Weld Balloons

 

The Weld Balloon command has been created to simplify, automate and speed up the process of adding balloons for welds in Drawings, as this is a complex and time-consuming process in Inventor.

This command is exclusively accessible within Drawings and has been integrated into the Drawing environment ribbon of the PowerPack for Inventor.

 

PowerPack Drawing ribbon

 

 

 

 

Options in the Dialog

When you initiate the command, a dialog box containing various options will appear.

 

Weld Balloon dialog

 

 

The Weld Balloon command can add balloons automatically or manually. By default, the command starts with a manual action:

 

 

 

The Balloon Content options are available for the Automatic process, which is based on the information available in the model.

The options are Number, Type and Size. The type and the size of the welds will be read automatically from the project. The Number is given by the Content Options -> Starting No. field.

 

 

 

The Balloon Content options are not active for Manual action.

 

 

 

 

Balloon Content

 

 

The Content Options are the Prefix and Starting No.

 

Content Options

 

 

The Prefix can be activated for Manual or Automatic action, and it can be set with letters and/or numbers.

The Starting No. option is allowing the user to choose a numbering process of the weld from a specified number. 

By default, this option is set as 1. 

 

 

 

The option Starting No. will be disabled if the Weld number is not selected for the Automatic placement.

 

• Select a View to add balloons to welds
  Option available just for Automatic action. Allows the user to enter in the DWG environment and select the view where balloons will be placed.
• Insert Weld Balloon
  Option available just for Manual action. Allows the user to enter in the DWG environment and start to select elements where welds will be placed.
• Report Table
  Option to generate a report table after the balloons have been placed.
• Renumber Balloons
  Option to renumber balloons that already have been placed on the view. 

 

 

 

The renumbering process will consider options that have been set in Content Options: Prefix and Starting No.

 

 

Reset option will delete all balloons that have been placed manually or automatically, including the table if exists.

 

 

 

 

How to Use the Command - Manual Process

The Manual Process does not have the capability to automatically detect the locations of welds within a view. It permits the user to add welds as desired, even if they do not exist in the actual model.

For Manual placement of welds only the number of the weld can be placed, and a prefix can be added from the Content Options.

 

 

Setting prefix for manual placement

 

 

Within the Manual Process, the user will individually insert the welds into the drawing.

The process is very simple. Initiate the command, select the "Manual" option in the dialog, and then proceed to click on "Insert Weld Balloon":

 

 

Run Manual placement

 

Upon selecting "Insert Balloon", the dialogue will close, allowing you to place balloons by first choosing the two edges of the elements connected by the weld, followed by selecting a point for balloon placement. This process is repeated until all welds are completed.

 

Manual placement of welds with prefix

 

 

After inserting all balloons, press "ECS" and before closing the dialog, you can generate a table with all the created welds, using the option "Report Table".

 

 

In this current version the table can be generated only for the manual placement of the balloons. The report table cannot be generated for already placed welds in a different session of the command.

 

 

Report Table

 

When you add balloons after making the table, it will update by itself with the new information. The table also updates automatically if renumbering is applied.

 

 

 

How to Use the Command - Automatic Process

The Automatic process is scanning the model and it’s placing balloons only where welds are available in the model. 

For this Automatic process, the information placed inside the balloon is controlled from Balloon Content, the user can choose what content to place in the balloon: Weld size, Number and/or Type. By Default, is set for Weld Number. Also, a prefix can be set as well!

 

Define weld label for automatic process

 

When the Automatic process is selected, the Balloon Content becomes active and the options can be enable/disable. To place balloons, select the option: “Select a View to Add Balloons to Welds”.

 

 

Select a View to Add Balloons to Welds

 

At that moment the drawing is becoming active, and a view must be selected. Once selected, the balloons will be automatically placed where welds were detected.

 

Add balloons automatically

 

Because it is an automatic process based on the Welding information in the model, if the automatic weld placement is running again, the previous weld balloons will be erased. 

 

 

Add balloons automatically with Prefix, Number and Size counting from 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Topics

• Title Block Swap
• Border Frame Swap
• Scale
• Inspection Dimensions
• Tolerance Table
• Dimensions Table
• File Properties - Drawing Environment
• Toolbox Settings