During 1st 2 weeks of my job in R&D, the workstation I using has only 1 CAD software - Pro/Engineer. I've used CATIA V5 and Solidworks before, but not Pro/E. As I'm new here and nothing much I was assigned to do, I got the Pro/E Advanced Modeling Module and start to learn it myself.
By default, Pro/E seems to be very not user friendly in term of the user interface. Maybe I've get used to using Solidworks, but you can compare the default appearance of the working desk yourself.
Pro/Engineer
Solidworks 2008
I'm not going to compare the performance of these 2 CAD software, as this is very depend on personal preference, and I'm not a real pro in both as well. But for me, working with Pro/E is really a disaster for me when I've used to Solidworks interface.
So for the Pro/E module, I'm going to draw a 3D blower assembly power by a combustion engine. It consists of 39 components including bolts, which I need to draw it one by one precisely. Same as most 3D CAD software, Pro/E use solid modeling which you actually define the dimension and volume at the same time as you sketch. So every part you draw will be a solid model.
Impeller Housing
Then each of the components will be assembly together to complete the model. This is done by properly define the position and relation between components. The sketch plane and direction when drawing each particular components will greatly affects the assembly work here.
AC-40 Blower Model
Exploded View
I was doing this step by step following the guide in Pro/E module, so it only takes me less than a week to complete it. My main purpose is just to get myself familiar with the Pro/E interface. Now come the most interesting part, get the blower and engine running! In "Mechanical" application of Pro/E, I can apply a motor motion on any components of my assembly. In this case I define the motion on the connection pin of crank shaft to the piston connecting rod with rotational velocity. So the crack shaft pin will rotate along the crank shaft axis itself, and moving all the other components which are connecting to it. This simulation is most useful to check for interference between components to avoid engine failure. I have the video in mpeg but I couldn't access YouTube in my office, so I tried to make a low quality GIF animation to show here. In my next CAD post, I'll show you my 1st time of surface modeling in Solidworks to create a Child Restraint System, sporty version! :)
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