Part Name Changes

[lab2010]

I have 3 parts that will go into an assembly. Parts 2 and 3 use interpart references from part 1. The constraints in parts 2 and 3 include expressions such as "Part1 p10", etc. in the formulas. I need to change the name of Part1 to, for example, "Part1_rename". Is it possible for all of the interpart references in parts 2 and 3 to update accordingly where they automatically change to "part1_rename p10", etc.? The only thing I can currently do is recreate all of the constraints, which is obviously not an efficient solution.

Thanks in advance

 

[JohnRBaker]

If all three parts are open in your session, when you rename 'part1' it will automatically update the interpart links used by the other two part files. Of course you'll need to save all the parts afterwards but there will be no need to manually edit them.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
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To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[JohnRBaker]

One thing to keep in mind, in order for the Interpart Expressions to properly update, the relevant part files must be fully loaded when the Assembly is opened. Now this can be done by toggled OFF the 'Partial Loading' option in the Assembly Load Options dialog before opening the assembly or if there are only a few part files that are using these Interpart Expresions, you could still open the with Partial Loading ON and then set the affected parts to be the Work Part one-at-a-time until they've all been set to be the Work Part before you perform the Save-As on the part to which the Interpart Expressions are linked.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[lab2010]

The method described above has worked well for me numerous times. I open assemblies with the "Partial Loading" off and then Save As/Rename each part. All of the interpart expressions update as needed to the new file names.

The issue is that the number of files and assemblies that utilize these expressions is growing rapidly. I have done a good job of remembering to open all of the assemblies that will be affected by the part name change...until now. One of my assemblies was not open when I renamed the part, and I just noticed that several expressions did not update. Is there a way to get all the expressions updated in a single operation or do I need to go through and update each expression individually?

I now have expressions to a part that doesn't exist; it is certainly possible there are more that I have not discovered. Is there a way to make the software check all expressions in an assembly are valid? If I got a list of unloaded parts that are referenced in expressions, I could then determine if there are any errors. That would certainly be a helpful function if it exists.

On the other side, is it possible to get a list of all the assemblies that I would need to open prior to doing the rename? So if I am renaming Part1, I would have a list of all parts that reference Part1. That would help prevent this error in the future.

Thanks

 

[cowski]

When using native NX (NX by itself, no PLM system), interpart expressions and wavelinks are sharp double edged swords. NX does include a "where-used" function; but it works by opening each part and examining the references. If you have a considerable number of parts (and who doesn't?) this process takes much too long when you need an answer "right now".

What we need is a well defined set of best practices that you and all your coworkers abide by. But let's face it, such a place only existed in Atlantis - if ever. Your next best bet is moving to Teamcenter, which will keep track of all the file dependencies for you.

www.nxjournaling.com