Passing a variable from Part Studio A to Part Studio B

HuguesLessardWRI

Hi,
I am wondering if there was a way to pass a variable from a Part Studio to another one in the same document, at least passing only its value... I would expect that a Derive would work, but nope.

P.S. Variable can have a few different meanings in Onshape, The one I am questionning here is the one that appears as an (x) in toolbar / the feature tree.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Greetings,

Alex_Kempen

My variable library FeatureScript should work pretty well for things like this, especially if you don't feel like dabbling with FeatureScript. Declare your variables in the variable library UI, then import the corresponding cube into your other part studio (using another instance of the variable library feature).

Ilya Baran's Super Derive FeatureScript also has an option to bring in variables when you use it to derive something from another part studio, so that might also work reasonably well for you.

Alex_Kempen

My variable library FeatureScript should work pretty well for things like this, especially if you don't feel like dabbling with FeatureScript. Declare your variables in the variable library UI, then import the corresponding cube into your other part studio (using another instance of the variable library feature).

Ilya Baran's Super Derive FeatureScript also has an option to bring in variables when you use it to derive something from another part studio, so that might also work reasonably well for you.

HuguesLessardWRI

Thanks @Alex_Kempen, that was exactly what I was looking for.

matthew_stacy

@Alex_Kempen, I haven't tried Super Derive but checked out your Variable Library FS.  That is extremely useful.  Thanks for the tip.

rune_thorsen229

Alex_Kempen I am struggling with the same problem (https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/16566/how-to-make-a-master-configuration-driving-other-assemblies-linking-sync-assembly-configurations#latest) and have looked into your featurescript because it seem to do what I was looking for. Unfortunately I don't understand how to use it. Do you have a video or could you make an example of how to fetch the configuration setting?

Please

Alex_Kempen

My variable library FeatureScript is useful for creating variables which can then be shared across part studios. Use the create tab to declare one or more variables, which will become attached to a corresponding library cube part. You can then use the import tab of another variable library feature in a different part studio to "derive" the created library cube part, which results in the variables attached to it becoming available in that part studio. However, it doesn't work in assemblies, so it probably won't be helpful for your purposes.

For your use case, you might be able to create a workaround by adding a print layout configuration boolean to your master assembly. You could have users check it, then export their parts from the master assembly directly. Depending on how your assembly is set up, you might have to jump through some hoops with changing mate definitions and/or underlying configurations to get it to work, and the other configuration options wouldn't be hideable (since the visibility of configuration inputs can't be configured), but it might actually end up being easier for end users to use than your original solution.

rune_thorsen229

Alex_Kempen, thanks for your answer. It sounds like a good solution and thanks for clarifying that I can't use featurscripts for the assembly.
I understand the logic with the boolean but don't know how to implement it. Basically the parts should be layed out flat and separated for the 'printlayout' so how can the boolean change the positions?

rune_thorsen229

Alex_Kempen, you just saved the day. Thankyou very much. 
You gave me a solution: Double all the pieces. 
One set shows the assembly in assembled form
The other shows the assembly in printlayout form with that set of pieces layed out on for 3D printing.
A boolean configuration allows the user to suppress one or the other set.
Works great. However I think its a workaround that onshape could easily implement by allowing truely global variables out of the box. ;-)

matthew_stacy

rune_thorsen229 said:

However I think its a workaround that onshape could easily implement by allowing truely global variables out of the box. ;-)

@rune_thorsen229, global variables (accessible across document tabs and even between documents) would be a great addition to Onshape.  I would also like to see addressable sketch dimensions and feature parameters (e.g. d1@extrude1 = 2*d17@sketch1)  SolidWorks has offered that functionality for years.

And why the heck can't we utilize variables in assemblies?

martien

Global variables have now been implemented in OnShape, as a Variable Studio: https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/variable_studio.htm

matthew_stacy

martien_verbruggen said:

Global variables have now been implemented in OnShape, as a Variable Studio: https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/variable_studio.htm

@m@martien_verbruggen, thanks for pointing this out.  It appears to be a big improvement.  The inserted variable table does appear to be versioned, but I have yet to experiment to determine how updates are handled (presumably similar to inserting external parts into an assembly).