T-FLEX Parametric CAD. Fundamentals. 2D Design

Fundamentals. Two-Dimensional Design
FEATURES AND AREA OF APPLICATION
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T-FLEX CAD is a parametric design and drawing system. T-FLEX provides high levels of drawing
flexibility and supports modifications of the drawings while maintaining constraints imposed by the designer
on the drawing elements. The unique parametric engine and a complete set of professional tools for
computer-aided design simplify the design workflow and speed up preparation of drawing materials. T-
FLEX CAD gives a designer a familiar feel of working with traditional paper and ruler equipment.
Associative design driven by assigning and modifying variable parameters is the way to follow by all design
and drawing automation systems. The particular success of T-FLEX CAD is based, in the first place, on the
new paradigm of geometric modeling. This paradigm is about a new, deeper, level of parameterization,
compared to other systems. The idea of parameterization itself has nowadays become a standard in CAD. By
“parameterization” we usually mean a provision for a drawing extensive reuse by means of modifying its
parameters. Virtually all CAD vendors claim parametric capabilities of their systems. However, these
systems, originally introduced long before parameterization was adopted, often use their legacy data
structures that are inherently non-parametric. This causes their solutions to suffer from ineffectiveness or
limited range of applicability. The T-FLEX CAD’s revolutionary approach to the idea of parameterization
and the fact that the drawings are based on inherently parametric models provide a new dimension for
parametric design.
T-FLEX CAD uses concepts and practices that are familiar to designers. At the same time, the user does not
need to care about making a precise drawing at once. The modification capabilities via both dimensioning
and free dragging are unmatched across other CAD systems.
The assembly drawing environment is unique in its wide range of capabilities. T-FLEX CAD permits
creating complex drawings where certain fragments can be bound by relations. A relation can be established
either via geometrical properties or by parameters. The system correctly handles lines visibility throughout
modifications, if some portions of the drawing overlap the others, with no limitation on the number of
overlaps. It takes seconds to create drawings of a new product in a family by varying assembly drawing
parameters. The modifications instantly reflect not only on the assembly but also on the member fragments
(parts) and all the rest of the related documentation.
One typical attribute of the parametric CAD systems is a language for programming parametrical relations.
T-FLEX CAD has another advantage in this area. The engineer is not required to have any training in
programming. The drawing parameters can be represented by variables. These variables can be related in
simple mathematical expressions. This is done without using any programming language. The variables can
be assigned either at creation of an element or while editing an existing one. The values of the variables can
be obtained from other drawings or automatically input from a database. This provides for unlimited
modification capabilities in drawing.
Along with parametric design, T-FLEX CAD supports wide usage of quick drawing producing nonparametric
sketches. This approach allows creating drawings in a way similar to major CAD systems by
using a standard set of tools for drawing, i.e. various primitives, as arcs, circles, line segments, etc. The
snapping mechanism is provided for easy sketching of new entities, such as horizontal and vertical alignment
of the cursor with the existing entities or their ends, center-of-arc and center-of-circle snapping, etc. When
creating arcs, snapping occurs around the 90, 180 and 270 degrees. The cursor also snaps to horizontal and
vertical alignments with the arc center. The system automatically identifies multiple pairs of same-object
snappings. Snapping to any object can be locked with the Function key, and the cursor will follow to the