Mechanical Desktop R5 Power Pack README
1.)This document contains late-breaking information about the Mechanical Desktop and AutoCAD Mechanical products. The Mechanical Desktop R54 Power Pack contains the complete Mechanical Desktop R54, AutoCAD Mechanical 2000i, and AutoCAD Mechanical 2000i Power Pack products. For more information on any of these products, select the appropriate button below.
Mechanical Desktop R5
What’s New in Mechanical Desktop R5
2.)Surface Modeling Enhancements: Benefits from the enhanced surface modeling feature set include modeling and geometry creation tools.
3.)Flexible Assembly Design Feature: In this release, edit in place capability is extended to external subassemblies and combined parts. This enables you to work in true top down design fashion. Assembly restructure is designed to provide you with flexibility in your design processes.
4.)Production Drawing Enhancements: Benefits for users from the Drawing Manager and annotation feature set include non-rectangular viewports for more flexibility.
5.)Enhanced Modeling Features: User benefits are realized in the form of enhanced feature geometry creation and manipulation tools leading to increased modeling productivity and effective capture of design intent.
Recommended Practices
6.)There are some user scenarios that require special procedures.
7.)AutoSurf Files
8.)Users with AutoSurf files or surfaces created with Desktop 1.x need to migrate these files through Desktop R2 before upgrading directly to Desktop R5. Please contact your authorized Autodesk representative for assistance.
9.)Features
10.)Some features created in Desktop 2.x, particularly fillets, need to be migrated through Desktop 3.01 before being updated to Desktop R5 directly. If you do not migrate fillet features through Desktop 3.01, you may also lose drawing annotations associated to the fillet features. Also, models with loft features created in Desktop 3 may have problems updating in Desktop R5. It is recommended that you edit the loft and align the start points manually before updating in Desktop R5. Please contact your authorized Autodesk representative for assistance.
Known Issues/Limitations for Mechanical Desktop
Known Issues and Limitations for Mechanical Desktop
11.)The following items are known issues with Mechanical Desktop.
12.)If You Were a Beta Tester
13.)Before you install Mechanical Desktop 5, uninstall any Alpha or Beta releases of Mechanical Desktop.
ACAD.EXE Process Termination
14.)If you experience a problem with the AutoCAD process not terminating upon exit, it is recommended that you install an updated version of the Microsoft Scripting Engine. The latest scripting engine can be downloaded from the following URL:
15.)If necessary, you can use the task manager to terminate this process manually.
16.)The Internet Toolbar
15.)17.)The Internet toolbar is not available in Mechanical Desktop 5. However, you can access these through the command line
16.)18.)Assembly Restructure with Open to Edit
17.)19.)If you try to restructure parts or subassemblies to an external subassembly that is currently open to edit, the restructure will complete, but nothing will appear to be restructured. To work around this, close the document and save your changes and then re-try the restructure.
18.)20.)Drag and Drop and Insert Operations
19.)21.)When you perform any insert operation (drag and drop, pasteclip, etc.), you are not able to specify an insert point. Desktop automatically places the object at 0.0.0.
20.)22.)Missing External References
21.)23.)If you find missing external parts when you open an assembly file, the missing external files will appear unloaded. This allows you to delete or repath the missing Xref, if necessary.
22.)24.)Editing Sketches on External Parts
23.)25.)If you create a sketch in an external part, when the part is saved back, the sketch is placed on a different layer if the layer the sketch was created on does not reside in the part file. This can be resolved by creating layers with the same names. Also, sketch geometry is faded until the geometry is actually profiled (AMPROFILE).
24.)26.)Reference Editing of an Unconsumed Toolbody
25.)27.)If you Reference edit an unconsumed toolbody in an external part, you are required to activate it twice.
26.)28.)Reloading Part Instances with Text Sketch Features
27.)29.)If you perform a reload of text sketch-based extrusions, they will not show immediately. These types of extrusions y will show uponontheexisting exiting the catalog. only.
28.)30.)Editing an Unconsumed Toolbody While in an External Part Edit State
29.)31.)If you are editing an unconsumed toolbody, everything the browser in Mechanical Desktop becomes disabled upon editing unconsumed toolbody in an Xref toolbody. ,It it is best to open to edit the part and perform your edits.
30.)32.)Editing a Consumed Toolbody While in an External Part Edit State
31.)33.)If you are editing a consumed toolbody within an external part, you will not be able to update the combine. The workaround is to “open to edit” the combined part file to perform your changes.
32.)34.)Using AutoCAD SCALE on a Part
33.)35.)If you are using SCALE on a Mechanical Desktop part, the original part will appear as the same until REGENALL is performed.
AMMIRROR with Parts
34.)36.)When you use AMMIRROR to mirror a part. It will cause the dimensions and constraints to flips dimension and constraints when the mirroring parts
Compatibility with AutoCAD 2000i
35.)37.)Included in this release of the Mechanical Desktop is AutoCAD 2000i. Please keep this in mind if you need to reinstall any version of AutoCAD. Refer to the Installation manual if you need further information on installation.
