Parametric Drawing Notes For Mass Properties in ProE WF

It is often desired to show the mass properties of a part in drawing notes. This can be accomplished by following a few simple steps. In this example we will create a note for the volume of a part, the part is called "spacer". This procedure can be easily modified for any other mass property such as surface area or weight.

The first step is to calculate the mass properties of the part. You can do this either of two ways. To manually find mass properties use #Info; #Mass Props; #Part MP. Another way to have the system automatically calculate the parts mass properties is to edit the program of the part. Select #Program; #Edit Design. At the bottom of the file, you will see the following two lines:

MASSPROP

END MASSPROP

Add one line of text between the two existing lines as shown below. The new text includes the filename of the part, so be sure to substitute the name of your part here.

MASSPROP

PART SPACER

END MASSPROP

Save the file, Exit the editor, then answer ‘Y’ to incorporate your changes into the model. The system will respond with a message Part not changed since last regen.

If you use the program method to calculate the mass properties, be aware you have to regenerate the part twice before the drawing note will update properly. If you do not use the program method to calculate the mass properties, you must manually calculate them each time after modifying the part using #Info; #Mass Props; #Part MP.

The second step is to create a parameter in the part. This parameter will be used in the drawing note. Select #Set Up; #Parameters; #Create; #Number; enter VOL for the name, and accept the default value of 0.0. Now pick #Done.

The next step is to add a relation in the part. Select #Relations; #Add; enter the following:

VOL = MP_VOLUME("")

The system will respond with a message Model changed since mass props calculated. May need to recalculate. After adding the relation, #Regenerate the part.

The final step is to add the note to the drawing. Retrieve the drawing and create the note as shown below using #Detail; #Create; #Note; #Make Note.

THE VOLUME OF THE PART IS &VOL[.4] CUBIC UNITS.

The [.4] is optional, and dictates how many decimal places with which the value will be displayed.

In this example, four decimal places will be displayed.

For surface area and weight (mass), use these parameters and relations:

WEIGHT = MP_MASS("")

AREA = MP_SURF_AREA("")

For notes of surface area and weight, use the following:

THE WEIGHT OF THE PART IS &WEIGHT.

THE TOTAL SURFACE AREA OF THE PART IS &AREA SQUARE UNITS.

After changes to the part are made, you must regenerate the model twice before the drawing note will update. This is because relations are evaluated at the beginning of regeneration, before geometric changes to the part occur. The first regeneration updates the geometry, the second regeneration then updates the value of the parameter, which updates the note on the drawing.