KeyCreator Getting Started Guide V6 English PDF

KeyCreator
Getting
Started
Guide
Copyright 2006 Kubotek Corporation. All Rights Reserved
This documentation may not be reproduced in any form, for any purpose.
Kubotek Corporation and the program authors have no liability or responsibility to

the purchaser or any other person or entity with respect to liability, loss or damage
caused, or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this software,
including but not limited to, any interruption of service, loss of business or
anticipatory profits or consequential damages resulting from the use or operation
of this software.
KeyCreator is a registered trademark of Kubotek Corporation.
KeyCreator is based upon ACIS software. The following products are

incorporated into this software, and are registered trademarks of Spatial
Corporation: ACIS Kernel, ACIS 3D Toolkit, ACIS Local Operations, ACIS
Healing, ACIS Advanced Blending.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft

Corp.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners.
Kubotek USA
100 Locke Drive
Marlborough, MA 01752
PHONE: (508) 229-2020
FAX: (508) 303-0917
WEB: kubotekusa.com
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS
About This GUIDE ............................................................vii
Guide.............................................................................................vii
Product ...........................................................................................................vii
Audience ........................................................................................................vii
Purpose...........................................................................................................vii
Content ...........................................................................................................vii
Related Documentation and Tip on Help ..................................................... viii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1

What Is KeyCreator? ........................................................................................1
Workspace Anatomy .........................................................................................2

Title Bar ...........................................................................................................3
Menu Bar..........................................................................................................4
Default Toolbar ................................................................................................4
Conversation Bar..............................................................................................4
Part Settings Bar...............................................................................................5
Position Snap Bar .............................................................................................5
Modeling Palette and Advanced Modeling Palette ..........................................6
Viewport...........................................................................................................6
Tree Window....................................................................................................7
Undo/Redo Management Window ...................................................................7
History Bar .......................................................................................................8
Status Bar .........................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 2: CREATING A SIMPLE MODEL .................... 11

To Create a Block ............................................................................................12
To Display Dimensions ....................................................................................13
To Add Notes and Labels ................................................................................15
To Pan the Model.............................................................................................19
To Zoom In and Out ........................................................................................19
To Print.............................................................................................................21
To Print a Region ...........................................................................................23
To Change Size of Region or Whole Model on Printed Page ........................23
iii
To Manipulate Views Further ........................................................................ 25
To Inspect the Model with Different Views................................................... 29
To Move or Edit Entities................................................................................. 29
CHAPTER 3: CREATING 2D WIREFRAME GEOMETRY ...31

To Determine the Requirements of the Linkage Bracket ............................ 31
To Create the Top View of the Linkage Bracket .......................................... 33

To Set CPlane and Display View of Top View.............................................. 33
To Create All Vertical Lines of Top View..................................................... 35
To Create All Horizontal Lines of Top View................................................. 39
To Trim Lines of Top View ........................................................................... 42
To Create All Fillets of Top View ................................................................. 44
To Create the Right-Side View of the Linkage Bracket ............................... 46

To Set CPlane and Display View of Right-Side View................................... 46
To Create All Vertical Lines of Right-Side View.......................................... 47
To Create All Horizontal and Slanted Lines of Right-Side View .................. 49
To Create Arc, Circle and Tangent Lines of Right-Side View ...................... 51
To Trim Lines of Right-Side View and Add Final Fillet ............................... 54
To Compare Model with Requirements Drawing .......................................... 56
CHAPTER 4: CREATING A SOLID MODEL........................59

To Finish the Linkage Bracket ....................................................................... 61
To Make Levels ............................................................................................. 61
To Extrude the Top View............................................................................... 65
To Extrude the Right-Side View.................................................................... 68
To Use Only the Intersection ......................................................................... 69
To Make the Large Hole ................................................................................ 70
To Create the L-Bracket ................................................................................. 72

To Create the First Leg of the L-Bracket ....................................................... 74
To Extrude by Specifying Length................................................................ 74
To Extrude from a Face to a Face................................................................ 77
To Extrude by Specifying an Offset from a Face ........................................ 79
To Create the Second Leg of the L-Bracket................................................... 82
To Create the Fillets of the L-Bracket............................................................ 85
To Create the Holes in the L-Bracket............................................................. 89
To Create the Large Hole ............................................................................ 89
To Create the Four Smaller Holes ............................................................... 91
iv
To Import the Linkage Assembly and Retainer Pin .....................................95
To Import the Linkage Assembly...................................................................95
To Import the Retainer Pin.............................................................................98
To Finish the Clamp Assembly and Provide It to Production ...................101

To Add a Nut Fastener and Inspect the Design ............................................101
To Create a Drawing of the Clamp Assembly..............................................103
To Modify the Design Due to a Requirements Change................................108
CHAPTER 5: CUSTOMIZING KEYCREATOR.................. 109

To Load a Workspace during Startup .........................................................110
To Display or Remove Control Bars on the Workspace.............................111

Modeling ......................................................................................................111
Advanced Modeling .....................................................................................111
Machine........................................................................................................112
Status Bar .....................................................................................................112
Tree Window................................................................................................112
Conversation Bar..........................................................................................112
Classic Menu ................................................................................................113
Settings Window ..........................................................................................114
Undo/Redo Management..............................................................................115
Part Splitter...................................................................................................115
Levels Pane ................................................................................................116
Part References Pane..................................................................................116
Features Pane .............................................................................................116
To Customize Toolbars..................................................................................116
To Dock or Float Workspace Elements .......................................................120
To Save Your Customized Workspace.........................................................120
To Create a Template To Customize Display Colors..................................120
To Assign Shortcut Keys and Mouse Buttons .............................................123

To Assign a Shortcut Key to a Command ....................................................124
To Assign a Shortcut Key to a Toolbar ........................................................127
To Assign a Mouse Button to a Command...................................................129
To Save the Assignments in a Keyboard File...............................................130
To Load a Keyboard File during Startup......................................................131
v
To Autosave a File ......................................................................................... 136
To Become Familiar with Additional Customizations................................ 136
INDEX .................................................................................139
vi
About This Guide
Product
This guide documents KeyCreator, which is software that provides a computer-
aided design and manufacturing solution.
Audience
The primary audience of this guide is the mechanical design engineer, who is a
first-time user of KeyCreator.
There are several secondary audiences: Anyone in the mechanical design industry
who has occasion to use the finished KeyCreator files. This could include
personnel in a companys Quality Control and Production Departments, for
examples. Other audiences are technical trainers and educators in both industry
and academia.
Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to show the audience how to use KeyCreator. The
guide is task-oriented and a comprehensive beginning for learning KeyCreator.
Content
This guide consists of the following chapters plus an index.
.
Chapter 1 explains what KeyCreator is and introduces you to the KeyCreator
workspace.
Chapter 2 shows you how to create a simple model. This chapter takes up to one
hour to complete.
Chapter 3 progresses beyond Chapter 2 to the more complex task of designing a

clamp assembly. It shows you how to design a 2D model, according to a
requirements drawing you are given. This 2D is used in Chapter 4. Chapter 3 takes
up to two hours to complete.
Chapter 4 shows you how to change the 2D into a solid (called extruding), and
how to import supplied parts into this to finish the clamp assembly. After you give
the design to your Production Department, the chapter assumes they made a
change to the requirements. You incorporate the change, completing the project.
Although this chapter starts with the 2D file you completed in Chapter 3, it gives
you the option of starting with a supplied version of this file instead. Chapter 4
takes up to three hours to complete.
vii
Chapter 5 explains how you can customize KeyCreator, if desired.
It is best to follow the procedures in the chapter sequence provided. As you do so,
you build up hands-on experience with a variety of common KeyCreator
functions.
Related Documentation and Tip on Help

For information on how to install KeyCreator and about licensing, see the
KeyCreator Setup Guide.
For details about all KeyCreator functions, use the products Help documentation:
With KeyCreator open, click Help and then Help Topics, or press ALT+F1.
For additional task-oriented documentation, use the tutorials in the products Help
documentation: With KeyCreator open, click Help and then Tutorials. Note that
the tutorial there called Quick Start is the same as the first four chapters of this
guide. The other tutorials there provide information that is not in this guide.
Tip: In KeyCreator Help, you can change the font size of topic text for readability:
While in Help, click Options and then Font, and select Small, Normal or Large.
The web site is a good source for current product and company information:
www.kubotekusa.com.
viii
INTRODUCTION 1
What Is KeyCreator?
KeyCreator is software that provides a computer-aided design and manufacturing
solution for CAD/CAM professionals. It combines geometry-based design
capability and modeling technology with drafting and layout features. With
KeyCreator, mechanical design engineers can move seamlessly among 2D, 3D
wireframe, surfaces, and solid modeling to produce drawings in a wide variety of
formats. The software also provides translation and model-editing capabilities so
that you can use it with non-native CAD models.
The CAD/CAM capabilities of KeyCreator allow mechanical design engineers to

handle a range of modeling challenges, such as
Multidimensional design and drafting
Cost-effective translation of the most popular CAD/CAM applications
NC programming capabilities
The unique geometry-based foundation results in

Surface, solids and wireframe modeling modification and editing
functionality
Localized feature editing and sophisticated deformation techniques
Full-design functionality for tooling, complex machinery and fixtures, and
optional NC capabilities
1
KeyCreator Getting Started Guide
Workspace Anatomy
When you open KeyCreator, the screen you see is called the workspace, whose
default appearance is shown below. (It may be necessary to place the pointer over
the right-most edge of the workspace, then click and drag to the right, to reveal all
that you see below.)
You can customize the appearance of the workspace so that it looks different than
the default. For details, see Chapter 5, Customizing KeyCreator.
The term workspace refers to the entire window that you see. The workspace
contains menus, buttons and other elements by which you can access KeyCreator
commands to design your model. The next figure identifies all of the elements that
make up the default workspace.
2
Chapter 1: Introduction
Title Bar
Menu Bar
Default Toolbar
Conversation Bar Part Settings Bar Position Snap Bar
Modeling Tree
Palette Window
Viewport
Advanced Undo/Redo
Palette Management
History Bar View Toolbar

Status Bar
Open KeyCreator and look at the workspace. As you do so, take a few moments to
read the following descriptions so that you understand the workspace anatomy and
the terms describing it. Several of these terms are used frequently in this guide.
Title Bar
The Title Bar is at the top of the workspace and, from left to right, consists of the
Product name and version (for example, Kubotek KeyCreator 6.0.0)
Name of the open file, in brackets (for example, [my_model.ckd])
Windows minimize, maximize and close buttons. Clicking the close button
(the X) in this bar closes KeyCreator.
3
Menu Bar
The Menu Bar contains drop-down menus that allow you to select a command. It
also contains minimize, maximize and close buttons. Unlike clicking the close
button (X) on the Title Bar, clicking the X on this bar closes the open file, not
KeyCreator itself.
Experiment with the Menu Bar by clicking several menus, like View and Create.
Glance at the selections on their drop-down menus. These selections are referred
to as commands and also functions. Do not try to understand everything. Notice
that several functions have key combinations (hotkeys) associated with them.
For example, as shown below, the Display View command on the View menu
shows the hotkey combination ALT+V.
Using the hotkey is an alternate way of selecting the function, allowing you to use
the keyboard instead of the mouse.
Default Toolbar
The Default Toolbar allows you to select common commands by clicking a button
rather than by selecting them from a menu on the Menu Bar, for example. Familiar
Windows commands are on the toolbar (New, Open, Save, ) plus several
frequently used KeyCreator commands (Autoscale, Rotate, Render Wire, ).
Move the pointer over several buttons and notice the tooltips that appear.
Conversation Bar
The Conversation Bar is blank or populated. It is blank when you first open
KeyCreator. It becomes populated with buttons, fields or prompts when you select
certain KeyCreator commands. As you proceed with the procedures, watch for the
helpful prompts and other elements that may appear in the Conversation Bar.
There are two main menus that can appear in the Conversation Bar, depending
on the KeyCreator command you select. These are the Position Menu and the
Selection Menu. Actually, each of these is a series of buttons and a text prompt
underneath. Once you click a button, other buttons, prompts and fields can appear.
An example of the Position Menu is shown below. The Position Menu

sometimes is called the Universal Position Menu, abbreviated UPM. It appears
when you select a command that requires you to indicate a position or location in
3D space. For example, it appears when you create a line, because you must
indicate the start point and end point of the line.
4
An example of the Selection Menu is shown below. The Selection Menu

