If you have talked to any of us at PTC lately, chances are that you have heard about the Behavioral Modeling Extension, or BMX (I know, some of you are thinking Bicycle Moto-Cross, and others are thinking "finally I can get my models to behave themselves").  Actually, BMX is neither of those things, nor is it a "module" as we tend to think of other Pro/ENGINEER functionality.

So, what is BMX?  It is technology that enables users to automate the process of meeting design specifications.  Clear as crystal, right?  Think of it this way:  A relatively small percentage of your overall time in Pro/ENGINEER is spent creating features, the rest is spent modifying, regenerating, and evaluating.  What if you had a way to find out what to change, and by how much, to meet your design goals?  That is what BMX is all about.  Next time you modify a part, think to yourself, "Why am I making this change?" (to meet a design requirement); "What needs to be changed?" (How can I be sure that this change will take me where I want to go?); "By how much?" (What does the new dimension need to be?).  Anytime you find yourself making changes to your model (part or assembly), evaluating that change (inside or outside of Pro/ENGINEER), then changing again, evaluating, changing, evaluating..............you have found an application for BMX.

Examples of BMX applications are almost limitless.  To help you think about ways you might use this technology, consider the following questions:
 

• Do you design parts "close enough?"

• Do you ever run out of time before you reach the best solution?

• Do you know that changes you make actually improve your design?

• Is it hard to balance conflicting design criteria?

• Do you settle for a design that just meets the design criteria?  Or, would you like to be able to optimize the design to get the best possible cost, material usage, weight, etc.?

• Does your design depend on analysis done outside of  Pro/ENGINEER?

• Is the location of the center of mass important in your design?

• Do you build prototypes because you can't be sure if your design meets requirements?