Structural Steel feature in Toolbox 1

[adymech1]

Hello

I am using SW2001+. I am planning to start working on a large assembly that will contain significant amount of structural steel (in particular, HSS tube). Toolbox has a feature "Structural Steel" that I can use to make such tubes by selecting from the available sizes. SW creates the exact sketch for that size. Then I can extrude it. So far so good.

I will insert these tubes in-context into my assembly but I want to have the flexibility so that I can change the size of tube anytime. The problem is: Once I create a tube of a given size (using Toolbox feature), I can't simply change the size of the tube by selecting a new size from the list of available sizes. I have two options:

1) either delete the existing sketch for the tube and create a new one by selecting the new size from the list, or
2) manually change the dimensions of the sketch for the tube.

However, none of these options is that great.

Is there a better way of doing this?

Thanks to all the readers.

 

[ShaggyPE]

I would probably use toolbox to create several different part files of different size tubes (diameter or h x w if you are using square tubing). Each part file can have multiple configurations of different lengths. When you have to change from one size to another, you can use the replace part command. Any assembly level cuts should cleanly propagate to the freshly inserted part.

 

[SBaugh]

You want to control the geometry with a nother part, but yet still control the part yourself? - Is that the way I read your statement?

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[adymech1]

Thanks SBaugh and Shaggy18VW.

Let me further clarify my original problem. I am making a frame out of HSS tube. Now I have already created a layout sketch in an assembly file. This layout sketch will determine the distance between the different tubes. So this is how I will control the distances. Now, I also want to control the size of the tubes independently. E.g. I may want to change a 6x6x0.25 tube to 7x7x0.5 without changing the distances between different tubes.

To sum up, there are 2 things I need to be able to control INDEPENDENTLY:

1. Distances (i.e. lengths) between different tubes
2. X-section size of the tube.

There is another problem:

I made a layout sketch in the assembly file (as explained above). Then I inserted into this assembly a structural steel tube from the ToolBox. Now I am trying to mate this tube with the sketch so that the tube size/orientation will change as I change the layout sketch. But when I inserted the tube, I found that I can't move it, it's fixed!! Plus, it's not fixed to the assembly origin. Do parts inserted through Toolbox behave differently from parts inserted through Insert->Component?

Thanks for your help.

 

[SBaugh]

You can control the Layout profile using a Configurations and the length if you in-context to the assembly sketch.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376