Creating external reference without assembly mode

[benjaminc]

I'm using Pro/E Wildfire 4.0. I have a shell part and am designing a head to snap to the top of the shell. Obviously I would like to reference a sketch in the head part to the shell, so that any slight changes in shell dimension are reflected in the head design. I figured out how to do this by creating the part in assembly mode; is there any way to create an external relation/reference to a sketch in another part without using assembly mode?

Thanks,
Benj

 

[jeff4136]

I believe the answer(s), which I can't help you with, will be dependent on whether, or not, you have AAX.

Just as a curiosity; why do you want to circumvent the typical top down design reference created in the context of an assembly?

-Jeff Howard (wf2)
Sure it's true. I saw it on the internet.

 

[benjaminc]

Nope, no AAX.

I had some problems when I made the part as part of the assembly, surely in part because I'm new to Pro/E. I couldn't figure out how to reposition the part once I created it -- it was tied to the plane on which I had created the first sketch, which I guess is somewhat logical.

I eventually deleted the part within the assembly and added it back, at which point I could reposition, but I was just trying to find a more elegant way to handle the problem. I guess really repositioning might be the true question.

Thanks,
Benj

 

[jeff4136]

Ok. Without AAX I believe the 'in assy context' relationship
is all that's going to be available to you. (I don't have AAX
either and am not sure it would offer anything in this specific
context.)

There are various ways / strategies you ~could~ use including
your first attempt. The way I'd go about it ...
With the 'parent' part placed in the assy, create the 'child'
part using the normal Copy From Existing standard part
template / start part and constrain it to existing parent part
geometry (or any other way that seems appropriate considering
how you might want to change the parent part in the future,
etc.) Then Activate the new part and go about creating your
reference links by whatever means you care to ('projections',
copies, dimensional relationships, datum features referencing
parent part geometry, ... ). The nuances of various ways of
referencing or relating to parent entities gets complicated.
Experimentation and experience are the only teachers I know.

(I'd suggest looking for tutorials or searching the Knowledge
Base for Suggested Techniques but most are marketing-centric
and promote the use of AAX, layouts, skeletons, etc. ...
If you're not familiar with the concepts you might look for
information on 'master model' (pseudo-skeleton) top down
techniques, which don't require AAX.)

-Jeff Howard (wf2)
Sure it's true. I saw it on the internet.