When do you think it's appropriate to design several components within one assembly vs. design several different components as their own part files then assemble them into a separate assembly file.

[MikeCroPhone]

Over the years, I've created many assembly projects that I've repeatedly revisited to create new iterations before reaching the "final" product. I've tried both methods of creating assemblies - creating them in one big assembly file, or creating them as separate "part files" which I then import into a separate "assembly file" (SolidWorks style). 

I keep going back and forth between which method is better because they both have pros and cons and it annoys me that I haven't settled on one I like more than the other.  It bothers me that I don't have a clear blueprint of which one I should go with until I'm several iterations into the project, then I get frustrated that I didn't choose the other method as I'm meticulously changing details that affect the rest of the assembly. "This would have been easier if I started with the other method," I tell myself, then proceed to say the same thing about a different issue when I try the other method next time. 

So, I'm curious what the community thinks: When you're designing assemblies, do you prefer creating all your parts in a single file and just adding components for each new part? Or do you prefer to tackle it SolidWorks style - creating brand-new files for each new part, then assembling them together in an assembly later?

[davebYYPCU]

I use hybrid, import existing (from McMaster etc,)

I can’t waste the time it takes for making new parts files.

one file per Assembly, is my go to.

Might help…..

[jhackney1972]

I use a hybrid of both methods.  I create sub-assemblies using components within the same assembly and save them out as external files.  Then when I create the final assembly I import the eternal sub-assemblies to finish off the model.  During my designing years we always shrived to have the top level assembly as clean as possible with the parts list only showing sub-assemblies.  We even went so far as to add fasteners to the sub-assemblies even if some looked a bit strange going through the holes in the sub-assembly and hanging out in mid-air.  When the drawings hit the manufacturing and assembly floor, they had everything per sub-assembly together.

Another thing is if you use cross-references between components in your design, creating these cross-references is a lot easier with the components local and not as inserted external files, at least in my opinion.