Complete Pro-Engineer Wildfire Tutorials

Generate a Protrusion from a 2D Sketch

• The Sketch Tool allows the user to define a shape using 2-D entities that can be used later to create a sketched feature

The system automatically creates default dimensions to define the shape.  These "weak" dimensions can be strengthened to establish design intent so that the model can be modified with predictable results.

Click the icon on the main toolbar to influence reorient behavior.

• Enabled - model spins about the location of the spin center (DEFAULT)
• Disabled - model spins about the location of the mouse pointer (RECOMMENDED)

Simple Selection

Many of the traditional menu-based features have been consolidated into new feature tools.  These icons can be found in the Feature toolbar on the right of the screen.

The following tools are used when creating initial model features:

NAME	ICON	Previous Command(s)
Extrude		Extruded protrusion, cut, surface, surface trim. Solid and thin.
Revolve		Revolved protrusion, cut, surface, surface trim. Solid and thin.
Variable Section Sweep		Variable Section Swept protrusion, cut, surface, surface trim. Solid and thin
Boundary Blend		Surface by Boundaries
Style		Style Feature

The following tools are used when creating secondary model features:

NAME	ICON	Previous Command(s)
Hole		Hole (all types)
Shell		Shell
Rib		Rib
Draft		Draft (all types)
Round		Simple and Advanced Rounds
Chamfer		Edge Chamfer

Notice these icons are all cyan in color.

There are 3 important components of the main Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 interface:

• Navigator

• Web Browser

• Main Interface

Navigator

• Folder Navigator (left of the screen)
  • Allows you to browse folders on your machine.
  • A collapsible panel.

Web Browser

• File List & Preview Window (middle of the screen)
  • Select a folder in the Folder Navigator to view its contents.
  • Select a model to preview it.
  • A collapsible panel.
• Browse Internet
  • You can also use the browser to view web sites or html pages.

Main Interface

• Graphics Window (gray portion of screen)
  • Create Parts, assembles, and drawings in this window.
• Main Menu (top of the screen)
  • This pull-down menu has common menu options such as File, Edit, Insert, Tools, and Help.
• Main Toolbar (top of the screen)
  • A toolbar containing common file, undo/redo, and viewing icons.
• Feature Toolbar (right of the screen)
  • A toolbar containing icons to start feature tools.

The following figure shows additional interface components:

Navigator

• Model Tree (left of the screen)
  • Displays in place of the folder browser when a model is open.
  • A collapsible panel

Web Browser

• Collapsed in this view

Main Interface

• Graphics Window (center of the screen)
  • New gradient gray background.
  • Yellow dynamic preview on model.
  • Can collapse model tree and maximize window to create large working area.
• Dashboard (bottom of the screen)
  • A dialog bar for creating/redefining features
• Menu Manager (right of the screen)
  • Not shown by default

Three of the concepts employed over much of Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 are:

• Focus on the Model
• Consolidated Feature Tools
• Design Collaboration Tools

Focus on the Model

• Large Graphics Area- Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 window can be maximized, and the model tree and browser can be minimized to produce a large working area.
• Gray Background- Subdued gray background allows the model to stand out.
• Dynamic Feature Preview- Features can be manipulated in real time, while the yellow dynamic preview updates.
• Direct Feature Manipulation- Many feature operations while creating or editing features can be done on the model through a series of drag handles and right-click options.

Consolidated Feature Tools

• Feature Tools- Each of the easy-to-use feature tools combines several traditional features into a series of dashboard-driven tools.
• Flexible Workflow- In many cases you can select an item, and then start a tool, or you can start a tool and then select an item.
• Simple First- The feature tools immediately present you with the common options for creating features.  However, advanced options are readily available.
• Consistency- The feature tools that use the Dashboard all work very similar to each other.

Design Collaboration Tools

• Embedded Web Browser- The browser panel may be expanded or collapsed at any time from the left side of the graphics window.  Browse to a vendors web site and drag and drop a model into the graphics window, or browse to other applications such as Wind-chill Project Link.
• Dynamic Conferencing- Start a Design Collaboration Session in which you can collaborate using Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 in real time with colleagues in other locations. 

