Did you know there’s a way to combine model parameters and dimensions into a single note that will then be displayed in parts as well as drawing tables? Here’s a technique to do just that.

1. Modify the generic instance of a part.

In this example, we are going to choose a metric cap screw from the Pro/ENGINEER standard library. Many items in the library use family tables to contain variations of the same part. We want to open and modify the generic instance or “master part” of the family members (Fig. 1)

Figure 1.

2. Choose the model information.

Now select the parameters and dimensions you want to appear in your 3D note and ultimately in your drawing. In this example, we will use the parameter NOM_SIZE_THR_PITCH (Fig. 2).

Figure 2.

In addition to nominal thread size, we want to display the length of the fastener. By selecting Modify and changing the dimension display to symbolic, we can now see the length parameter displayed for the length of the fastener (Fig. 3).

Figure 3.

3. Create a 3D note.

Now enter the desired parameter and dimension information, as well as any additional text, into the note creation dialog box (Fig. 4).

Figure 4.

A symbol for the 3D note now appears in the model tree (Fig. 5).

Figure 5.

4. Place the 3D note (optional).

You can now place the note on the part if desired (Fig. 6).

Figure 6.

5. Create a new model parameter.

Now create a model parameter to use on the drawing. We will use the name DESCRIPTION for this example (Fig. 7).

Figure 7.

For our parameter to work properly, we must choose Note from the parameter type pull-down menu. Since our model only has one note, “0” is the default value displayed in the value column of the parameter table (Fig. 8).

Figure 8.

Our new model parameter DESCRIPTION now contains the information in our 3D note Note_0.

The fastener information now automatically appears whenever the model parameter DESCRIPTION is used in the drawing environment. In this example, the first row of the description column contains the text &DESCRIPTION (Fig. 9). The Pro/ENGINEER operator &DESCRIPTION will now “call-up” this information for any fastener instance that we choose.

Figure 9.

Jim Wehner is a mechanical designer at Tactex Controls Inc. in Victoria, BC, Canada. He can be reached by email at jwehner@tactex.com.