iProperties Question

[SteveFrey]

In my .IDW I use the balloon to identify parts in the drawing by name by pointing to the item description in the iProperties.  I have several sub-assemblies (hinges) that consist of 20 or so parts and I want to be able to balloon this assembly by pointing to it like I do standard parts.  Is there a way that I can accomplish this without naming each description the same thing?  The hinge is something we purchase and do not modify it.  I still want my BOM and Parts List to reflect one hinge and by type (top or bottom).  Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

[Lancasterm]

If the hinge (assembly) is purchased, what about making the hinge just a part or a derived part in the assembly?  For us we don't want to manage purchased components as assemblies.   Another idea is to make the parts that form the hinge assembly as reference (BOM structure) parts.

Update:

Also what type of BOM are your using:  Structured or Parts Only?

[rhasell]

I assume you have done the usual of Structured and Parts ony etc.

What I have done is create a custom property. This property is a bit of a ****, because It is used in so many of my fields.

It started from Engineering drawings, so my property is called "ENG" In hindsight, not the best, but everything is setup to use this field.

The balloons all refer to ENG

The Drawing title block refers to ENG

View names refer to ENG.

It find it much easier to rename the ENG field than to rename/use the description/part number/stock number.

If needed I also have an ENG2.

It might not solve your immediate problem, but it might help in the future?

[cbenner]

I like Lancasterm's suggestion... make the hinges derived parts.  That way they show up in your parts list and BOM as a single item, and reflect what you are actually buying... a unit.  We do this a lot with valve assemblies that we buy pre-assembled, the unit has a single part number, and there is no need for us to show the components in our BOM... only the valve assembly itself.

Hope this helps.

[jddickson]

Here is a link that might help you.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Autodesk-Inventor/Leader-Text-Question/m-p/4317172#M475547

I hope this helps.

[rhasell]

Just a quick thought.

Have you tried setting the Hinge sub assembly as "Inseperable" in the BOM?

[SteveFrey]

No, but I will try it.

[SteveFrey]

If I make it into a part then I can't use it in any pos reps, etc.  I still need it to move.  If I mark the parts of the assembly as Reference Parts will it still be identified when I balloon it?  I'll have to try it.

[SteveFrey]

I will try it.  Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Try setting the BOM Structure to purchased for your hinge assembly.

[RobertaLaSesus]

I do the same thing (balloning) to number components.  Usually it messes up and I end up just manually numbering to match the BOM. 

R.

[rhasell]

I haven't tested positional reps when setting an assembly as inseparable, I will do so on Monday. At least you can reference the assembly as a single item in the BOM and balloons.

I would stay away from reference, because its, not and it will cause issues when detailing.

[rhasell]

Ok done. it works.

Hope it works for you.

I took two plates and put them together and created 2 positional reps. I set the BOM to Inseperable, and this is the result. (2 x Hinges, not 4 plates.)