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Assembling sub-assemblies
lee_peacock
Member Posts: 4 ✭✭
How do I locate (e.g. mate) sub-assemblies within a higher level assembly?
I have a sub-assembly of a timber frame with five separate parts in it. When I try to assemble this in the higher level assembly I select some mate constraints, but it only assembles the part the constraint is on, not the entire sub-assembly. There was an option to solve for whole assembly, but this didn't work. (All the parts and sub-assemblies are fixed, so I don't require any movement like rotation or sliding.)
I'm new to Onshape, so I'm sure it's something I haven't grasped yet. I've tried looking at some of the tutorials, but they don't seem to cover my particular case.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Answers
Without seeing your document, it sounds like you are using fix in your subassemblies when you should be using group or the fastened mate. Fix only applies to the assembly you are in, so if you bring an assembly that has no groups or mates it will act as if you did nothing to the parts.
It sounds like the parts in your sub-assemblies aren't constrained (to each other).
If there are no moving parts and everything is in the correct place in your sub-assembly, you can use a "group" constraint.
You also have the option to "lock" a sub-assembly from the top level so that it behaves rigidly (but you should still ensure things are constrained in the assembly to avoid accidentally ending up with things out of place).
@eric_pesty and @Rhett_Robinson
Many thanks for your replies. I realised that, for any part of my assembly that doesn't move, I needed to use Fastened mate. I know it sounds so obvious now, but it was a real penny drop moment when I realised. Put it down as a 'school boy' error!
Cheers,
Lee