Family table assembly constraints

[hugou]

I want to model some hose assemblies but I have the same hose part number being used in different locations on the top level.
I could for example call one the assemblies [part number]_1 and the other [part number]_2 but I would probably still have to have a third assembly showing the hose laid out straight to generate the drawing. The better option seemed to me to create a Family Table with the hose ends in different positions in different instances (I don’t mind if the hose has to have a different part number in CAD for the different routed installations). However, the only way I have found to have the hose ends in DIFFERENT position in the instance to the generic is to deled the parts out of the instance and then re-insert/assemble them. This results in a supressed copy in the generic assembly which won’t go into Intralink.
How can I have an instance of an assembly with the hose ends in different orientations, but avoid the above problem. Surely there must be a way of breaking the tie between the constraints of the part in the instance from those in the generic???
Please help! Thanks.

 

[looslib]

We did hoses with a single number which has the assembly showing the straight length. CAD file name was hose123.prt.
For any assembly that used hose123, the file was named to reference the assembly it went into and the shape was in the routed condition. CAD file name was hose123_assy124-1.prt. If we had multiple uses of the same hose in the same assembly, just increment the last digit.
We had to do it this way to avoid the problems you are seeing with Intralink.
If you want to use family tables, you will need to have multiple components of the ends in your file in their as assemblied position and then the instance will only reference those components. The real problem comes when you use that hose in more assemblies and now have to modify the family table. It gets hard to setup the table when you start getting 30-40 component coluums and are adding 2 or more for each new row.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli