Rapidform Success » Novice

Tech Tip: The CTRL Key

Mike Tsang — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:00:09 +0000

Using the CTRL Key

While helping a customer with a support call the other day, I came across more proof that the developers are more clever than credited. As part of their strive to make sure the software is intuitive, a lot of the keyboard shortcuts used in one scenario, carry over to another. A great example is the use of the CTRL key.

The Tip

Did you know that the CTRL key can help you duplicate an entity in a speedy fashion?
Select an entity, then hold down the CTRL key, and click and drag. A copy of your item will appear and you can control its location by moving your mouse.

Now the most familiar time to use this might be while generating a ref. plane like shown in the previous picture. Or maybe you’re more familiar with the trick while duplicating sketch entities.

Did you know it works during the Loft Wizard too?

Or how about to generate additional points on a 3D curve?

This trick can be applied in a few other places as well. Its yet another way the software decreases work time, making you more efficient.

Floating Licenses on a Network Server: New Install

Mike Tsang — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:58:19 +0000

Floating Licenses on a Network Server: XOR2/XOV2

Install the License Server Utility
1. On the license server, please install the license server utility by downloading and installing the following: www.rapidform.us/license/ServerUtility.zip. You may also find this file on the installation DVD here: Setup\Program Files\INUS Technology\Rapidform XOR\License\Setup Rapidform License Server Utility.exe.
2. Run the executable to install the License Server Utility.
Activate new License
1. Go to Start Menu> All Programs>INUS Technology>Rapidform License Server Utility>License Server Utility
2. Select “I want to activate a license” and click Next.
3. Enter in your Activation Code and enter the Count of Clients/# of Seats and click Next.
4. If connected to the internet you will be asked to enter your contact information. You will then see a progress bar and the page will refresh displaying both your “XOR/V” and “XOR/V-Maintenance” license products.
  1. If the online attempt is unsuccessful, or if not connected to the internet, the utility will ask you to enter your Maintenance code. Please enter the code and click Next. The utility will prompt you to perform an offline activation. The process requires that you save a file and transfer the file to a PC with an internet connection to complete the activation.
  2. If the offline activation process fails, please email the files saved by the utility to license@rapidform.com. (Note: You will need to change the extension of the “.exe” file to an “.rfi” file for our email servers to accept the file.)
Start Rapidform Service
1. Go to Control Panel>Administrative tools>Services
2. Start the service labeled “Rapidform License Service.”
  1. If you run into problems starting the service such as conflicting port numbers or the service stopping right after starting, you will need to change the port that the service uses.
  2. By default, the service uses port 27000. To change, go to C:\Program Files\INUS Technology\Rapidform License Server Utility.
  3. Open the file “rfLicense.lic” with notepad. The first line will say “SERVER this_host ID_STRING=TRUSTED 27000.”
  4. Change the port number to 27001, or the first available port. Please note that you can’t exceed 27005. Save the file.
  5. Install and start the service again. (Step 6 and 7)
  6. If changing the port number does not work, please check your firewall and anti-virus settings to make sure the required ports are open and programs unblocked.
Connect the client PC
1. On a client PC with Rapidform XOR installed, go to Start Menu>All Programs>INUS Technology>Rapidform XOR[V]2 >License Utility
2. Select the option “For Official Customer using Local Network License Sharing” and click Next.
3. Type in the server’s Static IP Address or Host Name and click Confirm
  1. If successful a message will state that the server has been found. Click Finish.
  2. If unsuccessful, please check network connections and check that the service is running correctly.

Want a licensing walkthrough? Check out this post!

Install the License Server Utility

Full Face Fillet

Mike Tsang — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:33:44 +0000

Using the Full-Face-Fillet command:

The “Full Face Fillet” option is used for rounding or capping ribs and other exterior part features. This option uses three adjacent face sets and allows the creation of fillet geometry which is difficult or impossible to create using traditional edge-based filleting method. The image below shows an example feature using Full Face Fillet.

To generate rounding, you have to select a set of three faces: Left face, Center face and Right face. The Center face will be round face and two adjacent faces (Left and Right) will be tangentially connected with the Center face.

In case you fillet faces with surface sets, you can flip the rounding direction by just clicking the gray arrow in the graphic window.