sometimes is called the Universal Selection Menu, abbreviated USM. It
appears whenever you are required to select an entity on which an action is to be
performed.
This guide provides opportunities to use several buttons on the Conversation Bar.
But for more details, see Position Menu and Selection Menu in the online Help.
Part Settings Bar
The Part Settings Bar allows you to select the following items to apply to your
model:
Line width
Line style
Color
Position Snap Bar
The Position Snap Bar allows you to snap or not snap to items (point, end, center,
) as you construct your model.
5
Modeling Palette and Advanced Modeling Palette
The Modeling Palette and Advanced Modeling Palette allow you to select
commands by clicking a button rather than by selecting the commands from a
menu on the Menu Bar, for example. These palettes contain many more of the
Menu Bar commands than those found on the default toolbar.
Click some of the buttons and notice the additional buttons that appear. Click one
of these additional buttons that has an arrowhead on it pointing to the right and
notice the selections that appear.
Viewport
The Viewport is the working area of the workspace. It is where the geometry that
you design is located. (This guide uses the term geometry to refer to the entire
design you see in the Viewport. Pieces of the geometry are called entities.)
6
Tree Window
The Tree Window has three tabs on the bottom: Design, File Explorer and
Verify. When Design is selected, the tree window displays all KeyCreator files
you have open. When File Explorer is selected, it displays the drives and folders
on the computer like Windows Explorer. When Verify is selected, it shows a tree
with the result of the recent Verify operations, such as Verify Entity, Verify
Position, etc. (Verify operations are KeyCreator commands selected from the
Tools>Verify menu that allow you to gather information about the model you
create.)
Undo/Redo Management Window
The Undo/Redo Management Window displays and allows you to control all
Undo and Redo operations in the current session of KeyCreator for the active part.
An Undo or Redo operation is called a state. States are listed in the State Name
column. The one that is in bold is the current state and therefore is the one that
appears in the Viewport.
7
The Active Layout column contains the name of the layout that was active at the
time the state was created. If there is no name listed, then the part was in model
mode at the time. Rolling to a state switches to the model or layout that was active
at the time the state was created. (To roll is a generic term that means Undo or
Redo without implying chronological direction. Undo is rolling back in time. Redo
is rolling forward in time.)
There are three buttons of control: Roll, Purge and Set Limit.
Roll: Clicking a state in the window and then clicking the Roll button (or double-
clicking the state) makes that state the current state.
Purge: Allows you to delete the Undo history or the Redo history relative to the
current state. Selecting a state that is chronologically before (in the window,
vertically below) the selected state and then clicking the Purge button, deletes all
states chronologically before the selected state. Selecting a state that is
chronologically after (in the window, vertically above) the selected state and then
clicking the Purge button, deletes all states chronologically after the selected state.
Set Limit: Allows you to set how many Undo and Redo states are allowed to
accumulate. Displays the Undo/Redo History Length dialog box in which you can
type the set limit number. If there are currently more states in the system than this
number, they are deleted to bring the number of states down to this value. To do
this, Undo states (in the window, vertically below the current state) are deleted
first, starting with the vertically lowest state. After the Undo states, Redo states are
deleted, starting with the vertically highest state.
History Bar
As shown in the example below, the History Bar is located just above the Status
Bar. The History Bar displays a unique button for each command that you used.
So it can be blank or populated. It displays the most recent command buttons (up
to 16) of the current or previous sessions. The most recent button appears right-
most. These buttons allow quick reselection of a command.
History Bar
8
Status Bar
As shown in the example below, the Status Bar is along the bottom of the
workspace. As in the example, some of the fields in the Status Bar can be blank.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1 Lock icon 7 Current CPlane setting

2 Command currently in use 8 Current display-view setting
3 Command over which pointer is located 9 Construction units of active part
4 Active level number 10 Construction mode indicators
5 Current display (S)cale 11 Current depth
6 Pointer tracking coordinates 12 Current snap mode
13 Macro-record indicator
Here is a description of each field in the Status Bar, from left to right:
1: Lock icon appears when the active command is in the middle of an
operation that cannot be interrupted. When the icon is displayed,
Immediate Mode Commands that modify the part are not allowed. (For a
description of an Immediate Mode Command, see the online Help.) The
field is blank otherwise.
2: Name of command currently in use. If this is inverse text (text and
background colors are reversed), then the current command is an
Immediate Mode Command. Exiting the command returns to the
command that was active at the time the command was started.
3: Command over which pointer is located (an expanded tooltip)
4: Active level number. That is, in the Level List Window, the Active
option is selected for this level.
5: Current display (S)cale
6: Pointer-tracking coordinates when pointer is in viewport
7: Current CPlane setting. Double-click to display CPlane menu
8: Current display-view setting. Double-click to display display-view
menu
9: Construction units of active part
10: Construction mode indicators: CPlane (CPL) or world (WLD)
coordinates and in next field, 2D or 3D. Double-click to toggle each field
9
11: Current depth. Double click to enter new depth on Conversation Bar
12: Current snap mode:
Pos Snap: Position snap is active; see The Position Snap Bar.
Grid Snap: Grid snap is active and position snap is inactive
(View>Grid and Snap>Toggle Snap)
No Snap: Position snap and grid snap are both inactive
Note: If Grid Snap is off, pressing CTRL toggles between Pos Snap and
No Snap. If Grid Snap is on, pressing CTRL toggles between Grid Snap
and Pos Snap.
13: Macro-record indicator (REC or PAUSE)
10
CREATING A 2
SIMPLE MODEL
This chapter shows you how to

Create a Block
Display Dimensions
Add Notes and Labels
Zoom In and Out
Print
Manipulate Views Further
Inspect the Model with Different Views
Move or Edit Entities
If you are a first-time user of KeyCreator, this tutorial will take you up to one hour
to complete.
Note that two modes of KeyCreator operation are model mode and layout mode.
Model mode is a 3D, orbital mode where you construct your model. Layout mode
shows the model as a drawing. For example, you can show the front view, top
view, right-side view, with a border. This mode (layout mode) is appropriate for
displaying dimensions. You are in model mode when you start KeyCreator. Where
appropriate, this guide instructs you to switch to layout mode.
Note also that, as you use KeyCreator, if necessary you can always cancel a
function that you selected by pressing ESC on the keyboard. You can always
return to a previous state by clicking the active Undo button on the Toolbar. You
can always make a dialog box disappear without implementing its selected options
by clicking its Cancel button.
11
To Create a Block
1. Open KeyCreator. The initial screen appears, called the workspace. (If
this is the first time you open KeyCreator after installation, introductory
screens appear before the workspace screen. This procedure ignores the
introductory screens.)
2. On the Create menu, click Primitive Solid and then Block. (In this
guide, the usual way of saying an instruction like this is Click
Create>Primitive Solid>Block.) The Create Block dialog appears,
similar to that shown below.
Note: For this tutorial, the international version of KeyCreator was

installed whose default construction units are in millimeters and the
decimal point is a comma. You may have different options selected:
File>Properties>Units/Tolerances>Construction Units and
Detail>Settings>Settings>Representation>Decimal Point.
3. Ensure that the Key In check box is selected.

4. In the Width (Dx) field, type 5 to make the width of the block you are
going to create 5 millimeters.
5. Ensure that the Length (Dy) and Height (Dz) fields are 10 and 6,
respectively.
6. Accept the remaining (default) settings on this dialog and click OK. The
workspace appears as shown below. There is a small rectangle (block) in
the viewport and the pointer is located at the lower left corner of this
block. There is a Position Menu, containing several buttons, located in
the Conversation Bar. One of the buttons is Key in. Under the Position
Menu, there is text that prompts you to indicate the corner position of
the block.
12
Chapter 2: Creating a Simple Model
Tip: As you construct a model, it is helpful to look for any prompts in the
Conversation Bar.
7. Click the Key In button. XC, YC and ZC fields appear in the

Conversation Bar, as shown below.
Tip: In the next step, you can press ENTER three times instead of typing
the zeros. You can move from field-to-field using the TAB key. Note also
that, if desired, you can always exit a command altogether (in this case,
the Create command) so as to start again by clicking the Esc button on
the Conversation Bar.
8. Type the number 0 in each of the XC, YC and ZC fields.

9. Press ENTER (or, with the pointer in the viewport area, right click and
then select Accept). The block appears in the viewport. Next, you put
the model in layout mode to display the front, top and right-side views
of the block.
To Display Dimensions
Now you switch to layout mode and display dimensions.
1. Click Layout>Layout Toggle. The Layout Control dialog appears, as
shown below.
13
2. Ensure that the dialog box is configured as shown above, and click OK.
The viewport now shows a bordered, 2D layout. The blocks front, top
and right-side views appear, similar to that shown below (without the
callouts). Next, you display the dimensions.
Depth
Top
View
Front Right-Side
View View
3. Click Detail>Quick Dimension. The drawing now is in dimension

mode.
14
4. In one motion, click the left side of the front view to select it, move the
pointer to the left, and release. Then click. The height dimension of 6.0
(millimeters) now appears on the front view, as shown below.
5. Repeat the previous step for the width of the front view and the depth of
the top view. When done, the drawing should look like that shown
below. It displays the minimally complete set of dimensions of the
block.
Now you add notes and labels.
To Add Notes and Labels

1. Click Detail>Notes>Key In. The Create a New Note dialog box
appears, as shown below.
15
2. Type Front View.

3. Click the Format tab. The Format pane appears, as shown below.
4. In the Font field, select Arial.
16
5. Select the Filled font check box and click OK. The typed text with
pointer appears on the viewport, as shown below.
6. Press and hold the CTRL key and move the text so that it rests on the top
of the front view and click. (If you move the text without using the
CTRL key, you can only place the text near the top when in snap mode.)
The drawing appears as shown below.
7. Click the Backup button to stay in the Note command mode. The
Create a New Note dialog box appears again.
8. This time type Top View. (There is no need to click the Format tab
because you are using the same settings as before.)
9. Click OK.
10. Place the text above the top view without pressing the CTRL key and
click. The drawing appears as shown below. Now you add a label (note
with an arrow). So you need to exit from the Note command mode and
enter the Label command mode.
11. Click the Esc button on the Conversation Bar.
CAUTION: When this guide says, Click the Esc button, it refers to the
button on the Conversation Bar. When it says, Press ESC, it refers to
the Esc key on the keyboard.
17
12. Select Detail>Notes>Label. The Create a New Label dialog box

13. Type This is the right-side view.

14. Click the Format tab and select Arial in the Font field and select the
Filled font check box.
15. Click OK.
16. On the viewport, click near the top of the right-side view and position
the text and arrow where desired, and click again. The drawing appears
similar to that shown below.
17. Click Accept. The Create a New Label dialog box appears.
18
Note: If you did not position the label where you wanted, you can always
click Esc then Undo and return to step 12 above.
18. Click Cancel.

19. Click File>Save As. Notice that KeyCreator wants to place the file in
the CKD folder. Save the file as mydrawing.ckd in this folder (CKD
stands for CADKEY/ KeyCreator drawing).
To Pan the Model

1. Place the pointer near the center of the drawing.
2. Press down on the middle mouse wheel and release. The panning-mode
indicator appears near the center of the model on the viewport, as shown
below.
3. Move the mouse slightly as desired to pan the model. The further away
from the panning-mode indicator you move the mouse, the faster the
panning.
Note: This is sensitive. If the view goes off the screen, press CTRL+A to
restore it on the screen.
4. To disable pan, press down on the middle mouse wheel again and
release. The panning-mode indicator disappears from the viewport,
indicating you have disabled pan.
5. Move the mouse. No panning occurs.
To Zoom In and Out

There are different ways to activate zoom:
Using the Menu
1. Click View>Zoom. The Zoom menu appears as shown below.
2. Select Double, for example. The model appears twice as big.
19
Using Hotkeys
Notice the Zoom hotkeys on the Zoom menu above.
Press CTRL+H twice, for example. The model appears half in view size and then
half again. You can use CTRL+D (D for double) and CTRL+H (H for half)
repeatedly to decrease or increase the view size quickly.
Using Middle Mouse Button

1. Place the pointer near the center of the model.
Note: While doing the next step, if the panning-mode indicator appears,
shown in To Pan the Model, you pressed down on the middle mouse
wheel. See Turning Off Pan So You Can Zoom Only, just below.
2. Move the middle mouse wheel (but do not press down on it). Zoom in or
out occurs.
Turning Off Pan So You Can Zoom Only
1. If you do not want to enter pan mode when pressing down on the middle
mouse wheel (so you can use the middle mouse button only for
zooming), click Tools>Customize and then click the Viewport tab. The
Viewport pane on the Customize dialog box appears as shown below.
2. Clear the Enable middle mouse button viewport dragging (overrides

function assignments) check box and click OK. Now you can use the
middle mouse button for zoom, whether or not you press down on the
middle mouse button.
20
To Print
You can print while in model mode or layout mode. This procedure continues in
layout mode from the previous procedure. The open model appears in the viewport
as shown below.
You have control over several print options. But you can use default settings to do
a simple print operation:
1. Click File>Print. The Print dialog box appears, as shown below.
2. Click the Print button. The Print/Plot Setup dialog box appears, as
shown below, with default settings.
21
3. Click OK. Two boxes appear in the viewport, as illustrated in the figure
below. In the figure, one of these is labeled Model Box. It does not
move and surrounds the geometry. The other box, called Printed-Page
Box in the figure, moves with the mouse. A cross-shaped pointer is in
the center of the Printed-Page Box.
4. Using the mouse, and the cross-shaped pointer as a guide, ensure that the
Printed-Page Box completely surrounds the model geometry, and then
click. All geometry is printed.
22
To Print a Region
You can print only a region of the model and control where that region appears on
the printed page. You do this by positioning the Printed-Page Box where desired
over the Model Box. For example, as illustrated below, you can print only the
front view of the model so that it appears in the top-right corner of the printed
page.
1. Click File>Print. The Print dialog box appears.

2. Click Print. The Print/Plot Setup dialog box appears.
3. Accept the defaults and click OK. The two boxes appear in the viewport
(the Model Box and the Printed-Page Box).
4. Using the mouse, move the Printed-Page Box so that the front view of
the model is located at the top-right of the Printed-Page Box, as shown
in the figure above.
5. Click. Print occurs. Only the front view appears on the printed page, and
it is located at the top right.
To Change Size of Region or Whole Model on Printed

Page
In To Print a Region, you printed only a region of the model geometry. You can
also control how small or large the region (or whole model) appears on the printed
page:
1. Click File>Print. The Print dialog box appears.

