4. User interface

Patch Artist is the laminate design module. It allows the user to define their layup as patch based laminate. Its user interface is designed to easily define layup zones on imported CAD surfaces, as well as layer size, layer orientations, layer thickness, tape width, patch length etc. After generating a patch-based laminate in Patch Artist, the user can optimize and simulate the robot movements in order to program a manufacturing cell offline. Let’s begin by understanding the main window of Artist Studio. This part describes various components of the main window:

Menu bar
Ribbon bar
Model explorer
Viewport

../_images/patch_artist1.png — Fig. 4.1 User interface of Artist Studio

4.1. Menu bar

The following thin, horizontal bar containing the labels of drop-down menus. It provides the user with Artist Studio essential functions, such as opening, closing, importing, exporting files and many more. The menu bar can be accessed via keyboard shortcuts- ALT key in combination with cursor and screen control keys:

4.1.1. File

Clicking on the File button will open a drop-down menu. It can also be called an application menu. Here, user can open or save files, create new files, view or open recent files and import or export files.

../_images/file.png — Fig. 4.2 File menu

The functionalities of the entries of the File menu are as follows:

New – Create a new FPP file

Save/Save as – Save the current file under a new name

Run script – Execute an Artist Studio JavaScript (.ajs) file

Recent – Open a list of recently visited files

Open - Open a FPP file

Import – Import any 3D model such as step, brep, stl, ides etc

Export – Export 3D model to reconstruct or remodel

Close – Close current window of Artist Studio

Exit – Close all open windows of Artist Studio

Tip

Shortcuts can be used for options New , Open , Save and Close as shown in the menu.

Warning

Certain third-party explorer extensions may cause instability issues when using the right mouse button within the open file dialog. While we strive to provide a seamless experience, we cannot control the behavior of these third-party extensions. To minimize the risk of encountering such issues, we recommend avoiding the use of the right mouse button within the open file dialog, especially when navigating files and folders associated with third-party applications.

4.1.2. View

Current view of Artist Studio can be changed by using various options of the View menu.

../_images/view.png — Fig. 4.3 View menu

Options of the View menu are:

Settings - Settings offers various tools which are:

Mouse mode – Specify mouse control mode that are Native, Catia and Hypermesh.

Background – Change the background color of Artist Studio : can be Uniform or Gradient.

Coordinate System – Change the position of coordinate system in Viewport.

Multithreading - Set the number of processes according to your hardware.

Saving reminder - Set how much time should pass before you are reminded that you have unsaved changes.

FPP compression - Change the compression level of .fpp files to either Best speed for faster saving or Best compression for reduced file size.

Patch model/ CAD model – Artist Studio provides flexibility to change the default color of the CAD model, patches etc.

Model explorer - By default Model explorer is present at the left side of Artist Studio. You can hide it by unchecking Model explorer in the View menu.

Messages – Check error messages or any other details by checking the Messages button.

Note

All the existing messages can be deleted using the red Clear button.

Perspective – Artist Studio provides the flexibility to view the CAD model from the different perspectives by selecting an option depending on one’s need such as Fit all, Front, Back, Top, Bottom and many more.

View actions – It provides different styles of viewing the CAD model in Viewport such as Wireframe, Shaded, Wireframe Shaded and Mesh.

Viewports – View different orientations of the model together on one screen.

4.1.3. Help

Help provides support to use Artist Studio.

../_images/help1.png — Fig. 4.4 Help menu

Help – Help or F1 directs the user to the online help pages of Artist Studio.

About - Opens an About Dialog that displays the current version, Artist Studio’s End User License Agreement (EULA), and the licenses of third party libraries used inside Artist Studio.

