Enveloping components

Andres_Oss

Is there a way to envelope components similarly to Solidworks Envelope functionality?

NeilCooke

Depends what you need it for? You can always use in-context to reference parts that "aren't really there".

adrian_vlzkz

As Neil mentioned, depends on the use case, there are some alternatives that cover some of the scenarios you may have uses Envelop components for.

EvanReese

Does the Calculate Bounds custom feature do what you're after?

Andres_Oss

@Evan_Reese No this is not that.

I will explain a bit more, what I would like to see in Onshape.

Enveloping a part/assembly would mean that it is principally excluded from BOM and it would be visible in models with a different appearance (in Solidworks it is something like 75% transparency and green). In onshape company settings that is good to be configured - as some may want to have some different color.
The principal idea behind that is to fill in the design with a "ghost" model of a component, that can also be used to reference features within the design.
In drawings, by default, these enveloped components are hidden, unless you specify otherwise in view properties to have them visible.

There are some use cases, let's say "current" document/assembly, in which some part of the design (a subassembly) has to be defined and released in some other document/assembly BOM, but one still needs to visualize the presence of this subassembly, in "current" document/assembly.

Or, for instance, the presence of a manufactured/manipulated object in a production line. The product has a presence as an enveloped component within a machine and it will not be visible in BOM and drawings (unless view configured otherwise)...

Andres_Oss

Actually, I now find it is a feature or improvement request. I have posted it here:
https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/22031/enveloping-components#latest
Please vote if you also see it as a necessary feature.

glen_dewsbury

This can be accomplished at the BOM level or the subassembly level. In the BOM level shown below right click and choose exclude. At the subassembly the whole thing can be excluded in the properties so it will behave the same in any BOM.
I was wondering what was meant by enveloping. Haven't worked in SW much for some time now.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/6164a183c20441bb781f7cd0/w/ccde88345499b28baa265f85/e/51e8970e41bd2b66ee9d1620

Andres_Oss

@glen_dewsbury
Yes, there is indeed such functionality to exclude from BOM, but in some instances, I'd like to emphasize these parts/assemblies are excluded from BOM by having correct visual feedback.
There is no way of knowing which parts are actually excluded from BOM, by just looking at the 3D model.
Envelope in its essence allows to differentiate excluded parts visually in 3D and allows to control visibility in drawings.
It's actually a really powerful tool once you know how to take advantage on it.

glen_dewsbury

I found a way to do an appearance change but it involves making configurations. That's a bunch of work to accomplish what you're looking for.
I'd like to see this simplified since it would be quite useful.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/6164a183c20441bb781f7cd0/w/ccde88345499b28baa265f85/e/251df18e1ecaddb0e6bb5224

eric_pesty

I think they call this "volume allocation" in the Onshape top down design course. Haven't used it personally but I can see how it would be useful (especially when dealing with a complex sub-assembly).

You can definitely do it with an assembly configuration by creatin an in-context "block" in your sub-assembly and have a configuration of the sub-assembly where only this "block" is un-suppressed, you can also configure the BOM behavior so nothing show up when in that configuration.

If you used a Featurescript for it you could make it so the transparency/color was always the same to remove some of the manual steps (starting with the "calculate bounds" and adding setting the appearance). 

However that wouldn't help in the drawings though as there is no way to "mix" appearances so it would be a "solid" box (unless you used a shaded view).

glen_dewsbury

@eric_pesty
@Andres_Oss
I just finished some updates for the post above to complete intended BOM behavior's. 
I'll have a look back through top down design for Volume Allocation.