CAD Primary Tutorial - Product Design
CAD Primary Tutorial - Product Design
Product Design
Copyright and Trademarks
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materials, including but not limited to, any interruptions of service, loss of business, anticipatory profits, or
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LTD.(GUANGZHOU)
I
Foreword
In this tutorial, we provide various case studies, which are from easy to difficult and combine theory with
practice. We hope to improve users’ 3D CAD/CAM skills and techniques with ZW3D.
The tutorial bases on our technical engineers’ years of experience in the industry and ZW3D, which is the
fruit of a lot of efforts and wisdom. We sincerely hope that the tutorial will do help to you, and your precious
advice on it is highly welcomed.
There are three series for this tutorial: Primary Tutorial, From Entry to Master Tutorial, and Advanced
Tutorial. From easy to difficult, they offer a step-by-step learning process that can meet different user needs.
Primary Tutorial series is for users who have little or no prior 3D CAD/CAM experience. If you are green hands
of 3D CAD/CAM software, or if you are a new user of ZW3D, we recommend that you get started with this
tutorial. Here you can learn the basic knowledge and concepts of ZW3D, rapidly master the simple operations
and workflows of ZW3D, and practice simple cases.
From Entry to Master Tutorial series is for users with basic know-how of 3D CAD/CAM software. If you have
experience in 3D CAD/CAM software and want to master common functions of ZW3D, we suggest that you
start with this series. Here you can dig deeper into the functions and master more operations of ZW3D.
Advanced Tutorial series is for users with practical experience in 3D CAD/CAM software. If you hope to have
a comprehensive command of ZW3D and get the complicated operations done independently, you can
choose to learn this series. Here you can learn to use the software more flexibly and get rich experience to
increase your efficiency.
What you are learning is ZW3D CAD Product Design, a primary tutorial.
II
Contents
1 Installation and Activation ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Installation .................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Activation...................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Basics of ZW3D ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2.1 User Role Settings ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 An Introduction to the Interface ................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Customizing the Interface ............................................................................................................. 4
2.4 Working Folder ............................................................................................................................. 5
2.5 File Management .......................................................................................................................... 5
2.6 File Backup .................................................................................................................................... 6
2.6.1 Auto Backup .......................................................................................................................... 6
2.6.2 Manual Backup ...................................................................................................................... 6
2.7 Object Picking ............................................................................................................................... 7
2.7.1 Single and Multi-Object Picking ............................................................................................. 7
2.7.2 Picking with Filter .................................................................................................................. 7
2.7.3 Picking Covered Objects ........................................................................................................ 7
3 2D Sketch ................................................................................................................................................. 8
3.1 Creating Sketches ......................................................................................................................... 8
3.1.1 Sketches as Part of Part Files ................................................................................................. 8
3.1.2 Standalone Sketches .............................................................................................................. 8
3.2 Sketch Settings & Operations ....................................................................................................... 9
3.2.1 Basic Settings and Operations ............................................................................................... 9
3.2.2 Advanced Settings ................................................................................................................. 9
3.3 Sketch Flow & Elements.............................................................................................................. 10
3.3.1 Sketch Flow.......................................................................................................................... 10
3.3.2 Sketch Elements .................................................................................................................. 10
3.4 Sketch Constraints & Dimensions ............................................................................................... 11
3.4.1 Geometric Constraints ......................................................................................................... 11
3.4.2 Dimensional Constraints ...................................................................................................... 12
3.5 Points of Attention...................................................................................................................... 13
3.5.1 Sketch Grid Setting .............................................................................................................. 13
3.5.2 Construction Geometries..................................................................................................... 13
III
3.5.3 Trimming Tools .................................................................................................................... 14
3.5.4 Checking the Sketch............................................................................................................. 14
3.5.5 Modifying Dimensions and Delay Update ............................................................................ 15
3.5.6 Dimension Display ............................................................................................................... 16
3.5.7 Relocating the Sketch Plane................................................................................................. 16
3.6 Sketch Cases ............................................................................................................................... 17
3.6.1 Case 1 – Creating the Profile of the Feature of a Valve Body ............................................... 17
3.6.2 Case 2 – Creating the Profile of the Feature of a Wrench .................................................... 20
4 Modeling ................................................................................................................................................ 23
4.1 Basic Modeling Concepts ............................................................................................................ 23
4.1.1 Feature-Based Modeling ..................................................................................................... 23
4.1.2 Solid Shape and Surface Shape ............................................................................................ 23
4.2 Parametric Modeling .................................................................................................................. 24
4.2.1 Feature-Based Parametric Modeling ................................................................................... 24
4.2.2 Parametric Modeling Process .............................................................................................. 24
4.3 Modeling Settings ....................................................................................................................... 25
4.4 Modeling Guidelines ................................................................................................................... 26
4.4.1 History Manager .................................................................................................................. 26
4.4.2 Datum .................................................................................................................................. 26
4.4.3 Layer Manager ..................................................................................................................... 28
4.4.4 Feature Operations .............................................................................................................. 29
4.4.5 Display Modes and View Types............................................................................................ 30
4.4.6 Part Appearance .................................................................................................................. 31
4.4.7 Material Attributes .............................................................................................................. 32
4.4.8 Part Attributes ..................................................................................................................... 32
4.5 Modeling Cases ........................................................................................................................... 33
4.5.1 Case 1 – Valve Body ............................................................................................................. 33
4.5.2 Case 2 – Wrench .................................................................................................................. 40
4.5.3 Case 3 – Valve Core ............................................................................................................. 45
4.5.4 Case 4 – Valve Rod ............................................................................................................... 46
4.5.5 Case 5 – Shim Compressor................................................................................................... 48
4.5.6 Other Parts .......................................................................................................................... 50
