Is it possible to copy a linked part instance in an assembly to make it unique in the current doc?

StephenG

Here my situation...

I have referenced a part from another document into an assembly in my active document. It has been determined the linked part needs to be significantly modified in order for the design to work properly.

Given the amount and type of modifications needed I do not want to modify the part as as "derived" part using direct modeling, or "bondo"  features, but start with a copy to create an entirely new part design having full access to original the part's feature list history.

Seems like this usage scenario should be supported in a straight forward (push button) way, but I cannot find the "push button". My initial thinking was to go back to the original part's document, duplicate the part's Part Studio and move it to my working document. Using the "Open linked document" for the instance gets me to the linked document but only in a View Only mode. I had open the document in a new browser tab for editing to dup/move the Part Studio. As one would guess the dupped Part Studio contains multiple parts with part geometry interdependencies along with Assembly Context references. The part-to-part dependencies are intact, but the Assembly Context dependencies break.

I can see now that copying a part design (Part Studio) into another document to become the basis to create a new part design is a non trivial matter; the complexities of doing it appear to make the process impractical.

Right now I think my best course of action is to stay with the derived part approach, not modify it directly, but leverage its geometry to create sketches and features from scratch to create the new part.

Is there a better way to do this? Am I missing something important?  

        

MBartlett21

You can right click on the source part studio and choose copy.
You can then navigate to your doc and, in the insert menu, choose paste

The assembly context references should still work, but you will not be able to edit them.

MBartlett21

You can right click on the source part studio and choose copy.
You can then navigate to your doc and, in the insert menu, choose paste

The assembly context references should still work, but you will not be able to edit them.

StephenG

Thanks for the Copy/Paste tip.

For those who are following this thread here is the process in a little more detail.

Once it has been determined that a linked instance in your assy needs to be duplicated in the doc for the purposes of making new part design...

1) Use the "Context Menu" "Open linked document" option against the instance to be duplicated (made unique to you document).

The linked document is opened in another browser tab to the specific version state of the instance, however, the document is "View Only" and the "Copy to clipboard" document tab context menu is not available.

2) Select "Return to Main" 

     
Now the "Copy to clipboard" option is available.

3) Use "Copy to clipboard" to copy the document tab to Onshape's "clipboard".

4) Switch to your target document browser tab where you want the copy to exist.

5) Use the "Past tab" option under the "Insert new element"  (the big plus sign (+) button in the lower left of browser window) to add a copy of the document tab containing the part that was originally linked.

6) Use the assembly instance "Replace parts..." option to swap the linked part instance with copied part.

7) Compete the design of the new part.

Remember the copied Part Studio element tab may contain many other parts that are extraneous to your needs, with part interdepencies that affect the part geometry you want to change, as well as references to Assembly Contexts that no longer exist. It can be a little messy (confusing) to effect the necessary geometry changes; it is possible, but it may not be practical. The technique of using a derived part with direct modeling features maybe a better approach under certain circumstances.