iAssemblies

In this workflow, early design stages are complete and you are ready to capture size and attachment options. Determine the parts in the assembly that have variations and create iParts. For example, the cylinder body, bolt, and shaft have length variations.

1. Open one of the part files. On the ribbon, click Manage tabAuthor panelCreate iPart.
2. In the iPart Author, select parameters, properties, suppression status, iMates, work features, threads, and other values that are unique in each member. Using the example, add the length parameter. Each selected attribute creates a table column.
   NoteTo simplify the iPart table and the iAssembly table, add only the values that you need. Including extraneous values means that the columns must be generated even if their values are never configured.
3. Right-click the row and select Insert Row. Repeat for as many variations as you need.
4. In the Member column, accept the default naming convention or click Options to customize.

   If you change the member name, a prompt reminds you that a name change alters the file name and asks you to confirm.

5. Right-click the appropriate row and select Set as Default Row. If not, the first row is the default row.
6. Customize column cells, as needed, to create variations among members.
7. Click Verify to check syntax and verify that all cells contain valid units. If errors are found, make corrections and then click OK to save the file.
8. Repeat the procedure to create other iParts used in the iAssembly.
9. Because an iAssembly factory can have both iParts and iAssemblies as members, create subassemblies as needed.

An iAssembly factory can contain both parts and subassemblies as components. In this example, you can create the housing and shaft subassemblies. In each subassembly, replace regular components with members (iParts or iAssemblies), where appropriate.

1. Create assembly files for subassemblies and add iPart or iAssembly members as components. In this example:
   • Create a subassembly of the housing that contains the cylinder body and bolt iParts.
   • Create another subassembly of the shaft and include the shaft iPart.
2. Create an assembly file for the top-level assembly. Place a shaft member and a housing member as components.
3. On the ribbon, click Manage tab Author panelCreate iAssembly to convert the assembly to a factory. In the iAssembly Author, use Table Replace for the shaft and housing.
   • On the Components tab, expand the housing subassembly, select Table Replace, and click the Add arrow to make it a configurable item. Repeat for the shaft subassembly.
     TipBecause these subassemblies contain components that are also iParts or iAssemblies, a Table Replace column is created. When editing the table, you can replace the member in the row with another member of the same factory.
   • On other tabs, add additional configurable items such as constraints whose values must be different for individual members or material. Each added item creates a column in the table.
   • In each member row, modify cell values that differentiate members.
4. Click Verify to check syntax and verify that all cells contain valid units. If errors are found, make corrections.
5. If appropriate, click Options to modify the naming scheme. By default member names are the file name, incremented for each row, as in shaft-01, shaft-02, and so on.
6. When you finish, click OK to close the iAssembly Author. Save the file.

After you create member rows in the factory, you can generate the files.

1. In the browser, click to expand the factory. The member names are nested below the factory.
2. Right-click a member name and select Generate File to create the file on your computer. It is located in a subfolder of the folder of the factory, named the same as the factory file.
3. Continue to select members and generate files.

In general, any parameter changes as a result of editing are captured. For example, if you change a constraint offset, it is auto-captured in the table.

1. Open an iAssembly factory.
2. On the ribbon, click Assemble tabiPart/iAssembly panelEdit Member Scope to apply changes only to the active member.
3. Edit any items that can be configured. The changes are added as a new table column, or update a cell value if the column exists.

   If a new column is added, the new value is added to the current member, but the original value is set for all other members. For example, an iPart can have an extruded length set to three values for three members:

   Member Name	Param: Length
   Member-01	10 mm
   Member-02	20 mm
   Member-03	30 mm

4. Save the file to save edits to the table. All assemblies that include the modified component are updated when you next open them.

Table Replace is available when an iAssembly component is a member of another iPart or iAssembly factory. When editing the table, you can replace the member in the row with another member of the same factory.

1. Open an iAssembly factory file. In the browser, right-click the table and select Edit Table.
2. To add an iPart or iAssembly as a member:
   • On the Components tab, select the appropriate iPart or iAssembly and click the Add arrow. A Table Replace column is added to the table automatically.
   • Edit the values in the Table Replace column as needed. Click a cell and select a member from the referenced factory.
   • Right-click the appropriate row and select Set As Default Row. The member specified in the active row is used when the member is placed in an assembly.
3. To switch to a different member:
   • Click the Table Replace cell the appropriate row and click the arrow to select a different member.
   • If appropriate, right-click the row and select Set As Default Row.

Values calculated by equations in the spreadsheet are shown with a mango background in the iAssembly table.

