Displaying Characteristic Curves

This task shows you how to manage characteristic curves. 

Characteristic curves are displayed in the folded and/or unfolded view of the part. They can be selected, though not edited, and used as a support (to create points for example).

Characteristic curves can be computed for surfacic flanges or stamping features with a fillet. They can be also computed for swept flanges.

 

Available characteristic curves

The following characteristic curves can be computed on both folded and unfolded view, except when otherwise specified:

  • BTL: Bend Tangent Line
    Limits of the fillet.
  • IML: Inner Mold Line
    Intersection between internal surfaces of the feature (before filleting) and the part.
  • OML: Outer Mold Line
    Intersection between external surfaces of the feature (before filleting) and the part.
 
  • Second OML: Second Outer Mold Line
    Length of a flange on the unfolded view, as measured from the edge of part to the first OML on the formed view.
    Computed only in unfolded view.
  • CLB: Center Line of Bend
    Positioned midway between the BTLs. It is only available in the flat view.
 

Features which support characteristic curves

Characteristic curves can be computed for the following features:

  • Surfacic Flange/ Swept Flange (both brake-formed and hydro-pressed):
    • BTL on the base feature
    • BTL on the support
    • IML
    • OML
    • Second OML (unfolded view only)
    • CLB
  • Stamps with an internal cutout (flanged hole and flanged cutout):
    • BTL on the base feature
    • IML
    • OML
  • Stamps without an internal cutout (bead, curve stamp, user-stamp, other stamping types, etc):
    • BTL on the base feature

Open the CharacteristicCurves1.CATPart document. This sample includes two surfacic flanges, a bead and a flanged hole. All characteristic curves are put in show in the following images.

Characteristic curves computed on the folded view
 

Characteristic curves computed on the unfolded view
 

More about characteristic curves
 

Standard management of characteristic curves

Administrators can now customize characteristic curves through standards:

  • graphic properties (color, line type, thickness) apply to both 3D views (in the Aerospace SheetMetal Design workbench) and 2D views (in the Generative Drafting workbench).
  • visibility specifies whether characteristic curves should be generaed in 2D views.

Refer to the Administration Tasks chapter for more information on this subject.

Characteristic curves and settings

As a user, you can manage the visibility of characteristic curves in folded and unfolded 3D views through settings. Refer to Display in the Customizing chapter for more information.
 

Characteristic curves in hybrid design context

In hybrid design context, if you define a feature as a Working object in the specification tree, the characteristic curves of features created after the Defined In Work Object are not displayed anymore on the geometry.
 

Surfacic Flange.1 defined as a Working object on a hybrid part.

  
  Yet if you perform the same action on a part created prior to R14, the characteristic curves of features created after the Defined In Work Object remain visible.
 

Surfacic Flange.1 defined as a Working object on a non-hybrid part.
  For more information about Hybrid Design, refer to the Hybrid Design section in the Part Design User's Guide.