Replace component in assembly 2

[MartinHnv]

Hello everyone !

I have problem with replacing components in assembly.

I have assembly where all parts are mated using planes. Now I want to replace one Part with another witch is with totally different geometry. So i used replace component command and result was two mate errors. It says that planes are missing although replaceable and replacing Part planes has identical names. Interesting is that Part mate that connects Part standard Plane and assembly plane is OK. But errors occur with planes that are created by me. All 3 Part planes are perpendicular to each other.
I wish to replace components without errors otherwise i could just delete the old one and insert new and then re-mate.

What is wrong? How it is possible to do replacement without errors? Thanks for advance.

 

[pietje]

The help does not say more than 'these names are used under certain conditions when replacing components in an assembly'.

I tried to name faces identically, but SW did not replace the mate entities as you said. So I am curious what these 'certain conditions' are too.

What does work is when you use reference planes instead of faces, and name them identically in both parts. Bit more work however in preparing the parts.

p.s.
When you use 'replace component', it also shows you the mated entities (or use 'replace mated entities' later on). When you pick an unsatisfied mate, you can choose in your graphics view/tree the plane that you want to use.

 

[MartinHnv]

Hi!

Actually these parts in my assembly are mated using reference planes. I defined reference planes to both parts by choosing faces. So my part has 3 reference planes which are mated with assembly reference planes. I use assembly planes as a base planes , this way all assembly parts are independent from each other, this way want to avoid possible errors.
But this replacement:
1. part1 has 3 planes - centerplane(part extrusion is given relative this plane-default plane), T1(created by me) and T2(created by me)
2. part2 has 3 planes - centerplane, T1 and T3

when replacement is done then:
1. "mate1": centerplane to assembly plane1 - works fine
2."mate2" and "mate3" : T1 to assembly plane2 and T2 to assembly plane3 -errors, SW says that planes are missing.

I noticed that when i use part file default planes instead of T1 and T2 then after replacement SW maintains mates and everything is OK.
But in some cases it would be good to use planes that are created by me.

 

[JMirisola]

I believe the issue you're running into is because the internal ID of the reference plane is different. When you use part geometry to create a plane, that geometry is part of that plane's "definition". That exact definition won't exist in another part. That's my guess, anyway.

Beyond that, I'm curious about why you create your mates in that manner. I've always created my mates as they would be created on the actual assembly, with few exceptions. How does using only planes help you? It also sounds like you create more work for yourself by having to create more planes. Is the trade-off worth it?

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Design Manager/Senior Designer
M9 Defense
My Blog

 

[SnowCrash]

One way to get better results is to use a part template. Be consistent about how you build the parts and they will always fit together on assemble and replace.

--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2010 SP 2.1
HP Pavillion Elite HPE

 

[MartinHnv]

Yes, part templates are good idea, i tried and continue to do so.

Thanks!

 

[MartinHnv]

And about using planes in assembly...

I use them to mate parts with assembly main planes because this way parts do not depend of each other. This helps me when i delete, suppress or replace parts, because i do not have to fix any insured mate. Yes, it is extra work but saves time later. I use part face mates too but not so often as planes.

 

[ctopher]

In most cases, I like using SW Explorer to replace parts.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
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