How to Region Group a mesh in XOS and XOR

Som Valliyappan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:46:17 +0000

Objective:

Region segmentation is a way to group set of poly-faces that belong to one feature. Regions assist in alignment of the mesh data to the global coordinate system and in the selection of a region of interest for extracting the design intent and converting it to a surface. This example in detail will give instructions on how to automatically segment a mesh and also helps you explore various region grouping command

Pre-requisites:

None

Estimated Time:

45 minutes

Files Available for Download:

File Name:

File Type:

Size

0.73 MB

29.9 MB

37.2 MB

How to make a simple solid model in XOR

Som Valliyappan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:20:17 +0000

Objective:

This is perfect example to explore the parametric modeling capabilities of XOR. This covers few basic concepts on how to convert a mesh into a feature based solid model. It includes sectioning the mesh by planar method, basic sketching, extruding up to a region, performing cut operations and finishing up the model with constant as well as variable fillets. it is worth noting that few steps involved in this example uses Rapidform Redesign Assistant capabilities.

Pre-requisites:

Region Group

Estimated Time:

1 hour

Files Available for Download:

File Name:

File Type:

Size

11.8 MB

6.79 MB

38.6 MB

How to Autosurface a mesh in XOS and XOR

Som Valliyappan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:35:31 +0000

Objective:

This example primarily focuses on how to autosurface a part. one of the quickest way to get NURBS from a mesh data. The airbag part is first aligned using interactive alignment method and then autosurfaced to get NURBS as displayed in the image above.

Pre-requisites:

Align

Estimated Time:

30 minutes

Files Available for Download:

File Name:

File Type:

Size

0.66 MB

3.08 MB

95.5 MB

How to align a mesh to a coordinate system and/or to a CAD model

Som Valliyappan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:02:30 +0000

Objective:

The objective of this tutorial is to learn various alignment techniques. This involves 2 data set that are used for understandingthe following

1. How to align a mesh to desired co-ordinate system using reference geometries

2. How to align a mesh to desired co-ordinate system using already segmented region groups

3. How to align a mesh to a CAD/Design data

Pre-requisites:

None

Estimated Time:

45 minutes

Files Available for Download:

File Name:

File Type:

Size

0.63 MB

16.4 MB

25.7 MB

User Interface

Som Valliyappan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:58:01 +0000

Objective:

This tutorial will give a very detailed overview on the User Interface of Rapidform Software. It starts with basics on showing such how to pan, rotate and zoom a part, how to show and hide entities etc to advanced options such as dynamic draw. This is a very good start for any new user trying to learn the basics of Rapidform. This tutorial is highly recommended by the trainer and practice this before getting started with Re-designing or mesh handling in the software

Pre-requisites:

None

Estimated Time:

60 minutes

Files Available for Download:

File Name:

File Type:

Size

0.87MB

10.2MB

122MB

Quick Start Guide

Som Valliyappan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:25:10 +0000

Did you know that Rapidform Softwares come with in-built Quick Start Guide and Tutorials

Show me how to use Quick Start Guide

Show me how to use Tutorials

I am missing my Tutorials/Help Files

Quick Start Guide

Quick Start Guide helps to quickly learn how to use the software and its various commands using interactive and highly descriptive examples. The following are the instructions to access/use Quick Start Guide in Rapidform Softwares

Step 1: Run the software. Once when its open, go to Help -> Quick Start Guide

Once you click on the option, the software opens the Quick Start Guide in the Help tab as pointed by the cursor in the bottom of the image given below. Now to go back and forth between model window (where you work with the part) and help window click on the respective tabs as shown in the bottom of the image given below

Step 2: There are sever examples available in quick start Guide. Select one of them. You would see something similar to the image shown below. The quick start guide is highly interactive and has few command buttons. use Previous/Home or Next Buttons to navigate between several pages of an example

1. Import file – Imports the file into the software from the respective location

2. Highlight It – Highlights any command that is being explained in the example

3. Run Command – Executes the command for you in order to move on to next step

You can use the above mentioned command buttons to follow a tutorial or you can manually do the same in the software by switching back and forth between Help tab and Model View tab.

Tutorial

Tutorials apart from Quick Start guide help you to learn the software in particular topic of interest. In order to access it follow the instructions given below

Step 1: Run the software. Once when its open, go to Help -> Quick Start Guide

Step 2: Once the software takes you to the respective folder, choose the tutorial you want to run. Each folder will have a pdf and video file for better learning