I need to "Project" a part's face onto another (via sketch?) in an assembly. How to achieve that?

florian_ford

I have an assembly where i put together different parts from different Part Studios. I need to "project" (Use?) the outline/shape of one part from one Part Studio on another Part (from another Part Studio).

But OS doesn't let me do this from the Assembly tab. I somehow have to bring the whole part in the other Part Studio to be able to enter sketch mode and "Use" the projected outline.

The problem is that the Derived list when I try to copy an object from another Part Studio is empty. If I go in the other Part Studio where i need the part from, I can click Derived and I get the list of all Parts in the other Part Studios in the document. Why would that happen?

florian_ford

Maybe I've been a little vague so I'll try to re-formulate my question because I find OnShape lacking user-friendly ways and most important, intuitive ways of doing things. It might come from a hardcore background like SW but it is supposed to be used by everybody on any device right?

So, back to the subject at hand: I have made an Assembly arrangement of Parts from several Part Studios and I want to experiment different positions where to mount one part. I need to drag it and position it at precise measurements before comitting to a position.

When I decide for a position I need to use that part's mounting face as a template for the holes and recesses (etc). I am currently designing in SpaceClaim, which makes these tasks a breeze.

Can someone lay out for me a good way to achieve this simple workflow in OS?

Even the first part, the one of experimenting different positions in an Assembly seems an impossible taks because I can't seem to be able to do simple tasks like rotating the part to a precise angle. No Snapping at 15deg increments with the Triad, no moving by exact numbers by clicking on the arrows. Also I would find helpful some arrange and distribute mates that are single use.

florian_ford

Update: Sooo un-intuitive ... you have to rotate a selection of parts or one part in the Part Studio so its instances rotate in the Assembly. But if you have one Part that needs to have several instances at different angles in the assembly you'd better have geometry that allows mating.

So basically you should position all your parts at the exact angles in the Part Studio unless you have precise holes and/or surfaces to mate it with in the Assembly. At least there is one solution  

I have to see how mating works in a Part Studio, I hear mates can exist in that.

juan_aviles

Inability to model in assembly mode is the biggest deal breaker for me.  I've read that it will (may) be possible in the future but I don't know.  Currently I treat part studios like assembly studios which to me seems backwards, but it works.

florian_ford

I am used to work in DesignSpark Mechanical... if they would open the software in the cloud and wouldn't cripple it for free riders it would be the best CAD ever. I just hope Onshape will compare one day with the ease of use and the intuitiveness of DSM. DSM doesn't have motion simulation capability in the free version nor does it have mirroring of parts nor 3D text and then some more. However, I found that I can design for these shortcomings and avoid most of them quite easily.

I wish OS would combine the Part Studios and Assemblies in one workspace. I don't need to know where is what I only want to work on my design. All these partitioning and fragmenting of the workflow makes many of us resist switching. It might appeal to hardcore engineers but most of us like to experiment and prototype, exactly what DSM claims to cover.

To be correct, OS is very young and it still has a lot of time and room to grow up. We should be more understanding I guess. So maybe in 6 months try again. Until then, I'm doing here and there something just to take the pulse.

florian_ford

I also wonder why i get "vote downs" for something I am trying to sort out ))
Whoever did that please explain maybe I am hurting some feelings and I want to understand and stop whatever it is that you don't like.

At least I am reporting back what I find so that the next guy doesn't have to go through this.

I hope constructive criticism and sincere opinions aren't something OS or OS fans want to discourage. We're free riders until OS will have decent fees for makers and we can at least do beta-testing and can give feedback. Sometimes harsh feedback yes, cause it's frustrating at times too

So... who was that:) ?

NeilCooke

@florian_ford I understand there may be some frustrations with the workflow in Onshape - it is entirely different from every other CAD system for a reason. Part Studios are for geometry creation and static assemblies (a large percentage of all assembly work), and Assemblies are for checking motion. While DSM is limiting your free use of their mature (SpaceClaim, not free) features, Onshape does not and will not in the future, as we add more features. If you would like to share your document with me I will gladly point you in the right direction.

 

florian_ford

I like the ability to freely move parts around in an assembly to test different positions and angles and so on. The Triad together with the Mates are a powerful combo for this. I would like to have the same flexibility in the Part Studio. But I am yet to figure out using Mates in the Part Studio so I might be completely off about this.

So I am moving and turning parts in an Assembly and when I like what I have I'd like to be able to "Use" the "mounting face" of that part to get the holes' positions and create the same holes on the mounting plate/etc. For this I need to enter "Sketch Mode" straight from the Assembly and "Use" the part I've been moving around.

I can share my doc, it's public: https://goo.gl/YcOsIW
I kind of moved past this by working around it I am not sure how can i demonstrate or better explain. I am sure this is about the workflow I am used to, so adjusting (or rather learning/figuring out) to OS expected workflow is not intuitive to me.