Mirroring Bracket with LH/RH callout on part?

[ProtoStab]

I’m trying to figure out how I can mirror a bracket that needs to callout LH and RH on the parts. I have no problem mirroring the part (Insert/Mirror Part). If I extruded cut an L on the left hand part, it will add it to the right hand part. I know I could do this by breaking the link and doing an ext.cut afterwards, but I would rather keep them linked. Any ideas?

Thanks,
J

 

[SBaugh]

Its been a problem from the beginning... I just use break link so I get all the feature in one direction then it just mirrors the body to the other direction. Its not a great solution, but its better than recreating it.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[Eltron]

You can save each body as a separate part then do operations on those.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[MDGroup]

Not an ideal solution, but on the mirrored part you can:

1) Create extrude to fill in the 'L' cut out. Now that part is identical mirror wihtout any marking.
2) Create an extrude-cut to cut the 'R' into the new part

Now the second part is still linked to the original and will update accordingly.
And the new can have the different marking.

 

[ProtoStab]

Thanks for the tips!

I believe doing an extrude to filling in the letter would be best to keep it linked. It's not ideal, but it's also quick an easy.

Thanks again!
J

 

[Updraft]

ProtoStab,

Here is how I've dealt with this and it was really easy. I made the base part have everything that was common to both left and right. Then I mirrored the part. Next I added a configuration to the base part and put in that part's unique features, making sure they were suppressed for the base configuration. In your case the "L" would be in a unique config of the base part, but suppressed for the base config. Finally on the mirrored part you simply add the features that are unique to that version, in this case a feature that makes the "R". This keeps the link between the parts, which is usually extremely valuable.

- - -Updraft

 

[Eltron]

The multibody part solution will also keep the links to the "Master" part.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[rgcad]

in the past i have created the part, and saved the file. then re opened the file and mirrored the component. The body of the original extrude is then hidden. the part is then saved as a copy.

http://www.rgcad.com

 

[grunt58]

Why can't it be done as configurations? create 2 configs mirror the body don't merge then delete body (left hand) suppress the L extrude cut in the right hand config. and do an R extrude cut. This is how I make mirrored pnumatic gripper fingers. I might be missing something as to why this would not work for Protostab.

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[ShaggyPE]

I think MDGroup's solution is the cleanest for this application.

In the past for more complex variations between mirrored components, i.e. similar shapes, but drastically different hole patterns. I created 2 configs in the parent part. One called RH (or something similar) and the other called "Used For Mirror". The Used for Mirror had the RH specific features suppressed and was thus the config that was... used for the mirror part. Then on the LH part, a new hole pattern was created.

***after re-reading some of the posts above, my suggestion is the same as Updraft's***

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional
Certified COSMOSWorks Designer Specialist
Certified SolidWorks Advanced Sheet Metal Specialist

 

[drawoh]

ProtoStab,

Try creating your part as an assembly. As an assembly, you can create mirrored part, and create multiple configurations at the assembly level.

JHG