Show a component from top assembly in multiple subassemblies

[WillMorganmhs]

What I want to be able to do is show parts as a reference in multiple subassembly drawings.

Example: You have one conveyor that is fed by multiple other conveyors. You want to put the fed conveyor on one drawing and the feeding conveyors on individual drawings. Each of these conveyors is a subassembly inside the main assembly. This system is too large to put these on one drawing. In the drawing of the feeding conveyor you want the fed conveyor to show up as reference in each of the feeding conveyor drawings so it is clear to the installer where these two subassemblies connect. You still need to make a separate drawing of the fed conveyor.

How do I do that? 

Inventor 2015

FDS 2015

[TONELLAL]

If I understood, you mean you have a conveyor which, depending of the drawings, have to be represented as a normal component or as a reference component.

• If you have several assemblies, using the same conveyor, you can define for each assembly if the conveyor is "Reference" or "Default" : on the component, right clic > BOM structure > Default or Reference.
• If you have only one general assembly, create multiple assemblies, then use the first solution. This mean you'll have, for example : ConveyorAB.iam using ConveyorA.iam and ConveyorB.iam, ConveyorBC.iam, using ConveyorB.iam and ConveyorC.iam. ConveyorB.iam will be Normal in ConveyorAB.iam, but Reference in ConveyorBC.iam. The general arrangement drawing will contain ConveyorA.iam + ConveyorB.iam + ConveyorC.iam.
• If you cannot create several assemblies, the only way I see is :  in the drawing, create a layer named Reference, with a specific line type. From the browser, for each view, select the component you want to see as Reference. Right clic > "Select edges", then move them on Reference layer.

Hope this helps !

[mcgyvr · Accepted solution]

Just drop the (conveyor that is fed by other conveyors) into each of the subs and set it as reference.

Then use design view reps to turn its visibility off in the main assembly. 

[WillMorganmhs]

In my situation I do only one general assembly.

When I tried to do this: 
" for example : ConveyorAB.iam using ConveyorA.iam and ConveyorB.iam, ConveyorBC.iam, using ConveyorB.iam and ConveyorC.iam. ConveyorB.iam will be Normal in ConveyorAB.iam, but Reference in ConveyorBC.iam. The general arrangement drawing will contain ConveyorA.iam + ConveyorB.iam + ConveyorC.iam."

When I tried to add ConveyorB.iam to the subassembly ConveyorAB.iam (after adding it to ConveyorBC.iam and setting it as a reference) it set ConveyorAB.iam as a subassembly of ConveyorBC.iam instead of leaving it as a subassembly of ConveyorABC.iam. ConveyorAB needs to stay a subassembly of ConveyorABC. How do I keep ConveyorAB and ConveyorBC on the same level in the tree? 

[TONELLAL]

You have to create several subassemblies, but not all of them will be used in the same general assembly :

• create ConveyorA.iam, ConveyorB.iam, ConveyorC.iam
• create ConveyorAB.iam = ConveyorA.iam + ConveyorB.iam (B as reference)
• create ConveyorBC.iam = ConveyorB.iam + ConveyorC.iam (B as normal)
• create GeneralConveyor.iam = ConveyorA.iam + ConveyorB.iam + ConveyorB.iam

ConveyorAB.iam and ConveyorBC.iam are not used in the general drawing.

[mcgyvr]

Any solution that requires someone to make multiple parts or subassemblies that aren't even used in the main assembly is not a solution IMO..