How to copy bodies

Hi there,

i am a novice in solidworks, but is it possible to copy a single bodie
from the featuremanager tree to another drawing or part? I want, when
i have drawed an multiple bodie part to make separat drawings or parts
so it will be more easy to manufactur it.

thanks,

Bennie

 

Try using configurations. Create a new configuration(of the multibody part)
and use the "delete bodies" function to delete/hide the bodies you don't
want to see.They are still available in the feature tree if needed. Create
as many configurations from the original multibody part as you need for
drawings. See "Help" menu.

Mike

 

Sounds like you should be working with assemblies and components
instead of multi-body parts.

 

You can use the feature command 'save bodies' , specify a folder and
assembly name and it will convert your multibody part into a derived
assembly.

You can right click on a body and insert it into a new part (it will be
a derived body in the new part)

You can use the drawing command called 'relative view' - then select
the 2 reference faces from one body only and only that body will appear
in your drawing. However projecting views can be difficult so you may
need to use 'auxillary view' instead of projected.

But as mentioned, depending on what your doing it may be better to be
using multiple parts / assemblies.

Zander

 

Bennie,

Using multibodies this way is an accident waiting to happen. Multibodies was
originally intended as a construction aid toward creating single parts, not
the other way around. The folks at SW didn't limit the functionality, in
fact, you can pretty much do anything you want with it. This doesn't mean
you should.

I just finished up untangling a monstrous hairball project. The original
designer had done the whole huge outer plastic assembly as a multibody. Not
only that but there were SEVERAL completely different versions in the same
part. it must have had over 1000 complex features, and was totally usless as
the basis for a production design. The reasons for this are many, and if I
have four or five spare hours someday, I'll write them down.

Granted, this is an extreme case (and the guy is a little nutz), but you
should use assemblies, not multibodies.

Mark

 

I agree as I've seen stuff like this before. I do use multibody for 2
things: mold design and weldments which are both designed around a
multibody enviroment.

Zander

 

Zander,

Me too. They're also usefull fo modelling purchased parts.

I've also designed intake manifolds, where I just use it as a construction
tool.


Mark