Previously Pro/ENGINEER allowed you to SIMPLIFY drawing views by suppressing some features. A good example is a two-page drawing of a part with simplified views showing “turning” features on the first page and “milling” details on the second.

In Wildfire, PTC has removed this functionality because it apparently caused problems for a number of customers. Here’s one possible solution for updating an old-style simplified drawing to a Wildfire-compatible family-tabled drawing.

1. Open the part (e.g., part1.prt) in Wildfire.

2. Create a family table (Tools, Family Table).

- Add columns and select each feature to hide in the simplified drawing view.

- Add a new row for the simplified part (e.g., part1_inst.prt).

- Set every feature to “N” to hide them.

- Hit OK when you’re finished.

IMPORTANT: VERIFY the family table to ensure the instance can regenerate.

3. Save the part.

4. Open the drawing (e.g., draw1.drw) in Wildfire and Save a copy to a temporary file (e.g.: draw1_temp.drw).

5. Open the temporary file and remove the sheet that displays complete views (Edit, Remove, Sheets).

6. In this temporary drawing, replace the model with the simplified version (e.g., part1_inst.prt) you’ve added (right-click on background, Properties, Drawing Models, Replace).

7. Pick the instance (e.g., part1_inst.prt). You should see the drawing views simplify to show only the “turning” features.

8. Open the original drawing (e.g., draw1.drw) and remove the sheet that displays simplified views (e.g., turning view).

9. Insert the temporary drawing as a new sheet (Insert, Shared Data, From File).

10. You’ll probably have to replace the format on this page to ensure the border is correct.

11. Reorder the sheets as required (Edit, Move Sheet…).

12. Delete the temporary drawing.

In the meantime, let’s hope that PTC brings back the Drawing Simplify functionality!

Edwin Muirhead is CAD systems administrator at Weatherford UK. He can be reached by email at edwin.muirhead@eu.weatherford.com.