Interesting use for Model Player

I found a new (to me, maybe to you, too) use for Model Player ~ fixing assemblies. I created a new assembly from an existing one with 'Save a copy', replaced some components, then notices, after a regen that the first component was frozen. I did a search, using the Search tool for components with the Status of 'frozen' and found a few hundred of them. The loss of assembly constraints cascaded from the first frozen component (an ECAD export of a PWA).

I tried several different methods of trying to facilitate unfreezing or even getting to the frozen components, including Insert mode. That gave me the idea to try Model Player because it does the equivalent in a more dynamic way. The interesting thing about MP is that it has this button called 'Fix Model'. Pressing this throws you, temporarily and interactively, into Resolve mode where you can 'Redefine', 'Fix Model', etc.

The first great thing about this was that it cleared away all the later components so you could start from the beginning and regen or fix anything 'broken'. The second great thing was that after you fixed the frozen component, it resumed right where you left off. The third was that, unlike typical Resolve mode operation, it showed you the placed, frozen component so you didn't have to guess or figure out before hand what and where the component was/lived. The fourth was that it let you get inside groups/patterns to an individual component and redefine that without disturbing the pattern or group. When the lead component in a pattern was redefined, just pressing the advance button got each of the patterned elements regen'd with every button press. I got through the several hundred frozen components in a couple hours with minimal pain.

The only smarter way would have been to NOT use replace but to assemble the new components on top of the old, use the search to find everything that was a child of the mating surface and bulk Reroute the components to the new surface.

David Janes

 

Thanks David for sharing that ...

I have started using MP lately. But FIX MODEL seems interesting. I
never gave attension although I had seen that.
I was using more like a tool instead using Insert mode bacause this
seems to be faster. But if you close the MP in between (not using
Finish), then all the remaining items would go to the suppressed mode
and thats sometimes may not be so good...



I have one qn also... Why did u say bulk reroute.. how would you do
it.?

Thanks
Joe

 

The interesting thing about the new Search tool in WF is that once you find
the stuff you're looking for, highlight it and move it into the right hand
window, it stays highlighted when you exit the Search tool. Then you can RMB
the highlighted items and get an interactive menu. One of the items ought to
be Reroute for components. With a second component assembled over the first
(with the Insert bar moved up right after the first compoent), you can pick
one of its surfaces to replace the reference to the first components, for
all the highlighted components. It is often just that single reference that
will be lost with the Replace and cause all those components to 'Freeze'.
When the references have been replaced, you can just delete the first
component.

David Janes