Browser Font is Not Persistent
36.)38.)The Browser font is not persistent and only gets changed for the currently open drawings. Any drawings opened after setting the Browser font will have the default font.
Subassembly activation Through the Browser
37.)39.)The browser cannot activate subassemblies that have spaces in the name.
Standard Parts Do Not Create Unique Part Names When Drag and Dropped
38.)40.)If you drag and drop standard parts into a new drawing, it does not create a part with a unique name.
Zoom to a Part
39.)41.)Zooming to a part in a subassembly is incorrect when the part has a transform.
Reorder in the Browser
40.)42.)Currently, you are not able to reorder a part to be last in the Browser tree.
Known AutoCAD Defects
41.)43.)• If you save a file to a reserved DOS filename, your system may crash.
42.)44.)• If you have the number lock and startup wizard turned Off, type CTRL-N to start a new drawing, and then press a function key or numeric pad key, your system may crash.
43.)45.)Reorder groups in the dialog box or, explodinge the groups, and then canceling the command will result in system crash.
44.)46.)Dragging drawings to and from AutoCAD to an external application (Explorer, WINZIP) will result in a crash.
ACIS Modeling Guidelines
45.)47.)Dynamic Range
46.)48.)Within object space, the model world is characterized by the magnitude of the numbers on the entities being modeled (e.g., the smallest and largest coordinates existing on the models and the smallest and largest difference between any two coordinates). All object space numbers are represented in ACIS as double precision floating point numbers that contain roughly 14 - 16 significant digits. ACIS considers four of the least significant digits to represent numeric round-off errors that occur during calculations. Thus, there are roughly 10 - 12 digits to represent the dynamic range of numbers (smallest and largest numbers) within object space. ACIS has used the more conservative estimate of ten digits as a rough guideline to set the tolerances used internally to the modeler. The tolerance used in ACIS is 0.000001, six digits to the right of the decimal point. This leaves 4 - 5 digits of significance to the left of the decimal point.
47.)49.)Any models stressing this limit may fail creation and update depending on values used. This may occur if you design large parts in millimeters.
48.)50.)Healing
49.)51.)Imperfections in ACIS models can arise due to various reasons. Many of these occur during conversion/translation of legacy surface and solid data to ACIS format. It is not feasible to have a single healing algorithm that will handle all types of imperfections, but the ACIS healer has incorporated solutions for the problems that occur most frequently and includes more with every release.
50.)52.)Constraining Profiles
51.)53.)It is strongly recommended that you constrain profiles completely as it ensures valid modeling intent and completely specifies desired geometry. Problems may arise if geometry is in conflict or interferes with one another. This is also true for mating and assemblies. Make sure there is no interference between part instances (AMINTERFERE). This may cause undesired, downstream results (e.g., AHL does not support interfering geometry, scenes may tweak and explode in an undesired manner, etc.).
52.)54.)Lofting and Face Loops
53.)55.)1) Models with loft features created in Mechanical Desktop 3 may have problems updating in Desktop R5. It is recommended that you edit a loft and align the start points manually before updating in Desktop R5.
54.)56.)2) The positions of all the profiles being used should not form a path that could introduce self-intersecting surfaces. The resulting model might be an invalid solid.
55.)57.)3) To shell a LOFT body successfully, keep the loft surfaces and faces as smooth as possible. An 80-degree start angle means the loft feature will take off at 80 degrees from the start section (slightly inward). A 120 degree end angle means the loft feature will land at 120 degrees on the end section (slightly outward). A weight factor larger than 10 or smaller than 0 is not allowed. Smaller weight factors give smoother results.
56.)58.)4) To reduce unwanted twist in a loft feature, it is recommended that you select either the Minimize Twist check box or the Start Points option in the Loft dialog box.
57.)59.)The Start Points option in the Loft dialog box displays a start point on each profile in the loft. The objective is to align the start points of each profile so that, as a set, they form a reasonable start edge for the loft. You can change a start point position by moving your cursor over the profile, where new potential start points are previewed as you pass over them.
58.)60.)5) If you encounter undesirable twisting in a loft feature, try picking the profiles in the opposite order.
59.)61.)6) When lofting between face loops and profiles, it is recommended that you check the "Tangent to Adjacent Face" options in the Loft dialog box. This will create smoother transitions between loops and results in less jagged bodies
60.)62.)Modeling with Surfcuts and Surface Tolerance Refining
61.)63.)If there is a modeling failure experienced in a model containing surfcut features, it is recommended that you increase the surface tolerance (AMREFINESF).
Using Hardware Acceleration
62.)64.)The AutoCAD Graphics Subsystem is based on HEIDI, which allows you to dynamically switch to whichever graphics API is best for your system. The most widely used graphics API for CAD systems is OpenGL, and HEIDI supports this API through the wopengl6.hdi HEIDI driver. To make use of this driver, you must have a graphics card that supports OpenGL acceleration, and then select the HEIDI OpenGL driver.
To Choose Hardware Acceleration
63.)65.)Choose Assist > Options.
64.)66.)In the Options dialog box, choose the System tab.
65.)67.)Click Properties.
