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Main assembly
john_brodowski
Member Posts: 37 ✭
in General
All my documents are public. I assume they can be opened and viewed by all.
In my Documents, there are 2 sub assemblies, ROBOT and ROBOT 2.
This is what I would like to do.
1-Create new assembly named ROBOT MAIN
2-Insert ROBOT and ROBOT 2 into it
3-Mate ROBOT and ROBOT 2 at the holes in ROBOT per Sketch 8 and similar holes in ROBOT 2 (Part 1 <13>)
I have been interacting with the Support for many days how to do it. I have obtained quick response but the information was incomplete,
vague and sometimes not true.
I tend to believe Cody Armstrong`s statement in his last presentation. Assemblies in ONSHAPE are created mainly for items having motion.
Well...I engineer and design systems consisting of multiple sub assemblies .It is essential that I insert sub assemblies into main assemblies
quickly and efficiently.
I would appreciate if someone could show me how I can accomplish the above. No words please..SHOW ME.
Thank you very much
In my Documents, there are 2 sub assemblies, ROBOT and ROBOT 2.
This is what I would like to do.
1-Create new assembly named ROBOT MAIN
2-Insert ROBOT and ROBOT 2 into it
3-Mate ROBOT and ROBOT 2 at the holes in ROBOT per Sketch 8 and similar holes in ROBOT 2 (Part 1 <13>)
I have been interacting with the Support for many days how to do it. I have obtained quick response but the information was incomplete,
vague and sometimes not true.
I tend to believe Cody Armstrong`s statement in his last presentation. Assemblies in ONSHAPE are created mainly for items having motion.
Well...I engineer and design systems consisting of multiple sub assemblies .It is essential that I insert sub assemblies into main assemblies
quickly and efficiently.
I would appreciate if someone could show me how I can accomplish the above. No words please..SHOW ME.
Thank you very much
0
Comments
Link looks something like this:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/75b863b1b99b44a9adfe592b/w/c21d5e27e5974daab39be3d1/e/b8c0339e05e44d0ebe31d205
We are all busy though willing to help, it's not time well spent crawling through public documents to find yours.
I hope this is it.
This is ROBOT 2
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d1ba9cf350654e5bb45c5420/w/365afc68338a4173a31162f7/e/6dfe21a117bf450e9bfd73dc
Links to ROBOT and ROBOT 2.
I am trying to create new ROBOT MAIN assembly and insert ROBOT and ROBOT 2 into it and then mate them.
I have noticed that only PARTS can be copied to CLIP BOARED.
I could not copy assembly into CLIP BOARD.
If I could, both ROBOT and ROBOT 2 could be placed in the TABS of ROBOT MAIN assembly, then both would appear in the PARTS
and ASSEMBLY listing.
I have used EXPORT and IMPORT to create ROBOT 2. I am not sure that is the right way to do it, but I could not do it any other way
I am used to using SAFE AS commend. It is a very simple way to modify parts and assemblies without changing the originals, and insert them into
any part of system or subsystem assemblies.
I do not want to create one big assembly in the PARTS STUDIO. I want to create main assembly and insert all the sub assembly easily
and seamlessly.
The principle ability of all presently existing 3D modeling and design software is to save one document, (file)change it if required without changing the
original and use it in many different systems, sub systems or assemblies. You are calling it "inter document referencing"
How could you miss such an important ability in ONSHAPE.?
Designing large system consisting of many assemblies in one document is very inefficient.
It requires assembling each assembly individually in one document. System consisting let say 1000 parts and assemblies is virtually impossible
to do that way.
You have not made a comment about inability to "COPY to CLIP BOARD " assemblies . Only individual parts can be copied and inserted into TABs
in different documents.
If assemblies could be copied to CLIP BOARED , edited and be inserted into a new document you could achieve kind of "inter document referencing.
If you check out the Onshape team page, this is the dream team of CAD who's who's and we have the hindsight of having done this previously when we wrote SolidWorks.
Onshape will be the preeminent professional grade CAD, cloud or otherwise. We are cranking out new functionality at a prodigious rate (the next release is likely to be this Friday) and will get to everything in the order that maximizes the most number of people's ability to get their work done.
Soap box stand aside - the answer to your question is that until we have inter-document referencing, the work around is to export the assembly as parasolid directly into a new tab and then with the next click, translate it back as a single part studio making sure to select the 'flatten' option. This new tab can now be copied and pasted into the target document. Once in the target document, these components (individually or en-mass) can be inserted into any other assembly or derived into any existing part studio.
So the bottom line is that even though it's far from perfect, it's entirely possible to do what you're asking.
Thank you for your support of Onshape
The underlying paradigm is radically different from Pro-E, SolidWorks/Edge, et al,
It makes no sense to me to try to warp it so it is superficially familiar, as the OP seems to be demanding.
Onshape have repeatedly acknowledged the importance of inter-document referencing, and re-committed to getting it right, but it's understandable that they cannot do it by waving a magic wand. A premature, half-baked implementation would be a catastrophe for them and for us.
It's a really big challenge, because in some ways it's fundamentally incompatible with Onshape's underlying paradigm. One primary focus of that paradigm is to eliminate the need for the type of inter-document referencing which has proved so toxic in the "me too" modelers mentioned earlier.
