Breaking link of mirrored element

[DomenicoViani]

How is it possible to completely free an element created with the mirror command?
I mean that it no longer has any relationship with the original part, and so it is possible to modify it, without modifying the original part ?

[SBix26]

[First: get in the habit of always stating in the original post what Inventor version you're using].

Yes and no...  You can break the link to the original part, yes, but you will have simply a dumb solid, no editable features.  But you can always add features to a derived part whether or not you break the link: fill in holes, direct edit to modify sizes of features, add holes, cuts, bosses, etc.

Reading between the lines, though, I wonder if you're asking whether you can somehow turn the mirrored part into an independent part with the intact feature tree of the original?  The answer is, unfortunately, no.  However, one possibility to achieve this is to make a copy of the original part, and then use the Mirror tool to mirror the entire solid (see below).  This gives you the mirrored part with all features intact.  Then use Replace Component to replace the existing mirrored part with the copied one.

In the end, the method you use depends a great deal on what kind of editing you want to do, and how much in common the two parts will have when you're done.

Feel free to post an example and what you want to do with it and I can make more specific recommendations.

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Sam B
Inventor Pro 2019.1.2 | Windows 7 SP1
LinkedIn

[DomenicoViani]

Thanks for the prompt and complete answer.
What I need to do is unpack a mirror assembly from its original.
Many times it happens that 2 parts are symmetrical at the beginning of the design, and then they follow different paths.
For example, on the left there could be operations for the electrical system, or hydraulic on the contrary of the right one.
Often it happens that freeing the pieces is not enough, also because the mirrored part is still a "minor child".
I would need a command that would completely break the ties with the original part, and generate a completely new autonomous part.
Built with the mirror method, but independent as if I had built it with other methods.

[SBix26]

Sounds as if modeling it as a new part would be the best course.  Even though it is extra work, you will end up with a much better part for your design than continually hacking on the original.  Yes, you will have to edit all its constraints to re-establish relationships, but that, too, offers you the opportunity to make the end result better.

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Sam B
Inventor Pro 2019.1.2 | Windows 7 SP1
LinkedIn

[DomenicoViani]

This is what we are doing, but it is often a job done 2 times.
Could we put this option between requests for future versions?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! Another workflow you may consider is to save the original source part as a brand new part. Then use Mirror Feature command -> Mirror Body -> check Remove original. In this way, the mirrored part will be totally independent of the original part. And, the parameters and features are still editable but the body is on the other side.

Many thanks!

[DomenicoViani · Accepted solution]

These are all valid tricks. But I think a solution without tricks can be useful.
Who has worked or works in Autocad 2D, often uses this procedure.
The mirrored copy is however free from constraints with the source.
The fact of binding it, surely increases its potential, but it is not always useful.