66.)68.)In the 3D Graphics System Configuration dialog box, select Hardware.
67.)69.)In the Select File dialog box, highlight the wopengl6.hdi HEIDI driver, and then choose Select.
68.)70.)Choose Apply & Close, and then choose OK.
The Autodesk OpenGL HEIDI Driver
69.)71.)The Autodesk OpenGL HEIDI driver (wopengl7.hdi) attempts to use two OpenGL extensions if they are present: The GL_WIN_SWAP_Hint extension, and the Autodesk_valid_backbuffer_hint extension. These extensions are used to repair screens when an image has been damaged, for example, by a tooltip or dialog box.
70.)72.)The GL_Win_Swap_Hint extension allows the Open GL driver to do blitting from the back buffer for screen repair. Since OpenGL was originally designed to be a one-window system, having multiple OpenGL windows can cause a problem doing screen repair, because the OpenGL driver would only have a valid backing store for one window. To resolve this problem, Autodesk makes use of the Autodesk_valid_backbuffer_hint extension, which tells AutoCAD that the card and driver can manage the backing store for multiple windows.
71.)73.)NOTE: Some older cards may not support this option. In these cases, AutoCAD tries to do blitting for screen repair, but you may occasionally get the wrong image.
System Variables
72.)74.)Use the AMUSEBLIT system variable when you select the Hardware Acceleration option and the graphics card does not support the Autodesk_valid_backbuffer_hint extension but does support the GL_Win_Swap_Hint extension. The AMUSEBLIT system variable tells AutoCAD to attempt blitting to do screen repair. If the OpenGL driver supports the Autodesk_valid_backbuffer_hint extension, then the system variable is ignored, AutoCAD does blitting for screen repair, and you should get the correct image every time.
73.)75.)Use the AMUSEDL system variable to tell the AutoCAD OpenGL HEIDI driver to use OpenGL display lists. These display lists are a way to cache off drawing instructions in an intermediate format that can be drawn very quickly. However, the use of display lists can consume large amounts of memory, and for this reason the system is turned off by default.
Known Issues with Rendered Mode
1)Force a rerasterization: Although there is no command that forces a rerasterization (redraw the image from the cached graphic representation), you can force a rerasterization in several ways:
74.)76.)- resize the window
75.)77.)- start and exit the 3Dorbit command
76.)78.)- switch the shading mode from the current one to a different one using the SHADEMODE command
77.)79.)- change the view orientation. Note that this method forces a regen.
78.)80.) NOTE: A regen or redraw will not force a rerasterization.
2)Images left on the screen: To clean up an image, force a rerasterization using one of the methods mentioned previously. This may be necessary if Hardware Acceleration is enabled and the OpenGL driver only supports the GL_Win_Swap_Hint extension but not the Autodesk_valid_backbuffer_hint extension.
3)There is a known problem with the 3Dclip window with multiple design environments open. If the 3Dclip window is on top of the inactive document, closing the window causes a screen repair, which can lead to a race condition inside of AutoCAD between AutoCAD’s main thread and the rendering thread. This is a timing issue, and may not be a problem. This issue is dependent on the machine setup and the size of the drawing file.
4)Some temporary graphics, like blips, can be removed by issuing a redraw command. This will not cause a rerasterization, but the screen will be refreshed from the existing backing store.
79.)81.)AMVARS Uses Inactive Title Bar System Color for Non-Editable Text
80.)82.)In the AMVARS dialog box, non-editable text in the display window is shown in the system color specified for "Inactive Title Bar." If you are unable to see the non-editable text (or other data in the display window), use the Control Panel to change the inactive title bar text. Change other system colors for other cells (i.e., change Window text color to change the text color for editable text).
General Information
Network Installation
81.)83.)There is not an effective mechanism to upgrade AutoCAD 2000 on a network installation. Thus, there is not an effective mechanism to upgrade from Mechanical Desktop R5 to Mechanical Desktop R5 Power Pack on a network installation. You must uninstall your Mechanical Desktop R5 product before installing the Mechanical Desktop R5 Power Pack on a network setup.
82.)84.)You may also run the netsetup for a client installation in non-silent mode to upgrade from Mechanical Desktop R5 to Mechanical Desktop R5 Power Pack. This will only work for a client based network install.
Working with Mechanical Desktop Commands
83.)85.)Using the AMPATTERN Command
84.)86.)When using the Align to Edge option for rectangular patterns, each edge has an internal direction that is displayed using a red arrow when you hover over it. To get the desired direction, use either Flip direction or pick an edge that has the desired direction.
85.)87.)Using the AMFACESPLIT Command
86.)88.)AMFACESPLIT will not allow the creation of if the split line has multiple segments.
87.)89.)Using the AMSHELL Command
88.)90.)If you modify the default weight factors and angles of a loft feature, you may encounter a shell failure when the loft geometry is not suitable for the shell
89.)91.)Using the AMSWEEP Command
90.)92.)Models created by sweeping a 3D path may have self-intersecting surfaces depending the AMFEATCHECK value. Use AMSANITYCHECK to see if the model is correct. This in not allowed for Helix paths.