The Custom Process menu enables you to attach information about your design intentions to the geometric and topological representation of a Creo Elements/Direct Modeling model. By attaching custom process features, you can generate a more precise description of the product data model beyond generic attributes like color and material. You can attach design information to virtually any item within Creo Elements/Direct Modeling such as packages (assemblies, parts, or workplanes) or to geometric elements (faces, edges, or vertices). A description of how to define custom process features is beyond the scope of this document. See the Integration Kit documentation for detailed information.
When you assign custom process to a model, you are attaching a set of predefined, customized attributes. The custom process feature is usually identified by a label which points to the feature it is describing, which also provides a handle by which you can access the feature. You can attach custom process features of the following types to a model:
• Geometric - Creates geometry in a model or removes geometry from a model. For example, if you were to define a drilled hole of fixed dimensions as a custom process, it would create geometry (the hole) in any part to which it was attached.
• Non-geometric - Adds design information to existing geometry. For example, you might want to apply a particular type of paint to a face but before you can do so, the face must exist in the part. This type of custom process does not change the geometry of a part.
The custom process commands provide highly-flexible methods to associate your own customized design features with elements of a 3D model. For example, you might associate such things as:
• Text notes concerning design intentions.
• Formatted data, for example, paint or thread specifications.
• HTML-compliant hyperlinks (URLs) referring to design attachments.
Custom process features are usually written by feature administrators using a set of macros, functions, and structures. The administrator creates the specifications as text files in the programming language LISP and then compiles them for use with Creo Elements/Direct Modeling. The feature definition is contained in a text file which must be loaded into memory before that feature can be displayed in the Custom Process browser. A description of how to define custom process features is beyond the scope of this document.