SAVE AS & KEEP ORIGINAL?

[jkcone]

Hello
Is there a way to do a "Save As" type command on a sub-component but keep the original part in place & maintain mating conditions from the original part?
NX5

Thanks,
James

 

[hudson888]

Create component from and don't delete original? Guessing! Maybe try and see if it fits you're requirements.

Best Regards

Hudson

www.jamb.com.au

Nil Desperandum illegitimi non carborundum

 

[jkcone]

I gave it a try but no luck.
It created a new part from my template file & added the source part to it as a sub assembly component. It didn't keep any mating or expressions.

Thanks Hudson, good try.

Any more ideas out there?

James

 

[JohnRBaker]

With the main Assembly as the Displayed Part, make the 'Component of interest' the Work Part and then do a File -> Save As... and enter a new file name for the Component. Now the system will immediately ask you if you ALSO wish to perform a Save As on the Assembly file itself. Now you can either enter a new file name for the Assembly or just hit the Cancel button on that File Save dialog and you will get a message warning you that the Assembly has been modified and that it's NOT going to be saved and it will ask you is you wish to continue, just select 'Yes' at which point the Save As will finish for the Component Part ONLY. Now another message will come up warning you that the Part has been saved, but that the original assembly has NOT been saved (but it has been modified since now the Component in the assembly has a new name). Now set the Work Part back to the Assembly. Now be very careful, the assembly has been modified because your Save As component has replaced the original named component and unless you manually save the original Assembly, that change will be lost, even though the new Component Part WAS created, just that until you save the assembly, it has no 'home'. Also note that the original Component, the one you renamed, still exists on the disk, just that it's no longer part of the Assembly which you have open in your session and if you do eventually save the modified Assembly, the old Component will no longer be part of that Assembly, but newly renamed one will be.

Anyway, give this a try on a simple assembly to see how it works, paying close attention to both what is being asked in the Que & Status lines as well as the various messages and listing windows which will pop-up as you complete this workflow.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

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

 

[jkcone]

John
Thanks for you posting.
What you just described is exactly what I get with the Save As function but it leaves the assembly without the original source component. It would be VERY helpful if I could keep both & both have the original mates & expressions.

Any other ideas? What about cloning?

Thanks,
James

 

[JohnRBaker]

There are no built-in mechanisms which will 'copy' a component in place (while retaining all references and constraints) and NOT remove the original. But since you've asked, WHY are you attempting this in the first place? What do you hope to gain?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

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

 

[jkcone]

John
In my design assembly I'm adding many new components which are similar to components I already have in the design. Similar Sketches, sizes, expressions, fasteners & colors. There's App. 6 different groups of components with similarities. It would save a lot of time if one of these components could be copied in place with a new file name then only a few modification would have to be performed to have the new detail completed.

Does that make sense?

James

 

[JohnRBaker]

What you can do is create a master part, add it to a simple assembly which will allow you to constrain in the same manner that you would be doing in the actual assembly and then Constrain it. Then go to...

Assemblies -> Components -> Remember Assembly Constaints...

...and select the Component and the constraints you wish to have remembered, and then save the master part (you can dump the assembly).

Now when you add this component to the actual assembly, it will ask you ONLY for the objects needed to constrain it the way you wish it to be constrained. Now go back to the master part and since you say it's very similar to the other parts you're going to add to the Assembly rather than starting over, just do a Save As on this file, make the changes and save it again. Now when you add the second (renamed) part it will also remember the Constraints so at least you will only have to really do the work once and then you can recover/reuse most of it again and again (this is how we do it with Family Table parts, we mate the Master Template Part once, remember the constraints and then each 'child' (Family Member) will remember the same Constraints, thus making it easier and quicker to add any subsequent family members into an assembly.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

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

 

[jkcone]

Thanks John for your reply.
This sounds very interesting. I'll definitely give this a try. I'll have to do it a few times for it to sink in.

I know almost nothing about Family Table parts. Do you think they're something I should be considering for this or are they for a different application? Also do they require a lot more work than this up front?

James

 

[JohnRBaker]

If it is true that only real differences between your various parts are some parameters and perhaps the inclusion or removal of a couple of features, then I would seriously look at Family Table parts as a more elegant solution than creating over and over again a series of nearly identical parts all as the result of separate efforts.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

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