Chapter 6: Assembly Modeling

In this tutorial, you will learn how to assemble a complex assembly from individual parts.

Note that we use the following naming convention in CAD course in assembly modeling:

The name bg_modelname_username should only be used for the entire assembly. All sub-assemblies within the overall assembly are named with ubg_modelname_username. Both the complete assembly and the sub-assemblies may contain individual parts and sub-assemblies.

Overview

In the following you get an overview of the functions covered in this tutorial:

Component
Assembly Navigator Provides an overview of the sub-assemblies and individual parts installed within the assembly. The Position column shows whether a part is fully constrained.
Add Component Inserts another part into the assembly.
 Make Work Part Temporarily switches to the single part processing mode in your assembly. In this way, auxiliary geometries can be added to an individual part, which are useful for referencing, for example.
Constraint Navigator Provides an overview of the constraints that have already been set and allows sorting according to various criteria.
Component Position
Assembly Constraints
Positions components in relation to others. You can choose from the following reference types:
altTouch Align

Touch: Surfaces are joined in opposite directions.

Align: Surfaces are linked in the same direction.

Infer Center/Axis: Centered insertion of cylindrical elements, e.g. shaft into bore. When selecting a cylindrical or conical surface, the center or center axis of the cylindrical or conical surface is selected here.

alt Align/Lock This is used to align the axes of cylindrical elements. At the same time, the degree of freedom of rotation of both elements is fixed to each other.
alt Bond This "welds" two elements so that they appear as rigid bodies.
alt Angle Connection through an angle.
alt Parallel Parallel arrangement of e. g. reference planes, surfaces etc.
alt Center Centers one or two elements between a pair of elements.
alt Concentric Concentric arrangement of two bodies. Note that the selected circles are on the same plane.
alt Distance Elements are positioned with a defined offset to each other.
alt Perpendicular Position elements perpendicular to each other.
alt Fit Adds bodies with the same radius into each other. If the radii become unequal, the connection becomes invalid.
alt Fix Provides the possibility to fix a body on the current position. The first component of an assembly should always be positioned with this function (on the coordinate origin).
Move Component Moves a part within the assembly by dragging it along the coordinates, if degrees of freedom are available.
Show Degrees of Freedom Displays degrees of freedom of a component.
Others
Perform Analysis Starts an intersection analysis. This means that the module can be checked for existing overlaps (hard touch).
 Override Position Overwrites the position of an assembly in a parent assembly, thus allowing movement.
Parts List Creates a parts list of the installed parts and allows sorting.