How can I stop a body from entering the space of another body?

[jan.gunnelin]

Hello,

I'm trying to stop a body from entering the space of another body when moving it across the workplane, is there a way to achieve this? I.e. I'd like to stop two bodies from overlapping each other.

Thanks in advance,

Regards Jan Gunnelin

[jan.gunnelin]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the comments on fully constrained and dimensioned sketches! It seems to be good and valuable recommendations. I hope I got it right, please see the attached screenshot. Regarding "derive" and "insert" it's really "insert" I'm looking for, I don't intend to modify the reused components. But I'm still unsure how to initiate an "insert" command, in my Fusion 360 view there's only "Insert Derive" available.

Regards Jan

[TrippyLighting · Accepted solution]

Right-click on a design in the data panel and pick "Insert into current design".

Have you gone through any of the tutorials in the Support and Learning section ?

The reason the derive fictionality cannot be implemented through the data panel is because you can derive objects out of a design, not just into a design.

[jan.gunnelin]

Thanks Peter,

Your example has many new exciting things for me to study! 🙂

Regards Jan 🙂

[jan.gunnelin · Accepted solution]

Hello Peter,

Thanks, this is exactly what I have been looking for! Yes, I have gone through many of the tutorials but as a newbee you don't immediately understand what's important or extra useful, you come across problems along the way that you need to solve, and then you can ask the right/better questions.

Regards Jan

[jan.gunnelin]

Hi again Peter,

I have been experimenting with "insert" and "derive" a bit more now, I think I have got the hang of it to a reasonable level. But there seems to be a limitation with "insert" compared to "derive" when it comes to the operation "combine", it can't be done for inserted components while it can for derived ones. Is this observation correct? I can use the assemble operation "ridgid group" instead, that helps a bit. But then I can't change the appearence for all assembled components in one go, that is a big drawback compared to the "derive" case I think. Please see my experiment files:

https://a360.co/2HqvXQj

https://a360.co/2Fdxk10

https://a360.co/2HAK6cV

https://a360.co/2Fci8Bd

Regards Jan

[TrippyLighting · Accepted solution]

"insert" and "derive" have a different purpose.

Derive can go two ways as you can derive a component out of the original assembly context is was developed in into it's own file into the data panel then you can use that component in other assemblies.

In this new assemblies you can modify that derived component without affecting the original.

However, changes made to the component in the original assembly (where it was developed) will propagate into that new assembly.

This is a powerful feature and before using it you should aware of the consequences. Usr it as a last resort when other methods fail.

Insert only goes one way and the inserted component cannot be modified from within an assembly it was created in. That is intended!

If you want to combine an inserted component with a new body then you'll have to create a copy of the body from the inserted component.

The best way to do that is to use the boundary fill operation in the Patch environment (Surface tab is you are using the new UI preview). that will create an independent copy of that body.

Then you can happily continue to use the linked (inserted) component 😉

[jan.gunnelin]

Hello Peter,

Thanks for the clarifications! I have tried out two workflows that seems to fulfill my needs, please see below. I have a number of smaller components that I need to reuse in a number of different and larger building blocks, 2 or more of the smaller components for each larger building block. I use an inserted component as a template for the actual bodies or components to be used in the larger building block, a kind of "internal derive operation" that gives the wanted possibilities to do align, combine, appearance etc. I'll experiment a bit more and see which workflow is the best in the end.

Regards Jan

Alternative A ("body based combine"):
1. Insert into Current Design
2. Boundary Fill (New Body)
3. Boundary Fill (New Body)
4. Align Bodies
5. Combine Bodies
6. Appearance
7. Delete the originally inserted component (gives some warnings for the Boundary Fill operations but works OK).

Alternative B ("component based combine"):
1. Insert into Current Design
2. Boundary Fill (New Component)
3. Boundary Fill (New Component)
4. Align Components
5. Combine Components
6. Appearance
7. Delete the originally inserted component (gives some warnings for the Boundary Fill Operations but works OK).