replacing assembly relationships

[t2b]

At the top of the assembly tree is a casting which has been modelled as a single part.
This cast part needs to be remade and manufactured from 5 components.
What would you suggest I try so that the single (cast) item be replaced by a sub assembly yet keep the relationships already established in the assembly tree?

 

[Tunalover]

Don't know how to do that (or if it can even be done) but a safe practice in the future is to assume that ANY custom part may end being an assembly at some point and should be modeled accordingly.

For example, if a cast part is to have threaded inserts installed and if the end-item assy part number is 20001541-001 then assign the part number 20001541-801 to the cast part (the dash no isn't important but it needs to be a large number that is obviously different than -001). This sets the end-item apart from the cast part and allows the cast part to be procured (and stocked) separately.


Tunalover

 

[mjcole]

t2b,

It depends on what licenses you have but if you have the advanced assemblies license you can create an Interchange assembly where you can set up tags for each of the features in the cast model that are refferenced by your assembly.

Once you have all the references created in your 5 piece assembly you create a new assembly and select Interchange as the type and then assemble the old model and new model to that assembly.

Then you create what are called datum tags which you give a name for and then pick the reference geometry on one part and then the other until you have an equivalent reference in each part or assembly. Then you can go into the assembly where the CAST part is and do a replace by interchange and you should get no reference failures.

I remember answering a question in a forum most probably this one but I don't have the info handy but I'll post a direct link when I find it. In it I describe this process in more detail.

If you don't have advanced assembly then you'll have to do a little detective work in hunting down all the references you'll have to reroute when your assembly starts to fail from missing references. Freezing the failed component and redefining the placement might actually be faster.

Good luck,
Michael

 

[mjcole]

Found it.

How to reference feature in assy module?

http://eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=160876

Michael

 

[Hora]

Interchange is OK, but if you don't need any more the old casting and you'll delete it, the interchange assembly will fail and your assmbly too.

Your top level casting part has so many contstraint you can't redefine them one by one?

The is another thing: If your casting is the FIRST part in assembly, then forget about deleting it. You can't delete the first component in assembly without doing a simple trick: create a skeleton (emply) in your assembly. Now your casting is no longer the first component and you can delete it. After inserting the new casting assy, you can delete the skeleton.

-Hora