Design Range Management

xGenerative Design supports design range management. Designing with multiple ranges involves understanding each range usage to determine which products should be created in one range or the other.

This page discusses:

Key Concepts
Design Range Management in xGenerative Design

Key Concepts

The design ranges play a prominent role in properly modeling all elements at their real size.

Design Range Definition

The following figure illustrates the design range system expressed in metric units of measure:

Notes:

Normal range (NR): Enables to create objects ranging from 0.001 mm to 1 km. This standard design range is selected by default when you create an object.
Tolerant resolution (TR): Maximum size of gap for tolerant modeling.
Model size (MS): Maximum coordinate value of topological elements.

Design Range Management

The design range management covers the usage of small, normal, large, and extra-large range. You can combine normal and small range, or normal and large range options for various objects within the same product structure. This ensures that the object model is consistent with the real physical model you envision.

The specification varies from model to model depending on the industry. As an example, a bridge product is created in large range and the pillar parts of the bridge in normal range. The design range option is stored at the product or representation level (Physical Product, Product, 3D Shape).

Important: If you work with assemblies, you cannot design a product with a range higher than its parent product.

Design Limits

The design range system determines the design limits in which you can create products in the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. The lower and upper bounds vary from small to large range. Design limits are relevant in specific situations.

Ranges	Precision	Working area	Most features larger than...	Most products smaller than...	Description
Small	0.01 micrometer	10 meters	1 micrometer	100 millimeters	Enables to create objects ranging from 0.00001 mm to 0.01 km. Recommended for domains requiring submicro precision such as micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
Normal	1 micrometer	1 kilometer	0.1 millimeter	10 meters	Enables to create objects ranging from 0.001 mm to 1 km. Recommended for regular products.
Large	0.1 millimeter	100 kilometers	10 millimeters	1 kilometer	Enables to upscale the dimensions of models by creating objects from 0.1 mm to 100 km. Recommended for domains requiring large working area such as Energy and Civil Engineering.
Extra-large	10 millimeters	10,000 kilometers	1 meter	100 kilometers	Enables to upscale the dimensions of models by creating objects from 10 mm to 10.000 km. Recommended for domains requiring very large working area such as Energy and Civil Engineering.

Design Range Management in xGenerative Design

In xGenerative Design, each physical product you create has its own design range. This range is taken into account whenever you edit your design through the app.

The design range is used to specify the default length values of inputs whenever you use a command in the interactive view, or create a node in the graph view.

Each design range applies its own multiplier to the default length specified as input. For example:

For a circle designed in Normal range, its default radius can be 10 mm.
For a circle designed in Small range, its default radius can be 0.1 mm.

Range Definition

The range specified by default on any physical product you create can be specified in the app's Preferences.

When you use the Create Model command, you can modify the default range by specifying another range in the New Component dialog box.

Important: Once a component is created, you cannot modify its design range.