4.2. Ribbon bar

4.2.1. Patch Artist

Patch Artist provides a Ribbon bar which contains many tools which are shown in the figure below:

../_images/ribbon_patch.png — Fig. 4.5 Ribbon bar

It is organized into three components:

Tabs - They are present at the top of Ribbon bar. These tabs provide groups of various tools for quick usage. Patch Artist and Motion Artist are the two tabs available in the green ribbon.
Groups – They are groups of related commands. The name of each group is given at the bottom of every group. For example, group of orientation commands, group of picking type commands etc.
Commands – Each group contains commands related to each other. For example, wireframe, shaded, mesh etc in Render mode.

4.2.1.1. File or Quick access toolbar

This group provides a quick and an easy access to the frequently used tools and the commands of the File menu such as New, Open, Save or Save As.

../_images/ribbon_file.png — Fig. 4.6 File or Quick access toolbar in ribbon bar

Table 4.1 Quick access toolbar
	New	Create a new FPP file
	Open	Open a project
	Save	Save new changes
	Save as	Save the current file with a different file name
	Import	Import any 3D model such as step, brep, stl, ides etc
	Export	Export 3D model to reconstruct or remodel

4.2.1.2. Laminate-data snapshots

Laminate-data snapshots enable quickly storing snapshots of a laminate, and later restoring the laminate to such a stored state. To use this feature you need to enable it explicitly, see Laminate-data snapshots .

Snapshots store data of

tapes

patch types

and the laminate (stacks, layers, sublayers, curves, chains, and patches).

Visibility, colors, and suppression of laminate items are stored in snapshots. But note that which items are selected in the tree, and which branches of the tree are open is not stored nor restored.

Snapshots are a help tool while Artist Studio is running. They are stored only in memory, and once you close Artist Studio, they are gone. In particular, they are not saved in an fpp file.

Table 4.2 Snapshots: buttons and shortcuts
	Create a new snapshot. You will be asked for a name by which you want to recognize this snapshot. `Ctrl + Shift + C`
	Show a drop-down with a list of all snapshots. They are shown in the order in which they were created, the newest on the top. The last created or restored snapshot is marked by . Choosing any item from this list replaces current laminate by the laminate from the snapshot. `Ctrl + Shift + S`
	Restore the last created or restored snapshot. The same as selecting the snapshot marked by the same icon in the drop-down list. `Ctrl + Shift + R`
	Delete all snapshots from memory. `Ctrl + Shift + D`

Note that restoring a snapshot will replace your current laminate with the snapshot data. Remember to create a new snapshot before this action if you want to be able to switch back to it.

We store a maximum of 15 data snapshots. Once you create the 16th, the oldest snapshot gets automatically deleted from memory.

Limitations:

Extractions are not stored in laminate snapshots.

You can create new extractions, but you cannot delete any - if you choose to do so, you will see a warning, and if you decide to continue all snapshots will get deleted.

If there are any data-set patches connected to laminate patches, laminate snapshots are disabled, but old snapshots are kept in memory. If at a later moment you delete all machine-data sets, laminate snapshots will be re-enabled and your old snapshots will become available (until you close Artist Studio).

4.2.1.3. View orientation

../_images/ribbon_view.png — Fig. 4.7 View orientation in Ribbon bar

In Artist Studio,the user can view their model from different orientations to work efficiently. Various orientations possible are shown below:

Table 4.3 View orientation
	View ZX plane
	View XY plane
	View ZY plane
	View XZ plane
	View YX plane
	View YZ plane
	View XYZ plane
	Fit to screeen

4.2.1.4. Picking type

../_images/ribbon_picking.png — Fig. 4.8 Picking type in Ribbon bar

Every 3D model consists of various nodes, shells, solids, wires, faces. The user can view different parts of the 3D model with the help of various tools present in Picking type.

Table 4.4 Picking type
	Turn off the picking selection
	Select assembly
	Select nodes
	Select edges
	Select wires
	Select faces
	Select shells
	Select solids
	Select layers
	Select curves
	Select sublayers
	Select chains
	Select patches

4.2.1.5. Viewports

../_images/ribbon_ports.png — Fig. 4.9 Viewports in Ribbon bar

Viewport in Artist Studio can be divided into more parts to view different orientations of the model on the one window altogether.

