Assembly Component arrays - Associative?
Assembly Component arrays - Associative?
(OP)
Hi all,
I'm working on a range of simple switch boxes which have a linear row of switches, either 2, 3, 4 or 5 switches.
The model for the front of the casing which holds the switches is driven by expressions, so the same model can be used for all versions of the range. The switch spacing is driven by the box width and the number of switches etc..
When I came to assemble the model, I added one of the switches and fully constrained it. I then created a component array, with the number of copies and the spacing driven by expressions again. This worked fine until I went back and changed the depth of the casing. When I updated the assembly, the constrained switch was in the correct place, but the components in the array remained in their original positions.
Is there any way of making associative component arrays? Or do I still have to constrain the arrayed components?
I'm fairly new to NX, so I'm probably missing something simple here.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Mike
I'm working on a range of simple switch boxes which have a linear row of switches, either 2, 3, 4 or 5 switches.
The model for the front of the casing which holds the switches is driven by expressions, so the same model can be used for all versions of the range. The switch spacing is driven by the box width and the number of switches etc..
When I came to assemble the model, I added one of the switches and fully constrained it. I then created a component array, with the number of copies and the spacing driven by expressions again. This worked fine until I went back and changed the depth of the casing. When I updated the assembly, the constrained switch was in the correct place, but the components in the array remained in their original positions.
Is there any way of making associative component arrays? Or do I still have to constrain the arrayed components?
I'm fairly new to NX, so I'm probably missing something simple here.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Mike





RE: Assembly Component arrays - Associative?
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Hudson
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RE: Assembly Component arrays - Associative?
John R. Baker, P.E.
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Siemens PLM Software Inc.
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RE: Assembly Component arrays - Associative?
Thanks for the advice. John, I've tried using the Array After Add option in add component, but I can't get it to work. This sounds ideal for my needs though.
When I do mate the switch to the feature set used for the Instance Feature I get the following message -
'array template is not mated to a valid feature instance.'
Does it matter that the expressions that define the Instance Feature in the part are not found within the assembly?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me with this.
Mike
RE: Assembly Component arrays - Associative?
RE: Assembly Component arrays - Associative?
I am still struggling to get this to work. What do you mean when you say seed hole? Is that just a general term for a feature to be instanced?
The instance feature I used was a linear array of a group of features. When I try to mate the switch to any of the geometry created by these features I get the following message -
'array template is not mated to a valid feature instance.'
Also, there is no link between the switch and the mounting component, each were modelled as seperate parts and then combined in a newly created, empty assembly file. Does this make any difference?
Thanks for any help you can offer,
Mike