Content Center and Assemblies

[HoytWood]

Is there a way to put assemblies into the content center? We have a vast array of assemblies that are common for us to use in our product line and I want to put them into a library or content center so we can just drag and drop them into our custom work that way we don't have to keep copying them in the vault and then moving them to other folders.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

If those assemblies never change then you can make your own library i Prosjects. 

What you do is that you tell Inventor in which directory your standard parts are.

After you have done this and you want to place an assy in you main assy you will get an extra posibility under workspace.

If you have done it correct you will have the name of your library there and you can pick your assemblies.

Hope this helps.

Toon

[Arcathorn]

Can you give me an example? In the past I have always avoided libraries and the content center due to a MASSIVE issue a few years ago. And now finally I am getting into it because I have realized I am working harder and not smarter.

How do you publish to a libarary with an assembly and can it live on our vault server? I have started building a part database on the vault with iparts and a few common ones but when it comes to assemblies I was unsure how to publish them to the library.

[Anonymous]

Hello again,

You don't have to publisch, just save your assemblies and the parts in a directory. Or you point to the directory you already have with the standard parts/asseblies you have.

But the thing is that you can place them i an assembely but you can't change them. You get them as they are.

It works fine. Use it all the time (not with Vault).

Toon

[CESAR200]

Hello Hoyt,

Publishing assemblies to a Content Center library is an enhancement request that has been in the list of product developers since several releases back.  Unfortunately, it has not yet been implemented.

There is already a request for that functionality in the IdeaStation forum, which is currently 'under review'.  I encourage you to vote for it (give kudos) to increase its visibility.

   http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Inventor-IdeaStation/Content-Center-support-for-assemblies/idi-p/36842...

For the time being, you will have to use alternative workflows like the one proposed by Toon or explore other workarounds.  If you don't need the assembly structure and can insert the assembly into other assemblies as a single component, you can derive your assemblies as parts.

I hope this helps,

[cbenner]

What we do is create a new part, then Derive the assembly in that part.  The part can then be published.

If the assembly changes down the road, you can open the derived part (not from the Content Center, but from wherever you saved it before you published it), update the derived part to get the changes made to the assembly.  The go back to the CC, right click the part and choose Replace Family Template and select the updated derived part.