Training Module #13: CAD and Digital Thread (Click-Along)

Path: C:\HyperX\Training\[version#]\[Database]

Database: Training Module #13 - CAD and Digital Thread_[version#].hdb3

Project: UAM_CAD Import Export

CAD: C:\HyperX\Models\Wing UAM\CAD\UAM Right Wing_Detailed.CATPart

You can import CAD Entities in a variety of formats. To do so:

To more clearly see the imported CAD Entities, hide all Structures using the Structures Tree. Now everything visible in the Viewport is a CAD Entity. You can use the CAD Tree to review a list of these Entities as well as hide and show them as needed.

The CAD Tree can also be used to organize CAD Entities into folders. Let's create a folder to contain all of the CAD Points. To do so:

Hide the upper skin by selecting it in the Viewport, right-clicking, and clicking "Hide".

You can measure the distance between various CAD and HyperX Entities using the Measuring Tool. To open the Measuring Tool, click the "Measure" button on the Model tab of the Ribbon.

While the Measuring Tool is open, you can automatically create Measurements by selecting measurable entities. Let's click on a couple of CAD Points to measure the distance between them. In this case, the distance between two fasteners that connect "Rib 2_2" to the forward spar. Once the measurement is created, it will appear as a line in the Viewport labeled with the measured distance. 

To make more complex measurements, you may need to modify the CAD Entities to expose those useful aspects of the CAD. Here, we will "split" a spar to expose the cross-section for measurement.

First, we must create a CAD Plane to split the spar with. From the Model tab of the Ribbon, click the "Create CAD Entities" button and select "Plane" from the pop-up menu.

This opens the "Create CAD Plane" form which has a few options for creating Planes. We will use the "On Curve" method to generate a Plane at a specified location along a Curve. We will create a single Plane at a location that is 10% of the Curve's length from the endpoint using the "Position" settings on the form.

Now we must select the Curve to generate the Plane along. Use the Selection Wheel to change your selection mode to CAD > Sub Solid.

Now, select the edge of the spar cap in the Viewport. It will populate the "Create CAD Plane" form with the Curve corresponding to that part.

Press "Apply" to create the Plane.

To get a view of the spar's cross-section, we will split it with the CAD Plane we just created. First, we must open the Split tool by clicking the "Modify CAD Entities" button on the Model tab of the Ribbon and selecting "Split" from the pop-up.

With the Split tool open, we will select the spar and the Plane and press "Apply" to "split" the spar at the location of the Plane. The Split tool will create a new entity (or two if "Geometry from both sides" is selected) in place of the original entity that is identical except for it being split at the Plane location.

Now we can hide the Plane using the CAD Tree to get a better view of the spar cross-section.

To measure the spar cap width, first open the Measuring Tool again by clicking the "Measure" button on the Model tab of the Ribbon.

With the Measuring Tool open, change your selection mode to CAD > Sub Solid using the Selection Wheel.

Finally, we click the vertices on the split face to create the Measurement.

Another way to view the cross-section of the spar for measuring is to use the Intersect tool. First, use the CAD Tree to hide the split entity and re-show the original spar and the CAD Plane we created earlier.

Next, we'll open the Intersect tool by clicking the "Modify CAD Entities" button on the Model tab of the Ribbon and selecting "Intersect" from the pop-up.

With the "Intersect CAD" form open, select the spar and the CAD Plane. Also, check the "One curve per intersection" checkbox. By default, this tool outputs many Curves with each representing one segment of the intersection. By checking this option, those Curves will be combined into a single Composite Curve representing the entire intersection. Click "Apply" to generate the intersection.

To more easily see the intersection, locate the Composite Curve representing it in the CAD Tree, right-click and select "Show Only".

Now, re-open the Measuring Tool and change your selection mode to CAD > Sub Curve. Then, select points along the Curve to measure the distance between them.

For this next exercise, we want to only show the upper skin Structure. To do that, locate the "Upper Skin" in the Structures Tree, right-click, and select "Show Only".

Before we can generate stiffener geometry, we need to have Detailed Sizing results.

First, let's review the Design Property assigned to the Structure. Locate the "Hat_Upper_Skin_2_LFs" Design Property in the Property Tree, right-click, and select "Edit" to review the Design Property. Notice that this design represents a smeared (i.e. there are no beam or shell elements discretely-modeling the stiffener) hat-stiffened panel concept and it is set to Detailed Sizing mode.

Now we need Detailed Sizing results. Since the Design Property is already set to that mode, and the Load and Analysis Properties have been assigned, we can close the form and simply run Sizing on the selected Zones.

Once the Sizing run is complete, we can review the results. Select one of the Zones that we just Sized, right-click, and choose "Design Result" from the context menu. Here you can see the various dimensions output by the Sizing run which will become the basis for the generated stiffeners.

You can also view a cross-section of the stiffener for this Zone by selecting it and clicking the "Ply Cross Section Viewport" button on the View tab of the Ribbon.

In order to generate CAD stiffeners in the correct location in space (in this case, in reference to the Zones we just Sized), Guide Curves must be created. There are two options for generating Guide Curves: parallel offset and tapered. These methods are described in the sub-sections below.

Method #1: Parallel Offset Curves

Create End Points for a Center Line

From the Model tab of the Ribbon, click "Create CAD Entities" and select "Points" from the pop-up.

