Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire gives you the ability to create Simplified Reps, Display Styles, and Explode States on the fly using an object/action technique. This means you can build the representation as you work, eliminating the need to build the rep ahead of time. If you decide that you want to save the rep with the model for later use, you can do that too.

Display Styles. Let’s say you’re working on an assembly that has some external shields you’d like to view in a wireframe display so you can see into your design (see Figure 1), but you don’t want to turn the components completely off.  Follow these steps:

·          Select the components you would like to be shown as wireframe. Use your control key to select multiple objects.

·          Once the objects are selected, choose View from the tool bar and then Display Styles.

·          From the Display Styles fly out menu, select the desired display style to be applied (see Figure 2).

The model should now show the selected components in the wireframe display style (see Figure 3).

Simplified Reps. Now you may want to simplify the assembly by excluding some parts.  Follow these steps:

·          Select the part or parts you want to turn off.  Use your control key to select multiple objects. In this case, I’ll select the yellow bracket and the ignition switch from Figure 3.

·          Select Representation from the View pull down menu and Exclude from the Representation fly out menu (see Figure 4).  The result should be similar to what you see in Figure 5.

Explode States.  The last representation change we’ll make is to explode the handle from the assembly.

·          To do this, we don’t need to pre-select anything. We simply choose the View pull down menu and select Explode and then Edit Position from the fly out menu (see Figure 6).

·          Now you can explode the components, as you would like (see Figure 7). You can also add offset lines, if desired.

Saving “on the fly” information.  Now that everything looks the way you want, you can continue working on the design.  You may also decide that you would like this information saved with your assembly so that you can retrieve it later. To this point, everything has been created “on the fly” and none of the representations have been given names. Let’s take a look at how you can save this info for later use.

You may have noticed that each state we’ve created so far has been temporarily identified by the system by placing a (+) next to the representation name in the graphics area (see Figure 8).

To save the temporary states:

·          Open the View Manager and continue to work from there.

·          Start with the Style Tab first. Notice that the Master style has the same (+) sign next to it.

·          To save the temporary state, create a new Style state. Select the New button and give the state the appropriate name (see Figure 9).

·          Notice that the (+) sign is removed once a new state is created.

·          Repeat the naming steps for each of the states you have created.