Assembly Tree

[DonR]

I am a newbie and am still finding my way through the learning process. Have a question. Do all parts used in an assembly have to be created within the Assembly design of can I import a stand-alone part I designed earlier? If so, what is the easiest way to do it?

 

[DavidJ]

Either approach is supported.

To bring in an already existing part, use the 'Insert design' icon on the ribbon and browse to the location of the file. Each click in the workspace will place an instance of the part in the assembly. Press Esc to stop inserting copies.

Chances are the part will be in wrong place and/or orientation. Assembly constraints are used to fix the part in place - you can do some initial positioning by click & drag. Shift + drag will rotate the part.

There are plenty of training videos about working with assemblies - if you are using Atom3D, be aware that the videos were produced using Alibre Design, so not all options may be available. In some cases the user interface shown in the video may be a bit out of date.

Assemblies Reference Videos | Alibre 3D CAD

Alibre created a reference video about assemblies for our community to utilize when using Alibre CAD Software. View our full archive of reference videos.

www.alibre.com

 

[DonR]

Either approach is supported.

To bring in an already existing part, use the 'Insert design' icon on the ribbon and browse to the location of the file. Each click in the workspace will place an instance of the part in the assembly. Press Esc to stop inserting copies.

Chances are the part will be in wrong place and/or orientation. Assembly constraints are used to fix the part in place - you can do some initial positioning by click & drag. Shift + drag will rotate the part.

There are plenty of training videos about working with assemblies - if you are using Atom3D, be aware that the videos were produced using Alibre Design, so not all options may be available. In some cases the user interface shown in the video may be a bit out of date.

Assemblies Reference Videos | Alibre 3D CAD

Alibre created a reference video about assemblies for our community to utilize when using Alibre CAD Software. View our full archive of reference videos.

www.alibre.com

Thank you. I will give it try. I need 8 instances of the part for sub assembly.

 

[DavidJ]

If the 8 instances are placed regularly, use assembly pattern.

Also look at 'insert duplicate', from RMB context menu.

 

[BobSchaefer]

Thank you. I will give it try. I need 8 instances of the part for sub assembly.

You can insert the same part multiple times, I do this all the time. They will show up in the design tree with a number in parentheses to differentiate them.

A couple of cautions to keep in mind: First, each part inserted, references the same underlying part/file, so if you modify the item, all copies of the part in your assembly will reflect that change. Second, be aware that if you are editing any of the parts while the assembly is opened, you must use the "Edit here" or "Edit in a separate window" options, otherwise the assembly won't see the changes and will become very confused.

You can edit the part outside of the assembly, as long as the assembly is closed. Also keep in mind if you're using a part in multiple assemblies, again, any changes made to the part will be reflected in all of the assemblies.

Bob