Using same Datum Letter more than once

[jwknecht]

Using same Datum Letter more than once

I thought that I was able to do this in earlier version (maybe), but the current version seems to prevent it.

I am trying to put datum "D" in more than one drawing view. But the software is thinking that it knows more than I do and is preventing me from using the "D" over again. It wants to change my "D" to an "E."

Anyone experience this and have a solution (or work around)? If there is not a solution, this is a problem (the software should not prevent the use of a Datum letter more than once).

 

[jwknecht]

Will someone check to see if this works the same way for them, please?

 

[krisz]

It doesn't let me do it either.

 

[jwknecht]

Thanks for checking and verifying this. I have already reported it, no response yet but it is a US holiday.

 

[rocksvold]

I just edited the text of the "E" datum and made it a (D). Yea, the box is bigger, but at least the point gets across. :?

 

[swertel]

I will concur that Alibre should not prevent the use of double-datuming. Although datums shouldn't be reused, it is often necessary to repeat the datum callout ON THE SAME SURFACE in a different view.

Perhaps Alibre can develop a way to assign a datum to a surface (model or draft) and then every time you place a datum callout onto that surface, it recalls the assigned nomenclature.

--Scott

 

[jwknecht]

When you try to change the letter to one that already exists, it turns the color red. This means to me that the program recognizes that the letter was already used, and is not allowing it. Simply, this needs to be changed in the code. I don't want the software to think it knows more than I do when it comes to annotating the drawing. I hope this is fixed in the next rev (seems very simple -- bug fix).

I agree with Scott that it would be nice if the software (future enhancement) would recognize a datum surface that was previously defined with a letter.

 

[krisz]

I believe the best practice is to assign all the Datums and tolerances in the model stage. That way you would be able to select a surface and assign a datum letter to it or an axis. The geometrical tolerances should be in the drafting area.

 

[jwknecht]

Here is the response from Alibre Support:

The reason why you can't have the same letter on a drawing is because the Datum
letters are tied to the Feature Control Frame tool, therefore only one instance
of the letter can exist. To get around the problem you would have to create your
own datum by creating it and then using the Note tool to insert the letter. I
will also submit an enhancement request so that you can overwrite the Feature
Control Frame tool and allow you to have more than one instance of the datum
letter. Hope this helps. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free
to contact me at any time and I will be glad to assist.

I am not sure if he meant that the note tool will allow alteration of the datum box, it will not (at least I could not get it to). But, I did find that if you put a period "." as the letter, you can then go back and insert a Note over the box. I can use this work around for now.

Let's get this fixed. Then, I agree 100% that model annotation is where we need to be heading. But, Alibre needs improvement in that area too. See my previous post. http://www.alibre.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1663&highlight=