Creating an Interference Detection Definition

Windchill Fundamentals > Working with Windchill Objects > Visualization Overview > Creating an Interference Detection Definition

You can submit representations and dynamic structures for interference analysis and manage the interferences in Windchill. Windchill users can perform the following tasks:

• Create new IDD’s (interference detection definitions) and Shared IDDs, and edit existing ones.

• Generate interference detection reports.

• Display and examine interference detection reports

For more information on interference detection, see “Detecting Interferences” in the Creo View Help Center.

This topic describes the steps to create a new interference detection definition.

Access New Interference Detection Definition from one of these locations:

• EPM Document Details action

• WTPart Details action

• A representation listing (at the row level)

• Configuration context

• Design context

• Configurable part

Select Actions > New > New Interference Detection Definition. The New Interference Detection Definition page opens on the Set Attributes page.

1. Set Attributes

Field Name

Description

Type

• Interference Detection Definition

• Shared Interference Detection Definition—Share interferences among multiple definitions by means of a common share name.

Number

A number that uniquely identifies a configuration context. It can be automatically supplied by a standard number generator.

Name

A name for the IDD.

Description

A brief description of the new IDD (optional).

Location

The location on the server where the IDD is stored.

Select one of the following options:

• Autoselect Folder—Uses a predetermined folder location.

• Select Folder

— Use the default location or click the set location icon to display the Set Location window. Select the context from the drop-down menu and select the desired folder from the folder window.

Life Cycle Template

The value is usually automatically generated by the system. If available, select the life cycle template to use for the configuration context.

Team Template

The value is usually automatically generated by the system. If available, select the life cycle template to use for the configuration context.

Share Name

(Shared IDD only)

Enter the share name to use for the new Shared Interference Detection Definition.

One interference is created for each unique interference detected, and is shared among all Shared IDDs with the same share name.

• Shared IDDs that have the same Share Name value have their interferences shared. If a share name already exists, it appears this field. If reports have been defined using this share name, the share name is dimmed (unavailable).

• Shared name is not case-sensitive.

• Existing IDDs are non-shared.

• The latest-iteration share name is always used when finding existing interferences. If an IDD with a previous version of the share name is submitted, the job fails.

• Links to the existing interferences are created, even if the user does not have access to them.

• You can create a subtype of a Shared IDD. If you create a subtype of a SIDD and set the name to an existing shared name for a SIDD its Interferences are shared among the two types.

Keep checked out after checkin

Select this option to remain checked out after the object is checked in.

Select Next to proceed to the Set Attachments page.

2. Set Attachments

You can attach local files, URL links, or external sources of content with added information to an IDD. For more information about attachments in Windchill, see Set Attachments.

Select Next to proceed to the Interference Detection Settings page.

3. Interference Detection Settings.

a. Define the target data for the interference detection.

Interference Detection Data

Description

Name

The name of the object for which you are creating the interference detection definition.

Version

By default, the latest version of the object is displayed.

Representation

Select the representation to load to query. The latest iteration of this representation is queried when scheduled interference detections take place.

The Filter setting is enabled only when Structure is selected from the Representation list.

Click

Open in Creo View to view the selected representation.

Filter

You can select a predefined filter to examine selected parts of the structure.

Latest Variant Specification

Only available on configurable parts, and enabled if a variant specification is selected in the Filter field.

When selected, the latest iteration of the latest version of the variant specification is applied. Otherwise the latest iteration of saved version is used.

When an IDD is opened for editing, the iteration of the selected version updates.

The previously-selected variant specification appears in the Filter field. To change the variant specification to query, select Variant Specifications to open the variant specification list, and then select another one from the list.

See Detecting Interferences of Variant Specifications for more details.

Republish

Select an action for republishing if the representation is not the current version

• Do not submit target representation for republishing

• Submit target representation for republishing if marked out of date

• Submit target representation for republishing

Republish is not enabled when Structure is selected from the Representation list.

