Update changed part in an assembly

[JerryB]

I have an assembly created from a numbrer of part files. I have made corrections in one of the part files, but cannot figure out how to update the part in the assembly. Regenerate did not do it.

 

[Ken226]

I added "Alibre Expert Pro" under my profile, but do not see it anyplace on the Forum screen. Do you see it now?

The signature is visible to those using a computer, but if viewing the forums mobile version on a phone, it isn't.

At least, on my Android phone it isn't.

 

[JerryB]

Thanks Ken. I'm on an Android too.

 

[simonb65]

I have an assembly created from a numbrer of part files. I have made corrections in one of the part files, but cannot figure out how to update the part in the assembly. Regenerate did not do it.

2 fundamental rules when editing parts in an assembly ...

1) If the assembly is open, ONLY use 'Edit here' or 'Edit in a seperate window'. When you close the part the assembly will update.
2) If you edit a part and the assembly is not open, then save the part, close the part then open the assembly. It will bring in the changes.

Warning : If you open an assembly, then open a part and edit it (not using rule 1 above). Saving the part will/may get overwritten when you close the assembly. Doing this type of edit, the assembly knows nothing of the edited part as it has already loaded one into memory that is NOT the same data that you open and edit outside the assembly!

 

[JerryB]

I understand and thank you for the education.

It would be nice if Alibre could flag part files as owned by the assemble when opening an assembly which uses them, or when adding them to an assembly. Then release the ownership of the parts when the assembly is closed. Then Alibre could check the ownership flag upon opening a part file. If owned by an active assembly, a warning message could be displayed notifying the user. And the part could be opened in read-only mode, or not opened.

 

[simonb65]

It would be nice if Alibre could flag part files as owned by the assemble when opening an assembly which uses them, or when adding them to an assembly. Then release the ownership of the parts when the assembly is closed. Then Alibre could check the ownership flag upon opening a part file.

I think this has been discussed a while ago, i.e. lock the parts like Microsoft office locks excel, word files, etc (and become read only) when they are open by another process or user. It would remove the chances of users unintentionally screwing things up.

 

[JerryB]

So basically, I need to avoid having a parts file open while having an assembly file open which uses that part. Are any of the following a problem?

1. Having multiple parts files open at once.
2. Having multiple unrelated assembly files open at once?
3. Having multiple assembly files which use the same parts in common open at once?
4. Having an assembly file open while having an unrelated parts files open?

 

[simonb65]

So basically, I need to avoid having a parts file open while having an assembly file open which uses that part. Are any of the following a problem?

1. Having multiple parts files open at once.
2. Having multiple unrelated assembly files open at once?
3. Having multiple assembly files which use the same parts in common open at once?
4. Having an assembly file open while having an unrelated parts files open?

3. is very problematic if you decide to edit any of the parts and really not recommended! I would only do this for viewing assemblies and doing zero editing.

Try to only open the top level assembly and then open sub-assemblies or constituent parts from that assembly. This is the only way you won't make a big mistake and in practice, you shouldn't need multiple parts or assemblies open at the same time ... unless you need to view one for reference whilst creating/editing the other!

 

[JerryB]

Understood, thanks

In reading through the best practices, I see the paragraph below.

• Save your project(s) to a new file name for each major revision, in case you need to go back a step.

If I use save-as from within Alibre, the copy will get a new internal ID. Won't that will make it difficult to back up to in an existing assembly if reverting to a prior version of the part?

Or, is this a situation where I should copy the file in Windows to maintain the internal ID, and keep it in a separate location? Then I could revert to that version simply by using Windows to copy the saved version to replace the current version.

 

[HaroldL]

Or, is this a situation where I should copy the file in Windows to maintain the internal ID, and keep it in a separate location? Then I could revert to that version simply by using Windows to copy the saved version to replace the current version.

It is best to NEVER copy a file in Windows. always use Save As and append the file name with a version number if needed. The new PDM system should eliminate this - if/when it ever gets released.

 

[JerryB]

Okay, but Alibre has no facility for periodically backing up my files to my server. I'll have to continue doing that through Windows, but I'm sure it's not a problem.

 

[simonb65]

Okay, but Alibre has no facility for periodically backing up my files to my server. I'll have to continue doing that through Windows, but I'm sure it's not a problem.

If your only making a 'backup' copy on your server that gets 'restored' back to the same location on your working machine, then that is fine. The problems with windows copy that people get into is when they copy a part (using explorer) to another project then use that in another alibre design. That will break the internal reference integrity.

I 'copy' my alibre files to my server using things like git, cvs and svn. That only makes archive type duplicates which are in no danger of ever being 'spread' amongst projects or edited outside their correct file structure, and they always get put back into the same robust Alibre framework when the time comes to edit, etc.

If you understand the difference between backup/restore and blatant raw file copy and re-use, then you have nothing to worry about!

As @HaroldL says, when PDM is released, that should manage the backend of file management safely ... still won't stop users copying files outside Alibre between projects and breaking stuff though!

 

[JerryB]

That brings up an interesting related topic. Cloning existing files (part, drawing, assembly) into a new project. How should that be done, when I want to create a new (modified) project from an existing one?

 

[DavidJ]

Simplest answer is Save All As - though there can be some aspects to be aware of. After saving all the (linked) files to a new location, you can then edit as needed.

 

[simonb65]

Simplest answer is Save All As - though there can be some aspects to be aware of. After saving all the (linked) files to a new location, you can then edit as needed.

This ^

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

I've started creating package files of my assemblies as backups.

 

[JerryB]

By "package files" do you mean ZIP files, or someting else?

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

See here: https://help.alibre.com/articles/alibre-help-v27/product-fundamentals-opening-and-saving-files-package-file

Unfortunately with package files and any of the "save as" / "save all as" methods Alibre Design only captures from there down. Which for most of my projects - having a single top down file hierarchy is rarely true. I often have a single drawing file of the topmost assembly, so a package of that drawing will include the drawing and all assembly parts - but other drawing files for the project are not included in the package.

I've talked many times in the past about an idea I had for an Alibre Project file. There would need to be an editor for it but internally it would be a human readable text based file of some format (CSV, JSON,... ) that instructs Alibre Design on what files are part of a project (multiple, drawings, assemblies,... and including outside file types). Then an entire project can be backed up or copied.

 

[JerryB]

I keep all files for a given design under a single directory. It may contain subdirectories for organization. And almost all my designs will have a number of part files, with almost all of them having corresponding drawing files. Plus, there are usually a number of assembly files, with a drawing file for each, and many with a second drawing file for an exploded view. Then, I often have another level (or two) of nested assembly files, each with associated drawing files.

The Alibre Package concept is grossly inadequate for this situation as described. But Zip can handle it just fine. So why not let Alibre handle CAD which it is good at, and let Zip handle what it is good at doing? Am I missing something?

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

Duplicate an entire project that way and now every part has the same internal numbers as their counterpart in the original. This will cause major problems if you ever use both products or parts of them in the same assembly.

 

[JerryB]

I wasn't talking about duplication to create a modified version of the project. I was talking only about backing up a project into a nice single file package. Isn't that what Alibre packages do, partially?