5 Assembly ................................................................................................................................................ 52
5.1 Introduction to assembly ............................................................................................................ 52
IV
5.2 Introduction to assembly approaches......................................................................................... 54
5.3 Attentions in assembly ............................................................................................................... 55
5.3.1 Introduction to assembly manager ...................................................................................... 55
5.3.2 Insert Component ................................................................................................................ 57
5.3.3 Constraints Definition .......................................................................................................... 59
5.3.4 Edit Constraints ................................................................................................................... 61
5.3.5 Check Constraint Status ....................................................................................................... 61
5.3.6 Check Assembly Motion ...................................................................................................... 62
5.3.7 Interference Check .............................................................................................................. 63
5.3.8 Exploded View ..................................................................................................................... 64
5.3.9 Associative Reference .......................................................................................................... 65
5.3.10 Standard parts in ZW3D ................................................................................................... 66
5.3.11 Rename Assembly ............................................................................................................ 67
5.4 Assembly designing case ............................................................................................................. 68
5.4.1 Create a new assembly file .................................................................................................. 69
5.4.2 Create the final assembly .................................................................................................... 71
5.4.3 In-Context Reference Design ............................................................................................... 78
5.4.4 Insert Standard Parts ........................................................................................................... 81
5.4.5 Verify the Correction of the Whole Assembly ..................................................................... 81
6 2D Drawing ............................................................................................................................................ 83
6.1 Main Elements of 2D Drawing .................................................................................................... 83
6.2 Create a New 2D Drawing in ZW3D ............................................................................................ 83
6.3 General Settings for 2D drawing ................................................................................................. 84
6.4 Engineering Drawing ................................................................................................................... 86
6.4.1 Create Standard View and Projection View ......................................................................... 86
6.4.2 Modify the view attributes .................................................................................................. 87
6.4.3 Create Section View............................................................................................................. 88
6.4.4 Edit the section view attribute ............................................................................................ 88
6.4.5 Create the dimension .......................................................................................................... 89
6.4.6 Add the Tolerance ............................................................................................................... 90
6.4.7 Annotation and symbol ....................................................................................................... 91
6.4.8 Create a BOM table ............................................................................................................. 93
6.5 2D Drawing Case of a Part .......................................................................................................... 94
6.5.1 Create the View ................................................................................................................... 94
V
6.5.2 Add Annotation and Symbol ................................................................................................ 95
6.5.3 Create the Part Attribute on Title Block ............................................................................... 97
6.6 2D Drawing Case of Assembly ..................................................................................................... 98
6.6.1 Create the View ................................................................................................................... 98
6.6.2 Add Annotation and Symbol ................................................................................................ 99
6.6.3 Add Balloon ....................................................................................................................... 101
6.6.4 Create a BOM Table ........................................................................................................... 101
VI
Product Design
Introduction
ZW3D is an All-in-one, affordable CAD/CAM solution. It lets engineers design from concept to product in an
easy-to-use, single collaborative environment. There are many highlight features in it including Hybrid
Modeling, Direct Edit technology, Productive mold design, and High-efficiency manufacturing.
However, all the good application of these highlighted features is based on a good understanding of ZW3D
basic and core functions. So, in this tutorial, the most important functions and concepts of ZW3D basic
modules will be introduced to you with the briefest way.
The basic modules are Sketch, Part Design, Assembly and 2D Drawing. Also, to make sure you can start
ZW3D smoothly, the installation and activation will be talked first, then some basic settings/operations will
be talked in chapter two. Now, let us start.
RAM 8G or above
Run as Administrator
STEP 02 Select Language -> Install -> Select the version and modules -> Read and accept the terms -> Specify
the installation path -> Installing.
1.2 Activation
If you install a new ZW3D version for the first time, you can have a free 30-day trial of all ZW3D modules you
installed, as shown in the picture below. Please note that add-ons like 5X Milling are not available for the
trial version and that some functions, such as Save, Print, Import, and Export will be restricted after the trial
expires.
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Product Design
Evaluation
If you already have a standalone license, please activate it following these steps: Go to License Manager ->
Click Activate -> Tick Soft-key Online Activation -> Paste your Activation ID -> Verify -> Fill the User
Information.
Activate ZW3D
To ensure a smooth activation, please avoid activating the standalone license remotely, turn off the firewall,
and remove the port from the white list when the activation fails.
Notes: Floating licenses are more popular in big companies where users need to borrow one from the server
when running ZW3D because they are activated on a specific server.
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2 Basics of ZW3D
2.1 User Role Settings
When you start ZW3D for the first time, you will need to select a user role according to your proficiency level.
As Figure 4 shows, the default user role is Expert, which means all the ZW3D commands and modules
available will appear on the interface. Of course, you can switch roles with the Role manager at any time, as
shown in Figure 5.
To control the display of the Manager on the left, please click the icon on the bottom right corner, as
speech balloon #1 points.
To adjust the global configurations of ZW3D, such as UI language and background color, please click the
icon on the upper right corner, as speech balloon #2 points.
If you need to change the UI language or background color, go to ZW3D Configuration form -> General or
Background tab to do the set.
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Product Design
Invoking the Customize Dialogue Box Rearranging Commands in the Transfer Tab
Here’s an example of customizing the Start panel (Figure 11): You can remove the Mold Project command,
add Application Plugin Manger and Library Publisher.
STEP 01 Uncheck Mold Project or right-click on it and select Delete in the context menu in the Customize
dialogue box.
STEP 02 Select Application Plugin Manger in the Command List, then drag and drop it to the Start panel.
STEP 03 Select Library Publisher in the Library panel, then drag and drop it to the Start panel.
STEP 04 Click Apply, then OK to finish customizing.
Besides, you can define your own hotkeys (keyboard shortcuts) and mouse actions of the scroll wheel and
the right button.
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Product Design
STEP 02 Select an existing folder or create a new working folder, then click OK.
Multi-object File
As for single-object files, they are commonly used in 3D modeling software. It means that a single
part/drawing/assembly object is saved as an independent file. Since it is not the default type, you need to
tick the corresponding option in the General tab of the Configuration dialogue box, as shown in the figure
below.
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Product Design
Note: If you need to work with a PDM (Product Data Management) or PLM (Product Lifecycle Management)
system, single-object files are strongly recommended for file management.
Notes:
➢ System backup works only when you do the first-time saving operation within a day, which means
the rest of saving will not be backed up.
➢ The file will still be valid when its extension is changed from Z3.z3bak to Z3.
STEP 01 Enter a suitable number in the Max file revisions to backup box in the General tab, which determines
how many backup files could be saved.