2. Click Print. The Print/Plot Setup dialog box appears.
23
3. Select the Specify region option. The X and Y Size fields become
available. Next, you reduce the size of the model in the viewport (that is,
in the Model Box).
4. Type 136 in the X mm field and 104 in the Y mm field, as shown below,
and click OK. (The X in and Y in fields change to their corresponding
values after you click OK.)
The Model Box (and the geometry inside of it) decreases in size. They
take up less area in the Printed-Page Box.
5. As you did in To Print a Region, move the Printed-Page Box so that the
front view of the model is located at the top-right of the Printed-Page
Box.
6. Click. Only the front view appears on the printed page but it takes up
less area than it did in To Print a Region, as illustrated below.
24
For explanations of additional options on the Print/Plot dialog box, see

the online Help.
To Manipulate Views Further

In To Pan and Zoom you manipulated the view of the model. Now you practice
several additional ways to manipulate the view: View>Zoom>Autoscale,
View>Zoom>Half, View>Display, View>Rotate and View>Render. This
procedure also illustrates how to change the color of faces (surfaces) for better
view. First, you change from layout mode to model mode.
1. Click Layout>Layout Toggle to switch to model mode. The block
appears in the viewport but is too small, as shown below.
2. Click View>Zoom>Autoscale (or press CTRL+A). The block fills the

screen. In the next step, you decide to make it fill about half the screen.
Note: Sometimes view manipulation causes the model to disappear (to go

off-screen). In this case, use the desired View>Zoom selection, like
View>Zoom>Autoscale (CTRL+A or Autoscale button), to restore the
view.
3. Click View>Zoom>Half (or press CTRL+H). The model appears about

half the size it was.
4. Right-click the model and select Display Views>7: Isometric View.
The isometric view of the model appears, as shown below.
25
5. Click View>Render>Hidden Lines Dashed (or press SHIFT+3, or

click the Render HLD button on the toolbar). The model appears, as
shown below.
But the model is stationary. You want to rotate it at will.

6. Click View>Rotate>Dynamic (or press ALT+SHIFT+V or click the
Rotate button on the toolbar). Now, the model rotates dynamically, as
you click and move the mouse.
Note: You can exit the dynamic-view mode by pressing ESC. Then, the
model remains fixed in its last view position (as shown in the example
below), unless you reissue View>Rotate>Dynamic.
26
7. Right-click the model and select Display Views>7: Isometric. The view
returns to its original isometric view. Now, you want to color some of
the faces (surfaces) of the model so you can distinguish its faces better.
But you cannot display different face colors in the current view (HLD:
Hidden Lines Dashed).
8. Click View>Render>Smooth Shaded (or press SHIFT+5).
9. Click Edit>Entities>Set Face Color. The Change the Color of Faces
dialog box appears, as shown below. Notice on this dialog box that you
can change the color of individual faces using a Color Dialog Box or
Face of a solid. (You use the Face of a solid method when you want to
copy the color of an existing face.)
10. Ensure that the Color Dialog Box option is selected and click OK. The
Color dialog box appears.
11. Select the desired color and click OK. The prompt in the Conversation
Bar asks you to select the faces to be changed.
12. Click the top face (surface) of the model.
13. Right-click and select Accept. The color of the top face changes to the
color you specified and the Change the Colors of Faces dialog box
reappears.
14. Repeat steps 10 through 13 for the front face and the right-side face.
27
15. Click Cancel on the Change the Colors of Faces dialog box. The
model appears as shown below, but with your colors.
In the next step, you decide you want to see the hidden lines and,
simultaneously, see the different colors of the faces.
16. Click View>Render>All Edges. The model appears similar to that
shown below. The surfaces have the desired colors and the hidden lines
are visible.
Note: The hidden lines may not show through, if you chose a dark face
color.
28
To Inspect the Model with Different Views

1. While holding down the ALT key, on the keyboard, press in sequence 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. You see the different views of the model, and all is
well.
2. If you are going to save the model in the next step, for the sake of
preferred appearance only, press ALT+7 to return to the isometric view
and then press CTRL+H.
3. As desired, either click File>Save As and name the file as you choose,
or click File>Close. (This model is not used in the subsequent tutorials.)
To Move or Edit Entities

An entity is a generic term that refers to anything placed on the viewport. So, for
example, it can refer to an element of geometry like an arc, a line or a block. Or, it
can refer to a dimension or a note.
Notice the Generic Move and Generic Edit buttons on the toolbar, as shown
below.
You can use these buttons to move one entity or edit one entity in the viewport,
whether in model mode or layout mode.
Note: You can also move multiple entities simultaneously. In layout mode, you can do
this after associating (tagging) an entity to another entity, using the Layout>Tag to
Instance function. For details, see Tag to Instance plus the various Transform
functions (such as Transform>Delta>Move) in online Help.
Moving an Entity
To illustrate the use of this command, switch to layout mode by pressing
ALT+SHIFT+L. Then proceed with the steps below.
1. Click the Generic Move button. The Conversation Bar asks you to
select the entity you want to move.
2. Click the desired entity in the viewport (for example, click a dimension),
and release.
3. Move the entity where desired.
4. Click Esc on the Conversation Bar to exit the Generic Move
command.
29
Editing an Entity
1. Click the Generic Edit button. The Conversation Bar asks you to
select the entity you want to edit.
2. Click the entity (for example, click a dimension). The respective dialog
box for that entity appears, allowing you to modify the entity.
3. Configure the dialog box as desired, and click OK. (For example, if you
clicked a dimension, the Detail Change dialog box appears. Click the
Format tab and change the Char Height to 1, and click OK.) The entity
changes.
4. Click the Esc button to exit the Generic Edit command.
30
CREATING 2D
WIREFRAME 3
GEOMETRY
In this chapter, you create two-dimensional geometry of a part named Linkage
Bracket. The chapter explains how to
Determine the Requirements of the Linkage Bracket
Create the Top View of the Linkage Bracket
Create the Right-Side View of the Linkage Bracket
Compare the Model with the Requirements Drawing
If you are a first-time user of KeyCreator, this tutorial will take you up to two
hours to complete.
Once you complete the 2D geometry, and save it as a .ckd (KeyCreator) file, the
next chapter uses it to create a 3D (a solid) of the Linkage Bracket. (But you have
the option of using a supplied version of this file for Chapter 4, if desired.)
To Determine the Requirements of the Linkage

Bracket
Assume that your companys Engineering Department has provided you with the
isometric sketch below. The sketch is a requirements drawing. It provides you
with all of the 2D dimensions you need. The portion of the sketch at the lower left
is the top view of the part and that at the top right is its right-side view. (The axis
indicator on the sketch, showing XC, YC and ZC axes, is explained subsequently.)
31
Requirements Drawing
32
Chapter 3: Creating 2D Wireframe Geometry
To Create the Top View of the Linkage Bracket

This consists of the following subprocedures:
To Set CPlane and Display View of Top View
To Create All Vertical Lines of Top View
To Create All Horizontal Lines of Top View
To Trim Lines of Top View
To Create All Fillets of Top View
To Set CPlane and Display View of Top View

Three-dimensional physical objects extend (are oriented along) as many axes. By
convention, the three axes are called the X, Y and Z. The three axes together
constitute the coordinate system. The image of the coordinate system shown
below that can appear in the viewport is called an axis indicator or gnomon. The
point where the three axes intersect is called the origin.
In KeyCreator, two kinds of axis indicators are World and construction plane
(CPlane). CPlane is a user-defined coordinate system that allows you to work
locally on a part. For example, in the design of a door on an aircraft carrier, you
could set a CPlane coordinate system. Its origin is the starting point of the door
construction. All parts (entities) of the door are built from and measured from the
CPlane origin. The coordinate system for the entire aircraft carrier is the world
coordinate system. The CPlane for the door can be oriented as desired but is
always relative to the world coordinate system.
You have the option of displaying world and CPlane axis indicators on the
viewport (Tools>Options>Display). You can place the axis indicator on the
model itself or place it on a corner of the viewport. The figure above illustrates a
world axis indicator. As shown below, the CPlane axis indicator has a C label
(called CP on the status bar).
KeyCreator also allows you to specify the display view (called DV on the status
bar). This is the view of the model from which you are watching your construction
on the monitor. The display view need not be the same orientation as the CPlane.
But in this tutorial, you make it the same. The result is that, as you construct the
top view of the Linkage Bracket in the following steps, you are looking down at
the top of the model.
33
1. Open KeyCreator. The workspace appears.

2. Select Tools>Options>Display. The Display pane of the Set
Configuration Options dialog box appears, as shown below. Notice the
various check boxes for displaying the axis indicators (the check boxes
that begin with Display).
3. Of the display axis indicator check boxes, ensure that only Display
CPlane axis indicator in model is selected.
4. Accept all other settings on this dialog box and click OK.
5. Select View>Construction Plane>Set Construction Plane (or press
CTRL+K). The Position Menu appears in the Conversation Bar as
shown below. A field appears beside the prompt. The prompt asks you
to enter the construction plane number or select it from a menu. (The
menu in mind is that which appears when you click the List button).
34
6. Click the List button and select 1 from the drop-down menu, as shown
below. (Instead, you could have typed 1 in the field beside the prompt
on the Conversation Bar.) By selecting 1, you are telling KeyCreator
that the plane of the part you are creating is the top view.
7. Click OK. The CPlane axis indicator appears in the middle of the
viewport. Also, CP=1 (meaning CPlane is top view) appears on the
status line near the lower right of the screen. The CPlane origin is the
starting point from which KeyCreator will construct and measure every
entity of the Linkage Bracket. This axis indicator remains displayed
where you see it, due to your selection in the previous step.
8. Select View>Display View (or press ALT+V). The Position Menu
appears and a prompt asks you to enter the display view number or
select it from a menu.
9. Click the List button and select 1.
10. Click OK. The display view is the top view, the same as the CPlane, and
DV=1 (meaning display view is top view) appears on the status line.
To Create All Vertical Lines of Top View

Vertical line in this tutorial refers to a line on the requirements drawing that is
parallel to the Y-axis of the CPlane axis indicator. That drawing has four vertical
lines. This becomes clear as you proceed with the steps below.
Note: Dimensions are shown in millimeters, and decimal points are shown
as commas. If desired, you can select different options with
File>Properties>Units/Tolerances>Construction Units and
Detail>Settings>Settings>Representation>Decimal Point.
1. Click Create>Line>Vertical. A vertical line appears in the viewport

attached to the pointer. As you move the pointer, the vertical line moves
with it. Also, as shown below, the Position Menu appears in the
35
Conversation Bar area of the workspace. A prompt asks you to indicate

the position where you want to place the vertical line.
2. Click the Key In button. XC=, YC= and ZC= fields appear, as shown
below.
Note: If you make a mistake in the steps below, you can undo as many
times as desired by pressing CTRL+Z (or by clicking the Undo button on
the toolbar). You can redo as many times as desired by pressing
SHIFT+CTRL+Z (or by clicking the Redo button on the toolbar).
3. Type 0 in each of these fields, and press ENTER. (You can move the
pointer to a next field by pressing the TAB key.) KeyCreator places the
first vertical line through the origin (0, 0, 0) of the CPlane axis indicator,
as shown below.
This line is for the left-most vertical line of the requirements drawing, as
shown below.
36
According to the requirements drawing, the remaining vertical lines are

parallel to the first vertical line and are these distances to the right of the
first vertical line, respectively: 2.54, 29.94-2.54 and 29.94 mm. So the
next steps use these distances.
4. Click Create>Line>Parallel Distance. A field appears on the
Conversation Bar beside the prompt Enter the distance, as shown
below. This asks you for the distance to the next parallel line.
5. Type 2.54 in the field and press ENTER. The prompt on the
Conversation Bar says, Select the reference line or vector. This asks
you to select the line from which the 2.54 is to be measured, and the
direction from that line.
6. Click and hold the first vertical line in the viewport. The new line
appears next to the first line with a bidirectional direction arrow, as
shown below. Moving the pointer to the left or right highlights the arrow
in one direction or the other.
7. Without releasing the mouse button, move the pointer to the right so that
the bold direction arrow points to the right, and unclick. Then click. The
second vertical line appears as shown below.
37
8. Click the Backup button on the Conversation Bar. This keeps you in
the same command (Parallel Distance) and, therefore, allows you create
another parallel line.
9. Type 29.94-2.54 in the field and press ENTER. The calculation was made
showing 27.4.
10. Press ENTER again.
11. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
12. Click Backup.
13. Type 29.94 and press ENTER.
14. Repeat steps 6 and 7. You have created all of the vertical lines. The
model should appear as shown below.
15. Click the Esc button.