• FILE Menu: #New or select , Enter: <basic> (make sure “use default template” is checked), #OK
• TOOLS Menu: #Environment…, [make sure Datum Planes is checked], #OK (Or )
• Toolbar: Make sure the datum plane box is turned on in the datum display buttons.

By using a “default template” our part has predefined datum planes and views already set up. You can create new parts without using the “default template” method, however using these template parts can be a huge time saver. Your screen should now look similar to the following image.

The next step is to create the first protrusion. One thing to keep in mind when creating models with Pro/ENGINEER is that there are many different ways to do the same thing. So once you complete this tutorial, try building it with other methods that you think might work. There is not necessarily one correct solution. However, you do typically want to create the model in as few features as possible.

• INSERT Menu: #Extrude… or select

The first step is to create a sketch which is the first button on the left. Select this button to open the Sketch dialog box.

• Dashboard: #Placement, #Define…
• Section dialog: select Top datum

The section dialog is the basis of creation of all sections. The first option in the dialog box is to choose the Sketch Plane, which is the TOP datum plane for this feature. You can see an option of Use Previous which allows you to use the previously used sketch plane if this is available. The second option is the Sketch Orientation which orientates the sketch for your viewpoint. By default for this model it chooses the RIGHT datum, you can then flip the direction for the sketch viewing by selecting the Flip button. The last available option is choosing as to what direction this plane is facing, by default the RIGHT datum is facing right. You can override this with the other available options depending on how you want to orient your sketch. Finally select the Sketch button to start creating the sketch.

Now when creating the sketch notice the first dialog that appears is the References dialog. Since this is your first sketch the system automatically chooses the two datum planes. Pro/E will not easily let you skip to creating a sketch without first defining the references you’d like to use for the sketch.

• SKETCH Dialog: #Sketch

Note: Pro/E always needs a method to define the horizontal and vertical references for sketching. This can involve defining a horizontal and vertical edge or plane, a single datum axis, etc.

Once you are sketching the sketch tools will appear on the right hand side of the window. This will show most of the tools available for you to create the sketch. Also note, the majority of the commands that are picked through the SKETCH Pull Down Menu can be accessed from the shortcut icons on the right side of the screen. Take some time to familiarize yourself with these icons because they can make sketching much quicker.

Introduction

This tutorial will teach you the basic features of Pro/E including how to access part files, manipulate the display, and orient parts.  You should complete this tutorial before attempting any other tutorials.

Accessing Part Files and Modifying Display

1. Start Pro/E Wildfire. The display should look like below Figure

1. Hide the browser by clicking on the arrows at the right of the screen, as shown in the figure.  You should now see the graphics area where parts will be displayed.
2. Select [File] -> [Set Working Directory] from the menu bar, and select the folder in which you downloaded the part.  All work you do will be saved to the folder you set as the working directory.
3. Select [File] -> [Open] from the menu bar, and select the part you downloaded.
4. Figure 0.2 shows the main components of the Pro/E window.  The part you are currently working on is displayed in the Graphics Area.  The top Tool Bar lets you modify the view and perform common actions such as saving and opening files.  The right Tool Bar contains the icons which let you create parts and features.  The Menu Bar contains many of the same options as the Tool Bars, but in the form of menus rather than icons.  When creating a part or feature, you will use the Dashboard to select options.  The Model Tree lists all the features comprising the part that is currently displayed.
5. The icons at the right of the top tool bar allow you to decide what is displayed, as shown in Figure 0.3.  Experiment with some of these icons to see what happens if you turn them off or on.

Orientation and Viewing

1. To see a particular face of the part, select [View] -> [View Manager] from the menu bar.

1. Select the Orient tab from the View Manager window, as shown in Figure 0.4.
2. Double click the view you would like to see (Top, Right, etc.).  Experiment with the View Manager to familiarize yourself with the different views.\
3. The following commands can be used to manually change the view of the part:
1. • Spin - move cursor while holding the middle mouse button
   • Rotate - move mouse left and right while holding the middle mouse button and CTRL
   • Zoom - use wheel on mouse or move mouse up and down while holding the middle mouse button and CTRL
   • Pan - move mouse while holding the middle mouse button and Shift Key
4. Experiment with these commands to familiarize yourself with the different viewing options.