STEP 02 Determine the path of the backup folder in the Files tab. Also, it is suggested that you check the Save
backup files in the same location as the original option for easier management and reuse.
STEP 03 Click Apply, then OK to finish configuring. A new backup file will be automatically created when you
save the file.
As you can see from Figure 19, Part001.1.z3bak, the first backup file of Part001.Z3 is absent. It’s because the
value of Max file revisions to backup was 5, while the original file has been saved for the sixth time.
Therefore, please increase the value of Max file revisions to backup or delete the backup files you don’t
want to keep.
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Product Design
2.7 Object Picking
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Product Design
3 2D Sketch
2D sketches are fundamental to solid modeling because you can create features and define cross-sectional
shapes with them on any planar face. Although most of the time, they will not be outputted as the final
designs, they often represent the most important ideas of a feature or even the whole part.
As for internal sketches, they are created during the execution of a modeling command, such as Extrude,
Revolve, Sweep, etc. An internal sketch can only be used for its corresponding modeling feature.
You can convert internal sketches into external ones by right-clicking on the internal sketch and selecting
Make External in the context menu, as shown in Figure 28.
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Product Design
Standalone Sketch
The six frequently used functions are explained in the table below.
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Product Design
3.3 Sketch Flow & Elements
3.3.1 Sketch Flow
Below is the sketch flow of ZW3D.
To create a new sketch, the first step is to select a Sketch Plane. As Figure 34 shows, the plane you are
selecting, in this case, XY will be highlighted. Then, middle-click or click the OK button to enter the sketch
environment.
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Product Design
3.4 Sketch Constraints & Dimensions
Theoretically, any sketch can be confirmed with its shape and position properly constrained. In ZW3D, both
shape and position can be constrained with dimensions and geometric relationships.
Geometric Constraints
There are two ways to add constraints. One is to pick the objects first, then click the Add Constraints
command and select a proper type of constraint. In this way, a type of constraint is automatically selected
by the system. The other is to select a type of constraint first and then pick the target objects.
If your sketch is complicated, adding constraints could be challenging. To make it easier, please turn on the
button so that it can tell you the status of the constraints in real time. Well-defined sketches will be in
blue.
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Product Design
Quick Dimension
As Figure 42 shows, the dimensions you add manually are strong dimensions that determine the change of
the whole sketch.
It’s recommended that you activate the Add Weak Dimensions Automatically mode because dimensions
created by the system are regarded as weak dimensions so that you can easily constrain the whole sketch.
As you can see from Figure 43, weak dimensions are in gray.
In some cases, reference dimensions will be added to the well-defined sketch to make it easier to understand.
As Figure 44 shows, they will be in brackets. For example, the length (16.77) is a reference dimension.
Reference Dimensions
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Product Design
Note: You can hide dimensions and constraints to get a clearer view of the target sketch.
Grid Display
If you need to customize the grid spacing, simply go to Preferences -> Grid Spacing.
As Figure 49 shows, the construction geometry will not appear in the modeling environment.
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Product Design
For example, to trim the sketch in Figure 51, you can use Power Trim by pressing and holding down the left
mouse button while moving the cursor above the parts you want to trim.
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Product Design
To check overlapping lines, you can either use the Overlap command (Inquire tab -> Sketch Doctor panel ->
Overlap) or the Display open ends on/off command.
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Product Design
STEP 02 Modify other dimensions, and their values will be in brackets, meaning that they are not updated
yet.
STEP 03 Click Solve Current Sketch Manually to update the whole sketch.
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Product Design
Relocating in the Modeling Environment
For example, if you want to change the sketch plane from XY to XZ, you can pick the target XZ plane in the
Relocate dialogue box.
Click OK, then the sketch plane will be changed to XZ, as shown in the figure below.
The Revolved Feature of the Valve Body The Profile of the Revolved Feature
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Product Design
STEP 01 Go to the Shape tab and click Sketch, then select the XZ plane as the sketch plane, as shown in Figure
69.
STEP 02 Use the Draw command to draw a continuous line vertically from the origin and then horizontally.
Make sure Smart Pick is enabled in the Snap Filter dialogue box for a quicker sketch process.
STEP 03 Click inside the yellow circle at the endpoint of the line and switch from the line mode to the arc
mode of the Draw command.
STEP 05 Switch back to the line mode and draw the rest of the lines.
Notes: Buttons related to the status of the sketch in the Document Aware Toolbar, especially the color codes
of definition, should be turned on. Such a real-time view of the sketch will help you in adding constraints and
dimensions.
STEP 06 Use the Add Constraints command to add proper constraints one by one. As shown in Figure 75, you
can easily add tangent constraints to the arcs and lines.
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Product Design
STEP 07 Add dimensions with the Quick Dimension command until the whole sketch is well-defined.
Adding Dimensions
STEP 07 Click the graphic area, input the value of the length of the line, and click OK. The result is shown in
Figure 77. Or you can specify the dimension with two points, as Figure 78 shows.
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Product Design
STEP 08 Check the profile with the Overlap or Display open ends on/off command and exit the Sketch module.
STEP 01 Go to the Shape tab and click Sketch, then select the XZ plane as the sketch plane.
STEP 02 Use the Draw command to draw a continuous line as shown in Figure 82. Make sure Smart Pick is
enabled.
STEP 03 Add the Equal constraint to the highlighted lines, as shown in the left side of Figure 83 to get the
result on the right side.
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Product Design
STEP 04 Draw a slanting line parallel to the slanting line below and keep their endpoints vertically aligned, as
shown in the left side of Figure 84 to get the result on the right side.
STEP 05 Draw the rest of the lines to get a rough profile is finished, as shown in the right side of Figure 85.
STEP 06 Add dimensions until the profile is blue (well-defined). For example, use the Angular command to
specify the angle between two lines.
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Product Design
Summary
The points below can help you draw a well-defined sketch efficiently.
➢ Choose the right sketch plane.
➢ Better start from the default origin.
➢ Pay attention to the Smart Snap prompt. Accept the confirmed constraints and avoid adding
constraints you are uncertain of to avoid making an over-defined sketch.