16. Click File>Save As. The Save As dialog box appears.
17. In the File name field type my_linkage_bracket.ckd.
18. Click Save.
38
To Create All Horizontal Lines of Top View

This procedure continues from Create All Vertical Lines of Top View. A
horizontal line refers to a line on the requirements drawing that is parallel to the
X-axis of the CPlane axis indicator shown in To Determine the Requirements of
the Linkage Bracket. That drawing has six horizontal lines. Notice that there is no
horizontal line on the origin of the CPlane axis indicator.
There are different ways of creating the six horizontal lines. One way is to create
one through the origin, use this line as reference for constructing the remaining
horizontal lines, and then delete this line. But in this procedure you start with the
lowest horizontal line, as shown below.
From observing the dimensions on the requirements drawing, you can see that this
line is located on the Y-axis, -31.0/2 mm from the CPlane origin.
Note: To make the model easier to see, zoom in (or out) as desired:
View>Zoom, or CTRL+Z for zoom in or SHIFT+CTRL+Z for zoom out.
Or, place the pointer at approximately the middle of the model and move
the mouse wheel.
1. Click Create>Line>Horizontal. The XC=, YC=, and ZC= fields

appear on the Conversation Bar.
2. Type 0 for XC, -31/2 for YC and 0 for ZC.
3. Press ENTER. KeyCreator calculates the value for YC and shows it in
the YC field (-15.5).
4. Press ENTER. The first horizontal line appears, as shown below.
39
5. Using the Create>Line>Parallel Distance command and the distances

determined from the requirements drawing, create the remaining five
horizontal lines. These five distance values, each measured from the first
horizontal line you just created, are
4.83
4.83+2.54
4.83+(21.35-2.54)
4.83+21.35
31
You used the Parallel Distance command in To Create All Vertical

Lines of Top View. If needed, look over the flowchart below, which
shows the process for using the Parallel Distance command.
40
Create>Line>Parallel Distance
Type the Distance Value
Press ENTER
Click and Hold the Reference Line
Move Pointer To Select Direction Arrow
Click
All Lines Y
Click Esc End
Created?
N
Click Backup
When done, the model should appear as shown below. Of course, the lines might
be closer together or further apart in your view, depending on how much you have
zoomed-in or -out.
41
To Trim Lines of Top View

This procedure continues from To Create All Horizontal Lines of Top View. The
trim begins with two trim-divide operations, then finishes with twelve trim-both
operations.
Note: If you make a mistake in the following steps, click Esc on the Conversation
Bar and the Undo button on the toolbar as applicable, and repeat the step.
1. Click Modify>Trim>Divide. Notice the figure below and the locations

of 1A, 1B, etc.
2. Click in sequence the lines identified below at the locations shown, in
this order: 1A, 1B, 1C and 2A, 2B, 2C.
42
The model appears as shown below.
3. Click Modify>Trim>Both.
4. Click in sequence the lines identified below at the locations indicated, in
this order: 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, 3A and 3B, 4A and 4B, 5A and 5B,
6A and 6B, 7A and 7B, 8A and 8B, 9A and 9B, 10A and 10B, 11A and
11B, 12A and 12B.
43
To Create All Fillets of Top View

1. Click View>Zoom>Autoscale. The model fills the screen.
2. Click Modify>Fillet>Trim. A prompt on the Conversation Bar asks
you to type the radius of the fillet in the field beside the prompt, as
shown below.
44
The requirements drawing shows two radii for fillets: 0.51 and 2.54 (To
Determine the Requirements of the Linkage Bracket).
3. Type .51 in the radius field and press ENTER. The prompt asks you to
indicate the first fillet entity.
Note: In the next step, you must stop clicking at 4B, though the figure
below shows up to 8B.
4. Click the lines in the model in the order identified in the figure below,
but stop at 4B: 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, 3Aand 3B, 4A and 4B. (That is,
first click 1A, then 1B, then 2A, then 2B, etc., ending at 4B.)
Fillets of 0.51 mm appear at these locations.

5. Click the Backup button on the Conversation Bar. The radius field
appears again.
6. Type 2.54 in the radius field and press ENTER.
7. Now, click the lines 5A and 5B, 6A and 6B, 7A and 7B, 8A and 8B.
Fillets of 2.54 mm appear at these locations. The model now appears as
shown below. This completes the construction of the top view.
8. Click Esc button on the Conversation Bar to exit the fillet-trim mode.
9. Click File>Save.
45
To Create the Right-Side View of the Linkage

Bracket
This consists of the following subprocedures:
To Set CPlane and Display View of Right-Side View
To Create All Vertical Lines of Right-Side View
To Create All Horizontal and Slanted Lines of Right-Side View
To Create Arc, Circle and Tangent Lines of Right-Side View
To Trim Lines of Right-Side View and Add Final Fillet
To Compare Model with Requirements Drawing
To Set CPlane and Display View of Right-Side View

1. Click View>Construction Plane>Set Construction Plane. The
Position Menu and a field appear on the Conversation Bar.
2. Click the List button. The CPlane Selection List dialog box appears.
3. Select 2: Front CPlane and click OK. The model appears as shown
below.
The CPlane now is set at Front CPlane. But the display view still is set
at Top View. So, the XC-axis points to the right, YC points out at you,
and ZC points down. Next, you change the display view to be the same
orientation as the CPlane.
4. Click View>Display View. The Position Menu and a field appear on
the Conversation Bar.
5. Click the List button and select 2:Front View.
6. Click OK. The model appears as shown below. XC points to the right,
YC up and ZC out at you.
46
To Create All Vertical Lines of Right-Side View

The first vertical line that you construct in this procedure is identified in the figure
below. According to the measurements on the requirements drawing (To
Determine the Requirements of the Linkage Bracket), this line starts 6.45 mm
above the top view plane and extends for 23.37 mm. Since you selected the Front
CPlane in the previous procedure, this is along the YC axis.
Note: In this procedure, use the View>Zoom selections as desired to adjust the view.
1. Select Create>Line>Endpoints. The prompt on the Conversation Bar

asks you to indicate the start position.
2. Ensure that the Key in button is clicked. The XC, YC and ZC fields
appear beside the prompt.
3. Type 0, 6.45 and 0 in the XC, YC and ZC fields, respectively, and press
ENTER. An X appears on the model as the starting point of the vertical
line, and the prompt on the Conversation Bar asks you to indicate the
end point.
4. Type 0 for XC, 6.45+23.37 for YC and 0 for ZC.
5. Press ENTER. The 6.45+23.37 calculation appears in the YC field
(29.82).
47
6. Press ENTER. The first vertical line appears, as shown below.
7. Click Create>Line>Parallel Distance. The prompt asks you to enter

the distance.
8. Type 29.94 in the field beside the prompt, and press ENTER. The prompt
asks you to select the reference line and vector (that is, direction).
9. Click and hold the first vertical line that you just created, move the
pointer to the right so that the bold direction arrow points to the right,
and unclick. Then click. The second vertical line appears as shown
below.
This second line is for the line on the right-side view indicated below.
You will clip the second line to make it the smaller size.
48
You are not sure if the remaining vertical line is parallel to the two
you just created. So do nothing with it at this time.
To Create All Horizontal and Slanted Lines of Right-Side

View
1. Ensure that the Toggle Position Snap and Toggle End buttons on the
Position Snap Bar are active. As shown below, they are inactive when
there is no box outline around them, and active when there is.
2. Click Create>Line>Endpoints.
3. Click the Cursor button in the Conversation Bar. The prompt asks you
to indicate the start position.
4. Click the top of the first vertical line. An X appears on the model. This
tells KeyCreator to draw a line from point X.
Note: In the next and other steps, sometimes a line is attached to and
moves with the pointer. This is normal.
5. Click the Offset button. The prompt asks you to indicate the offset
origin.
6. Click the top of the first vertical line again. (Due to the fact that the
Toggle End button is active, it is not necessary to place the pointer
49
exactly over the X.) This tells KeyCreator to draw a line a distance (a
delta offset) from the X. The prompt asks you to enter the delta offset in
the provided dXC, dYC and dZC fields. (The d stands for delta
offset.)
7. Based on the requirements drawing, type 21.39 in dXC, 0 in dYC and 0
in dZC.
8. Press ENTER. The model appears as shown below.
9. Click Backup and then ensure that the Cursor button is pressed. The
prompt asks you to indicate the start position.
10. Click the end (right-most point) of the horizontal line you just created.
11. Click the Offset button and click the end of the horizontal line again.
The dXC, dYC and dZC fields appear.
12. Type 29.94-21.39 in dXC, -2.34 in dYC, and 0 in dZC.
13. Press ENTER. The calculation appears in the dXC field (8.55).
15. Click Create>Line>Parallel Distance. A prompt asks you to enter the

distance in the provided field.
16. Type 6.51 and press ENTER. The prompt asks you to select the
reference line and vector.
17. Click and hold the top horizontal line on the model.
18. Without releasing the mouse, move the pointer down so that the bold
direction arrow points down, and unclick. Then click. The model
appears as shown below.
50
To Create Arc, Circle and Tangent Lines of Right-Side

View
1. Click Create>Circle>Center/Radius. The prompt asks you to enter a
radius in the provided field.
2. Type a radius of 8 and press ENTER. The prompt asks you to enter the
center.
3. Click the Offset button. The prompt asks you to indicate the offset
origin.
4. Click the starting point of the first (left-most) vertical line, as shown
below.
The prompt asks you to enter data offset in the dXC, dYC and dZC
fields.
5. Type 15.94 for dXC, 6.86 for dYC, and 0 for dZC.
6. Press ENTER. The model appears as shown below. You will clip this
big circle to form an arc. But now you create the small circle shown in
the requirements drawing.
51
7. Click the Backup button twice. The prompt asks you to enter the radius.
8. Type 2.5 (half of the 5.0 mm diameter of the small circle indicated on
the requirements drawing).
9. Press ENTER. The prompt asks you to indicate the offset origin.
10. Click the top of the first vertical line (left-most vertical line). The dXC,
dYC and dZC fields appear.
11. Type 15.94 in dXC, -11.69 in dYC, and 0 in dZC.
13. Click Create>Line>Tangent/Position. The prompt asks you to indicate

the tangent entity.
14. Click the lower portion of the big circle. The prompt asks you to indicate
the reference point.
15. Click the starting point of the first vertical line, as shown below.
52
16. Click the Esc button. The model appears as shown below.
17. Click Create>Line>Tangent/Perpendicular. The prompt asks you to

indicate the tangent entity.
18. Click the right-hand portion of the big circle. The prompt asks you to
indicate the perpendicular entity.
19. Click the horizontal line indicated below.
53
To Trim Lines of Right-Side View and Add Final Fillet

1. Click Modify>Trim>Both.
2. Click in sequence the lines identified below: 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, 3A
and 3B.
Now you trim the big circle to make it an ark.

3. Click Modify>Trim>Double.
4. Click in sequence the lines indicated below: 1, 2 and 3.
54

According to the requirements drawing, you need to add a fillet with a
radius of 1.52 mm at the location shown in the figure below. (The
numbers 1Aand 1B in the figure are for your reference in the next step.)
6. Click Modify>Fillet>Trim. The prompt asks you to enter a radius of

the fillet in the provided field.
7. Type 1.52 in the field beside the prompt.
8. Press ENTER. The prompt asks you to indicate the first fillet entity.
9. Click line 1A shown in the above figure. The prompt asks you to
indicate the second fillet entity.
10. Click line 1B. The model appears as shown below.
55
To Compare Model with Requirements Drawing

Now you make a visual comparison between the model and the requirements
drawing. If there are differences, you can fix these. The isometric requirements
drawing is shown below.
The steps below first change the CPlane and the display view of the model to be
the same as the requirements drawing.
1. Change the CPlane of the model to Top CPlane by pressing CTRL+1 (or
click View>Construction Plane>Set Construction, type 1 in the
provided field on the Conversation Bar, and then press ENTER). The
axis-indicator displayed on the model changes to the Top CPlane axis
indicator, as it is on the requirements drawing.
2. Change the display view of the model to isometric by pressing ALT+7.
56
The right-side view on the model appears to be at the 0 point on the YC

axis (YC=0). On the requirements drawing, it is not at YC=0. Assume
that you have been given the information on the requirements drawing
that the right-side view is offset 16 mm (YC=16). So you have to move
it the 16 mm along the YC axis.
3. Change the display view back to the front view by pressing ALT+2 so
that you can do the selection operation in step 5 below.
4. Click Transform>Delta>Move. The prompt asks you to select the
entity to XForm (that is, the geometry to transform).
5. As shown below, select the entire right-side view using your mouse by
dragging a box around the entire right-side view and releasing. After you
release, the box disappears.
6. Click the Accept button. The prompt asks you to indicate the delta
values in the provided dXC, dYC, and dZC fields.
7. Return to the isometric view by pressing ALT+7.
8. Type 0 for dXC, 16 for dYC, and 0 for dZC.
9. Press ENTER. The right-side view moves to the desired location. The
model now looks like the requirements drawing, as shown below.
57

11. Press CTRL+S to save the model.
You have successfully constructed the 2D geometry according to the requirements

drawing. In the next chapter, Creating a Solid Model, you make this into a solid.
58
CREATING A
4
SOLID MODEL
In this chapter, you assemble four parts to construct the Clamp Assembly, the
finished product. The chapter explains how to
Finish the Linkage Bracket
Create the L-Bracket
Import the Linkage Assembly and Retainer Pin
Finish the Clamp Assembly and Provide It to Production
If you are a first-time user of KeyCreator, this tutorial will take you up to three
hours to complete.
Assume the figure below is a rough hand-drawn sketch you were given. It shows
the Clamp Assembly mounted and illustrates how it is used.
59
The four parts of the Clamp Assembly are the

Linkage Bracket
L-Bracket
Retainer Pin
Linkage Assembly
As indicated in the next figure, you finish the Linkage Bracket from the geometry
you constructed in Creating 2D Wireframe Geometry (or use the supplied
linkage_bracket.ckd). You will build the L-Bracket. You will import the other two
parts (linkage_assembly.ckd and retainer_pin.ckd) into the geometry with the correct
orientation and location.
Linkage Assembly
(Supplied in
Linkage_assembly.ckd)
Linkage Bracket
(To Be Finished)
L-Bracket Retaining Pin (4)
(To Be Built) (Supplied in
retaining_pin.ckd)
The tutorial shows you how

To Finish the Linkage Bracket
To Create the L-Bracket
To Import the Linkage Assembly and Retainer Pin
To Finish the Clamp Assembly and Provide It to Production
60
Chapter 4: Creating a Solid Model
To Finish the Linkage Bracket

In this procedure, you create 3D geometry by using the existing 2D geometry. The
procedure explains how
To Make Levels
To Extrude the Top View
To Extrude the Right-Side View
To Use Only the Intersection
To Make the Large Hole
To Make Levels
1. If it is not already open, open my_linkage_bracket.ckd that you saved in To
Compare Model with Requirements Drawing, or with the File>Open
command in KeyCreator, open the supplied version of this file:
linkage_bracket.ckd. This file is located in the KeyCreator\CKD directory.
2. Rename the file my_clamp_assembly.ckd, using File>Save As. The
geometry appears as shown below.
To be able to work with the top view and the right-side view more
easily, in the next steps you place each in its own level. As shown, to do
this you must open the Level List Window, which now is hidden. It is
located on the workspace between the palettes and viewport.
3. Open the Level List Window by clicking and dragging it to the right, as
indicated below.
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4. Open the Level List Window enough so that it appears as shown below,
with column headings Level Name, LNum, Active and Displ
visible. (LNum stands for Level Number. Displ stands for Display.)
The model is one level. The Level Name column indicates that its name
is Unnamed and it is level number (LNum) 1.
5. Right-click Unnamed and select Rename from the drop-down menu
that appears.
6. Type top_view and press ENTER. The name of the level changes to
top_view, as shown below.
7. Right-click Model Mode Levels on the Level List Window and select
Create Level from the drop-down menu that appears. The Level
Properties dialog box appears, as shown below. Notice in the Level
Number field that the level you are about to create is level 2, as
expected.
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8. In the Level Name field, type rs_view and click OK. The Level List
Window now appears similar to that shown below. It lists the rs_view as
level 2 and indicates it is the active level and is displayed. The active
level is where any changes you make are applied. The displayed level is
the level whose geometry you currently see. Displ is selected for both
levels, which is what you want for the next steps. At this time, the
geometry only is on level 1. No geometry is on level 2. (You could
prove this by clearing both check boxes under Displ and then selecting
both again, one at a time.) Next, you move the right-side view to level 2.
9. Under Model Mode Levels, right-click the level to which you want to
move the models right-side view (that is, right-click rs_view under
Model Mode Levels), and select Move Entities to Level on the drop-
down menu that appears. The prompt that appears on the Conversation
Bar asks you to select the entities to move.
10. Click the Polygon button on the Conversation Bar.
11. Click as necessary at different points around the right-side view to select
it, as shown below. You can do this quickly, because you do not have to
make the last click precisely where you made the first click.
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12. Click the Accept button on the Conversation Bar.

13. Click the Accept button again. The top_view level has only the top view
geometry and the rs_view level has only the right-side view geometry.
Both are showing in the viewport because the check boxes under Displ
are selected for both levels.
Note: In the steps below, Make the level active means select the option
in the Active column of the Level List Window for that level. Display the
level means select the check box in the Displ column of the Level List
Window for that level.
64
To Extrude the Top View

1. Display only level 1. Only level 1 geometry appears, as shown below.
2. Make the top_view level active.

3. Ensure that the top CPlane is selected by pressing CTRL+1. CP=1
appears on the status bar (near the lower right of the screen).
4. Click Create>Swept Solid>Extrude. The Extrude Planar Profile
dialog box appears, similar to that shown below.
5. Select the Between Two Positions option and click OK.
65
Note: In the next step, all entities of the geometry are selected when all of
them are in the same selection color. If they are not all the same color,
repeat the step.
6. In the viewport, drag a box around the top_view geometry to select it.
20 selected on the Conversation Bar indicates you have selected the
whole top view successfully.
7. Click the Accept button on the Conversation Bar. The prompt asks you
to select the first of the two positions.
8. Display the rs_view level. Both the top_view and rs_view geometry
appear. You now want to extrude the top view upward to the height of
the right-side view.
9. Click the top-left corner of the right-side view, as shown below. An X
marks the point where you selected. The prompt asks you to indicate the
second position.
10. Click anywhere on the top-view. The top view extrudes and appears as
shown below.
11. To make the geometry easier to see, click Edit>Entities>Set

Transparency. The Transparency dialog box appears, as shown
below.
66
12. Since a transparency of 50 usually works well, in the Percent

Transparent field, type 50.
13. Ensure that the Entire Bodies option is selected and click OK. The
prompt asks you to select the solids to make transparent.
14. Click anywhere on the top view and then click Accept. The
Transparency dialog box appears again.
15. Click Cancel. The geometry appears as shown below.
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To Extrude the Right-Side View

dialog box appears.
2. Select Length and type 60 in the Length field.
3. Click OK. The prompt on the Conversation Bar asks you to select the
geometry you want to extrude.
4. To make it easier to select the right-side view, display only the right-side
level. (That is, clear the display check box for the top-view level.)
5. Select the right-side view by dragging a box around it. The prompt
indicates 10 selected.
6. Click Accept. The direction arrow appears.
7. Display the top-view again.
8. Move the mouse so that the direction arrow points toward you and click.
The geometry appears similar to that shown below. Notice that the right-
side view extruded to the left along the Y axis well beyond the
dimensions of the top view. To make the Linkage Bracket, you only
want the portions of each view where they intersect. You will use the
Boolean function to accomplish this.
68
To Use Only the Intersection

1. Click Modify>Boolean>Intersect. The prompt asks you to select the
first solid to intersect.
2. Select anywhere on the right-side view. The prompt asks you to select
the next solid to intersect.
3. Select anywhere on the top view.
4. Select Accept. The geometry appears as shown below.
5. Click Esc. In the next procedure, you drill a hole in this 3D Linkage
Bracket you have created.
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To Make the Large Hole
1. Click the Rotate button on the toolbar: .

2. Using the mouse, rotate the geometry (Linkage Bracket) so that it is
oriented similar to that shown below. This makes the face in which you
will place a hole easier to see.
3. Click the Esc button to exit the Rotate command.

4. Click Create>Solid Feature>Hole. The Drill a Hole into a Solid
dialog box appears, as shown below.
5. Configure this dialog as shown above except type 14 in the Hole

diameter field.
6. Click OK. The prompt asks you to indicate the face to be drilled.
7. Click the face indicated below. The prompt asks you to indicate the
center position of the hole.
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8. Click the Two Pos button on the Conversation Bar. The prompt asks
you to indicate the first of the two positions.
9. Press CTRL+A so you can see more clearly the two corners mentioned
in the next steps.
10. As shown below, move the pointer near the top left corner until an X
appears at the intersection and the tooltip says END, and then click. The
prompt asks you to indicate the second position.
11. As shown above, move the pointer near the lower right corner until an X
appears on the intersection and the tooltip says END, and click. The
geometry appears as shown below.
Note: If the hole does not appear as shown, probably you did not select
the correct points. In this case, click the Backup button or Undo button as
necessary and repeat steps 10 and 11 until the hole appears as shown.
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12. Click the Esc button to exit the command.
To Create the L-Bracket

This procedure creates the L-Bracket. Unlike the procedure you followed to create
the Linkage Bracket, this time you do not first create 2D geometry and then
extrude it into 3D. Rather, you build the L-Bracket in 3D, making it a mating
piece to the existing Linkage Bracket. The specific instructions you are given are
in the form of two sketches shown below. These constitute the requirements
drawing for the L-Bracket. The top sketch shows the L-Bracket with dimensions.
The lower sketch shows that you are to construct the L-Bracket as an attachment
to the Linkage Bracket.
Notice on the top sketch that you are not given an actual value for the X
dimension. Instead, you are only told that it is the same as the dimension labeled X
on the Linkage Bracket shown on the lower sketch. Also, for the large hole in the
L-Bracket, no dimension is specified. The only instruction you have is to make
this hole by extending the mating hole in the Linkage Bracket.
72
The procedure shows you how

To Create the First Leg of the L-Bracket
To Create the Second Leg of the L-Bracket
To Create the Fillets of the L-Bracket
To Create the Holes in the L-Bracket
73
To Create the First Leg of the L-Bracket

This procedure explains how
To Extrude by Specifying Length
To Extrude from a Face to a Face
To Extrude by Specifying an Offset from a Face
To Extrude by Specifying Length

Start by creating a new level for the L-Bracket, as shown in the steps below.
1. Right-click Model Mode Levels and select Create Level on the drop-
down that appears. The Level Properties dialog box appears indicating
this will be level 3, which is what you want.
2. In the Level Name field type L-Bracket and click OK. L-Bracket
appears in the Level List Window as level 3.
3. Click the Rotate button and orient the geometry so it appears as shown
below.
4. Click Esc. Next, you will turn off flow lines to give a clearer view of
lines you are going to select.
5. Click Edit>Entities>Flow Lines. The Change Flowlines dialog box
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6. Clear the Draw Flowlines check box and click OK. The prompt asks
you to select the bodies to change.
7. Click anywhere in the geometry and then click Accept.
8. Move the pointer anywhere over the geometry without clicking and then
move it off the geometry. The flow lines disappear so that the geometry

75
10. Type 4 in the Length field and click OK.

11. Click the four edges that constitute a closed perimeter of the face
through which you put the hole (in To Make the Large Hole). As needed
to see the face clearly, use Zoom in (CTRL+up arrow), Zoom out
(CTRL+down arrow), and the Rotate button. When doing the next step,
move the pointer near the line you are about to click and then use the
space bar repeatedly to find the correct line.
Note: To make the lines easier to see, you may want to change the color
of the selection line, possibly to red. Here is how to do this: Click
File>Properties>Color/Attributes. Click the down arrow beside the
Selection field, select the desired color (red), and then click OK.
The figure below illustrates some wrong line selections and the correct
line selection
76
12. Click Accept. The prompt asks you to select the direction vector.
13. Click the direction vector that points toward you. The extruded
geometry you created appears, attached to the previous geometry, as
shown below.
14. Click Esc.
To Extrude from a Face to a Face

1. Click the Rotate button and rotate the geometry so it appears as shown
below (except for the callouts).
77
2. Click Esc.
3. Click Modify>Solid Face>Extrude. The Extrude a Face of a Solid
dialog appears, as shown below.
4. Select the To Face option and click OK. The prompt asks you to select
the face from which to extrude.
5. Click Face 1 as shown in the geometry figure above. The prompt again
asks you to select the face to which to extrude.
6. Click Face 2 as shown in the geometry figure above. The extrusion
occurs.
below.
8. Click Esc.
9. Click Face 1 as shown in the figure above.
10. Click Face 2 as shown in the figure above. The extrusion occurs.
below.
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12. Click Esc twice.
To Extrude by Specifying an Offset from a Face

1. Click Modify>Solid Face>Offset Faces. The Offset Faces of Solids
2. In the Offset Faces of Solid field, type 4, and click OK. The prompt
asks you to select the face to extrude. (If necessary, use Zoom in (CTRL
+ up arrow) to see the top face more clearly.)
3. Click the top face of the geometry as shown below and then click
Accept. A preview of the extrusion occurs.
79
4. Click Done. The extrusion occurs.

below.
6. Click Tools>Verify>Entity.
7. Select the edge shown in white below.
The Verify dialog box appears as shown below. Notice the Length and
the reference designator next to the length value (@8 in this example).
80
8. In the Calculator field type L=@8, but replace the @8 with the reference
designator you see (which could be @8 or another value).
9. Click Next.
10. Click Modify>Solid Face>Offset Faces. The Offset Faces of Solids
dialog box appears, similar to that shown below.
11. In the Offset Distance field, type 40-L, and ensure that the Preview and
Modify Offset Interactively check box is selected.
12. Click OK. This gives you the difference of how much to offset the face.
This difference now appears in the Offset Distance field.
13. Click OK again. The prompt asks you to select the face from which to
offset the extrusion.
14. Select the lower face of the new L bracket, as indicated below, and click
Accept.
A preview of the extrusion appears, as shown below. (The check box on

the Offset Faces of Solid dialog box allows you to make this preview to
appear.)
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15. Click Done. The extrusion occurs. The geometry appears as shown
below.
16. Click Esc.
To Create the Second Leg of the L-Bracket

1. Click Edit>Entities>Set Transparency. The Transparency dialog box
2. In the Percent Transparency field, type 50, and then click OK. The
prompt asks you to select the entities you want to make transparent.
3. If necessary to see the entire geometry in the next step, press CTRL+H
once or twice.
4. Drag a box around the entire geometry to select it.
5. Click Accept. The geometry appears transparent and the Transparency
dialog box appears again.
6. Click Cancel.
below.
82
8. Click Create>Primitive Solid>Block. The Create Block dialog box

9. Select the Sketch and Use Current CPlane Z Axis check boxes.
10. Click OK. The prompt asks you to indicate the first corner position.
83
11. Click the corner indicated above. The prompt asks you to select the
opposite corner.
12. Click the line shown below. The Z field appears on the Conversation
Bar. This is the thickness of the L-Bracket which, according to the
requirements drawing, is 4 mm. (In the next step, as you move the
pointer, the preliminary items that appear in viewport move with the
pointer. This is normal.)
13. Type 4 in the Z field and click Accept. The geometry appears as shown
below. Now you make the two legs of the L one piece.
14. Click Modify>Boolean>Unite. The prompt asks you to select one leg of
the L.
15. Click either of the two legs.
16. Click the second leg of the L.
17. Click Accept. The two legs have become one solid, as shown below.
84
18. Click Esc.
To Create the Fillets of the L-Bracket

2. In the Percent Transparency field, type 50, and then click OK. The
prompt asks you to select the entities you want to make transparent.
3. Drag a box around the entire geometry to select it.
4. Click Accept. The Transparency dialog box appears again.
5. Click Cancel.
6. Click the Rotate button and rotate the geometry similar to that shown
below.
7. Click Esc.
8. Click Create>Solid Feature>Blend>Constant Blend. The Constant
Radius Edge Blend dialog box appears, as shown below.
85
9. Configure this dialog as shown above, except ensure that 8 is in the

Radius field.
10. Click OK. The prompt asks you to select the edge you want to be a
fillet.
11. Click the edge (line) indicated below.
12. Click Accept. The geometry appears as shown below.
13. Click the Backup button. The Constant Radius Edge Blend dialog box
appears again.
14. Type 12 in the Radius field and click OK.
15. Click the edge indicated below.
86
16. Click Accept. The geometry appears as shown below
17. Click the Backup button. The Constant Radius Edge Blend dialog box
appears.
18. Type 6 in the Radius field and click OK.
19. Click the two edges shown below.
87
21. Click Backup.

22. Type 8 in the Radius field of the Constant Radius Edge Blend dialog
box and click OK.
23. Click the two edges indicated below.
25. Click Esc.
88
To Create the Holes in the L-Bracket

In the L-Bracket, the requirements drawing requires you
To Create the Large Hole
To Create the Four Smaller Holes
To Create the Large Hole

below.
2. Click Esc. You are going to extend the existing hole in the Linkage
Bracket through the L bracket, thus cutting through the L bracket. The
Pocket function is appropriate for this.
3. Click Create>Solid Feature>Pocket. The Cut dialog box appears, as
shown below.
89
4. For Cut Direction, ensure that Forward is selected.

5. For End Conditions, ensure that Through ALL in the Forward field is
selected.
6. Click OK. The prompt asks you to select the solid body you want to
modify.
7. Click anywhere on the L-Bracket.
8. Click one of the two circular edges around the hole in the Linkage
Bracket (solid circular edge), as indicated below.
9. Click Accept. The direction arrow appears.

10. Move the mouse to select the direction arrow that points away from you
and click. The hole extends through the L-Bracket, as shown below.
90
To Create the Four Smaller Holes
Tip: While following the steps below, remember that you can use the space bar to
select lines. Also, watch the tooltips. If you do not drill the holes in the correct
location the first time, you can click the Esc and Undo buttons and repeat steps as
necessary.
1. Click the Rotate button and rotate the geometry so it appears similar to
that shown below.
2. Click Esc.
3. Click Create>Solid Feature>Hole. The Drill a Hold into a Solid
4. For the End Condition, ensure that Through hole is selected.

5. In the Hole diameter field, type 6, and click OK. The prompt asks you
to click the face where you want to drill the holes.
6. Click the face indicated below. The prompt asks you to indicate the hole
center position on the face.
91
7. Move the pointer over one of the two corners indicated below until the
CTR tooltip appears, and then click. The 6 mm hole appears whose
center is the center of the arc you just selected.
8. Repeat the previous step for the second hole indicated in the figure
above. The geometry appears as shown below.
There are buttons present on the Conversation Bar.

9. Click the Offset button. The prompt asks you to indicate the origin from
which the center of the hole you are about to drill is offset.
92
10. Click the edge (line) at the elbow of the L-Bracket where the tooltip says
END, as indicated below. This is the tangent line of the inside fillet of
the L-Bracket and the face on the L-Bracket that has the holes.
The prompt asks you to enter the offset and provides three fields for you
do so: dXC, dYC and dZC. The center of the hole is offset on the
CPlane by 6 mm along the X direction, 6 mm along the Y direction and
0 mm along the Z direction.
11. Type 6, 6 and 0 in the dXC, dYC and dZC fields, respectively.
12. Click Accept. The third hole appears, as shown below. You are still in
offset mode. The prompt asks you to indicate the origin of another hole.
13. Click the other end of the line you clicked in step 10, as indicated below.
93
Note: As you can see by looking at the CPlane axis indicator on the
geometry, in the next step the dYC value you type is -6, not 6. This is due
to the fact that the hole you are about to drill is in the minus Y direction.
14. Type 6, -6 and 0 in the dXC, dYC and dZC fields, respectively.
16. Click Esc.
94
To Import the Linkage Assembly and Retainer Pin

You are in the process of creating the Clamp Assembly. As explained on page 60
the Clamp Assembly consists of four parts:
Linkage Bracket
L-Bracket
Retainer Pin
Linkage Assembly
The geometry you have created up to this point consists of the Linkage Bracket
and L-Bracket combined as one part, and this geometry is in one KeyCreator file
(my_clamp_assembly.ckd). The remaining two parts (Retainer Pin and Linkage
Assembly) are supplied to you in separate KeyCreator files. But you have to
import them into the combined geometry. To do this, you must know
A point of reference (called base position in the Conversation Bar) on
each part you are going to import and the orientation of each of these parts
The corresponding point on the combined geometry where you are going
to place the base point of each imported part
Also, you must orient the combined geometry so that, when you import each part,
the part faces in the correct direction.
The next two procedures walk you through all of this:

To Import the Linkage Assembly
To Import the Retainer pin
To Import the Linkage Assembly

1. Keep my_clamp_assembly.ckd open from the last step you performed (To
Drill the Four Smaller Holes).
2. With the File>Open command, open the supplied file,
linkage_assembly.ckd. This file is located in the KeyCreator\CKD
directory. The Linkage Assembly opens.
3. Ensure that the Linkage Assembly is displayed in isometric view by
pressing Alt+7.
4. Right click anywhere on the Linkage Assembly and, on the drop-down
menu that appears, ensure that Construction Planes>5: Right view is
selected. The Linkage Assembly appears like that shown below. Notice
that the shaft is along the Z axis. When imported into
my_clamp_assembly.ckd, this shaft must protrude through the large hole in
the Linkage Bracket. So, the steps below ensure that the direction of the
Z-axis of the geometry in my_clamp_assembly.ckd is through that hole.
Also, when imported, the base position you are about to select on the
Linkage Assembly must be at the center point of that large hole in
my_clamp_assembly.ckd. Follow the steps below.
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5. Click Edit>Copy. Buttons appear on the Conversation Bar.

6. Click the All Disp button. New buttons appear.
7. Click All. The prompt indicates that all eight entities of the Linkage
Assembly are selected.
8. Click Accept. The prompt asks you to select the base position on the
Linkage Assembly.
9. Select and click the circle indicated below while the tooltip displays
CTR. The Conversation Bar becomes blank.
10. Click Window>my_clamp_assembly.ckd. The my_clamp_assembly.ckd

file appears in the viewport.
11. Right-click anywhere on the geometry of my_clamp_assembly.ckd and
select Construction Planes>5: Right View. The direction of the Z-axis
in the my_clamp_assembly geometry now is through the large hole.
below.
96
13. Click Esc.

14. Click Edit>Paste. The prompt asks you to indicate the base position
where you want to paste the Linkage Assembly.
CTR and the X appears.
The Linkage Assembly becomes part of the geometry, as shown below.
16. Click Esc.

17. Press CTRL+S to save the file.
18. Click Window>linkage_assembly.ckd and then close the Linkage
Assembly (File>Close). If a dialog box appears asking you to save the
file, click No. The linkage_assembly.ckd file closes and the
my_clamp_assembly.ckd file reappears.
97
To Import the Retainer Pin

1. Keep my_clamp_assembly.ckd open from the previous procedure (To
Import the Linkage Assembly).
2. After clicking the Rotate button, rotate the geometry and move the
mouse wheel to zoom in, so that the geometry appears as shown below.
Note that you want to place the retainer pin in this geometry in both
holes as indicated. (You will change the Z-axis orientation of the
geometry in a subsequent step.)
3. Click Esc.
4. With the File>Open command, open the supplied file retainer_pin.ckd.
This file is located in the KeyCreator\CKD directory. The retainer pin
appears as shown below. Its Z-axis is oriented along the length of the
retainer pin, which is what you want. (If desired, to see the retainer pin
better, click the Rotate button and rotate the retainer pin.)
5. Click Edit>Copy. Buttons appear on the Conversation Bar.

6. Click the All Disp button. New buttons appear.
7. Click All. The prompt indicates that the one entity of the retainer pin is
selected.
8. Click Accept. The prompt asks you to select the base position on the
Linkage Assembly.
98
CTR.
Select this circle as

base position
10. Click Window>my_clamp_assembly.ckd.

11. Right-click anywhere on the geometry of my_clamp_assembly.ckd.
12. So that the retainer pin is oriented correctly in this geometry, select
Construction Planes>2:Front View. The Z-axis now points through
the holes. Next, you will place the Retainer pin at the center of each
hole.
13. Click Edit>Paste. The prompt asks you to indicate the position where
you want to paste the Retainer pin.
14. Select the outer circle when the tooltip says CTR and the X appears, as
shown below.
15. Click.
16. Repeat the preceding two steps for the second hole. The geometry
99
below.
18. Click Esc.

19. Right-click anywhere on the geometry and select Construction
Planes>3: Back View on the drop-down menu that appears. The Z-axis
turns 180 degrees.
20. Repeat steps 14 through 16 above for the two holes on this side of the
geometry. The geometry appears as shown below.
21. Press CTRL+S to save. Next, you finish the design and hand it off to
your Production Department.
100
To Finish the Clamp Assembly and Provide It to

Production
Assume you were just informed that, to finish the design, you have to add a nut
fastener to the clamp assembly. After you do this, you inspect the design, and
provide a drawing to your companys Production Department so they can build it
as a product:
To Add a Nut Fastener and Inspect the Design
To Create a Drawing of the Clamp Assembly
To Modify the Design Due to a Requirements Change
To Add a Nut Fastener and Inspect the Design

1. Keep my_clamp_assembly.ckd open from the previous procedure (To
Import the Retainer pin).
3. Ensure that 0 is typed in the Percent Transparent field and click OK.
(The 0 setting means no transparency.) The prompt asks you to select
the solids to make transparent.
4. Drag a box around the entire geometry to select it and click Accept. The
Transparency dialog box appears again.
5. Click Cancel. None of the geometry is transparent, giving it a realistic
(solid) appearance. Now you add the nut.
below.
101
7. Click Esc.
8. Press CTRL+6. This changes the Z-axis to be along the shaft of the
clamp assembly.
9. Click Tools>Fastener>Nut. The Nuts dialog box appears, similar to
that shown below.
10. Ensure that ISO is selected in the Standard field and that the dialog box
is configured as shown above. (Ensure that the Solid option is selected
as the Rep.)
11. In the Size field, select M14, as shown.
12. Click OK. The nut appears and moves with the pointer. The prompt on
the Conversation Bar asks you to select the nut position on the
geometry.
13. Select and click the circle shown below with the tooltip CTR showing.
The nut is placed on the geometry as shown below.
102
14. Click Esc. Next, you inspect the finished geometry.

15. While holding down the ALT key, press in sequence on the keyboard, 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. You see the different views of the geometry, and all
is well. Now you change to layout mode to indicate desired dimensions
and to print the geometry.
16. Press ALT+7 to change back to isometric.
Note: Of course, if you find that you made mistakes, you could click the
Undo button as necessary and make the corrections now.
17. Press CTRL+S to save.
To Create a Drawing of the Clamp Assembly

1. Click Layout>Layout Dialog. The Layout Control dialog box appears,
like that shown below.
103
2. Ensure that the configurable settings on this dialog box are as shown,
except for the Title and Paper Scale fields, which you can keep as they
are on your actual dialog box.
Note: If you want to learn more about this dialog box, read the next
paragraphs. Otherwise, go to step 3.
In the next step, you click OK and proceed. But, it will prove helpful
in using this dialog box in the future to provide here an explanation of
the Instance Pattern field and the Add Isometric View check box.
These are powerful features that allow you to determine the views and
the locations of those views that will appear on the drawing, after you
select OK.
Instance in Instance Pattern means view. When you make a
selection in this field, a pattern of one or more buttons appears under it.
For example, selecting 3 instances/right-upper results in the button
pattern below.
104
The numbers on the buttons indicate the familiar KeyCreator Display

Views:
So, clockwise, 2 means Front View, 1 means Top View and 5 means
Right View. A 0 on a button means no view, but is there so you can
click it and select a view, if desired. Also, if you select the Add
Isometric View check box, the 0 changes to a 7 (for KeyCreator
Display View 7: Isometric View), as shown below.
When you click OK in the next step, the drawing that results has the
view pattern represented by the buttons. So, for the 3 instances/right-
upper selection, with Add Isometric View selected, the front view will
be at the lower left, the top view will be at the top left, the isometric
view will be at the top right and the right-side view will be at the lower
right.
Note that the button pattern shown on the dialog box includes a so-
called base button (base view), which has a heavy outline around it. In
this example, the 2 button is the base button. In the Instance Pattern
selection 3 instances/right-upper, the text after the slash (right-
upper) refers approximately to the geographical locations of the other
buttons around the base button. The term to the left of the slash (3
instances) refers to the total number of non-zero buttons minus any
added isometric. So in this example, the 3 refers to buttons 2, 1 and 5.
Also note that all buttons are customizable: You can click each button,
105
select a display view from the drop-down menu that appears, name the
new pattern in the Instance Pattern field, and click the Save button.
3. Click OK. The view changes from model mode to layout mode, as
shown below. This mode allows you to add dimensions and print the
desired views. Next, you add two dimensions, using the pointer.
4. Zoom in on the view at the top left so you can see it better. (See Zoom In
and Out.) In steps below, you select its left-most and right-most edges.
5. Click Detail>Quick Dimensions. The Conversation Bar appears. Its
Cursor button is pressed and the prompt asks you to select the first
position for the dimension.
6. Move the pointer just to the left of the left-most edge of the view while
the tooltip Solid Circular Edge appears, as shown below, and click. The
prompt asks you to select another position.
7. Move the pointer just to the right of the right-most edge of the view
while the tooltip Line appears, as shown below, and click. The
dimension line and dimension value is attached to the pointer.
106
8. Move the dimension line and dimension value to the desired location
and click. The dimension appears on the drawing similar to that shown
below.
9. Save but keep the file open. At this time, you would add any additional
dimensions, notes and labels according to your companys style
standards, and print a hard copy drawing. See Display Dimensions, Add
Notes and Labels and Print. Note that the electronic file you have
created of this design is powerful: It has stored dimensions of the
geometrys elements, whether or not you choose to display these
dimensions explicitly on the drawing. This allows users to display this
information as needed on the computer and print their own versions of
the drawing.
10. Provide the Production Department of your company with this
my_clamp_assembly.ckd file (and, if desired, a hard copy drawing) so they
can build the clamp assembly.
But proceed to the next procedure.
107
To Modify the Design Due to a Requirements Change

After you submitted the design of the clamp assembly, your company made a
requirements change. The dimension of 97.15 mm that you displayed in To Create
a Drawing of the Clamp Assembly must be changed to 94.15 mm by decreasing
the shaft length 3 mm.
1. Click Layout>Layout Toggle. The view changes from layout mode to
model mode.
2. Press CTRL+2. The construction plane changes to Front.
3. Press ALT+2. The display view changes to Front.
4. Press CTRL+A to autoscale the view. The view fills the viewport (if it
was not before).
5. Click Transform>Box Move>Window. The box in Box Move refers
to the box you draw in the next step.
6. Drag a box to select the shaft, as shown below. The X-Y-Z button
appears on the Conversation Bar and is pressed.
7. Click Accept. The dXC, dYC and dZC fields appear. Since you
selected the left end of the shaft, the 3 you type in the next step shifts
(moves) that end to the right, shortening the shaft. (If you were to type a
-3 in the next step, the end would shift to the left, lengthening the shaft.)
8. Type 3, 0 and 0 in the dXC, dYC and dZC fields, respectively.
9. Click Accept. The shaft length reduces in size by 3 mm.
Note: At this point, to reassure yourself that the shaft was shortened, you
could click the Undo button and then the Redo button to see the before
and after.
10. Click Layout>Layout Toggle. The view switches to layout mode. The
former dimension of 97.15 mm now is 94.15 mm.
11. Press CTRL+S to save.
12. Resubmit the my_clamp_assembly.ckd file to Production.
Congratulations! You have designed the clamp assembly and made the required
modification, completing the design.
108
CUSTOMIZING 5
KEYCREATOR
In this chapter, you learn how to customize the KeyCreator workspace and do
other KeyCreator customizations. As explained in Workspace Anatomy on page 2,
workspace refers to all of the elements of the application screen that you see
when KeyCreator is open. The default workspace is a streamlined interface. Its
purpose is to increase the efficiency at which you create your designs and
drawings. However, the content and placement of the workspace elements have no
effect on the content of the part. So, at your convenience, you can use a supplied
workspace or customize your own. A workspace is saved as a file. Its extension is
.wsp.
The display colors of the viewport portion of the workspace are saved in a
separate file. This is called a template file. Its extension is .ckt.
Also, you can assign shortcut keys and mouse buttons to commands and toolbars.
You can save the shortcut keys in a keyboard file. Its extension is .kbd.
This chapter shows you how to

Load a Workspace during Startup (Tools>Options>Startup)
Display or Remove Control Bars (Tools>Control Bars)
Customize Toolbars (Tools>Customize)
Dock or Float Workspace Elements (Mouse action)
Save Your Customized Workspace (File>Workspaces)
Create a Template To Customize Display Colors
(File>Properties>Color/Attributes; )
Assign Shortcut Keys and Mouse Buttons (Tools>Customize)
Autosave a File (Tools>Options>Saving)
Become Familiar with Additional Customizations
(Tools>Options>Saving, Tools>Customize>Toolbars and
Tools>Customize>Viewport)
109
To Load a Workspace during Startup

The first time you open KeyCreator, it loads the default workspace, whose
filename is Default.wsp. Once KeyCreator is open, you can designate which
workspace loads on startup. This can be a supplied workspace like Default.wsp, a
different supplied workspace file like Classic.wsp, for example, or your own
customized workspace file.
1. Click Tools>Options>Startup. The Startup pane of the Set

Configuration Options dialog box appears, as shown below.
2. In the Workspace File field, type or browse to and select the desired
.wsp file.
3. Click OK. The next time KeyCreator opens, it will load the workspace
file you specified.
110
Chapter 5: Customizing KeyCreator
To Display or Remove Control Bars on the

Workspace
1. Click View>Control Bars. The Control Bars drop-down menu

appears, as shown below, listing the KeyCreator control bars.
2. Click the desired control bar to make it appear (if it does not currently
appear) or disappear (if it does currently appear) in the workspace.
Many of the control bars are described in Chapter 1, as indicated below.
Modeling
This refers to the Modeling Palette. For an explanation, see Modeling Palette and
Advanced Modeling Palette on page 6.
Advanced Modeling
This refers to the Advanced Modeling Palette. For an explanation, see Modeling
Palette and Advanced Modeling Palette on page 6.
111
Machine
Machine Palette
Machine on the Control Bars drop-down menu refers to a palette on the
workspace, shown above. The Machine Palette contains buttons for each NC
command on the Tools>NC menu. Note that the NC commands are not available
in some KeyCreator licenses. For details on these commands, see the Machining
(NC) topic in KeyCreator online Help.
Status Bar
See Status Bar on page 9.
Tree Window
See Tree Window on page 7.
Conversation Bar
See Conversation Bar on page 4.
112
Classic Menu
Classic Menu
For the Classic Menu selection to be available,

1. Click Tools>Options>Misc.
2. Select Use Classic Menus.
3. Click OK.
Then you can click View>Control Bars>Classic Menu to make the Classic
Menu shown above appear.
The Classic Menu is for users who prefer the DOS look. When selected, the
following changes are made to your workspace:
The Classic Menu function window appears.
All Conversation Bar buttons are removed.
For details, see Classic Menu in KeyCreator online Help.
113
Settings Window
Settings
Window
This window allows you to change note and dimension settings on the fly while
you are constructing a part. The units in the fields are those presently selected in
the Construction Units field on the Properties dialog box
(File>Properties>Units/Tolerances).
NHeight = Note Height

Sets text height for all notes
NAspect = Note Aspect

Sets the character width-to-height ratio of the text in notes
NAngle = Note Angle

Sets the note angle for the font used for notes and labels
DHeight = Dimension Height

Sets the dimension text height
114
DAspect = Dimension Aspect

Sets the character width-to-height ratio of the dimension text
For more details, see the Settings Window in KeyCreator online Help.
Undo/Redo Management
See Undo/Redo Management Window on page 7.
Part Splitter
Levels Part Features

Tab References Tab
Tab
115
The Part Splitter window is a dialog box with tabs whose panes allow you to
manage levels, part references and features.
Levels Pane
Displays the level tree for the current part, allowing you to change level attributes.
For details about levels, see Levels in KeyCreator online Help.
Part References Pane

Displays the reference tree for an assembly, allowing you to edit the parameters
for references in the part. For details, see Using Assemblies in KeyCreator online
Help.
Features Pane
The Features pane of the Parts Splitter window provides a temporary placeholder,
a convenient means for editing. It displays the Create>Solid Feature>Discover
Features activities.
The following dialog appears when you click Create>Solid Feature>Discover

Features. For details, see Discover Features in online Help.
To Customize Toolbars
Toolbars provide convenient buttons that you can click to issue commands. Using
Tools>Customize, you can control what toolbars are displayed in the workspace
as well as what commands (buttons) they contain.
The number of toolbars you can display on the workspace is limited only by the
available space.
116
1. Click Tools>Customize>Toolbars. The Customize dialog box appears,

as shown below.
2. Click the New button. The New Toolbar dialog appears, as shown
below.
117
3. Type a name for the toolbar and click OK. The new toolbar appears in
the workspace, and its name is added to the Toolbars field on the
Customize dialog, as shown below.
New
Toolbar
(Blank)
4. Click the Commands tab on the Customize dialog. The Commands

pane appears similar to that shown below.
118
.
5. Scroll through the categories (command sets) and select the category
that has buttons you want to place on your toolbar. Its buttons appear in
the Buttons section of the dialog box.
6. One at a time, select a button and drag it onto your new toolbar. (Note
that you can also drag buttons onto the new toolbar from other toolbars
and from the History bar.)
7. Click OK on the Customize dialog and dock the new toolbar on the
workspace where desired.
Note: To remove a toolbar from the workspace, click

Tools>Customize>Toolbars and clear that toolbars check box. Also, note
that you can toggle a toolbar on and off: Right click the Menu bar or any
toolbar and select the toolbar you want to display or remove. Removing
all of the buttons from a custom toolbar, removes the toolbar from the
workspace and from the Toolbars field in the Tools>Customize>Toolbars
dialog.
119
To Dock or Float Workspace Elements

By clicking and dragging, you can move and redock several workspace elements,
or you can float them (hang in the workspace without an anchor to any one
position). For example, toolbars dock horizontally or vertically, depending on
whether they are docked to the side, or to the top or bottom of the workspace. The
Settings Window can be docked vertically on the left or the right of your screen.
To float a workspace element where it would normally be docked, press the CRTL
key while dragging the element.
While toolbars are floating, you can drag their edges to resize them. This allows
you to control whether the content of the toolbar is arranged in different number of
rows and columns, rather than all being in one row or column.
To Save Your Customized Workspace

1. Click File>Workspaces. The Workspaces drop-down menu appears, as
shown below.
2. Click Save Workspace As. The Save Workspace dialog box appears.
3. Name the file as desired but with a .wsp extension, and save it in the
desired folder.
4. If desired, make this the workspace that loads the next time you open
KeyCreator by following To Load a Workspace during Startup on
page 110.
To Create a Template To Customize Display

Colors
Templates use the .ckt extension and contain information set on the
Color/Attributes pane of the File>Properties dialog box, as shown below.
Note: The most common use for templates is to set the colors for new parts.
However, all data from the template is copied to the new part. So it can be used also
for setting up custom views, construction planes, levels, detail settings, or even
things like construction geometry that commonly used for creating new parts.
120
1. Click File>Properties>Color/Attributes.
2. Make the desired settings.
3. Click OK.
The changes you made are applied to the current active part. For example, if you
changed the top and bottom background color for model mode and your part is
displayed in model mode, you will see the change.
Once you have configured the settings on the Color/Attributes pane, you can
save them to a new template for use later:
1. Click File>Save As. The Save As dialog box appears.

2. As shown below, in the Save in field, select the CKT folder
3. Name the file in the File name field.
4. Select .ckt in the Save type field.
121
5. Click Save.
To construct a new part using the color/attributes of a particular template:
1. Click File>New by Template>Choose Template. The Select Template

for New Part dialog box appears, as shown below.
2. Select the desired template file and click Open. The color/attributes
settings of the selected template are in effect.
3. Construct the new part.
The previous procedure used File>New by Template>Choose Template to

construct a new part using a selected template. You can also use a selected
template for a new part by doing this:
1. Click Tools>Options>Misc. The Misc pane of the Set Configurations

Options dialog appears, as shown below.
122
2. In the New Part Template field, select the desired template.

