Assembly Extruded Cut

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to extrude a cut through an assembly but only cutting the parts I want cut?  I am using Inventor 2012. Basically I want to use a part in the assembly as reference for the cut.  But I do not actually want to cut that part only the surrounding parts.

[cwhetten · Accepted solution]

You can include/exclude any part you wish in an assembly cut feature.  Keep in mind that any part that the cut intersects the first time you create it will be automatically added to the feature.

To remove parts from the cut, expand the feature node in the browser, right-click a part, and select "Remove Participant".

To add parts to the cut, right-click the feature and select "Add Participant".  Then you select the part you wish to add.  Unfortunately, you can only add one at a time, so if you have a bunch of parts to add, it could take a while.  This is why it is important to make the best use of the initial automatic part addition when you first create the feature.

[JDMather]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 Basically I want to use a part in the assembly as reference for the cut. 

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Can you attach your files here - your question is open to different interpretations.
Do you want your cut at the assembly level or at the part level - that is - in the real world are the parts cut before assembly or after assembly.

Other options are to edit the parts in the context of the assembly and Project Geometry from the reference part.
or

Copy Object surfaces from the reference object to use as Split or Sculpt features in the other parts.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! This did what I wanted.  I knew you could add a participant but I could not find where you removed one.

[PACDrafting]

If you change your assembly to a weldment assembly. You can detail the parts via the weldment preparations. This means any cut, hole etc will be available to detail the part.