1. On the Quick Access toolbar, click Open and browse to the iAssembly factory file, and then click OK.
2. In the browser, click to expand the table folder.
3. Right-click the table icon and select Edit via Spreadsheet. The table opens in Microsoft Excel.
4. Edit cells as needed, but avoid editing column headers. If you edit column headers, it causes all members to fail without warning.
5. Use Microsoft Excel commands as needed. For example:
   • Copy and paste rows to add new factory members quickly. Change only needed cells to differentiate between members.
   • Use formulas to create the data.
   • Sort the data to organize it in a logical way, such as sorting on a critical value in ascending or descending order.
6. Save the spreadsheet and close it.

Use one of these methods:

• In the browser, select one or more members or factories, right-click, and select Copy. The new files are listed in the browser hierarchy. They use the names of the original selections and assigned a suffix incremented to indicate it is an additional occurrence.
• Right-click the factory table in the browser and select Edit via Spreadsheet. In the spreadsheet, select the rows you want to duplicate and press CTRL+C. Move to a blank row and press CTRL+V. In the Member column, be sure to assign new names to the copied rows.
• When you place an iPart or iAssembly member, click the Table tab in the Place Standard iPart dialog box. Enter values in the new row and click New Row. Continue to add new rows. After you place a selected member in the assembly, click Cancel to close the dialog box. Save the file. All new rows are added to the factory table automatically.
• Open the factory file. Click Save AsSave Copy As. Give the file a new name. The factory and all the members are duplicated on disk.

On the BOM tab of the author dialog box, you can add columns for the BOM Qty or the BOM Structure. You can change their values in the factory table.

• BOM Quantity (Qty) is the same for all instances of a component in a factory.
• If you set a member to Referenced, it is excluded from the bill of materials.

When editing a factory file, be sure to set the Scope to apply changes to only the member or the entire factory, as desired.

• To change a value in all members, activate the table using the browser node or edit using the spreadsheet. Use caution when making global changes because you can inadvertently cause errors in some members.
• On the Exclusion tab of the factory author, all values that can be included or excluded are listed. Click to select those values you want to specify in member rows.
  • Click a cell with an Include/Exclude status in a member row and select the needed value.
  • Exclude values in a member as needed. For example, you can exclude constraints if the other participant in the constraint pair is not included in the factory.
  • If you exclude a pattern from the member, the first pattern member is also deleted.
• You can drag a component into a factory. Now that the factory is changed, all members must be updated.
• If you change the factory, but then edit a member that uses that value, update the file to capture the change. If the change does not affect the member, the member does not require an update.
• You can automatically update a pattern by selecting a column showing the number of occurrences of the parent pattern member. Change the number of pattern members in each row, as needed. If needed, be sure to select values such as angle and spacing between pattern members.
• When Edit Member Scope is active, deletions are treated as excludes. Other members of the table retain the deleted object.

  When Edit Factory Scope is active, deletions behave as normal, and a configured column is removed.

• Unlike iParts, the browser shows member names, not keys. If appropriate, right-click a member name and select List by Key. Right-click and select List by Member Name to restore the member name display.
• You can delete an iAssembly table. Right-click the table in the browser and select Delete. All references to the factory are removed and the component is converted to a standard assembly file.
• A table column is deleted if the item is deleted (such as a component, constraint, parameter, representation, or iMate).
• A column is preserved but not changed if a constraint is redefined, or a component is made nonadaptive and nonflexible for the factory. The same is true if all cells of a column are manually set to the same value.
• The column header is renamed if an object is renamed or a table component is replaced with a common ancestor.
• You can configure the match list of an iMate. Select the appropriate match list entry on the iMates tab, and click the Add arrow to add the column to the table. When modifying the match list, separate the items in the list with a semicolon as in this example: iMateA; iMateB; iMateC; iMateD.

If one of the iPart or iAssembly members does not meet the needs for current use, you can create a row in the Place Standard iPart dialog box.

1. On the ribbon, click Assemble tabComponent panelPlace.
2. In the Open dialog box, browse to locate the appropriate iPart or iAssembly factory and click Open. If Vault is installed and you open a file in the vault, you can use an alternate method. Click Open from Vault located under Quick Launch for immediate access to your vaulted files.
3. In the Place Standard iPart dialog box, click the Table Tab.
4. A New row is added at the top of the table. Click in the Member column of the row and enter a new name. When you enter a value in a cell, other table members are filtered out so that only values that match that value are visible.
5. In each column, enter values to differentiate the new member from other members and then click New Row.
6. Select the member you want to place and click in the graphics window.
7. Continue to place instances of the member or select another member. Continue to place members, right-click, and select Done. Click Cancel to close the dialog box.

For first-level child components of a factory, you can exchange one member for another:

1. In the browser, click to expand a child node.
2. Right-click a member and select Change Member.