Can't re-use assmbly cut extrude feature profile for new extrude features

[oliver.tilbury]

Getting back up to speed with Inventor post hiatus…

I’m having trouble with assembly cut extrude features in the assembly environment to make a series of cuts in some parts.

I have drawn a sketch in the assembly and then used this to form a cut extrude on the parts (between planes). So far so good.

I'd then like to re-use this same sketch profile for further cut extrude features (between different work planes).

But no matter how hard I try, I can’t re-select this sketch profile for the subsequent extrudes (despite the sketch visibility being turned on).

There is also no option to 'share sketch' when RMB on the sketch.

I’ve played round with the selection filters and turning off all the parts so it is only the sketch showing in the hope that this will allow me to select the sketch but to no avail.

Am I missing something or is this expected behaviour?

Thanks.

[JDMather]

@oliver.tilbury 

Can you Attach the assembly here (or a dummy assembly that exhibits the same behavior)?

Replication is the Gold Standard in the sciences.

or

at least a screenshot of the sketch in the browser (do you have a Projected Loop (created be projecting a Face rather than projecting Edges))?

[oliver.tilbury]

Hi @JDMather,

Please find attached a dummy assembly I've created that exhibits the same behaviour.

You'll see the extrude feature between the top two work planes.

Would like two more extrude features between the other work planes, all using the same driving profile sketch.

I've actually got around it now on my real work with a sketch driven pattern using the first extrude feature. 

Would just be good to know though if this inability to re-use the extrude feature sketch profile is default behaviour of if there is a work flow I'm missing - for future knowledge accumulation!.

Thanks for taking a look.

[CCarreiras]

Hi!

Assembly features doesn't have the same abilities/options as the part features, and they should be used only in "special cases". for example, if you open a part separately, you don't see any cut in the part, the cuts only exist in the assembly context.

I think there's better ways to achieve what you need.

[CCarreiras]

I suggest to use multisolid method, following similar workflow:

Moreover, probably you will need the down skin splitted... (or not)

Check the file attached (v24):

[oliver.tilbury]

Sure there are many different work flows and of course this could all be done in a multi body part.

However I deliberately wanted the separate parts so I can assign different materials to them.

I was trying to avoid a multibody part workflow on this occasion (with deriving the bodies out to new parts) as this would give me an extra file and also the panel may have different size options and I don’t think there are any good options out the box currently for deriving bodies to new parts and linking model states from the driving part into the new parts (to control the size of the derived bodies). I have seen a thread about using ilogic to do this (here: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-ideas/link-derived-model-states-to-part/idi-p/10256377 ) but want to get back up to speed with the default Inventor behaviours before I start delving into work arounds with iLogic.

Assembly features are sometimes a good way to replicate how certain things are actually going to be made in reality so I would not say they are just for special cases.

Anyway – good to know what assembly features can and can’t do for next time!

Cheers

[CCarreiras]

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@oliver.tilbury wrote:

Sure there are many different work flows and of course this could all be done in a multi body part.

However I deliberately wanted the separate parts so I can assign different materials to them.

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I see your point, and i can agree... but there's other issue: the fact of cutting/separate the same part in several "solids" by using the assembly extrude, will not create new parts. It will be the same part, but with separated solids... and i think that isn't also a good option.