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Product Design
4 Modeling
Creating a 3D geometric model is fundamental to the whole product design and future applications of its
data like engineering drawing, CAM(Computer-Aided Manufacturing), and CAE(Computer-Aided
Engineering ), etc.
➢ Engineering feature
Engineering features are mostly applied to the actual field of engineering, including chamfer, fillet, draft,
etc.
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Product Design
Extrude Base Add a Revolve Add Another Revolve Cut Features Engineering Features
Modeling with Features
Equation Manager
➢ Feature modeling and apply the parameters
In the course of the feature modeling, you can apply parameters while adding dimensions to your sketch or
creating features.
As Figure 94 shows, you can select the target parameters directly in the Variable Browser while adding
dimensions to the sketch.
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Product Design
When creating features, for example, the revolve one below, you can set an existing parameter as its end
angle by following the 4 steps in the figure below.
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Product Design
To replay the modeling history, you can either drag the History Indicator or click the Replay buttons.
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Product Design
The red, green, and blue axes form the Frame Triad. You can turn off/on the display of it by double-clicking
on the Frame Triad Display option in the Visual Manager, as shown in Figure 102.
➢ Datum Creation
Apart from the datum CSYS, you also can create datum planes whenever and wherever you need during the
modeling. As shown in the figure below, there are multiple ways for you to create a datum plane.
➢ Show or Hide
You can show or hide datum planes.
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Product Design
A default layer Layer0000 would be created in the Layer Manager. It can be renamed, but not deleted. If
you did not create new layers, all the entities will be automatically assigned to this default layer. Also, when
you turn off the bulb icon, all the entities of this layer will be blanked.
Layer Manager
The good habit of creating proper layers at the beginning of the modeling stage and assigning each entity to
the corresponding layer will pay off when you are trying to view certain types of entities. As shown in the
figure below, you can view all the sketches by checking the corresponding layer in the Layer Manager.
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Product Design
Feature Operations
➢ Rearrange Features
To adjust the sequence of features, you can drag them around in the History Manager.
For example, in the model below, Fillet 1 is done prior to Shell 1.
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Product Design
➢ Insert Features
If you need to add features before the last operation, you can drag the History Indicator to the right position
and add them.
Insert Features
Shade Wireframe
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Product Design
➢ Customize Views
To save a specific view, you can go to the View Manager, right-click on Custom Views, and select New to
create a new view. After that, you can switch to this custom view whenever you need.
If you already know what the part will be made of, you can texturize it. For example, if the material used to
manufacture the Valve Body is metal, you can apply Metal(cast) to it, as shown in Figure 120.
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Product Design
Notes: Since the texture is of higher priority than the face appearance, you need to remove the texture with
the Erase Texture command if you only want to display the face attributes.
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Product Design
Part Attributes
For example, you can calculate the physical attributes of the current part, including mass, volume, etc. in
two steps.
STEP 01 In the Physical tab of the Part Attributes dialogue box, click Material folder to invoke the Material
Attributes dialogue box. You can either define a new material or select one from the existing
File/Bundle box, then click OK.
STEP 02 Click the Update button to calculate the part attributes. As shown in the figure below, physical
attributes like Mass are updated.
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Product Design
Valve Body
STEP 01 Create a new .Z3 file named Valve.Z3 and click OK to enter the part modeling environment.
Note: By default, the first part will be named after the new .Z3 file. If you need to rename it, exit the modeling
environment first and then, right-click on the part and select Rename to rename it in the Manager. As shown
in the figure below, the name of the part is changed from Valve to Valve Body.
To return to the modeling environment, simply double-click on the part.
STEP 02 Define the length variable Base Length in the Equation Manager. In this case, it is set to be 75 mm.
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Product Design
STEP 03 Click the Extrude command, select Sketch in the Profile P box, and select Datum YZ as the sketch
plane.
STEP 06 Double-click on the only dimension and assign the Base Length to it.
STEP 07 Exit the sketch environment and invoke the Extrude dialogue box. Extrude the sketch from 0 mm to
-13 mm by setting Extrude type, Start S and End E according to Figure 134 and click . You will find
the History Manager updated.
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Product Design
STEP 08 Use the Sketch command to create an external sketch or Revolve to create an internal sketch. Refer
to Chapter 3.6.1 for details.
STEP 09 Click the Revolve command and select the sketch you just created. Specify the End angle E as 360
degrees, choose the Add Boolean type, and click .
STEP 11 Pick the sketch created in step 10 as the Profile P in the Revolve dialogue box, choose the Add
Boolean type, and click to revolve the sketch around the default revolve axis.
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Product Design
STEP 13 Pick the sketch created in step 12 as the Profile P in the Revolve dialogue box, choose the Remove
Boolean type, and click to create the revolve-cut feature.
Selecting the Profile and Using the Remove Boolean Type The Revolve-Cut Feature
STEP 14 Sketch a circle (radius=13.00 mm) on the top of this feature, click the Extrude command, pick the
circle, select the Remove Boolean type, input the depth (4.0 mm), and click to create the first
extrude-cut feature.
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Product Design
STEP 15 Sketch a major sector on the top of this feature, click the Extrude command, pick the sector, select
the Remove Boolean type, input the depth (2.0 mm), and click to create the second extrude-cut
feature.
STEP 16 Click the Hole command, select the Thread hole type, choose Sketch in the Location drop-down list,
create four points, and set the parameters according to the figure below, and click to create
screw hole features.
STEP 17 Click the Hole command, select the Thread hole type, pick the center point of the surface (created
in step 14) in the Location drop-down list, set the parameters according to the figure below, and
click to create another screw hole feature.
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Product Design
STEP 18 Go to the Engineering Feature panel of the Shape tab, click the Flag Ext Thread command, pick the
external revolve surface, set the thread parameters according to Figure 146, and click to create
an external thread feature.
STEP 19 Add fillets (R=10.0 mm on the green faces, R=2.0 mm on the yellow faces, R=1.5 mm on the red
faces), as shown in the figure below.
Adding Fillets
STEP 20 Check and optimize the modeling process in the History Manager, and then click the Regen button
to regenerate the whole model.