Assembly Features

Set to On to enable assembly features and flexible components such as cuts and chamfers to affect the IDD.

When using the Assembly Features option, mismatches may occur.

Preferred Fidelity

Selects the fidelity to use in the IDD or a related interference report.

The preferred fidelity is used when opening an IDD or an Interference Report in Creo View.

This option defines the interference detection settings and the viewed representation. The fidelity options available to the user are controlled by the Administrator.

CAD Represented Part Groups

Preferences that control how dynamic structures are stored in the IDD to support the configuration of interference detection reports for structures that contain a CAD assembly without corresponding parts. This allows IDD reports to be consistent, even if a report is requested by a user with a different configuration.

Select Find to update the stored value according to the new IDD at the document’s current location.

Configure the default dynamic structure settings under Utilities > Preference Management > Visualization > Dynamic Structure.

b. Select options and enter values in the Interference Detection Options pane.

If you edit a legacy IDD that was calculated using the older distance-based penetration calculation method, you will receive a message about the switching to the current volume-based calculation method. If you are creating a new IDD, or select to convert to volume-based calculation, follow the description under “IDD with Tolerable Volume.” If you select to continue with the legacy penetration-based calculation, follow the description below.

• Comparing old reports with new ones may result in inaccurate results.

• Penetration-based tolerance will not be supported in future releases.

IDD with Tolerable Penetration
Interference Detection Options	Description
Interference	Tolerable Penetration—Detects overlapping parts. Set to determine the maximum permitted penetration.
Contact	Tolerance—Detects parts that touch one another, but do not overlap. Default value is 0.
Clearance	Required Clearance—Defines the minimum distance between parts.

IDD with Tolerable Volume
Interference Detection Options	Description
Interference	Tolerable Volume—Detects overlapping parts. Set to determine the maximum permitted volume. Volume is represented as cubic units.
Contact	Tolerable Distance—Detects parts that touch one another, but do not overlap. Default value is 0.
Clearance	Required Clearance—Defines the minimum distance between parts.

Units and Calculation Mode
Interference Detection Options	Description
Units	Select the type of units from the list to use for the calculations. When the results are integrated into the model data, the units selected here are converted to the units used in the model. See Setting Visualization User Preferences for information about setting the default units preference.
Calculation Mode	Set Accurate to calculate more decimals places than Approximate. The volume of the interference is not calculated in Approximate mode, and in some cases of Accurate mode.

c. Under Groups, you can set the following conditions for each listed group:

▪ Select Include to check the group against the others, or Exclude to perform the interference calculation without that group.

▪ Select Self Intersecting to determine interferences within a group.

▪ If Clearance is queried, you can set a Required Clearance for each input group. Each input group can have a specific clearance value. Some parts can belong to several input groups. This overrides the required clearance set in the general option.

• The Required Clearance must be larger than the Tolerable Distance.

• If a part does not belong to any group with specific clearance, then the part clearance is the global clearance.

• A part can belong to more than one group, and can have multiple specific clearances according to the groups to which it belongs, in which case the largest of the clearance values is used.

• When calculating the clearance between two instances of a part, the larger value between the two (whether it is global or specific) is applied.

• All Structure is the default group setting.

• Groups are defined by the Creo View client or using XML syntax to create an Interference Query file.

Refer to the Creo View documentation and the Creo View MCAD Adapter Installation and Configuration Guide for information about creating groups.

• Static, Search, Dynamic, or Nested groups can be included.

Select Next to proceed to the Interference Detection Job page.

4. Enter the Interference Detection Job settings.

Interference Detection Job Options	Description
Report Base Name	Enter the base name of the report to generate when the process is completed. Default is JobName.
Job Name	This predefined field contains the name of the job you entered during the Set Attributes step.
Description	Optionally add a description of the job.
Submit for Interference Detection	Select to submit the job for interference detection. When not submitted, the IDD is saved in the Report Base Name field and can be submitted at a later time.

Select Finish. The IDD is created.

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