pointer. The diameter both
circles should be defined as 0.374 because bearings will be press fit into both of these holes.

8. Next, the locations of these holes must be defined. If the dimensions of interest arent already
showing, click on the the Define Dimension tool , left mouse click both end points of the
dimension (i.e. the center point of each hole), and middle mouse click where you would like the
dimension value to be placed (i.e. between the holes). Ultimately, you will want the two holes
separated by a distance equal to the ground link, specified in the Lab 1 Assignment handout, and
you will want both holes located on the plate. Your final sketch should look similar to Figure 13.



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Figure 13 Completed baseplate sketch

9. Click the Check Mark button in the right hand toolbox to exit the sketch. You may also have
to click the Resume button in the top right hand corner to resume the extrude tool.

10. At the top left of the screen, in the Extrusion properties menu, enter the thickness (length) of this
plate as 0.125.

11. Click the green check mark at the top right corner of the screen. Your base plate model
should look like Figure 14.




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Figure 14 Completed base plate model

Now, a dimensioned drawing of the base plate model must be created.

12. Select File > New > select Drawing and name it the same name as the drawing file (such as
Baseplate), keep Use default template checked on and select OK.

13. Under Specify Template, select empty with format. Click Browse next to the Format option and
select linkages_proe_format.frm in the location that you have previously downloaded it. Click
Open and select OK.

14. Click the General button icon which is on the layout tab.

15. In the message window right below the tool bar it will say Select CENTER POINT for drawing
view. Click on any spot near the center of the drawing to drop down the first view.

16. The Drawing View dialog box will appear. While in the View Type category, under Model view
names, select Front and click Apply. A front view of the plate should appear. Navigate to the
View Display category, and next to Display style, select Hidden. Now click Apply and Close.

17. To move the view, right click and hold on a view and uncheck lock view movement

Now that you have the main view inserted, it is time to put dimensions on the drawing.

18. Click on the annotate tab.

19. Select Show Model Annotations. You can also right click on a view to bring up the Show Model
Annotations.

20. Select the dimensions you wish to apply to each view so that all dimensions are defined but not
defined two or more times, and also so the drawing is easily readable. Click the front view, hold
control, and then click the dimensions that you wish to keep. When this is done, select Apply in
the Show Model Annotations dialogue box. Then hit Cancel to exit the dialogue box.


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21. You can change the number of decimal places in dimensions by selecting the dimension, clicking
decimal places... in the annotate tab, entering the number you want and clicking the green
check mark. Alternatively, you can double left click the dimension value to enter the Dimension
Properties menu, and edit the decimal places there. All important hole dimensions should be to
three decimal places. The overall length of the plate is not as important and can have one
decimal place.

22. To toggle ordinate dimensions, hold control and select all of the dimensions on one side of the
plate, then hold down right click and select Toggle Ordinate/Linear. It will then ask you to
choose an ordinate baseline. Chose the side of the plate where you would like the origin to be. In
this drawing, all dimensions should be in reference to the top left corner of the plate.

Your drawing must now be formatted so that all important information is readily available. Use all of the
tips available in the previous link drawing section to format this drawing as best as possible. Remember
to properly scale the drawing, as noted in at the end of task 3. When completed, it should look similar to
Figure 15. Export as a PDF file and insert into a word document as previously explained.


Figure 15. Complete dimensioned base plate drawing