There are several methods to create CAD Points, and we are going to use "XYZ Coordinates". Next, we will check the "Multiple" checkbox and enable the "Select a point in the viewport" option. Altogether, these allow us to click on various points on the upper skin to create CAD Points there.

With these options selected, we will choose end points for a line that goes through the center of the upper skin. You can preview these points before creating them and, when you are ready, press "Apply" to create CAD Points at these locations.

Create Centerline

Using these Points, we can create a CAD Curve to use as the centerline which we will base the rest of the Guide Curves on. To get started, click "Create CAD Entities" from the Model tab of the Ribbon and select "Curves" from the pop-up.

We will use the "From Points" method and select the CAD Points we created in the last step. Again, you can preview the Curve and then press "Apply" to create it.

Create Parallel Curves

The next step is to create several evenly spaced Curves that are parallel to the centerline. To do that, we'll stay in the "Create CAD Curve" form and:

1. Switch to the "Parallel" creation method.

2. Set the "Offset" to 4 inches and both the numbers of forward and backward curves to 3.

   Note

   This 4 in value represents the Stiffener Spacing coming from the Sizing results in the previous step.

3. Select the centerline as the "Guide Curve".

4. Select the entire Upper Skin in the Structures Tree.

5. Click "Apply" to generate the parallel curves (Preview first if desired).

Review Results

After creating the parallel Curves, review them to ensure their accuracy. If needed you can adjust various display settings for CAD Entities, such as the "CAD Curve Weight", in the Viewport Settings (opened via button on the View tab of the Ribbon).

Tip

Notice the Guide Curves generated here cross-over Zone boundaries as they draw nearer to the tip of the wing. This would cause a conflict, in that stiffeners generated along these curves will run-into the underlying spars. This method for Guide Curve generation is likely suitable for an application in which there is a constant width along the length of the modeled structure, such as a fighter wing. Since this example wing has a chordwise-taper, the next method for Guide Curve generation is more appropriate. 

Method #2: Tapered Curves

Generate Root and Tip Points

From the Model tab of the Ribbon, click "Create CAD Entities" and select "Points" from the pop-up.

For these CAD Points, we are going to use "XYZ Coordinates" creation method. Next, we will check the "Multiple" checkbox and enable the "Select node from main viewport" option. These settings allow us to select multiple node points on the upper skin to create CAD Points there.

Next, we'll select 4 nodes along the root of the wing. You can press "Preview" to highlight where the CAD Points will go. Press "Apply" to create the Points at these locations.

Tip

To sync with your analysis, the distance between selected nodes should match the stiffener spacing that resulted from Sizing. 

Now, we can repeat this process at the tip of the wing.

Generate Root and Tip Curves

Using these Points, we can generate CAD Curves that run along the root and tip of the wing. To get started, click "Create CAD Entities" from the Model tab of the Ribbon and select "Curves" from the pop-up.

In the "Create CAD Curve" form, select the "From Points" creation method and select the Points along the wing root. Preview the Curve if desired and click "Apply" to create and save it.

Note

By clicking and dragging, you can create a box to quickly select all the Points within that box at once.

Repeat this process for the Points at the wing tip as well.

Hide Points Used to Generate Curves

Next, let's hide the Points we created in the step before last. Select them in the Viewport or CAD Tree, right-click, and click "Hide".

Generate Start and End Points

Using the Curves along the root and tip of the wing, we can generate start and end points for Guide Curves that will stretch across the wing. First, from the Model tab of the Ribbon, click "Create CAD Entities" and select "Points" from the pop-up.

Next, perform the following steps:

1. Select the "On Curve" creation method.

2. Select the Curve along the root (and later tip) of the wing.

3. Check the "Multiple" position checkbox.

4. Set the Start and End Offsets to 0 and the Count to 6. This will create 6 evenly spaced CAD Points from the start to end of the Curve.

5. Click "Apply" to create and save the Points.

6. Repeat for the tip of the wing.

Connect Start and End Points

Now, we can generate Guide Curves by connecting the start and end points at the root and tip of the wing. To get started, click "Create CAD Entities" from the Model tab of the Ribbon and select "Curves" from the pop-up.

Next, use the "From Points" creation method and select two corresponding internal points. Preview, if desired, and click "Apply" to generate and save the Guide Curve.

Tip

For curved surfaces, define a CAD or Mesh surface for the generated CAD Curve to follow. Using the same form, select the type and surface you want the Curve to follow, and HyperX will generate the Curve along the selected surface.

Repeat the process for all internal points. When done, you should have 4 Guide Curves which properly taper with the tapering chord.

To generate the CAD Stiffeners, first click on the "Generate CAD Stiffeners" button on the Model tab of the Ribbon and select "Create CAD Uniaxial Stiffeners" from the pop-up.

Next, perform the following steps:

You can flip the wing over to see the generated stiffeners.

Notice that the generated stiffener heights and thicknesses vary down the length of the wing. This is because each stiffener has been generated using the Sizing results of the Zone it is passing through.

Optionally, metadata can be added in the form of Labels that can be exported with the geometry as Product Manufacturing Information (PMI). This could help provide additional context to the designer receiving this information. To do so:

You can add more data to each Label by selecting new things from the Legend and clicking the "Add Data" button on the "Labels" form.

With "Standard" CAD settings, you can export geometry and metadata in the following formats:

Geometry:

Metadata:

To export geometry and/or metadata: