Automating Designs

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bloudraak
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2020 3:05 am

Automating Designs

Post by bloudraak »

Is there a way to parameterize a design with Protocase Designer? I have a ton of computers, arbitrary in dimensions, and with nonstandard mounting arrangements for which I want to build mounting trays. Through Fusion 360 I was able to parameterize the layout as follows:
Layout.png
Layout.png (35.09 KiB) Viewed 4061 times
a,b,c,d are inferred from the clearance needed by fasteners or screw
e,f,g,h are inferred from the clearance needed by fasteners or screws (mostly to avoid interference with boards)
i,j,k,l are known exclusions needed by the board, for example, to attach cables and whatnot
m,n is the width and height of the computer itself
solid circles are fasteners
empty circles represent standoffs

I have these parameters in a YAML file and I'm able to write some Go, C#, or Python to generate the PDA files needed. I designed one such mounting tray from a flat panel and then looked at the PDA file in a text editor. I tried to draw the various boundaries on the flat panel but found that the values in the PDA weren't adding up.

Here's what it looks like (formatting is tad wonky)

Code: Select all

devices:
- name: Device 1
  width: 42
  height: 69
  margin:
  	top: 35
  	left: 0
  	bottom: 0
  	right: 0
  holes:
  - type: standoff
     size: m3
     point: 
        x: 2.5
        y: 20
  - type: standoff
     size: m3
     point: 
        x: 60
        y: 4        
    - type: standoff
      size: m3
      point: 
        x: 60
        y: 30  


There are about 60+ computers, so doing this by hand is going to take a very, very long time.

Is there any way I can use parameters to generate a mounting tray?

mpyne
Site Admin
Posts: 135
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2016 11:15 am

Re: Automating Designs

Post by mpyne »

Hello,

It's a possible feature in the future for sure. Honestly we have been thinking about just didn't hear a need for it yet.

Under the hood everything in Protocase Designer is parameterized we just don't have tools for doing it the UI. Well other than the properties panel but that only allows to edit specific parameters.

Unfortunately there is no way for a user to do this in the software yet.

We can make a custom template for you, for a fee.

Best Regards,
Matt

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