Creo Elements/Direct Annotation is an application of Creo Elements/Direct Modeling which creates 2D representations of 3D designs, retaining an active association between the two. This means that when a model created in Creo Elements/Direct Modeling is later modified, a 2D view of it in Creo Elements/Direct Annotation can be updated to show the changes. Specific update colors enable you to track the changes to the associated 2D views.
To open Creo Elements/Direct Annotation application,
• Click Applications and then, in the Express group, click Annotation.
Just as Creo Elements/Direct Modeling elements are organized as parts and assemblies, Creo Elements/Direct Annotation structures views and collections of views in a linear hierarchy:
• View
The fundamental entity showing a 3D model laid out in 2D. Views display the model as seen from a defined direction in space. There can be any number of views of a given part or assembly.
• Sheet
The drawing sheet on which views are placed. There can be any number of sheets, of various sizes, to contain different groups of views. Operations such as updating and scaling can be done over all views on a sheet, and views can be moved between sheets.
• Drawing
The collection of one or more sheets comprising the master document. One sheet is active at a time, but all sheets are saved together when the drawing is saved.
Working with these drawing elements is a straightforward matter. You can create standard and isometric views or a general view with different Up and Front directions. Once created, a view can be modified, for example, by scaling or rotating. Views can be rearranged on sheets, and used as parent views for detail and section views. Full views can be converted to partial views, and later restored; and a view can display a cutaway area. You can add or remove components from an assembly view. You can create broken views, and later remove the break and restore them. Finally, you can create a dependent general view, allowing you to see cutaway and section views from a specified direction.
Sheets can be renumbered and their frames changed. You can create your own customized frames in standard or non-standard sizes.
In addition to the drawing hierarchy, a neutral 2D entity, called a sketch, is available. A sketch, which can be any MI file, is a versatile way to add extra information, such as tables, to drawings. You can create and modify sketches in Creo Elements/Direct Annotation, and save and load them for later use. A sketch can be owned by a sheet, view, frame, or another sketch; and can be used as the base for a defined symbol.
After organizing a collection of views, you can annotate them with further information about the model. Added information is handled logically during an update of annotated views, clearly showing the association with the 3D model. With Creo Elements/Direct Annotation you can add the following to your drawings:
Dimensions of many different types can be added to views and later modified. Customized styles of dimensioning can be defined to suit specific requirements. Dimensions are updated automatically in Creo Elements/Direct Annotation when the 3D model is modified.
Text added to views is entered through Creo Elements/Direct Annotation's text editor. Special characters, when needed, are available from a separate table. You can also edit existing text.
Symbols are composed in dedicated menus which are accessed from the template browser. Symbols can be organized into categories. Creo Elements/Direct Annotation provides a variety of standard design symbols, such as GD & T, welding, and surface symbols. You can also define new types of symbols, based on existing symbols or sketches. Any existing symbol can be quickly edited.
Geometry can be helpful to clarify a view of a model. Straight, circular, splinar, as well as guiding construction geometry can be added in many different ways. Fillets can be added to existing geometry, and numerous other modification commands are available, including moving, trimming, and splitting. Special geometry features, such as center lines and symmetry lines, are useful in context with other annotations, for example, dimensioning.
Hatching is added automatically to sectioned faces when Creo Elements/Direct Annotation updates a section view. But the hatching can later be modified, and you can also hatch areas manually.
Creo Elements/Direct Annotation provides a large array of settings that govern the presentation of elements in the drawing. Aspects of view appearance, such as hidden lines and tangent lines, can be modified at any time, even before you create a new drawing. The defaults for text, symbols, hatching, reference lines, symmetry lines, and center lines can all be changed easily. For dimensioning, named styles can be defined, selected from a table, and saved for future use.
Drawings are saved on disk in the MI format including internal information used to maintain the association with the 3D model. When you save a drawing in Creo Elements/Direct Annotation, you would normally also save the model in Creo Elements/Direct Modeling. To protect the association, it is possible to save the model and the drawing at the same, as a bundle.
Finally, for a paper hard copy, you can send an entire drawing or individual sheets to a printer. A print can include all drawing information, or just the aspects visible on the screen.