Virtual welds
Virtual welds are created in aPriori as opposed to a CAD application. You can create welds for assemblies, as well as for edges and holes of a single Sheet Metal or Bar & Tube part. Various weld processes (manual and robotic MIG and TIG welding, manual and robotic spot welding, and laser and electron beam welding) and types of welds (bevel groove, v-groove, j-groove, u-groove, square-groove, fillet, wrap-tie, tack welds, and plug welds) are supported. Weld prep and weld cleanup processes (including bevel cutting, grinding, and wire brushing) also may be optionally included.
For assemblies, you can create a virtual weld using the Welding tool in the Component Viewer tool bar.
To apply a weld to an edge or hole of a part, select the GCD, then right-click and select Edit Operation from the right-mouse popup menu. The Operation Sequence Selection dialog appears, allowing you to specify the desired weld processes and weld types.
Part-welding processes are included in a secondary process group called Part Assembly, and this capability is licensed along with the Welding module.
To create a virtual weld
1 Open an assembly.
2 Click the Welding tool in the Component Viewer tool bar.
The mouse cursor within the Component Viewer turns into a welding torch, the same as on the Welding button. The weld properties window opens.
3 Specify the following weld properties:
• Weld Type — Select the type of the weld. Different weld types are represented with schematic pictures. Move the mouse cursor over a picture to see the name of the weld type.
• Production Mechanism — Select manual or robotic production mechanism.
• Weld Width (mm) — Enter the width of the weld in millimeters.
• Weld Depth (mm) — Enter the depth of the weld in millimeters.
• Enable Intermittent/Pattern Weld — Check this box to create a non-contiguous weld. For an intermittent weld, define:
- Segment Length (mm) — The length of a weld segment in the intermittent weld.
- Pitch (mm) — The distance from the beginning of one weld segment to the beginning of the next weld segment.
• Override Total Length -- By default, aPriori automatically calculates the length of a weld, and displays this value in the CAD Reference Length field. You can override this value by clicking the checkbox and entering your own value in the Total Length field.
4 Click on an edge in the Component Viewer where you want to create the weld. Click Create Weld button. To create a virtual weld consisting of multiple edges, click each edge and then click the Create Weld Button.
5 Repeat steps 2 - 4 to create more welds.
6 Close the weld properties window by selecting Cancel or the red X in the top right corner of the window.
To edit a virtual weld
1 Open an assembly.
2 Highlight a virtual weld either in the Component Viewer or in the GCDs pane.
3 Right-click the Virtual Weld and select Edit from the menu. The weld properties window is displayed.
Note You can select multiple welds by holding down the Ctrl key or the Shift key and clicking the welds.
4 Edit the weld properties as required.
5 Click OK.
To copy virtual welds
Once you have created virtual welds for an assembly, other assemblies with similar geometry can import these welds through the Scenario > Copy Welds from... menu option.
1 Open an assembly.
2 Click Scenario > Copy Welds From...
This opens the Search window. (See Using the Search tool on page 1 for more information.)
3 Use the Search window to find and open the assembly, which has the virtual welds that you want to copy to the open assembly. This source assembly must have geometry that is very similar to the open assembly -- in other words, they must be different versions of the same assembly that differ only in a few details, or which have different part numbers.
4 At the end of the copy, aPriori generates a Weld Diagnosis spreadsheet report to help you evaluate the success of the copy operation, note that the information of interest in this report is on the first tab, "Copy Welds Analysis Report". The other tabs contain raw data that is used to create the first tab. (You can also run this report at any time using the Reports > Spreadsheet Reports menu item. (For more information about spreadsheet reports, see Spreadsheet Reports on page 1.)
All existing virtual welds in the destination assembly are discarded and are replaced by the imported welds. The imported welds retain the same weld IDs they had in the source assembly. Any non-virtual (CAD-defined) welds in the target assembly are kept, but they moved to the end of the weld list (i.e., they have IDs that start after the imported weld ids).
If there are no welds in the source assembly, or if aPriori fails to import all welds, then nothing changes in the target assembly; existing welds are not discarded.
Note: Because the two assemblies that the welds are being copied between must be "substantially similar", the following limitations apply:
• Mirrored assemblies are not supported. Some welds may get copied, but the results will not be reliable.
• Any weld that has more than about a 30% change in location or size will have varied copy results.
To view virtual welds
1 Open an assembly.
2 In the Geometric Cost Drivers pane, click Joining > Welds > Virtual Welds. The list of virtual welds opens.
3 Click on a virtual weld to display its properties in the GCD pane and to highlight it in the Component Viewer.
To delete a virtual weld
1 Open an assembly.
2 Highlight a virtual weld either in the Component Viewer on in the GCDs pane. To select several welds, hold the Ctrl button while you click on welds.
3 Right-click the Virtual Weld and select Delete (in the Component Viewer) or Remove (in the GCDs pane) from the menu.