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Product Design
STEP 21 Go to the Attributes panel of the Tools tab and set part attributes according to the figures below.
STEP 22 Go to the Texture panel of the Visualize tab, click the Face Attributes command, select Shape in the
Filter List, pick the face of the Valve Body, and set parameters according to the figure below so that
the appearance of the model is modified.
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Product Design
STEP 01 Create a new part file named Wrench in the current Valve.Z3 file, which can be done by directly
clicking the plus button on the left side of the file in the modeling environment.
After creating the new part file, the file name will be updated, which can be seen in the modeling
environment and the Z3 Manager if you clicked the Exit button.
STEP 02 Draw the main profile on the XZ plane and extrude it symmetrically, as shown in the figures below.
For details, you can refer to 3.6.2.
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Product Design
STEP 03 Draw a sketch whose radius and height are equal to the existed edges on XZ datum plane. Click the
Reference command in the Reference panel, select the target edges and all the dash lines, right-click
and select Toggle type, and finally, draw another line to close the whole sketch.
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Product Design
STEP 05 Click the Datum Plane command, pick the corner point, and click to create the draft datum on
the revolve feature.
STEP 06 Go to the Engineering Feature panel, click the Draft command, pick the draft datum created in step
5 in the About D box, input the draft angle (5 degrees) in the About A box, select the draft face.
STEP 07 Sketch a profile on the XY datum plane. As shown in the figure below, its radius is 8.50 and it is
tangent to the three connected lines.
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Product Design
STEP 12 Add chamfers and fillets (Chamfer=2.5 mm on the green faces, R=9.0 mm on the yellow faces, R=2.5
mm on the red faces), as shown in the figure below.
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Product Design
STEP 01 Create a new part file named Valve Core in the current Valve.Z3 file.
STEP 02 Draw a revolve profile on the YZ datum plane by creating and constraining a vertical line, mirroring
it, connecting the two vertical lines, drawing a circle (Radius=21.00 mm), and trimming the sketch.
Exit the Sketch environment and return to the modeling environment.
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Product Design
STEP 04 Draw a profile on the XZ plane, as shown in Figure 176. Click the Extrude command, pick the sketch,
cut through the revolve feature, and click to create the slot feature.
Note: Make sure that the Start S and End E are linked to the sides surfaces of this model so that the slot cuts
through.
STEP 05 Add part attributes, modify the appearance, and save the file.
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Product Design
STEP 01 Create new part file named Valve Rod in the current Valve.Z3 file.
STEP 02 Draw the revolve profile at the origin on the XZ datum plane, constrain it, exit the Sketch
environment, and return to the modeling level.
STEP 03 Click the Revolve command, pick the profile created in step 2, revolve around the Z axis, and click
to create the revolve feature.
STEP 04 Sketch a rectangular profile on the XZ datum plane, mirror it along the Z axis, exit the Sketch
environment, and return to the modeling environment.
STEP 05 Click the Extrude command, pick the sketch created in step 4, cut through the revolve feature, and
click to create the step feature.
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STEP 06 Sketch the square profile on the top of the part, select the outer circle as the reference, right-click,
and toggle it into a solid line, exit the Sketch environment, and return to the modeling environment.
STEP 07 Click the Extrude command, pick the square profile, cut the shape (Depth=14.5 mm), and click to
create the square feature.
STEP 08 Add chamfers (2.0 mm) to the model, modify its appearance, and save the file.
STEP 01 Create new part file named Shim Compressor in the current Valve.Z3 file.
STEP 02 Sketch a revolve profile whose baseline is on the X axis on the XZ datum plane, exit the Sketch
environment, and return to the modeling environment.
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STEP 03 Click the Revolve command, pick the profile created in step 2, revolve around the Z axis, and click
.
STEP 04 Click the Flag Ext Thread command in the Engineering Feature panel, pick the outer surface of the
cylinder, specify the Thread Specifications options, and click to add decorative threads to it.
STEP 05 Sketch a rectangle whose center is that of the circle on the top of the part.
STEP 06 Click the Extrude command, pick the rectangular profile created in step 5, cut the shape (Depth=1.5
mm), and click to create the slot feature.
STEP 07 Modify its appearance and save the file.
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➢ Top Shim
The steps of making the Top Shim are similar to those of making the Bottom Shim, only the thickness (3.37
mm) is different. The parameters are as the figure below shows.
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5 Assembly
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Assembly: The final objective of assembly modeling which also can be called product and it is composed of
different sub-assembly or component with constraints.
Sub-assembly: Literally it is the secondary assembly which compose into assembly and composed of
different secondary sub-assembly or component with constraints.
Assembly Sub-assembly
Constraint: In assembly modeling, the spatial position and relative motion of the components can be defined
by constraint, then you can analyze whether there is interference between components and whether they
are moving normally.
Total
Assembly
Component: Posistion,
Component Component Component constraint, name, layer,
color, view information
Assembly tree
As shown in the assembly tree above, an assembly can be divided into several sub-assemblies and
components in different levels, and each of the sub-assemblies is also composed of different components.
In the assembly tree, each of the leaves represent individual components or sub-assemblies. On the top of
the tree with the highest hierarchy is total assembly.
Basically, there are two fundamental methods in assembly design, they are Bottom-Up design and Top-Down
design respectively, each of them can meet different design requirements. If the design order is: Finish the
independent part design first and then apply those parts into assembly, we call it bottom-up design, if the
assembly or product shape is first completed and then design the associative parts in assembly, this is called
as top-down design. Both 2 methods can meet various needs at design, the detailed introduction is as follows.
➢ Bottom-Up design
The bottom-up design is the most common used method, which is the traditional way to make the assembly.
The individual parts are created separately and then assemble them to form the assembly of a product.
Since the geometry of the components is independent, changes to any component do not affect other
components. Moreover, it is easier to maintain the relationships and regeneration behaviour of components
in bottom-up design. If all the components have already been created and are ready to use, bottom-up
design is more appropriate.
➢ Top-Down design
Top-down design is an associative design approach. In the top-level assembly, driving parameters, control
sketch and product shape both can be defined. Then design process progresses are from the top assembly
to the individual parts. If driven geometry or parameters are changed, the related components are affected.
