Mirror object and keep links

[Kigale]

Hello!

Is there any way to mirror components and keeping the links to the original files? I have an assembly that I want to mirror, as the joints are not easily built up again. However, doing this creates new components without links to the original components, and as such appear as separate components when creating a BOM in a drawing. Is there any way to solve this?

Thanks for the help!

[jeevesme]

As long as you do not break the link, the mirror will change just like the original one.

[jon.e.hendrickson]

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@jeevesme wrote:

As long as you do not break the link, the mirror will change just like the original one.

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That is not true. As soon as a Component is mirror copied, the link with the original Component is broken, whether it's a Component created in the file or a component which has been placed from another part file with the "link" symbol (the symbol disappears as soon as a mirror copy is made). I believe someone may have goofed in the creation of this tool. Mirroring components in Sketchup maintains the link unless it is "made unique" which is how I would expect this tool to act.

[TrippyLighting]

@jon.e.hendrickson you are incorrect!

When you update the linked component and save the change and then update the assembly you inserted it into , the linked component and the mirror update. That associativity requires a design with a timeline.

In direct modeling mode this does not work.

[jimZDKFV]

@TrippyLighting Can you please explain, "and save the change and then update the assembly you inserted it into"...

I am so confused. When you look at a mirror and a world around you changes- the image in the mirror changes... I really don't know how the autodesk people can justify this backwards interface.

[etfrench]

Neither I nor @TrippyLighting speak for Autodesk.  What @TrippyLighting says is accurate.  When you change the original linked model, both the linked model and its mirror are changed.

Explain what you mean by 'backwards interface'.

[jimZDKFV]

Weird bc when I create a mirror and edit the original it does nothing to
the mirror... are you sure you are not doing some extra step without
realizing it to add this symmetry?

[etfrench]

Linked is the key word.

[TrippyLighting]

@jimZDKFV Can you share such a model where this does not work and/or create a screencast to show us in action how this does not awork ?

[jimZDKFV]

Guys, I realised what I was doing wrong. If you simply create a mirror and
then modify the original then nothing happens because the new "timeline
feature" occurs after the mirror.

So, to get it to work you have to create the mirror, then go down to the
timeline in the bottom left corner, click a back arrow so that the playhead
moves to the space right before the mirror feature and the one right before
it. Then change the original, and you should be good to go.

I guess it makes sense to me now, but I still think it's nonintuitive af. 🙂

Thanks

[etfrench]

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@jimZDKFV wrote:
Guys, I realised what I was doing wrong. If you simply create a mirror and
then modify the original then nothing happens because the new "timeline
feature" occurs after the mirror.

So, to get it to work you have to create the mirror, then go down to the
timeline in the bottom left corner, click a back arrow so that the playhead
moves to the space right before the mirror feature and the one right before
it. Then change the original, and you should be good to go.

I guess it makes sense to me now, but I still think it's nonintuitive af. 🙂

Thanks

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That is only correct when the link is removed, otherwise, it works as previously stated.

[jimZDKFV]

Maybe the trial version is just buggy then because I never get any links when I mirror anything.

[etfrench]

Your assumptions are not correct  

You can add an existing model into a new file in several ways. 

• One is to have both files open, then copy/paste a component from one file to another. This does not create a link between the two files.
• Second, is to use the 'Insert into Current Design' command located in the context menu opened by right clicking on a file in the Data Panel.  This will create a linked design.

[TrippyLighting]

There is no difference between the trial version and the free version and the paid version . The paid version  has a few more things enabled such a Generative design. However the base tools  you are struggling with are all the same.

No one said that you get links when mirroring something. The question the OP asked whether you can mirror a linked component while maintaining the link.. It would seem you don't really know what a linked component is.

As such, there is no bug!

[cclAZF4C]

The point is that, for example a pattern does update immediately all the iterations. But the mirror not.

Why don't this features work in the same way?

On the other hand, when mirroring, rigid groups are also not mirrored, among a long etc.

Tell me how you manage to handle it.

[TrippyLighting]

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@cclAZF4C wrote:

The point is that, for example a pattern does update immediately all the iterations. But the mirror not.

Why don't this features work in the same way?

---

A component pattern creates instances of the same component, meaning all these instances are just a pointer to the same data set.

A mirrored component is conceptually not and instance because the geometry in it is not the same as in the original.

You will note that a mirrored component those not include the sketches that are part of the origin component.

Joints of mirrored assemblies are currently not copied. You'll have to re-join the mirrored assembly.

[chrisplyler]

If you've mirrored an assembly within a single working file, then of course the mirrored instance must NOT be "linked" to the original. Because (insert sound of a drum roll here) it's a mirror. I mean, anything non-symmetrical will be reversed. So F360, during the mirroring of any components, is programmed to treat a component mirror operation as if everything was copied, PASTE NEW, and reversed.

You know the difference between PASTE and PASTE NEW, right? The first is "linked" and the second isn't.

And that's why a component/assembly mirror will create new items in the BOM also. A reversed part cannot be the same part. Now, it COULD be, such as if you just mirror a cube or something else complete symmetrical, but F360 isn't complex enough to check for that condition and act appropriately.

[engineer1984]

I know this is an old topic and I get why certain components shouldn't be linked, but let's be serious... a mirrored component can certainly be the exact same manufactured real world part.

A few of the responses are a bit heavy on the smart assery given that a flat part or cylinder part can generally flipped.  Imagine waterjet, laser cutting, etc flat steel.  Or hell, imagine mirroring a bolt.  I didn't realize I needed to buy 'mirrored' bolts for the other side of the part (assuming mirroring didn't also change the thread direction in the CAD program).

I can understand why someone may not want two Part Numbers and Balloon Numbers on a BOM because the parts are actually the exact same to manufacture, but just need to be flipped when installing in the real world.  I think this topic has already been beaten to death, but an ability to turn linking on and off would be pretty cool.  I get that once the two components are different, it would be impossible to re-link without picking a parent component. 

Anyway... just my thoughts since I was Googling around for mirroring and linking of components and came across this thread.

cheers,

[willUUFGW]

I spent quite a while working this out today based on the responses above. It turns out that everyone is right, just not being particularly helpful with the explanations. I've made a few test files to check the behaviour and as far as I can tell, the behaviour is as below.

In Fusion, the behaviour is as follows:

1. Create an assembly (in another file) and import it into the file as a linked component (personally I drag and drop the model I want from the Data Panel on the left).

This has some significant advantages in terms of speed when working with large assemblies because the imported assembly doesn't have to re-build with every model change - it's only re-built when a change is detected in the source file.

2a. Create another instance of the component by creating a mirror (Mirror).

This feature creates a mirrored local copy of the original file and brings the associated design history with it so that the locally created component can be modified if necessary as a stand-alone design.

This is very useful if wanting to create a mirror of the component (e.g. As Drawn vs Opp Hand versions) and is pretty logical given that the feature is called a mirror :-).

2b. Create another instance of the component by creating a copy (Move/Copy).

Instead of a mirror, use an axis to create a 180deg rotated copy of the original file using the Move/Copy command.

This creates a linked instance of the original file and maintains the links to the source.

Personally, I quite often used "Mirror" as a quick way of copying a component set from one location to another and I hadn't realised that this was the behaviour until just now.

I have now re-built my most recent model using the rotated copy method and my large assembly performance has improved markedly.

[engineer1984]

Yeah, I don't think the mirror tool is very useful because of the linking issue.