How to create a joined part?

I am trying to follow the directions in help "Creating a Joined Part"....but
can't make it happen. I just dont get the Join PropertyManager started...
can't even select join under insert - features - join...

Please be very specific in your directions....

 

After you start the new component in the assembly you have to be out of the
sketch that is automatically started. Then good too Insert\Features\Join

Regards,
Scott

 

Yeah, if you follow the direction in the help context exactly, it will NOT
work. Exit the sketch first like Scott said and then it will work. I'm
pretty sure that their help directions for this have been wrong since
SW2001. I wonder when they will correct the help directions. I guess they
do not proof there help context very often....

 

SP3 of SW04 addressed this issue.

Regards,
Scott

 

Just save the assembly as a part.

 

My help directions of SP3.0 still leaves out that step.

 

SP4's help now says:

"5. Close the sketch. Because you are creating a joined part, you do not
need the sketch."

Muggs

 

Hello Steve,

Try a truly easy to use CAD system:

www.ironcad.com

You can spend your time designing instead of battling poor UI.

IronDude

 

Actually SP3 says that too. Not sure what Seth's reading.

 

Hmm.... Just opened my help again to verify that I wasn't crazy. I was not
crazy. It does skip this step. Turns out, the title bar of my help window
says: SolidWorks 2004 Online User's Guide - SP2. I never new that the title
bar would tell the "help" version.

But, what I don't understand is that I am almost positive that I updated the
help files when I upgraded to SP3.0.

Oh well. I'll get it caught up on SP4.0 (eventually).

 

Others have mentioned the standard "Join" which is covered in Help,
and some have noted to save an Assembly as a Part.

There's one more 'official' method to do a Join, which I use:

A. Part 1 and Part 2 to be joined are put in an assembly drawing &
mated.
B. Part 1 in the Assembly is put into "Edit" mode from the Feature
Manager icon
C. Menu select Join from Insert:Features:Join
D. Select Part 2 in Feature Manager tree
E. Deselect the Edit icon
F. Part 1 now shows itself with Part 2 added and as a 'part of' part
1

This method is very similar to using the Feature "Cavity".

Bp

 

Interesting. Rather than creating a new part to "contain" all the joined
parts, you just open one of the original parts and "put" the others there.
Kind of like starting with a template. (Well sort of.....loosely.)

WT

 

This is the method that I have used to send a combined overmold and core
part to the mold makers. I've run into a couple of parts now where it
doesn't work. SW gives me an error message and doesn't join part 2 into part
1. The really interesting part is that I can insert an empty new part, call
it part 3, into the assembly and join parts 1 and 2 in it and it works just
fine!

Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems
"take the garbage out, dear"