Mirrored assemblies that update with changes to the original?

[KevinMacDonald]

I hope I am not abusing the good humor of the many wise voices on this list with all my questions! My learning curve is much accelerated due to the existence of this forum.

I have a complex assembly where I would like to insert a mirror image of it into my project. Some of the parts in the mirror image are truly mirror images of the corresponding parts in the original, while some don't need to be. However, I don't mind if all parts are mirrored. The thing I really want to achieve is to have the mirrored assembly UPDATE when the original changes. Is this possible?

My alternative is to delete, re-mirror the original, and re-constrain each time I change the original. That seems sub-optimal.

Thanks

[Logos_Atum]

Hello there,

i had the same question quite some time ago, it´s not possible yet.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Autodesk-Inventor/Mirroring-and-arrays/td-p/3566294

Feel free to have a look.

Kind regards

Daniel

[SBix26]

What version of Inventor are you using (put this in your signature so you don't have to remember every time)?

How complex an assembly are you talking about?  Ten parts? 500 parts?

Of course Inventor can do this; it's only a question of how much work it would take to set it up, and whether it's worth the effort.  But the answer depends on the version and complexity.

Sam B
Inventor 2012 Certified Professional

Please click "Accept as Solution" if this response answers your question.
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[Logos_Atum]

Ah okay... i mistook that i assume.

I would be interested in a workflow doing that.

I logic i guess... somehow it seems it´s up to

everything.

Thanks in advance

Daniel

[KevinMacDonald]

I am using Inventor 2013. The assembly I want to mirror only has about 10 parts. Ideally, (this is a step I have not done yet), I need to take about 5 parts and turn them into a weldment. Once everything is welded together then I need a true mirror of that weldment in the mirrored assembly. The other parts are not mirrored; i.e. some cylindrical parts such as shafts and bolts.

Thanks!

[SBix26]

Sounds like a good application for multi-body solids.  Model your ten parts as separate solids in one part file, using projected geometry, sketch constraints, patterns, mirrors, etc. to keep them all properly related to one another.  Then push them out (Make Part or Make Components) to separate part files and assemble into weldment(s) and main assembly.

Another approach for this case might be skeletal modeling, where a master sketch is created and derived into each part to locate and size it in proper relation to the other parts.

Any chance you could post your existing parts, or at least images of what you're trying to accomplish?

Sam B
Inventor 2012 Certified Professional

Please click "Accept as Solution" if this response answers your question.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventor Professional 2013 SP1.1 Update 2
Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit, SP1
HP EliteBook 8770w; 8 GB RAM; Core™ i7-3720QM 2.60 GHz; Quadro K4000M
SpaceExplorer/SpaceNavigator NB, driver 3.16.2
still waiting for a foreshortened radius dimensioning tool in Drawing Manager

[KevinMacDonald]

If you'd be willing to look over what I have that would be awesome. Here is a link to download everything. 

Perhaps you could comment on a few problems I'm having. I think I have made a mess of representations. They are not clear to me at all.

1) When I mirror the AFrame I choose to re-use all of the smaller cylindrical parts. That seems to make sense. However, notice that the material and appearance is gone, and I am having trouble setting it back again to the proper material (steel) and color (green). If I try to set the appearance of the entire assembly I incorrectly set the color of the brass parts. If I try to set the appearance on just the steel components I do not see the gree color in the library. Confusing.

2) Try turing the visibility of the "Fronds" folder off. Notice that it says "The components are associately set by other Design View Representations". What other representations? How can I find them and prevent this dis-association from happening? Notice that a bunch of work points and axes become visible again when the Fronds visibility is turned back on. Each time I have to go and turn visibility off for those features again. Can I not simply turn visibilities on and off without messing up the state of things? I think my misunderstanding of representations and associativity is causing me to continually mess up visibilities, materials, and appearances. What is the paradigm?

3) Weldments. It seems proper that I should turn parts of the AFrame into a weldment - the Hub, LegBrace, and RearwardLeg (in the component pattern). But I am afraid to do this because I cannot undo it. I may need to continue editting all those parts.

4) Drawings and BOM. Any advice on this? I've had a bit of success creating individual parts drawings. Any best practices I should follow when dealing with assemblies inserted multiple times etc?

Thanks for any advice you have to offer.

Kevin

[Logos_Atum]

Are the cylindrical parts new solids each? Choosing the solid option when mirroring,

will keep all properties in the mirrored geometry as seen in the original.

Requires you to select  "new solid" when extruding a sketch for example every time.

Kind of good when you got used to it