Make models easy to modify (the goal)

• Create in a manor so that you and others can quickly understand the structure
• In a month or year this part will look as foreign as it does to somebody looking at it for the first time

Organization (layers, categories, expression naming, narrow MNT)

• Layers, you have 256 of them, use them
• Categories, used to help people see what is on the 256 layers without having to turn on each one and figure out what the use is
• Expressions, The ‘P’ values that are by default assigned to each expression are as useless to us, create expressions with readable names that fit the logic there use is. Then assign it to the default ‘p’ values

Boolean operations (unite, subtract, intersection)

• Never perform Booleans when creating the solid body
• If something happens to the part during and update and the feature needs to be suppressed or deleted, you can delete or suppress the boolean and see original tool.
• If it was part of the creation feature you would loose the tool completely and have to jump back and forth trying to figure out why.

Extruding

• When you need to taper the feature, add it as a secondary operation.
• Don’t add taper with the extrude function
• Same reason as booleans, future updates, and more flexibility

Show entire profile in Extrusions and revolves

• avoid using offset
• Takes longer and more prone to errors when modifying

Only add functional part curves and functional chamfers

• Blends should be added as a feature later
• Functional curve is for example a profile of a cam
• blend is the edges where the casting are

Limit the use of primitives

• Out of the box primitives have limited functionality
• Other techniques offer more functionality and are quicker to use then primitives

Sketcher (use it)

• Should be Fully constrained per design intent
• Should be attached to a datum plane
• not recommended to attach to a face of a solid
• Don’t fix anything
• Fixing lines, points, etc are not good techniques
• Usually a sign that the person doesn’t know how to use Skethcer
• Fully geometrically constrain, then dimensionally constrain, finally modify the values of the dimensional constraint

Try to create the part so that it can be recreated easily.

• Ideally the tools are left
• The profiles are present and can be extruded/revolved again without having to know a bunch of offset values.

Everything can be modified

• Different approaches will allow you the most flexibility and easiest to modify

Chamfers

• use either the ‘double offset’ or ‘offset and angle’ option.
• If you use simple chamfer, you’ll be stuck with 45º when you want to modify it later.

Colors

• You have 216 of them, use them
• Avoid using the same color throughout the entire model

Save Part

• Do not save the part shaded
• takes longer to load the part

When the part is finished never leave anything blanked

• Blanked is similiar to throwing all the trash in a closet, when the door opens you have no idea what your looking at.

Fit view

• Fit the main view before saving
• Some companies have utilities to automate this process so all the NX quick previews are in similiar orientation

NX loads the part quicker

• Assemblies (true assembly)
• Only put components in Assembly files
• Don’t have solid bodies
• If it is a casting / machining
• This is not considered an assembly part in my eyes. It is an assembly from NX stand point but it’s used to show relation between the two.
• True Assembly files are used to show how parts fit together not how they are created.

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