Table 4.5 Viewports
	Show model in one single frame
	Split viewport vertically into two parts
	Split viewport horizontally into two parts
	Split viewport vertically into two parts and divides one vertical part into two horizontal parts
	Split viewport horizontally into two parts and divides one horizontal part into two vertical parts
	Split viewport into four parts

4.2.1.6. Render Mode

../_images/ribbon_mode.png — Fig. 4.10 Render mode in Ribbon bar

There are different modes available to view the model such as wireframe, mesh, shaded etc.

Table 4.6 Render modes
	Show wireframe (skeletal view)
	Show shaded view
	This is a default mode to view the model. It is a combination of wireframe and shaded mode
	Show model as a network of wires(mesh)
	Show orientation of the faces
	Show connectivity in the model

4.2.1.7. Quality review

../_images/ribbon_quality.png — Fig. 4.11 Quality review in Ribbon bar

This option can be used to check and maintain the quality of the final outcome. Visualize laminate quality by color plots, color-coding patches according to the selected quality metric. For a description of the available metrics see Visualization of laminate properties and quality review. Use the following tools to adjust the plot:

Table 4.7 Render style
	Plot the quality of preform
	To change settings so as to maintain the quality of the final outcome
	Show the plot quality of chains

4.2.2. Motion Artist

Motion Artist also provides a Ribbon bar which contains necessary tools to simulate a CAD model.

../_images/ribbon2.png — Fig. 4.12 Ribbon bar

The ribbon bar is organized into three components:

Tabs – They are present at the top of the Ribbon bar. These tabs provide groups of various tools for quick usage. Patch Artist and Motion Artist are the two tabs available in the green ribbon.
Groups – They are groups of related commands. The name of each group is given at the bottom of every group. For example, group of positioner axes commands, group of picker axes commands etc.
Commands – Each group contains commands related to each other.

4.2.2.1. Positioner axes

../_images/positioner.png — Fig. 4.13 Positioner

The positioner is a 6-axes-robot. The CAD model is mounted on the tool flange of Positioner axes. The user can also correct manually the robot movements.

../_images/positioner_axis.png — Fig. 4.14 Positioner axes in Ribbon bar

4.2.2.2. Picker axes

../_images/picker.png — Fig. 4.15 Picker

Another manufacturing cell is known as Picker. It has 4 joints which gives cell 4 degrees of freedom. This manufacturing cell is equipped with a patch gripper which is responsible for placing patches on the CAD model. Within this option, the user can also correct manually the robot movements.

../_images/picker_axis.png — Fig. 4.16 Picker axes in Ribbon bar

4.2.2.3. Motion controller

../_images/motion.png — Fig. 4.17 Motion controller in Ribbon bar

With Motion controller, the user can view the simulation of the manufacturing cell movements. It contains tools such as play, pause, stop, move forward and backward to visualize the movements.

Table 4.8 Motion controller

Go back 10 patches

Go back 1 patch

Stop motion controller

Play motion controller

Pause motion controller

Move forward 1 patch

Move forward 10 patches

4.2.2.4. Miscellaneous

../_images/miscellaneous.png — Fig. 4.18 Miscellaneous in Ribbon bar

In this group Robot settings and calibration can be changed. See chapter on Robot movements.

4.3. Model explorer

Model explorer is a place where user can define the layup of patches to generate Machine data. Model explorer consists of two parts:

Model Tree – This is a drop-down tree consisting of various tools to create patch layups. Here, you can describe surface, boundaries, curves, style of patches and many more.

Property Window – This window of Artist Studio displays properties of the selected geometry of the model.

4.4. Viewport

Viewport in Artist Studio is a part where the user can see and create their FPP model. The user can also enable multi viewports depending upon the requirements. Artist Studio also provides various tools such as rendering style, rendering mode as described above to view models in different modes and styles.