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In the software, the associated updates can be done automatically. In some assemblies that consists some
associative components or during the R&D process of the products, the top-down design will be more ideal
to manage the design.
ZW3D provides both bottom-up design and top-down design and these two methods can be combined in
designing according to design purpose.
The picture above is an example of the assembly manager, it normally includes, components, and constraints.
In assembly manager, there are some commonly used options which are introduced below.
➢ Filter
The filter can select whether show only components or constraints, or both as shown below.
Filter
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There are two types of display mode in ZW3D assembly manager, separated mode and combined mode,
with this two modes, users can display the constraint with different locations, with separated mode, all the
components and the constraints are displayed separately, with combined mode, each components and
related constraints are displayed together, the picture below the separated mode(Left) and combined
mode(Right), you can switch between this two modes by right menu of assembly manager.
Display Parent
The detailed introduction of right menu can refer to the Assembly Manager Description in ZW3D help
documents.
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In assembly module, there are various tools in the ribbon bar. in first step, you need to insert the first
component by Insert command. From the ribbon tab or the right menu when clicking the space of graphics
area, you both can access to Insert command, as shown in the image below.
Insert command
To easily find the component in the File/Part, you can select the Graphics type from preview, afterwards,
input the insert location, you can either click the point in the graphics window. moreover, tick Fix component
option is highly recommended for the first component thus following components can refer to this fixed one.
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With Multi Insert you can insert all the needed components by just one-time operation, similar as single
insert, you can use the Preview to help you find out the needed components and then input the insert
location. The picture below shows the dialog box of Multi Insert.
Multi insert
During adding the constraints, compared with the part geometry, the datum of each component is highly
recommended to use as prior reference, because it will not be affected if the component is changed.
Now, let take an example to show you how to add the constraint for the valve core with datum faces.
First, enable Unblank External Datum by right click the component as shown below. Then the external
datum will be displayed.
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For some components, if you think the datum size is too small to add the constraints, please go to Visual
Manager -> Datum, then turn on Auto Size.
In this case, parallel constraint is applied between valve core XY datum and valve body XZ datum as shown
in the image below. If the direction of the constraints is not the needed one, you can click the flip direction
button.
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Until now, we have learned how to add the basic constraints for components, afterwards, you could try to
learn more.
5.3.4 Edit Constraints
If you not only want to check the constraint status but also you want to redefine the constraint, under this
circumstance, you can right click the component from assembly manager or graphic windows and then click
Edit Constraint to open the edit window, you can either find the Edit Constraint from Assembly ribbon tab
and then pick the component.
Edit Constraints
With edit constraint window, you can find all the relevant constraints of the picked components and then
edit them if needed.
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Constraint status
Apart from view the symbols in the assembly manager, you can use Constraint Status command to check
the current constraint status for components.
The picture below is the constraint status checking windows in graphic interface. As can be seen in the
graphic interface, the constraints status was expressed with different color. It is intuitive for user to check
the status.
Drag command
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Rotate command
Also, if you just want to simply check the component motion, you can directly select the component from
the graphic window and drag or rotate it by left mouse button.
5.3.7 Interference Check
In the complex assembly, it is hard to visually inspect whether there is interference inside the assembly,
however, in ZW3D you can use the Interference Check function to inquire interference, which you can find
from the Assembly ribbon tab -> Inquire panel.
Interference Check function provides two different methods to define checking scope. They are Only among
the picked and With other components respectively, below is the definition for these two methods.
➢ Only among the picked:
Only check the interference between the picked components.
➢ With other components:
Check the interference between the picked components and other unpicked components.
The picture below is an example of Only among the picked. First select the components which needs to
check the interference, and then you will get the result after click Check button. As can be seen in the picture
below, the interference results are shown in the result window and in the graphics window.
Interference Check
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There are two ways to create the exploded view, the first one is adding every explosion step manually by
Add a step and another one is to click Add by Auto Explode button to generate self-explosion steps
automatically. We recommend adding the step manually to create expected result more precisely.
When you Add a step manually, the Move command is activated to move the component. There are 6
different ways to create the exploded step. The picture below shows an example of Move entities along a
direction, you can define the moving direction and the distance.
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Exploded view
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After finished creating the reference, you can use the reference geometry to create another geometry, the
picture below is using the reference surface to extrude a solid.
As can be seen in the figure above, the associative copy is checked in association setting, this option is used
to create reference geometry which associates with the referenced external geometry. The reference
geometry will be re-evaluated each time when referenced geometry is regenerated. If not checked,
reference geometry created by this option is a one-time static copy. The picture below shows the comparison
of the associative reference with/without associative copy.
Associative reference with (Left)/without (Right) associative copy after changing the valve body size
Reuse library
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With these large amounts of different kinds of standard parts database, you can directly use it in your
assembly, the picture below shows an example of using the ISO standard hexagon head bolts in ball valve
assembly.
➢ PARTsolutions Library
Apart from ZW3D standard parts, ZW3D also has free third-party standard part library PARTsolutions, you
can access to it from APP ribbon tab, however, you need to download and install it before using it.
The picture below shows the catalogs of PARTsolutions and the interface of model parameters. Various kinds
of mainstream standard parts are provided, you can use them to meet your design requirements.
PARTsolutions
5.3.11 Rename Assembly
Change the object name or file name are very common after finishing the assembly design, with Rename
Assembly command in ZW3D, you can rename any assembly or component and keep the associative
relationship between them. Rename assembly command can be accessed from the right menu from the
assembly manager.
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ZW3D can automatically generate a new name according to the naming rules. By setting a prefix or suffix
and changing the file name in batches. Press Ctrl/Shift to multiple objects.
You can change old object name and old file name by just double-click and directly enter a new name in the
marked area.
Note: For the single object file (*.z3prt),the object name is the same with the file name. Whether the object
name or the file name is changed, they will be updated synchronously.
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5.4.1 Create a new assembly file
STEP 01 Create a new assembly object in the existing Z3 file.
