Replace component with another component

[schengnz]

In large assemblies, it is common to include one or more families of interchangable parts. It is very useful to be able to switch from one of these parts with another in the same family, for design experimentation or to create a product family.

Autodesk Inventor allows a component in an assembly to be replaced by another component, which serves this purpose very well.

Fusion 360 is sorely missing this feature, only allowing a component to be replaced by a different version of the same component. This effectiovely means it is impossible to try out a design using different parts in the same part family, and makes it far more difficult to test out different design variations, or to create product variants..

[promm]

schengnz,

Your idea is being moved to future consideration.  We have replace components in our backlog as a part of our distributed designs project.  We have prioritized deep update and in place edit for distributed designs a head of it.  This idea will be changed to accepted when developments starts work on it.

Cheers,

Mike Prom

[abecedarian]

I would love this.  Quick access to many parts, based on custom sets, could be utilized across multiple assemblies.

-Chris

[Anonymous]

Me too!

[Anonymous]

I'd love this too

[noel]

Really want this. Thanks!

[robduarte]

This is needed. Particularly with the ability to import McMaster Carr parts. For example, if a discontinued bearing in a large assembly needs to be substituted for a different part, it should be as easy as importing the new component and replacing the old one. Currently, this is very difficult since joints need to be removed and recreated, in addition to removing and replacing the component itself. This also makes a clean, understandable timeline hard to achieve, while the replacing of a component can easy be seen/understood as a discrete revision if it can appear as an icon in the design history.

[adam.filipowicz]

Cant believe it cant do this already.. please get it going.

[Anonymous]

OP notes that Inventor has this capability.  It might be worth mentioning, for the sake of anyone searching for this thread, that Solidworks does as well, and calls it "replace components."

[Anonymous]

I know this isn't hugely helpful, but I just fudged it by right clicking on the original component in the data panel and selected "import new version". I then dragged a completely different file into the window.

this replaced the original component with the new object, which seemed to work, I'll let you know if there were any major issues.

[BRadFPV]

+1 to adding replace component feature. I am switching over from Alibre - Geomagic Design which has this feature.

[briankb]

+1 for having this feature I use SpaceClaim and they make it very easy to "Convert to External" and replace a component with another one (similar or not) it just updates the reference in the design. 

[tomae]

Please up the priority on this.  I have run into this dozens of times now and removing and re-adding a component and it's joints is tedious and inconvenient.

[Anonymous]

I'm really missing this option as well. Especially since moving parts from one project to another isn't possible yet without a workaround (in which all links are broken), and all referenced components have to be reinserted.

[-Nick-]

+1 for me.  Put the wrong screw in a drawing 40 times, now replacing it by hand 😞

[Anonymous]

We already have this feature, because we have "Save As and Replace"
We just need to replace something that's not what we saved as ...

(There's the question about how to locate features between parts; I'd be OK if they just assumed the part-global coordinate system was compatible)

[tony.kauffmann]

@jwatte What do you mean by Save As and Replace? I see that option when I right-click a component in an assembly, but it just saves that part under a new name. I don't see a "replace" option after I do that. How do I swap the component for another one?

[mika.takalo]

This would be nice.

[martin.reboux]

Is that function implemented yet ?

It is very annoying to have to delete components to add another or even start a brand new assembly to test variants.

Should be already there for a professional-aimed software

[Anonymous]

Would love this feature as I'm having trouble with this at the moment.