Assembly Constraint min max current value driving pattern spacing

[Hunteil]

See attached assembly file... The first two blocks is my first attempt (Called BlackA1)

The next two blocks (Called BlockA2), I put a bolt in them and used the Joint slider command and named the current value "Current".... This is the value I'm searching for... This "Current" Value I want to drive the spacing of the pattern shown... While also allowing me to drag the blocks back and forth.... But as you can see, the pattern doesn't update automatically....I have to edit edit the pattern or use Manage>"Rebuild All" to force it to update.....

So my question is... Is there a better way to do this? The general constraints don't seem to support this. And Joint command was a pain to get to this point... So I feel like I'm missing something...

PS: The goal is to show everything spreading apart as you drag things... the reason is b/c I want to show how things are moving without collisions etc. Also individually placing constraints on everything would be a massive headache as there's something like 300-600 parts I'm going to drive with this pattern.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! I think this is a bug. Rebuild All should not be needed to make something happen. It does look like there is lack of an update after dragging the component. There is a workaround to make it automated however.

Add a simple iLogic rule with the following statement. Set Event Triggers to "Any Model Parameter Change."

Current = 0
ThisDoc.Document.Rebuild()

After that, dragging the pattern will update the spacing accodingly.

Many thanks!

[Hunteil]

That seems to be working... it's a bit clicky though. As in it moves a lot for no reason. i.e. it returns to Min on the 2nd click as if it's resetting itself... Any way to stop it from doing this?

Also found that after dragging and everything updates...if you drag the nearby object, everything on the main pattern set snaps back to Min... Any way to stop this too?

Attached is that same assembly, but I changed the names of the min max values so you can find them in the parameters menu. Also made max 10" so you can better see the drag differences. (also added that rule)

Note when changing values, the slider current will bug out and return to 0 (which is lower than the min value) This causes an error too. Then fixes itself.

[johnsonshiue · Accepted solution]

Hi! I am sorry I may have provided a bad solution. I don't think there is a good workaround here. The issue has something to do with "drag solve." When a component is dragged, the constraints are solved immediately. But, it does not go through the full solve. As a result, the parameter change is not propagated to other parameters. I can reproduce the same behavior using an assembly sketch driven dimension.

Unfortunately, you will need to click Rebuild All manually to keep it up-to-date in this case.

Many thanks!