Open the existing Valve.z3 file which was created in the previous chapter and create a new
Part/Assembly object from ribbon panel. In this step, we will create an assembly (Rod). Then we
will enter the part/assembly level of Rod.
Insert command
Select Valve Rod to insert, then select the origin of coordinates as the insert location and XY datum
as the insert face. After that, select Fix component option because this is the first component of the
assembly, it would be better to fix it after inserting it.
Finally, click Ok(√)to fix the first component.
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Select Insert command and select Bottom Shim, then choose any of the location to insert and untick
Fix component. Click Ok (√) button to insert the component, then common constraint dialogue
box will pop-up.
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Add the concentric constraint
STEP 06 Use the same method as the previous step to insert another Bottom Shim and Top Shim and Shim
Compressor, the result will be same as the picture below.
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➢ Part 3: Insert the component (Seal Ring) and add the constraints.
STEP 04 Insert Seal Ring and choose any of the location point and untick Fix component option to insert.
STEP 05 After Insert Seal Ring, select Coincident constraint and then select the bottom face of Seal Ring as
the 1st entity and the face inside valve body as 2nd entity as shown in the picture below, after that,
set 0mm in offset and click Apply.
STEP 06 Select Concentric constraint and then select the cylinder profile of Seal Ring as the 1st entity and
cylinder profile of inner Valve Body as 2nd entity, after that, tick Lock rotation and click Apply.
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➢ Part 4: Insert the component (Valve Core) and add the constraints.
STEP 07 Insert Valve Core, then right-click the component, click Unblank External Datum from right menu
to show the datum of the component. Afterwards, repeat the same step for Valve Body.
STEP 08 Select Coincident constraint and then select the XY datum of Valve Core as the 1st entity and XY
datum of Valve Body as 2nd entity as shown in the picture below, after that, set 0mm in offset and
click Apply.
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STEP 10 Select at Angle constraint, and then select the YZ datum of Valve Core as the 1st entity and XZ datum
of Valve Body as 2nd entity, then set the angle range from 0 to 90 degree and click Apply as shown
in the picture below.
The picture below shows the Valve Core rotate according to angle constraints.
➢ Part 5: Insert the component (Seal ring) and add the constraints.
STEP 11 Insert another Seal Ring, for more clear assembly work, you can blank the Valve Body from right
menu.
Then select Concentric constraint and then select the sphere of Seal Ring as the 1st entity and curved
surface of Valve Core as 2nd entity and click OK, as shown in the picture below.
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STEP 12 Unblank the Valve Body and select Concentric constraint and then select cylinder profile of Seal Ring
as the 1st entity and cylinder profile of inner Valve Body as 2nd entity, after that, tick Lock rotation
and click Apply as shown in the picture below.
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Now, the Rod (Sub-Assembly) is well constrained as shown in the assembly manager below.
➢ Part 7: Insert the component (Wrench and Adjusting Shim) and add the constraints.
STEP 16 Insert Wrench, then choose Coincident constraint and select highlighted face of Wrench and Valve
Body as shown in the picture below, after that, set 0mm in offset and click Apply.
STEP 17 Choose Concentric constraint and select the cylinder profile of Wrench as the 1st entity and cylinder
profile of Valve Body as 2nd entity and click ok as shown in the picture below.
STEP 18 Choose Parallel constraint and select the highlighted face of Wrench and Valve Body as shown in
the picture below and click OK.
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STEP 19 Insert Adjusting Shim, then choose Coincident constraint and select highlighted face of Adjusting
Shim and Valve Body as shown in the picture below, after that, set 0mm in offset and click Apply.
STEP 20 Choose Concentric constraint and select the cylinder profile of Adjusting Shim as the 1st entity and
cylinder profile of inner Valve Body as 2nd entity as shown in the picture below. after that, tick Lock
rotation and click Apply.
Step 19 Step 20
Until now, we have completed most of the valve assembly, as can be seen in the picture below, all
the components are well constrained.
Valve assembly
In the next part, we will continue the reference design for valve cover.
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5.4.3 In-Context Reference Design
For a whole valve assembly, there is a valve cover part not finished. Next, we will refer to the Valve Body
part to design the cover part. Generally, this design is called in-context assembly design. And this cover part
refers to the valve body. The reference design has been introduced in Chapter 5.3.9.
Now, let us follow these steps to do this cover part modeling in the assembly level.
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After creating the reference solid, let us create the sketch of the Valve Cover revolve part. If you
want working area to be clear, you can blank other components by Show target command from
Document Aware Toolbars.
STEP 04 Select Sketch command from Shape ribbon tab, then select YZ datum of Valve Cover as the sketch
plane and Z axis as up orientation as shown below.
STEP 06 Select Revolve command from Shape ribbon tab and set the parameter as shown below, then select
Add in Boolean and select the extruded solid which was created in step 3 as the Boolean shapes.
If you want to view the whole assembly, click Show All from Document Aware Toolbars.
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Show all
STEP 07 Select Fillet command from Shape ribbon tab and add the fillet for the edge as shown in the picture
below with 2mm radius.
STEP 08 Select Chamfer command from Shape ribbon tab and add the chamfer for the edge as shown in the
picture below with 1mm setback.
Top assembly
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5.4.4 Insert Standard Parts
In this part, we will insert the ISO standard Bolts and Nuts from ZW3D Reuse Library into the valve assembly.
STEP 01 In Valve (Assembly), Open Reuse Library from ZW3D, then select Hexagon Head Bolts from ZW3D
Standards Parts -> select Hex bolts with flange ISO15071.Z3 from file list -> select 10mm in diameter
-> select Auto hole match in placement of insert -> Tick Constrain component, as shown in the
picture below.
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Both the overall dimension of valve body and valve cover need to be modified. Since the associative
reference design is made between these two components. Therefore, we just need to change the dimension
of valve body, the valve cover component will be updated
STEP 01 Double click the Valve Body to activate it. Go to history manager, then double click the expression
Base Length and change the value of Base Length from 75mm to 85mm.
STEP 02 After parameter modification, the model part is marked as Outdated. Then right-click the blank area
of history manager, select Regen History to regen the model. Or directly select Regen command
from Title bar.
