Copying components

Copying components

kmanuele
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Message 1 of 18

Copying components

kmanuele
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

If I do a copy/new on a component, the move/copy dialog appears, and I can place the new component away from the original. Its sketch is shown with the new component.

 

But if I edit that sketch, its location reverts to the original position, then moves back with the component after finishing.

 

Is there a way to keep the sketch located with the component when editing?

 

 

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Message 2 of 18

g-andresen
Consultant
Consultant

Hi,


@kmanuele wrote:

But if I edit that sketch, its location reverts to the original position, then moves back with the component after finishing.

 

Is there a way to keep the sketch located with the component when editing?

 


No, editing always takes place at the origin of the sketch.

 

günther

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Message 3 of 18

jhackney1972
Consultant
Consultant

If you have to  have the sketch independent, you can do it this way.  Right click on the Copy/Paste New component and select Save Copy As.  This creates an External file.  You can then save your assembly, if not already done, Insert the External file into the assembly and then Break Link to the original.  The sketch of this component, even though created from the Copy/Paste New operation, when edited remains in the location of the component and does not revert back to the original it came from.

John Hackney, Retired
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Message 4 of 18

davebYYPCU
Consultant
Consultant

There is a big difference between Copy / Paste, and Copy / Paste New.

Your second statement is expected behaviour, and I presume this is cause of the question.

 

Your third statement is ambiguous, expected behaviour you spoke about or something else?

Keep the sketch located with the Component. Huh?

 

What you didn’t say, is what you want to edit, when you have got the sketch into edit mode,

changing the original, adding detail, are 2 common trends.

 

If it is the later - Create a new sketch in position.

 

Might help....

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Message 5 of 18

kmanuele
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Thanks.

 

I can always move a component's origin.

 

K

 

 

 

 

 

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Message 6 of 18

kmanuele
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

When I create a new component, I can just move its origin before adding any features.

 

Once there are contained sketches and/or bodies, it seems the origin can't be moved (?).

 

Just seems weird that the origin and its sketches stays with a component when moving it around but jump back to their point of creation for editing. Not clear at all why "edit in place" can't be done.

 

 

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Message 7 of 18

jhackney1972
Consultant
Consultant

@kmanuele wrote:

When I create a new component, I can just move its origin before adding any features.

 

Once there are contained sketches and/or bodies, it seems the origin can't be moved (?).

 

You can move or change the Origin of a component anytime you desire.  Simple edit the base sketch of the component and move or change its relationship to the Origin of the component.

 

Just seems weird that the origin and its sketches stays with a component when moving it around but jump back to their point of creation for editing. Not clear at all why "edit in place" can't be done.

 

This is the way the application works, you will get used to it or use another modeling process.

 

 


 

John Hackney, Retired
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Message 8 of 18

jeff_strater
Community Manager
Community Manager

@kmanuele - you talk about "moving the component's origin".  I am not sure what you mean by that.  Are you talking about moving the component (which moves the component's origin, and any geometry within that component, with respect to the global origin), or moving the geometry within the component, with respect to its origin?  Each component has its own origin, and there is a global component, which also has its own origin.  Can you illustrate your questions with some examples/video?

 


Jeff Strater
Engineering Director
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Message 9 of 18

g-andresen
Consultant
Consultant

Hi,

Hi,

The overlapping of sketches is annoying.
Maybe it could be avoided with a feature like this.

 

 

 

 

günther

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Message 10 of 18

davebYYPCU
Consultant
Consultant

Not clear why edit in place can not be done.

 

Proper file structure, this is normal behaviour, when Rule No.1 is working with you.  Sketch is in the Component and the Component is where it is needed before the sketch.

 

Warning:  Click Drag Component Origin, is not normal behaviour.  Use Joints.

 

Might help....

 

 

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Message 11 of 18

kmanuele
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

If you make a new component, its origin defaults to the global origin.

 

If you move the component, the origin seems to move --- until you try to edit a sketch on one of its origin's planes. The sketch origin then jumps back to the global origin.

