Pro/ANATOMY
Modeling Body Parts In Pro/ENGINEER®
(continued from page 3)

Now It’s Up to You

Now that you’ve gotten the hang of anatomical modeling, why not try constructing a whole hand? Here are the next couple of steps to help you on your way.

1. Figure 12 is the skeleton of a hand model that has five finger skeleton models merged into it. These finger models are located relative to offset coordinate systems that provide more control over finger movement.

Figure 12.		Figure 13.

2. Just as with a single finger, we can make a quick simplified representation to test out movement of the hand model (Fig. 13).

3. Once you have your hand movement all worked out, start building up the framework to make the surfaces look and respond the way you want (Fig. 14). It’s a good idea to write relations and define several key positional instances of the model to use as a check while you build on your surface. You can even use Pro/PROGRAM to prompt you for optional configurations as you regenerate the model.

Figure 14.		Figure 15.

4. Construct the surface. Build it a little at a time and run it through the motions. Figure 15 shows how much of this might look as the whole surface comes together.

Now the challenge is yours: How do you blend the hand into the fingers? Pro/ENGINEER definitely has a personality, and it is most evident in this type of surface modeling. My advice: Don’t fight it. Learn it. And when you do, you’ll really see the power it has to offer.

Lars Chrisman, PE, CEP is president of ProFICIENT Engineering Services, Inc. (www.proficient-engineering.com), a design and engineering consulting firm located in Lawton, Michigan, USA. He can be reached by e-mail at lars@proficient-engineering.com.