STEP 03 Back to top assembly Valve (Assembly) and then regen all components in right menu of assembly
manager, then the Valve Cover model and the position of standard parts will be updated
automatically.
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6 2D Drawing
The 2D drawing is used to show the engineering information of the object, including part/assembly view,
dimensions, symbols and annotations, text, table and so on. In the process of product design and
manufacturing, 2D Drawing is an important and widely-used documents even the 3D model in ZW3D are
sufficiently intuitive and visual. The picture shown below is an example of 2D drawing in ZW3D.
2D drawing in ZW3D
After the 3D model is produced in ZW3D, the associative 2D drawing can be created conveniently, and it
can be changed automatically and simultaneously according to the modifications of the 3D model.
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Method 2: Click + button (Add new file command) from file title tab, then select the Drawing Sheet in file
type and select Template, input the name of drawing, and click OK button. After that, the new 2D drawing
is created.
Configuration
Tools ribbon tab -> Settings Panel -> Preferences -> Drawing Settings
With this command, you can change the drawing settings including Units, Mass units, Grid spacing, Type of
projection and Projection tolerance.
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Preferences
Style manager
Sheet Manager -> Sheet1 -> Right-click menu -> Attributes
Sheet Attributes is used for setting sheet name, scale, paper color and other basic attributes for the selected
sheet.
Sheet attributes
Sheet Manager -> Sheet Format -> Right-click menu -> Sheet Format attributes
With Sheet Format Attributes, you can redefine or customize the sheet format according to different
requirements.
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After creating the standard view, we can select the Projection command to create a view projected from the
existing standard view.
Before creating the projection view, select the base view and define the location of the projection view and
set other attributes.
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Besides, you can also use Layout command which can be accessed from Layout ribbon tab to create to view
by define the layout view and other parameter, such as view label, line attribute.
View attributes
View attributes
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6.4.3 Create Section View
In ZW3D, several different section view can be created, such as full section view, aligned section view, and
isometric section view.
Full section view:
With full section command, you can create variety of section view of a 3D layout view by define the section
position. If two points are picked and full section line through the model, the full section view is created. If
more points are picked, the stepped section view could be created. The picture below shows the two
different full section view.
Redefine section
If you want to edit the section line which is created by Full Section command, the section line can be edited
after creating the view.
You can select the Insert Step option from right menu of section line and then point to insert the step by
dragging and dropping the insert point to the suitable position to get a new section line.
Or if you want to reverse the section line direction, you could also select the Reverse Direction option from
right menu of section line.
The pictures below show the example of the adding the common dimension.
Quick dimension
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Linear dimension
Radial/Diametric dimension
Moreover, for the hole dimension, you can use the Hole Callout command to create one or more hole callout
dimensions, first select the layout view and then select the holes to add callouts.
The picture below shows an example of hole callout dimension.
Modify tolerance
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Besides, you can also us the right click the blank area in the ribbon toolbar to open quick dim tool the modify
the tolerance, the picture below shows the operation steps of this method.
With quick dimension tools, we could quickly and easily add some dimension symbols such as Ø /R and directly
set dimension tolerance or precision.
If you want to add tolerance zone, you can select Tolerance zone type and open tolerance inquiry to select
suitable tolerance zone as shown in the picture below.
Tolerance inquiry
In this section, we will introduce the most common used tools of annotation and symbol.
Center Mark/Line:
With Center Mark command, you can create a center mark at an arc or circle.
Center mark
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With Center Line command, you can create a center line mark between lines, arcs or circles.
Center line
With Center Mark Circle command, you can place a center line through a circular pattern.
Datum Feature:
With Datum Feature command, you can create a datum feature.
Datum feature
Feature control
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Surface finish
Label/Text:
With this command, you can create a label manually.
Label
6.4.8 Create a BOM table
Select the BOM command from Layout ribbon tab and select the view to create a BOM table, then add the
name for BOM.
Below is the definition of commonly used option in level setting of BOM table.
Top-level only: Only list out parts and sub-assemblies excluding sub-assembly components
Parts only: Only list out all parts including the one from all sub-assemblies, but not list sub-assembly.
Each subassembly component is an individual item.
In table format, you could use the left/right arrow to add or delete the attribute and use up/down arow to
rearrange the sequence of the attribute.
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Table format
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STEP 03 Select Projection view command to create other two views of Valve Cover as shown below.
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STEP 04 Finish all the remaining dimension and symbol with same method, and the results are shown as the
picture below.
STEP 05 Open Style Manager from Tool ribbon tab, select Dimensions and set the parameters in General
and Text tabs as shown below.
Set the parameter in the General and Text tabs in Style Manager
STEP 06 Adjust the position of annotation and symbols, and you will get the results as below.
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STEP 02 After finishing the definition of the variable link and the back to the 2D sheet level you will get the
result as shown below.
STEP 02 Select Standard view command from Layout ribbon tab and select the front view of Valve
(Assembly). Then set the scale to 1:1.5.
STEP 03 Select Broken Section command from Layout ribbon tab to create the broken section for the front
view of Valve (Assembly) according to the setting below.
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STEP 04 Select Full Section command from Layout ribbon tab and create the section view from front view
(Tick the Flip arrow in Section Line).
STEP 05 Select Projection view command from Layout ribbon tab to create the projection view of the section
view which was created in the last step (Select 1st angle for Projection in Settings).
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STEP 02 Finish all the remaining dimensions with same method, as shown by the picture below.
STEP 03 Open Style Manager from Tools ribbon tab, select Dimensions and set the parameters in General
and Text tabs as shown below.
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6.6.3 Add Balloon
STEP 01 Select Auto Balloon tool from Dimension ribbon tab and add the balloon for section view of the
valve assembly, Then select square as the pattern type and skip left side in Layout setting as shown
below.
Auto balloon
6.6.4 Create a BOM Table
STEP 01 Select BOM command from Layout ribbon tab and select the section view of the valve assembly,
then add the name and define the table format as shown below.
STEP 02 Select all the text in the BOM table and the Cell setting dialog will pop-up, then click More cell
attributes and set the Text Shape as shown below.
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Now we have finished all the steps of creating the 2D drawing of the ball valve assembly.
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