 

You can move the origin before you add any sketches or body. Just select move/copy/components, and grab the origin point or its planes.  Then, when you edit sketches in the component, they stay there.

 

In the attached file, the component origin for the extrusion and its sketch for Component1:1 are moved to about (0, 3.8, 0). Do "edit sketch" on it and the sketch moves to the global origin for editing, and Component2:1 disappears.

 

Component2:1 has its origin moved before adding the cylinder. When you edit Component2:1 sketch, you still see where Component1:1 is, and the global origin.

 

Not a complaint, just an observation and question re: design philosophy. That is - a newbie trying to break things 🤔

 

K

 

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Message 12 of 18

jeff_strater
Community Manager
Community Manager

Pay attention to the timeline.  When you move a component, then capture that position, it adds a "capture" feature to the timeline.  If you add a sketch after the capture, then edit that sketch, the component will not appear to move to its old position  However, if you add the sketch then move the component, then editing the sketch will "roll back" to the point in time when that sketch was created, and so will position the timeline before the move, which will appear to you as if the component has moved to its old position.  In the video below, I show both - adding the sketch before the move and after the move.  Hope this helps

 


Jeff Strater
Engineering Director
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Message 13 of 18

kmanuele
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

ok, that works as you indicate. But, in my original post I was referring to the original sketch that created the component. Capturing the position doesn't help for that particular sketch.

 

I think this is referred as the "profile sketch" ?  This seems to have a special role in Fusion360 vis-a-vis other sketches.

 

Thanks for your effort on the video.

 

K

 

 

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Message 14 of 18

TrippyLighting
Consultant
Consultant

@kmanuele wrote:

...

I think this is referred as the "profile sketch" ?  This seems to have a special role in Fusion360 vis-a-vis other sketches.

...

 


There is no specific "profile sketch" in Fusion 360 and no "special" behavior.

When you copy/paste-new a component and edit the original sketch, the position will seemingly it will return to the position that sketch was originally created and this is with the original component. 

 

If there would be a second sketch in the original component that behavior would be the same.

 

This is something I have gotten used to, but in the beginning having worked in other CAD system (15+ years of SolidWorks) I also found this irritating. One way to battle this is to select the sketch in the browser and select "show dimensions". If you simply want to change dimensions, you can do that without "editing" the sketch. In that case things remain in place.

 

 


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Message 15 of 18

kmanuele
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Thanks for the comments and discussion.

 

re: "profile sketch".  Maybe semantics? 

 

If I create a component and place a box in it without using a sketch, then place a sketch on any of the 6 faces of the box, it won't let me use that sketch to dimension the box. It still says "over constrained".

 

So there does seem to be something unique about the initial shape used to define the body. It prevents any other sketches from changing the body dimensions -- even if there doesn't seem to be a geometric reason for the constraint (why does a sketch in XY prevent another sketch from dimensioning Z ?).

 

There doesn't seem to be a way to display these hidden constraints.

 

The only option for dimensioning the box is "edit feature".

 

Not being critical (it's a great product). I come from an engineering/programming background, so I'm interested the underlying logic of this. 

 

Thanks again

K

 

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Message 16 of 18

TrippyLighting
Consultant
Consultant

Do not use any of the basic (Box, Cylinder, Sphere)  3D primitives as they are only semi-parametric.  Use sketches and extrudes / revolves to create you're base geometry.


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Message 17 of 18

kmanuele
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Understood.

 

Just showing that there are inherent constraints not visible to the user.

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Message 18 of 18

laughingcreek
Mentor
Mentor

@kmanuele wrote:

...If I create a component and place a box in it without using a sketch, then place a sketch on any of the 6 faces of the box, it won't let me use that sketch to dimension the box. It still says "over constrained"...

 


This is flawed reasoning.  you don't create a solid (by what ever means), and then try to constrain the solid to a sketch created after.  Nothing in fusion works that way.  the solid isn't being constrained by some "hidden" constraints.

 

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