A Mfg Part Inside an Assembly

[quest4k]

Good after noon, I hope that I can explain this correctly. I want to create an assembly, but one part in the assembly is a manufactured part and it is a separate rooute step in the assembly. Basically it is a shaft, with a few parts on it. I don't want to create a phantom parts for this because each one of these files is tied to our main dbase. I hope that someone out there understands what I am doing and can tell me how to do it or even if it can be done. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

I don't understand the problem. Are you saying you want to exclude the shaft from that assemblys BOM?


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[quest4k]

Thank you for the response, I want to make the model of the shaft right in the model and have no external file, like the other components have. Matbe that is a little clearer, I hope.

 

[ShaggyPE]

It sounds like you are using solidworks in a somewhat non-typical manner. Are you modelling an assembly all in the context of a part?

I am not going to get on a high horse and tell you that you should model it as an assembly. I will just assume that you have a reason for what you are doing.

One thing you can do is "save as" your shaft as a part. Open up that part file and model all of your other components within that file. This will give you the geometry of the shaft without tying it to the saved shaft from your database.

-Shaggy

 

[quest4k]

The shaft is a part andit is used nowhere else, so in the BOM and Route we create it from raw material and to tie this assembly to it correctly, I was trying to create a part in the assembly and then in the bom, it would appear as just --- or something. This was very doable in a certain other system, which I will not name, but I have yet to figure it out in SW. I actually have several parts like this one and I have been avoiding then so far. I need to create the shaft first and then put it into the MFG templet part of the drawing and then import the components to finish the assembly and then put the whole assembly into the assembly drawing templet part of the drawing. Then when we get the drawing file from the main dbase, it will bring in both of the drawings. Does any of that make sense? If we have a different file name for the shaft, the dbase will not be able to find the shaft.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Why not just use the Exclude from BOM option?


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How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091

 

[quest4k]

I not sure I understand what you are saying, but I will still have to be able to get a drawing of the shaft and at the same time the whole assembly drawing needs to be there. I am not get a warm fuzzy feeling about this one.

 

[ctopher]

Something doesn't seem clear to me.
You have separate parts, make an assy from them, then the assy dwg. What exactly different than this are you trying to achieve?

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[MadMango]

I think there is a problem with some of the terminology you are using, this is throwing everyone off.

"Phantom" parts and assemblies is functionality and terminology of ERP or PLM systems, not SolidWorks.

In SolidWorks, all files in the Assembly will have references. Part files are the master files, from them you create Drawings and Assemblies. You can also create drawings from your Assemblies. They all reference back to the SLDPRT files however.

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]
Steven K. Roberts, Technomad
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[ShaggyPE]

It sounds like you have an assembly specific component. Basically a part that is either altered for this specific situation, or made to fit its mating components with out regard for interchangeability.

We run into this situation sometimes. An example is a flexible hose assembly that will be routed to a couple of fittings. The hose is a standard part. The routed hose is assembly specific. In this situation, we name the routed hose the partnumber of the assembly it will go into, and then underscore, and then the part number of the hose assembly. Essentially: 1010568_1000463. Denoting that the hose model belongs only to 1010568.

Your situation sounds a bit different in that your database system can only associate one file to a specific part number. Am I correct in this assertion?

-Shaggy

 

[quest4k]

Thank you for the response Shaggy, in a manor of speaking yes. You have those flexible hoses, too. I have not even gotten to them yet. A simple way of maybe describing this is if you look at a gas grill and the nipple that goes into the valve on the tank. The niple has an o-ring on it. So I want to make the nipple in the file and have a drawing of the nipple and then I would import the o-ring and then have an assembly drawing. As for MadM. yes, PLM is were I came from and where this worked very easily and I said I was not going there and open that can of worms up, so lets not.

 

[quest4k]

Let me just ask this one dumb question, is there a way the create layers in the model file? I know it can be done in the drawing file. Thanks.

 

[MadMango]

It almost sounds like you are making a single-level assy without any sub-assys, but you want/need subs.

Using your example of the gas grill. Make an assy of the nipple and o-ring, save that as an assy. Then insert that assy (now a sub-assy) into your top level assy of the grill model.

Sorry if I'm not helping, I just can't seem to wrap my brain around your problem the way you are describing it.

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]
Steven K. Roberts, Technomad
Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[quest4k]

Thanks again for the response. These are just single level assemblies, there lies the problem. I have a feeling that SW can not do what I need it to do. Well, thanks anyway and thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

[ctopher]

My suggestion is the same as MadMango. Use subassy's.
Create the models the same order at which they get built.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[quest4k]

Well, I tried that and I wond up with and extra part, one which does not exist in our dbase and no way of getting it to print out from the main dbase, which is all that the people up front care about. This is not going to be a small issue, we have 110 or so more just like this one and I have not gotten to the flexible hose assemblies yet.

 

[ShaggyPE]

It sounds like you have a part number for a nipple with an o-ring, but no part number for the machined nipple.

Typically, the machined nipple would be assigned a part number. The o-ring would be assigned a part number. Finally, the assembly of the nipple and the o-ring would also receive a part number. In the solidworks world, you would have two parts resulting in one assembly.

The best suggestion I can give is to name your nipple file as "partnumber_NIPPLE" and the assembly would be "partnumber". Your database would reference the assembly part number.

It sounds to me like there is a limitation in your database. Can you explain the function of your database? Is it just to list the relevant files? If that is the case, it would seem just listing the .sldasm file would suffice.

-Shaggy

 

[mncad]

I believe you could get around your situation by creating the nipple as a part and creating the o-ring in the same file in its correct position, but click off the "Merge result" when you create the feature this will create the o-ring as a Multi Body. It will not show up in any BOM or create a separate file but it will look correct in your model.

mncad

 

[quest4k]

Thanks again for the response, Shaggy. Bingo, you apear to have the nail on the head. The main dbase is the business dbase, with all of he routes and BOM's and everything else a good business system has in it. Linked to the Item master files are all kinds of things including the drawings. Nornallywhen we would send a job order oout to the shop floor, both drawing would go with it and so would a copy of the work order, tooute and BOM. As soon as the parts are machined, then they are cleaned and sent into assembly and the o-ring is put onto each nipple and then they go to packaging and onto the shelf. This is what is in the route already. Acounting is happy because they have less parts in the system or as they like to call them, sku's. Now I have written a few small dbases and I do understand them and the code is pretty simple, find the drawing with the same name os the current item, in this directory. That is in layman's terms of course. If it matters the drawing are saved as .pdf files. Does this make a little more sense? Thanks agin.

 

[keepinitcool]

I would suggest what mncad is saying, assuming I understand the situation. Just add onto an existing part the extra "parts" but do not merge them in so they are visually separate. So that part will then have an extra configuration with the mating part attached to it. And then you can choose the correct configuration for the drawing or assembly, but without adding another part file.