3. Click OK.
4. Click File>New. A new file opens in KeyCreator. The color/attributes
settings of the selected template are in effect.
To Assign Shortcut Keys and Mouse Buttons

You can assign key combinations (called shortcut keys) to a command or toolbar,
so that pressing that key combination issues the assigned command or displays the
assigned toolbar. You can also assign the middle, right, extended 1 (ext 1) or
extended 2 (ext 2) mouse buttons to a command or toolbar, so that pressing that
mouse button issues the command or displays the toolbar. Ext 1 and ext 2
refer to the fourth and fifth buttons that some mouse devices have, an example of
which is shown below.
123
Ext 1
Ext 2
Right
Middle
(Left)
With keys, you can combine SHIFT, CTRL and ALT to create more assignments.
With mouse buttons, you can combine SHIFT and CTRL to create more
assignments.
Below are some examples of assigning keys and mouse buttons.
To Assign a Shortcut Key to a Command
1. Click Tools>Customize>Command. The Command pane of the

Customize dialog box appears, similar to that shown below.
124
2. In the Categories field, scroll to Modeling and, under Create, select

Lines. The Lines buttons appear in the Buttons section of the dialog.
3. In the Buttons section, select the first button, as shown below. In the
Description section of the dialog, this button is described as Create a
line by indicating endpoints. In the next step, you assign a shortcut key
combination to this.
125
Select this button.
4. Click in the Press new shortcut key field. The pointer is blinking in this
field.
5. Press ALT and, while holding down ALT, press L. ALT+L appears in
the Press new shortcut key field, as shown below. But under this field
there is text that indicates this key combination already is assigned to
another command.
126
6. Click the Clear Key button. The Press new shortcut key field is blank.
7. Click in the field again so that the pointer is blinking in it.
8. This time, hold down the CTRL key and press L. CTRL+L appears in
the field and no text underneath indicates CTRL+L is not used
elsewhere.
9. Click the Assign Key button.
You could click OK at this point, which would apply the assignment to the current
session. But before clicking OK, add other assignments by following the next two
procedures.
To Assign a Shortcut Key to a Toolbar

.
1. In the Categories field of the Tools>Customize>Command dialog box,
scroll down and select Toolbars. The Commands pane of the dialog
box appears as shown below. KeyCreator toolbars are indicated in the
Buttons section by the term T1, etc. As shown in the next step, you have
to use the Toolbars pane of this dialog to find out which of these terms
applies to a particular toolbar.
127
2. Click the Toolbars tab. The Toolbars pane appears as shown below.
Notice in the Toolbars field that each toolbar has a number associated
with it. These numbers correspond exactly with the T numbers on the
Commands pane.
128
3. Note, for example, that the Part Settings toolbar is number 4, and click
the Commands tab.
4. Click T4 in the Buttons section.
5. Click in the Press new shortcut key field so that the pointer is blinking
in it.
6. Hold down the SHIFT and ALT keys and press P. SHIFT+ALT+P
appears in the field.
Before clicking OK, continue with the next procedure to add another example
assignment.
To Assign a Mouse Button to a Command

1. In the Categories field, select Edit. The Edit buttons appear in the
Buttons section of the dialog box.
2. Click the Copy button in the Buttons section.
3. Hold down the SHIFT key and right click in the Press new mouse or
controller button field. SHIFT+RButton appears in the field.
5. Now click OK. The assignments you made in this and the previous two
procedures apply in the current KeyCreator session.
129
To Save the Assignments in a Keyboard File

The shortcut key assignments you made in the previous procedures were
automatically saved in the current keyboard file when you clicked OK. (A
keyboard file has the extension .kbd.) You can save the current assignments in a
new keyboard file, and make this new file the active file, by following the steps
below.

130
2. Click the Save button. The Save As dialog box appears and in its File
name field is the name of the keyboard file for the present session of
KeyCreator, as shown below.
3. In the File name field, specify the name of the existing or new
keyboard file in which you want to save the assignments you have
made.
4. Be sure that .kbd is selected in the Save as type field, and click Save.
To Load a Keyboard File during Startup

You can designate which keyboard file (.kbd) loads during startup.

Configurations Options dialog box appears, as shown below.
131
2. Click the Load button. The Open dialog box appears, as shown
below.
132
3. In the File name field, specify the keyboard file you want to load
when KeyCreator starts the next time.
4. Click Open. The Startup pane of the Set Configuration Options
dialog box appears again. The file that you specified in the previous
step appears in its KeyBoard File field.
5. Click OK.
To Autosave a File
This allows you to tell KeyCreator to save one or more copies of an open file
automatically in the folder you choose. This guards against your losing the
modifications of a file because you forgot to save it manually.
1. Click Tools>Options>Saving. The Saving pane of the Set

133
2. Select the Enable Automatic Timed Save of Modified Files check

box. The settings below this check box become available.
3. In the Amount of time between saves (minutes) field, for this
example, type 5. (Actually, you can type the desired number of
minutes between 5 and 60.)
4. Select the Save files in same directory as original file option.
5. Select the Keep only one generation at a time option. The pane
134
6. Click OK. You have told KeyCreator to autosave the file you have
open every 5 minutes automatically, if you modify the file since the
last autosave. You have also told KeyCreator to place the autosaved
file in the same folder where the open file is and to autosave only one
generation.
So, for example, if the open file is named x.ckd and is in the
KeyCreator\CKD folder, here is what will happen, if you modify the
file: At the first five minutes, which is Nov 28, 2006 at 10:23 AM, for
example, the file x-A200611281023.ckd appears in the KeyCreator\CKD
folder, in addition to x.ckd.
If, within the following five minutes, you do not modify x.ckd, x-
A200611281023.ckd remains in the folder. But if you do modify x.ckd
within this time, KeyCreator replaces x-A200611281023.ckd with x-
A200611281028.ckd, for example. Only one autosaved file appears in
the folder, because you selected the Keep only one generation at a
time option.
135
To Become Familiar with Additional

Customizations
You can do more to customize KeyCreator than what this chapter has explained
and illustrated. Notice the additional customizations that are highlighted below on
the Savings pane of the Set Configuration Options dialog box
(Tools>Options>Saving).
Notice also the highlighted areas below on the Toolbars and Viewport panes
(Tools>Customize>Toolbars and Tools>Customize>Viewport). For
explanations of these additional customizations, click the Help button on
respective pane.
136
137
This page is intentionally blank.
138
Index
2 C
2D geometry. See two-dimensional Calculator field, 81
geometry Change Flowlines dialog box, 74
Change the Color of Faces dialog box,
27
3 Char Height field, 30
3D geometry. See solid geometry clamp assembly. See solid geometry
classic menu, 113
Color dialog box option, 27
A comma and decimal point, 35
Constant Blend command, 85
about this guide, vii construction units. See dimensions
active layout, 8 control bars, 111
autosave, 133 conversation bar, 4
Autoscale command, 25 coordinate system. See axis indicators
axis indicators Copy command, 96
CPlane, 33 CPlane Selection List dialog box, 35
display options, 34 Create a New Label dialog box, 18
world, 33 Create a New Note dialog boxes, 15
X, Y and Z, 33 customization
XC, YC and ZC, 33 additional, 136
control bars, 111
B display colors, 120
more on Toolbars pane, 136
Backup button, 38 more on Viewport pane, 136
Between Two Positions option, 65 mouse buttons, 123
Block, 12 shortcut keys, 123
Block command, 12 toolbars, 116
Block dialog box, 12 Customize dialog box, 20
Box Move command, 108 customize viewport options, 20
Cut dialog box, 89
Cut direction option, 90
139
D G
decimal point and comma, 35 gnomon, 33
default toolbar, 4
dialog boxes
Block, 12 H
Change the Color of Faces, 27 Half command, 25
Create a New Label, 18 history bar, 8
Create a New Note, 15 Hole command, 70
Customize, 20 Hole diameter field, 70
Layout Control, 13 Horizontal command, 39
Print, 21 horizontal line, 39
Print/Plot Setup, 21
Set Configuration Options, 34
dimensions. See I
display colors, 120
Display CPlane and World axis Instance Pattern field, 104
indicators check boxes, 34 Intersect command, 69
display view, 33 ISO selection, 102
Divide command, 42
Draw Flowlines check box, 75 K
Drill a Hole into a Solid dialog box, 70
dXC, dYC and dZC fields, 108 Key In button, 36
Key In command, 15
KeyCreator
E CAD/CAM capabilities, 1
Entire Bodies option, 67 described, 1
entity, 29 file name extension, 31
Entity command, 80 layout mode, 11
Extrude a Face of a Solid dialog box, 78 model mode, 11
Extrude command, 65 workspace anatomy, 2
Extrude Planar Profile dialog box, 65,
75 L
Label command, 18
F Layout Control dialog box, 13
Face of a solid option, 27 layout mode, 11
files Layout Toggle command, 13
.kbd, 131 L-bracket, 72
.wsp, 109 Length field, 76
.ckt, 109 Length option, 68
Filled font check box, 18 Level List window, 61
Flow Lines command, 74 Level Name field, 63
Font field on Create a New Label dialog, Level Properties dialog box, 62
18 line style, 5
Format pane on Create a New Label line width, 5
dialog, 18 linkage assembly, 95
Forward field, 90 linkage bracket
Forward option, 90 right-side view, 31
top view, 31
linkage_assembly.ckd, 95
140
Index
linkage_bracket.ckd, 61, 95 Render command

Smooth Shaded, 27
Render commands
M Hidden Lines Dashed, 26
M14 selection, 102 requirements change, 108
machine palette, 112 requirements drawing, 31
menu bar, 4 retainer pin, 98
model mode, 11 retainer_pin.ckd, 98
mouse buttons, 123 roll, 8
Rotate command, 26
N
S
Nut command, 102
Nuts dialog box, 102 Selection Menu, 4
Set Configuration Options dialog box,
34
O Set Face Color command, 27
set limit, 8
Offset Distance field, 81 settings window, 114
Offset Faces command, 79 shortcut keys, 123
Offset Faces of Solid field, 79 simple model
Offset Faces of Solids dialog box, 79 block, 12
dimensions, 13
P inspection of different views, 29
moving or editing entities, 29
palette and advanced palette, 6 notes and labels, 15
Parallel Distance command, 40 panning, 19
Parallel Distance.command, 37 printing, 21
part settings bar, 5 view manipulation, 25
part splitter zooming, 19
levels pane, 116 Sketch check box, 83
part references pane, 116 solid model
Paste command, 97 adding a nut, 101
Pocket command, 89 creating a drawing, 103
position menu, 35 finishing, 101
Position Menu, 4 L-bracket, 72
position snap bar, 5 linkage assembly, 95
Print command, 21 linkage bracket, 61
Print dialog box, 21 modifying, 108
Print/Plot Setup dialog box, 21 retainer pin, 98
product name and version, 3 Standard field, 102
purge, 8 status bar, 9
Q T
Quick Dimension command, 14 T1, 127
Tansparency dialog box, 66
title bar, 3
R To Face option, 78
Radius field, 86 tree window, 7
related documentation, viii Trim>Divide command, 42
141
two-dimensional geometry defined, 2, 109

creating, 31 history bar, 8
requirements, 31 load, 110
right-side view of linkage bracket, 46 machine palette, 112
top view of linkage bracket, 33 menu bar, 4
palette, 6
part settings bar, 5
U position snap bar, 5
undo/redo management window, 7 settings window, 114
Unite command, 84 startup, 110
Universal Position Menu, 4 status bar, 9
Universal Selection Menu, 5 title bar, 3
UPM. See Universal Position Menu toolbar, 4
Use current CPlane Z axis check box, 83 tree window, 7
USM. See Universal Selection Menu undo/redo management window, 7
viewport, 6
workspace anatomy. See workspace
V
Verify dialog box, 80 X
Vertical command, 35
vertical line, 35 XC=, YC= and ZC= fields, 36
viewport, 6
Z
W Zoom command, 19
workspace using hotkeys, 20
advanced pallete, 6 using menu, 19
classic menu, 113 using middel mouse button, 20
classic.wsp, 110 zoom only (no pan), 20
conversation bar, 4
default, 110
142

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KeyCreator Getting Started Guide V6 English PDF

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What is KeyCreator used for?

What is KeyCreator used for?

What are the main components of the KeyCreator workspace?

What are the main components of the KeyCreator workspace?

KeyCreator

Kubotek Corporation and the program authors have no liability or responsibility to

KeyCreator is a registered trademark of Kubotek Corporation.

KeyCreator is based upon ACIS software. The following products are

Microsoft and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1

Workspace Anatomy .........................................................................................2

CHAPTER 2: CREATING A SIMPLE MODEL .................... 11

To Display Dimensions ....................................................................................13

To Add Notes and Labels ................................................................................15

To Pan the Model.............................................................................................19

To Zoom In and Out ........................................................................................19

To Inspect the Model with Different Views................................................... 29

To Move or Edit Entities................................................................................. 29

CHAPTER 3: CREATING 2D WIREFRAME GEOMETRY ...31

To Create the Top View of the Linkage Bracket .......................................... 33

To Create the Right-Side View of the Linkage Bracket ............................... 46

CHAPTER 4: CREATING A SOLID MODEL........................59

To Create the L-Bracket ................................................................................. 72

To Finish the Clamp Assembly and Provide It to Production ...................101

CHAPTER 5: CUSTOMIZING KEYCREATOR.................. 109

To Display or Remove Control Bars on the Workspace.............................111

To Dock or Float Workspace Elements .......................................................120

To Save Your Customized Workspace.........................................................120

To Create a Template To Customize Display Colors..................................120

To Assign Shortcut Keys and Mouse Buttons .............................................123

To Become Familiar with Additional Customizations................................ 136

Chapter 3 progresses beyond Chapter 2 to the more complex task of designing a

Related Documentation and Tip on Help

The CAD/CAM capabilities of KeyCreator allow mechanical design engineers to

The unique geometry-based foundation results in

History Bar View Toolbar

An example of the Position Menu is shown below. The Position Menu

An example of the Selection Menu is shown below. The Selection Menu

Part Settings Bar

Position Snap Bar

Modeling Palette and Advanced Modeling Palette

Undo/Redo Management Window

1 Lock icon 7 Current CPlane setting

13: Macro-record indicator (REC or PAUSE)

This chapter shows you how to

Note: For this tutorial, the international version of KeyCreator was

3. Ensure that the Key In check box is selected.

7. Click the Key In button. XC, YC and ZC fields appear in the

8. Type the number 0 in each of the XC, YC and ZC fields.

3. Click Detail>Quick Dimension. The drawing now is in dimension

Now you add notes and labels.

To Add Notes and Labels

2. Type Front View.

4. In the Font field, select Arial.

11. Click the Esc button on the Conversation Bar.

12. Select Detail>Notes>Label. The Create a New Label dialog box

13. Type This is the right-side view.

18. Click Cancel.

To Pan the Model