Repost - Mirror Components in Assemblies Issue

An interesting procedure was posted by Keith Streich, but some time had
passed since the OP, and I was afraid it would be buried.
Keith's post is shown below.
Bill Allemann


It's not perfect and would appreciate anyone's input.

RH & LH Weldment Procedures

Prerequisites for opposite hand weldments, automatically updating all
documentation showing.

1.. Added or removed parts and sub-weldments.
2.. New or eliminated machining operations to any parts, sub-weldments or
to the base weldment (part & assembly features).
3.. Changed part or sub-weldment orientations or locations (mates).
4.. Proper bill of materials generation for both RH & LH weldment with
minimal user intervention or modifications.
5.. All parts and sub-weldments must not be modified, but maintained as
separate part and assembly files, allowing for proper documentation and
representation.

Since Solidworks "mirror component" command can not automatically perform
all of these requirements, the following procedure will accommodate the
above conditions with minimal effort to when creating and modifying RH/LH
weldments.

Key points and modification issues.

1.. The base weldment will have all parts and sub-weldments inserted and
mated in the RH (right hand) weldment. This will allow future users to know
which weldment requires revisions.
2.. The "Join" feature will be used in the RH weldment to glue all parts
and sub-weldment together before mirroring. Future weldment modifications
must have the "Join" feature suppressed before any part or weldment changes
and then unsuppressed when done (this is no longer required with the current
version of SW). If any parts or sub-weldments were added or removed to the
RH weldment, the "Join" feature needs to be edited and all new components
added to the feature's "Parts to Join" input.
3.. Solidworks automatically hides parts when creating or editing the
"Join" feature, so one must show and hide parts and sub-weldments before and
after modifying the RH weldment.

Steps for LH weldment creation.

1.. A new part will be added to the RH weldment, which will contain
nothing via the command "Insert | Component | New part". The naming
conversion should be the RH weldment number with the wording "Weldment, RH,
Composite" following this number (example: XXXXX-0XXX, weldment, RH,
composite). This blank part should be reference to any plane in the RH
weldment. Once this part has been added, finish editing it and then re-edit
it in place, perform an "insert | feature | Join" and select all parts and
sub-weldments by either the graphics window or feature tree, accept this to
finish the command and then finish editing the part. This operation will
create one feature in this new part file consisting of a single body
comprised from all the original parts and sub-weldments. The original parts
and sub-weldments should all be hidden in the RH weldment when this command
has been completed and only this new part shown. SAVE!
2.. Perform an "insert | mirrored components", select an appropriate face
or plane to mirror about and then select the new part (ensure the part's box
is checked). Select "next".
3.. The file name should be the RH weldment number with any appropriate
suffix and with the wording "Weldment, LH, Composite" following the number
(example: XXXXX-1XXX, weldment, LH, composite). Accept this to finish the
new mirrored part. SAVE!
4.. Click on the configurations tab and rename the default configuration
to "RH Weldment".
5.. Add a new configuration "LH Weldment"
6.. Ensure the "LH Weldment" configuration is current, switch to the
feature tab and right click the new LH part and select "Fix". Right click
the RH part and select "Suppress".
7.. Now make the "RH Weldment" configuration current, switch back to the
feature tab and right click the LH part and select "suppress". SAVE!
8.. Now a single assembly file contains both RH & LH weldments controlled
via configurations. Modify any custom and configuration specific properties
to properly specify BOM information. SAVE!

 

Is there any paticular reason you need to create weldments with
assemblies still?
It seems controlling LH and RH weldments from within a part file
utilizing solid bodies
is the easiest route to take. As well and controlling machining
features with configurations. This way, you could possibly have
smaller changes to drawings.

Don

 

My original post was about mirror copies of subassemblies in general, rather
than just weldments.
Swx seems to position the mirrored components fairly well now, but
recreating mates seems to be nonfunctional.
Keith's procedure was directed toward assemblies.
Bill

 

Yes, the weldment feature within SW is still limited in actual practice,
it's a nice 1st go around, but still need improvement. Shops which make
their living via welding things together are more productive in the long run
using assemblies vs. the weldment feature. Search for "weldments" within
this group for a better explanation of those limitations. You might need to
use Google or some other web based newsgroup search engine to find the
post's, but I know it's been discussed.

Keith

 

I was really hoping for more of a response or comments about this procedure.

I know the BOM requires manual modification and is far from perfect.

What do you heavy hitters of the SW user community think?

I also know it's long winded! I had to document the concept for my guys
when they were new users.

Basically create your assembly or weldment, create a bogus part, do a join
on this part and create configurations showing the two states.

Keith

 

Hey Keith,

Thanks for the instructions. I am so busy I haven't even had time to
read and digest it. This is a good thing! When I get some time in late
summer, I will let you know what I think.

Reaper.

 

I haven't had time to go through it yet, but I intend to in the next few
days.
I may start a new thread when the time comes.
Thanks, Bill

 

I was too far into a project to try out the procedures. I intend to get
into them
next week on a new project.
Bill