Replace Component: .IAM replaced with .IPT but Vault keeps asking for the .IAM

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for your help and time.

We are having a little problem when adding an assembly onto the Vault:

(Short version)

We have an assembly made of over 3000 parts and subassemblies.

In order to simplify the assembly to apply some forces, we simplified most of the main subassemblies making them  parts and then replaced the .IAM with the .IPT. (No Shrinkwrap Substitute as we considered it will keep both, .IPT and .IAM linked to the main assembly not getting a lighter model)

Now, when trying to add the main assembly onto the Vault, it says that we must resolve the files (all the subassemblies we replaced with the simplified parts) before the files can be added.

It looks, to me, that Inventor is not acknowledging that those subassemblies it is asking for, are, now, .IPT's.

Can anyone think of a way to tell Inventor that those assemblies don't belong in the main assembly any longer, please? 🤔

Inventor 2020 + Vault Basic

Win 10 Pro 64-bit

Thanks again! 🙂

P.S. That was the short version. I can go into the long version, but if the short version is already confusing, the long one still gets me confused!

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! This one sounds like a corruption bug. Somehow the assembly still retains the reference to the .iam component even after it had been replaced. Could you share an example exhibiting the behavior? There might be ways to clean up the corruption. But, without seeing the files, I would not be able to tell.

Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

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@johnsonshiue wrote:

Hi! This one sounds like a corruption bug. Somehow the assembly still retains the reference to the .iam component even after it had been replaced. Could you share an example exhibiting the behavior? There might be ways to clean up the corruption. But, without seeing the files, I would not be able to tell.

Many thanks!

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Hi Johnson and thanks for your quick reply.

Yes I certainly can.

I'm going to reproduce, screencast and upload it as soon as I can. I will need some time though.

Yeah, corruption bug sounds pretty likely, as we have inherited the assembly from an old Vault and it has undergone Pack&Go after Pack&Go.

I'll upload the screencast soon!

Thanks! 🙂

[Cadmanto · Accepted solution]

My initial thoughts are when you created the part that represented the assembly, is it a derived part in which you inserted this assembly into?  If so, did you set it up such that it does not reference the assembly any more and is noting more then a series of surfaces?

Then once you created this part, was it in the Vault?  Did you replace it from your local drive or from the Vault?

Windows 10 x64 -16GB Ram
Intel i7-6700 @ 3.41ghz
nVidia GTS 250 - 1 GB
Inventor Pro 2020

[Anonymous]

(Sorry for the late reply everyone, first of all. It's been manic days!)

Hi @Cadmanto and many thanks for your reply,

No, it's not a derived part (Manage tab, Insert group, Derive tool-on IPT environment) for which I inserted the assembly onto an empty .ipt and then produced the part, if I understood you well?

I used "Create Simplified Part" from the Assemble tab, Simplification group-on IAM environment, so it created a new part which was saved on the new location. Then used "Component>Replace All" from the contextual menu, to replace all the instances.

Neither the main assembly or any of the sub-assemblies had yet been checked in on the Vault.

However, now you made me go through the same route again, I just realised that those parts keep a link with the base component.

So opening all the ipt's and breaking that link I think is what I was looking for.

I'm working on it. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks!

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone, apologies for the delay, and many thanks for your time and help 🙂

As you well said @Cadmanto , when a "Substitute" part is created out of an assembly (Shrinkwrap Substitute), a three-steps cyclic reference is created:

Assy1 ->Substitute Part ->Assy1

So that Substitute Part will be referenced within Assy1 (under the designated LOD), and Assy1 will be referenced within Substitute Part, under "Base Component".

Hence, despite we replaced the Assy1's with the Substitute Part's, we still need to, either break the link with the base component, so that the Substitute Part won't ask for it, or keep it within the Project search paths for Inventor/Vault to find it.

I made the mistake to disregard the original Assy1, so when the Substitute Part was asking for it, neither Inventor or Vault would find it.

Everything moved back together, happily reunited and more importantly, checked in now!!

Thanks Everyone!! 🙂