The above link is showing 2 assemblies -ROBOT and ROBOT 2.
In one of my previous posts I have stated that I have done what you are suggesting.
Maybe I was not clear enough, but
please look at the above documents and try to manipulate either ROBOT or ROBOT 2 and MATE them with the PART 1<6> in ROBOT and
PART 1<3> in ROBOT 2
If you can do it, I would be very happy, please show me how, if you can.
Please understand, I am not trying to be difficult. I see many good things in ONSHAPE, but I would like resolve the above issue.
Indaer -- Aircraft Lifecycle Solutions
Things I have learnt from your document.
1) Part Studio 7 : Part1 : sketch 1 : There are two lines that are 0.4 degrees wrt each other. This kind of stuff will drive you nuts in any system because now mates that should work, mysteriously dont.
2) The creation of mates in part studios (such as the lead screw) make life a lot easier. Placing the mate connector wrt the origin or some other finite location eliminates a potential problem associated with trying to put one on either the centroid or the arc center of the end of the screw (its not obvious which is right).
3) The use of groups in any assembly saves a ton of mates. Use groups to associate parts that do not move wrt each other.
I used a slider mate to allow the carriage to slide along the rail.
I used a cylindrical mate on the lead screw (2 degrees of freedom) and a screw mate relation to advance the carriage when the screw is turned.
The screw mate relation has the unique characteristic of only requiring as input one mate (the cylindrical).
Whenever two mates cannot be simultaneously satisfied, you get mate failures. In this case the fact that the face of the motor mount was not vertical meant than ANY two mates involving this face would fail (true of any system).
Here is the document that i proved all this out on.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/fa2cd9193e44444187b72997/w/b3bdecaa7ef24493b914074c/e/fe3493c125234483a1f1ec98
Hopefully these insights (and proof), will get you going.
Indaer -- Aircraft Lifecycle Solutions
You can also refer below document link for constraining assembly parts.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/659e3f6e2c604c9c8d0f3b77/w/fa29116384ae4cd1b35ffb1e/e/e324d091eabb425695af8849
I am not talking about my sloppy mates and connectors. I would learn eventually to do it correctly.
I want to MATE ROBOT and ROBOT 2 in one MAIN ASSEMBLY, as specified in my last post.
The link below is showing ROBOT and ROBOT 2 assemblies.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d1ba9cf350654e5bb45c5420/w/365afc68338a4173a31162f7/e/6dfe21a117bf450e9bfd73dc
SHOW ME those 2 assemblies MATED in new assembly. No mating part by part, in one document.
I have no idea why it is so difficult to grasp what I am talking about and trying to do.
One more thing that is being avoided in the discussions, it is impossible to copy assembly into CLIPBOARD, only individual parts can be copied.
If assemblies could be copied, then they could be inserted in TAB in any assembly. That would be the easiest way to accomplish what I am trying
to do.
Assembly of multiple assemblies would be very easy.
As I have shown in this thread, I am more than willing (and able!) to fix/solve/explain your problems.
The most productive route would be for us to talk.
My direct number is; Tel: 339-204-6988 x4009
Or, to book time on my calendar - use this link; www.calendly.com/pthomas
If that doesn't help you then you need to explain things better as to what you are trying to do and work with the software not at a tangent to it. Alternatively keep banging the head on the wall.........the answer will surely come !
Here is a link for a document with 2 sub assemblies in it. ROBOT and ROBOT 2.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d1ba9cf350654e5bb45c5420/w/365afc68338a4173a31162f7/e/6dfe21a117bf450e9bfd73dc
I have created new document ROBOT MAIN.
When I tried to insert the 2 sub assemblies into to PARTS and ASSEMBLIES of ROBOT MAIN they were not found.
Are you telling me that I should create 2 sub assemblies in the same document from scratch, part by part ?
That is exactly what I am trying to avoid.
I have 2 sub assembly already, all I want to do is to MATE them at specified locations in ROBOT MAIN.
It would be nice if assemblies could be copied to CLIPBOARD. Only parts can be copied to CLIPBOARD.
That function would eliminate many steps in order to achieve what I am trying to do. TABS could be used to INSERT any sub assembly into
main assembly.
Thank you
Functionality I am looking for in ONSHAPE is available in CREO , it is basic in all the modeling software presently available.
All the files (documents) reside in CREO folder, all I have to do is to click on the part or assembly in that folder and and insert that in the document
I am working on.
SAVE AS function is also very handy.
Regarding the information that Onshape are working on the functionality being demanded:
At least one other person did try much earlier, which the OP also "somehow has missed"
and (if my comment is re-read in context) I tried to explain why it made no sense to require Onshape to solve this problem in the same way others have done.
Which the OP still seems to be advocating for, strenuously.
I did not mean to be sarcastic about" the head" but please understand that for the longest time I was instructed how I could accomplish my end.
Now I find that it was not possible at this time. I assume full responsibility for it, because I should red posts more carefully.
I do like many futures in ONSHAPE that CREO does not have and wish ONSHAPE best of luck with new updates.
Meantime I will learn more ONSHAPE functions.
Best regards, John