Premachining Representation

[billzm]

Inventor 2013

I am trying to show a part in a drawing of three different configurations of a casting:

1) Rough as received from the foundry

2) Partially machined or rough machined

3) Final machined

What is the most basic bullet-proof way to show this? Three different models?

What is the procedure to change the representation to show changes in the model?

Why does suppressing a machining feature in one representation change all representations?

The rough part is brought into an assembly and the machining or removal of material happens in the assembly.

Bill

[jtylerbc]

I've heard of people doing that, so no, you're not the only one.

Have you ever run into cases where the first and second steps are the same, but two variations of the part have a different final step?  Seems to me that if that condition exists, there's no way in your method to avoid repeating work at the middle stage.

Also, if your intent is to have the part's colors be realistic (i.e. cast surfaces painted, machined surfaces with a metallic texture), you simply can't do that with the assembly weldment method.  You can't set colors for features or individual faces in an assembly.

Aside from the "quirkiness" of a part having to become an assembly just so you can machine it, I don't see any technical reason why it can't work your way.  However, I also don't see much advantage to it over the derived component method.

The derived component technique isn't any more work than the weldment way, as far as I can see.  You do end up with 3 files instead of 2, but depending on how they're being used, that may be a benefit.  Personally, I don't mind techniques that are "quirky" like that if they gain you something - I just don't see where this one does.