Mirroring Constrained components and patterns keeping constraints

[nickhowe]

THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!

Coming from a background of ProE, Usually a mirrored group of constrained parts would mirror with alternative constraints locking them in place. Is there a way to do this in Inventor?

Every time I mirror constrained parts through a Datum plane, the results are loose components that could be dragged anywhere. I might aswell have just placed them again, though it gives me a good idea of where they should be.

Without grounding them, is there someway of locking these compents in the mirrored position.

Also, bolted connections pick up on patterned holes and populate them, yet there is only one constraint to the original hole and the rest can rotate around it.

HEYELP PLEEEASE!

[SeanFarr]

I, as well used to find this annoying, and therefore stopped using the mirror command in an assembly, for 2 reasons:

1- the same issue, that all constraints would not carry over, I think the reason why is because the parts that are being mirrored might not be always constrained to the same existing geometry on the other side of mirror plane,  too hard for inventor to analyze and apply? not sure why the mirrored parts could not keep there constraints to each other though?

2- once the mirror is completed, it generates new parts, which is correct to do in some instances for unique parts, but parts that are symmetrically the same, there is no need to create new parts, so instead of dealing with some parts that are mirrored and not, I just place them in the assembly like a normal part and inventor realizes that this is the same part and keeps track of the quantities. If i absolutely require a part to mirrored, which is rare, I create it as a new part because it is one or 2 parts only for my case.

There should be an option the in the mirror command though to try and keep constraints when doing a mirror.

Not really a solution, but hopefully someone else will have input or workarounds??

Sean

[SBix26]

I, also, don't make that many mirrored components, but when I do, I do it using multi-body solids.  Model one half, mirror solid to a new solid, then make parts or just do the derive manually.

This method allows non-symmetric features to be easily added to each part, while maintaining the essential symmetry.  If you model with some forethought around the symmetry plane, you can very easily constrain in the assembly so that symmetry is maintained regardless of design changes.