PowerInspect 2018 Essential Skills – Tutorial 5 – Alignment & Datums

Understanding Alignment Types in CAD

Overview of Alignment and Degrees of Freedom

• The alignment process locks the position and orientation of components, known as the six degrees of freedom.

• The first alignment type discussed is PLP (Plane Line Point), which requires selecting features from drop-down boxes to ensure correct axis direction.

RPS Alignment Method

• Another geometric alignment method introduced is RPS (Reference Point System), where users select features spread across the part for optimal alignment.

• Following the three-to-one rule, typically three points are locked: two in X-axis and one in Y-axis, ensuring full constraint of the RPS alignment.

Free-form Fit Alignment

• For components lacking geometric features, a free-form fit alignment can be utilized using a dynamic point editor tool to place points on the part.

• Users can accept designated points shown in a table after selecting free-form fit alignment, allowing for automatic adjustments with scanned data.

Point Cloud Alignment Techniques

• When working with scanned data, point cloud alignments can be performed by selecting the appropriate source; Peresvet aligns it automatically with CAD.

• In cases requiring more control, picked point alignments allow users to define target points that match CAD surfaces by setting catchment ranges.

Datum Structures in Drawings

• Some drawings may feature multiple datum structures referencing different assembly parts; dimension nominals are taken from CAD datum by default.