Need Assembly Help

I'm revising an assembly with about 30 items and these are my
questions:

* I'm trying to move one of the items, listed 3rd or 4th from the
top. I need to constrain it with another item down the list, almost at
the bottom. When I try to edit the definition and try to pick the
surfaces to constrain, all the parts listed below dissapear. How can I
constrain my part with the other if I can't see them?

* I tried to erase the part that needs to be constrained and reinsert
it, so it is in the bottom ot the list. But, when I click to erase
only that one part, it wants to erase all the parts below. Is like
starting the assembly all over again.

Hopefully my explanation is clear enough to get some help.

Thank you.

 

Have you tried 'restructure' for this type of problem? Do
'Edit>Restructure', pick the component to move to another assembly, OK, pick
the destination, OK and Done. Component, references, etc. moved.

David Janes

 

could you constrain the one at the bottom to some neutral datum, drag this
one above your target, then redefine your target, once the intended
reference is above in the history tree?

 

Or delete the constratints of the component you wish to redefine,
leaving it packaged, than drag it to after the new constraining
component, then create new constraints

 

I tried this, but it didn't help at all.

 

You have to understand that most model trees (Pro is not alone in this)
are 'history-based'. That means that you can't constrain a part or a
feature to something that appears after it.

You should redefine your component at the end of the model tree and
assemble it to "Default". Then, drag it to a position above the 4th
part in the assembly in the Model Tree. Now, redefine it again to mate
it to something useful. Then redefine the 5th part (which USED to be
the 4th part) to mate it to the part you have brought up from the
bottom.

If that is not theoretically possible, then you have to use Mechanism
contraints to solve the locations, since you cannot have both parts
dependent upon each other for their positioning in 'normal' assembly.

Regards

 

Delete the component at the bottom, slide the insert bar above component 3
or 4, insert the component that was at the bottom ahead of 3 or 4, then
redefine 3 or 4 so it is tied to the new 2 or 3. This will work if the
component at the bottom is not part of a sub-assembly. If it were, you'd
need to restructure first, get it into the same level as the part you want
it ahead of.

David Janes