Configured Properties grows exponentially

n_schoemaeker

Hi everyone,

I like the Configurations & Configured Properties features of OnShape, and I'm using it quite extensively.

I remember reading about Configurations being a very plus in OnShape when compared with other CAD systems, because it means we could have checkboxes, list inputs & variables configured independently and we did not need to have a *huge* table with all permutations each time.

This is great and I love it.

But with configured Properties, I'm feeling that either I'm doing something wrong, or it kinds of brings back the huge-table-with-all-possibilities on the table.

Here's my issue: I have a panel connector to which I added some configurations, namely:

• I have a List Input "gender" which allows me to select whether the connector is Male / Female
• I have a Configuration Variable (type: Integer) which allows me to select the number of contacts my connector has (between 2 and 8)
• I have a checkbox which allows me to show the connector's cap or not
• I have a Configuration Variable (type: Length) which allows me to select the width of the panel

It works very well, until I need to use the Configured Properties, because some of these Configurations affect the Name, Part Number, and Description, etc.

The issue I'm having is that Configured Properties needs to have *every* Configurations filled in, otherwise it doesn't work.

So for instance, suppose my Part Number is built something like this: CONN-M-2 ("CONN" is generic, "M" is for "Male" (would be "F" for "Female") and "2" is the number of contacts, it could be anything from 2 to 8).

In this case, the fact that the connector's cap is shown or not is cosmetic and doesn't affect the Part Number, and likewise for the panel length. But the tab in Configured Properties still requires me to fill in those Configurations. So I fill in for Gender: Male - Nb Connectors: 2 - Show cap: checked - Panel Width: 3mm to have my Part Number be CONN-M-2. If I change the panel thickness to 2mm, then I have an empty Part Number (it actually gets worse because in my example I also change the Description and the Name, which are also empty).

So I do have to create a table with all possibilities, which is very cumbersome, especially when one adds a property later and it messes with my BoM generation.

So my question is: is there a way to get around this and I am missing it? Otherwise, I think I'll create a Feature Request so that Configured Properties allows to ignore a Configuration. In my case, I would ignore the Configuration Variable (type Length) which gives the panel's width, and I would ignore the Checkbox "Show cap".

Thanks in advance for your time and answers!

MinutemenDesign

What Onshape is missing is the ability to use a wildcard when working with configuration properties. I would use the 'contact support' to request this feature.

CBowers

Same-ish issue here. We have a family of parts that are infinitely configurable, but I really want them to have the same name depending on the function. We don't use part numbers as every job we do is custom. I have a splice plate, a keeper plate, and a backer plate. All 3 plates are made from the same model, but the height, width, thickness, number of holes, size and location of holes can change for each job. No matter which of those things changes, a splice plate is always a "Splice Plate", a keeper plate is always a "Keeper Plate", and a backer plate is always a "Backer Plate". I would like the part name to always reflect one of those 3 depending on which function is chosen, but the configured properties also take into account all the other variables. What we do instead is make a derived part configuration for each project, instead of adding new "saved" configurations to the original file.

n_schoemaeker

Ah so I'm not the only one, okay.

It seems weird that this was missed, because the Configuration panel is very greatly made (IMO). The fact that we can have several independent configuration variables / list is very handy.

It's just too bad the Configured Properties can't use wildcard as @MinutemenDesign said or just ignore some columns.

I hope it gets accepted as a feature request!

alnis

Not an official solution, but a great workaround:

You can use the property explorer custom feature to parametrically set properties:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/67e94d9f28bea28acfe4cd2f/v/0c637ef1bdb47ec7aa6cd284/e/a9b8c809e1efd34aa490629e

Example document:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d0b872b8235c594284c729b6/w/edff580aebae07c5a8cf3ecc/e/9f404c498b55556f04e07f11

Note that it can be a little tricky to get the syntax right for the properties. Be sure to right-click your part in the parts panel in the left sidebar > Properties... > Reset all if you have manually edited the properties you want to set. If they are manually edited, it overrides their value unless you reset them through this menu. Unfortunately, this also resets appearances, part name, etc., so it can be a little bit of a hassle, but not as much as having to make manual configuration tables. Once you get the hang of it, it speeds up properties in new projects a ton!