What is so fantastic about Components?

[3Dpcb]

I have converted to Components because I want to make some 2D Drawings.

• After converting, it is not possible to visualy see where to edit in my timeline to change a body. I have also tried "Find in timeline". It do not show anything.
• I can´t convert a Components back to a body.

When I read this:

(Bodies and components)

http://help.autodesk.com/view/NINVFUS/ENU/?guid=GUID-E37B0456-A867-429F-BF69-6A4626DD31E7

...it is as if Components are the finale stage of creation - no going back and edit. Is that true?

I must admit that I do not fully understand the concept of components. Hope someone can explain it to me.

[jeff_strater]

The article that you reference does a pretty good job of explaining the difference between a Body and a Component.

Some of the difference is in the user's interpretation.  Most CAD users consider a component to be a separately manufacturable item.  So, a component can be a gear, a bolt, a washer, or an engine block.  Most users of CAD systems that support both bodies and components really use a body as a building block to get to a component structure, and most components in their final form will have a single body.

The other way to look at it is from Fusion's point of view:  What can you do with a Component that you cannot do with a Body?  Here is a (probably not complete) list of what I see as the major differences:

1. Components can be hierarchical.  A Component can have other components as children
2. Components can be instanced (reused).  If you have a table with 4 legs, you can just model one leg as a component, and create new instances of the leg component.  A change to the Body of that leg component will affect all instances of the leg component.
3. Components can be related to each other with Joints. You can create mechanisms such as a hinge by creating two components and a Revolute Joint between them.

I'm sure there are more, but those are the main points that I can think of.

Jeff Strater (Fusion development)

[3Dpcb]

Agree, it's a really good article.

Thank you for your quick reply and the explanation. But the only thing I still do not understand is:

How do I edit a component using Timeline (History on)? After converting to component, it is not possible to visualy see where to edit in my timeline. I can't find the feature in the timeline. I have also tried "Find in timeline". It does not show anything.

[TrippyLighting]

In order to shrink the timeline to only see the parts that relate to a component you need to activate the component by clicking on the littel radio button to the right of the component name in the browser.

If you first created a body and then edited it several times and finally converted it into a component then the above will not work. The best way to create a component and unfortunaltly currntly the only way to create a complete component is to create an empty component, activate it and only then edit it. That will guarantee that all features, sjetches joints etc that pertain to that component are part of that components sub structure. Activating before editing is really an important key here.

there are a few thigs that will ot be recorder in the timeline, however. A component move for examle will not show up in the timeline (it does not really make sense either), however, a body move will be recorded in the timeline. Again, activate the component before you move the body in it!

Be very careful when selecting "stuff" in the viewport. By default what is selected are bodies, not components. If you need to move things around in the majority of cases you want to move the componen and NOT the body in the component. So select the component in the browser and not in the viewport. You can select components in the viewport if you change your selection filters beforehand.

If you can share the design we'll be able to provide you with more specific advice.

[TannerReid]

Hi, 

What do you need to edit in the componenet?  In the timeline, there's an icon when a body is converted to a component, and you can right-click to edit it. (Shown below).

Does this help? 

Thanks!
Tanner

[jeff_strater]

It is true that you can edit the Create Component From Body item in the timeline, which will allow you to select a different body. Or, you can delete the Create Component From Body node in the timeline. However, that will delete any features on that component that come afterwards.

You can also "undo" Create Component From Body by just dragging the body from under the component into the root bodies folder (or to another component's bodies folder). Note that this creates another node in the timeline (A CutPasteBodies node) that reflects the restructuring operation.

Hope this helps a bit.

Jeff

[3Dpcb]

Hi TannerReid, TrippyLighting and jeff.strater

As the first, I will use Components because I have to make some 2D Drawings. I found out that, in order to make a drawing of 3 of my some of my Body's, I was forced to convert to Components, because otherwise the drawing will consist of all my Body's. What I want to achieve is to have a drawing of each Body / Component on each drawing and one section drawing with some selected Components.

I have so far held back in using components, because I know that I always have the need to make changes in material thicknesses, dimensions etc. at a later time.

From my point of view is a design never finished. There will always be changes, updates and new versions of a design.

It is my impression that there can easily be complications and challenges as TrippyLighting so precise points out.

Perhaps others are reluctant to use the Components...

Thanks for your advice. I will try myself with Components in the near future, which I can see is absolutely necessary.

[cekuhnen]

What I would like prefer is the ability to make a new component and sketch/create inside that component only

I feel the way components work I always have to drag later elements in creating copy commands in the time line!

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

I like to work that way, as well.  You can do this today:

1. create a new Component

2. activate this component

Then, as long as the component is active, all new sketches will be owned by this component.  Does this satisfy your workflow?

Thanks,

Jeff

[cekuhnen]

silly me ....

[TrippyLighting · Accepted solution]

I created a littel screencast to help a user in another thread with very similay subject and It should be useful here as well.