Define Assembly Properties
General
- The behavior of an assembly in different situations can be controlled with its properties.
- The properties allow access to the assembly’s:
- Archive data.
- Item data.
- Non-modeled parts, i.e. parts that you want to include in the assembly's parts list, but whose geometry is not in the model, nor are they visible in the assembly's feature tree.
- Constraint solving.
- User interface program and command file of an assembly defined as a design automation system.
- You can edit the main assembly's and subassembly's properties in an assembly.
Open the Properties of an Assembly for Editing
- Select the name of the assembly from the assembly tree.
- Select the main assembly label if you want to edit its properties.
- Select a subassembly label if you want to modify the behavior of the subassembly in this main assembly.
- Select the context-sensitive function
Properties.- The program opens the dialog box Assembly Properties.
- Define the properties.
- Confirm the properties by clicking OK.
Dialog Box Options
- Name
- The assembly name displayed is the archive name of the model. The label is defined when creating an assembly.
- You cannot change the name.
- Renaming is disabled in the part or subassembly editing mode.
- You can rename the label of a local part or local assembly.
- Naming in Vertex.
- Archives Data
- View and edit the assembly's model archive data.
- Archives Data of a Model.
- The archive data of the assembly model is copied to the drawing archive data of the assembly drawing when you create a drawing for the model and save it in the drawing archive.
- Item Data
- View and edit the assembly’s item data.
- Extra Parts
- View and edit the so-called non-modeled parts.
- Frozen as Subassembly
When this assembly is added to the main assembly, its parts are frozen, i.e. they cannot be dragged away from their positions.
When this assembly is added to the main assembly, it is possible to drag them out of position, for example.- This feature is released in Vertex G4 2019.
- Prior to version 2019, it was only possible to select the property
Frozen as Subassembly in each assembly separately, which meant that the assembly was frozen in every main assembly. - Old assemblies will function like before until they are updated. Update a subassembly saved before version 2019 using the main assembly's context-sensitive function Other functions > Update old type link sub-assemblies or by editing and saving the subassembly and updating it to the main assembly.
- Prior to version 2019, it was only possible to select the property
- Explosive as Subassembly
- The selection is only possible for a subassembly in the main assembly.
When the main assembly is exploded, the subassembly is also exploded if its own explosion has been defined for it.- Even if the main assembly is exploded and even if exploded positions have been defined for the subassembly, the model will not explode when it is a subassembly.
- To Assembly Parts List
- Specifies that the assembly appears in the main assembly parts list.
- This assembly does not appear in the main assembly parts list.
- Note that in the roll-out of the parts list, nothing is printed from the data of such an assembly.
- Solved as Subassembly
- The selection is only possible for a subassembly in the main assembly.
- The selection does not affect a local subassembly in the main assembly.
The subassembly constraints are solved at the same time as the main assembly constraints.- The subassembly constraints will not be solved even if the main assembly constrained are solved.
- The assembly constraints are solved when you press the function key F5 or select the context-sensitive function
Solve. - Symmetric
- Symmetry is important if the assembly is mirrored in the main assembly
- The assembly is symmetrical. That is, the assembly can be turned to the same position as it is when mirrored.
No stand has been taken on the symmetry. This is the default value. In mirroring, the assembly behaves like an asymmetric model.- The assembly is asymmetrical. That is, the assembly cannot be turned into the same position as it is when mirrored. In this case, the assembly should be saved as a new model after mirroring.
- See mirroring a model: Mirror a Part or an Assembly.
- Assembly is
- Explode to Parts List
- Instead of subassembly, the subassembly parts are listed in the main assembly parts list.
- It is recommended to use this feature for local subassemblies, for example.
- For example, the main assembly fasteners (screws, nuts and washers) can be added under a local subassembly and then extracted to the main assembly parts list.
- The subassembly itself appears as one row in the parts list of the main assembly.
- Table Model (multiple items)
- A table model is a model that describes several slightly different products and thus has several items added to it.
- Several items can be added to the same model starting from version 29.0.00 (Vertex 2023), only if this is defined in the settings. See Add or Remove Item Data of Configuration.
- If necessary, this selection is added programmatically to the model's properties.
- In a table model, the button Extra Parts is deactivated, so you can only define these parts to the 0 configuration.
- Product Automation System
- Defines the assembly model as a geometric product structure of the design automation system.
- The selection activates the following two fields: User Interface Program and Task File.
- Design automation systems are implemented based on the customer's specification, mainly by Vertex Systems Oy. If necessary, the customer's personnel are then instructed to maintain the design automation system.
- User Interface Program
- Specify the name and path of the user interface program for the design automation system.
- As a default, the user interface program is read from the active project folder unless an absolute path has been defined.
- In practice, we recommend avoiding the use of absolute search paths. This makes situations in which the design automation system is transferred into another system easier. The different folder structure in the new environment will not cause difficulties in reading the files.
- Select a file name by clicking the Browse button.
- Task File
- Specify the name and path of the task file for the design automation system.
- As a default, the task file is read from the active project folder unless an absolute path has been defined.
- In practice, we recommend avoiding the use of absolute search paths. This makes situations in which the design automation system is transferred into another system easier. The different folder structure in the new environment will not cause difficulties in reading the files.
- Select a file name by clicking the Browse button.
- Hidden Parts Disabled When Machined
- A configuration technique can be used to create differently machined parts in an assembly.
- A part containing machining features does not machine other parts while hidden in a configuration.
- A part containing machining features machines other parts even if it is hidden in a configuration.
- Machined Assembly
- Related to mass calculation when using Vertex G4 and the product data management program Vertex Flow.
- When calculating the mass of the assembly, the sum of the mass of the parts is not taken into account, but the mass is always calculated from the model, after the machining has been taken into account
- The calculation of the mass of the assembly is based on the item structure in Flow and the mass collected from the items.
- Hydraulic Block Assembly
- You should only set the assembly as a hydraulic block assembly if you have the option Block Design and you are designing hydraulic blocks.
- If this option is enabled, the new assembly is by default Block assembly.
- Pipe Assembly
- Defines an assembly as a pipe assembly so that it can be saved to the pipe component library.
- The assembly model must have at least one handle, so it can be saved in the pipe component library.
- In practice this means that the assembly has at least one pipe or piping component.
- The property is selected by default for an assembly if you add the assembly using the
Create New Assembly function in piping design.
- The assembly is a regular assembly and cannot be stored in the pipe component library.
Assembly solve properties
- Vertical Direction Fixed When Solved
- This is related to adding smart so-called SmartSnap assembly components to a model.
- Such components include stairs, ladders, handrails, and platforms, the starting and ending point of which can be clicked from the model.
- The component maintains its vertical direction in all orientations, i.e. the Z-axis direction of the component corresponds to the Z-axis direction of the assembly.
- The component is positioned according to the clicked elements, i.e. the given constraints.
- Solve Free Directions of Under-defined
- This relates to how the program displays part and subassembly grip points when a part or subassembly is selected.
- Of the grip points, only those with respect to which the part or subassembly still has degrees of freedom are shown. In other words, only the handles that you can use to move or rotate the part or subassembly are displayed.
- Calculating the degrees of freedom of parts takes up computer resources, so with large assemblies this can slow down the operation.
- The grip point always shows all three movement and three rotation grip points.
- See Move or Rotate Parts Using Grip Points
- Use default resolution values / Use adjusted resolution values
- Use default resolution values: The assembly constraints are solved with the program's default tolerances..