Applying Overload Position on Reference During "Rigidification" Command

This task consists of applying an overload position first on a Specific Instance, and subsequently on all the instances of a reference. The following aspects have been explained in this chapter:

Propagation
No propagation with Multi-Instances

As it was described in the Flexible Sub-Products section, the user can dissociate the mechanical structure of a product from the product structure within the same CATProduct document.
Open the 16cubes.CATProduct document:

This document contains two identical CATProducts: 8 cubes (8 cubes.1) and 8 cubes (8 cubes.2). Both CATProducts have the same CATParts: Cube (Cube.1) and Cube (Cube.2).

Propagation

  1. Right-click 2Cubes.1 in the specification tree and select the 2cubes.1 object > Flexible/Rigid sub-assembly contextual submenu to make 2Cubes.1 flexible.

You can notice that several icons in the specification tree have changed: . This identifies a flexible sub-product.

  1. Select Cube.1 and move it with the compass. You can now move Cube.1 independently from the other cubes of 8Cubes.1. You have modified the position of Cube.1 (instance) within the 8cubes.1 instance, in the 16cubes.CATProduct document. However, within 2cubes.2, the position of Cube.1 has not changed.

  1. Right-click 2Cubes.1 and select the 2cubes.1 object > Propagate position to reference contextual submenu to propagate the position of Cube.1 instance on the reference.

The flexible position has been propagated on all the instances of Cube.1. The position of Cube.1 has changed within 2cubes.CATProduct, which explains why its position has been propagated on all the other Cube.1 within the 2cubes instances.

  1. Right-click 8Cubes.1 in the specification tree and select the 8cubes.1 object > Flexible/Rigid sub-assembly contextual submenu to make 2Cubes.1 and all the elements above rigid.
    Note that the stiffening command (rigid mode) operates downwards.

And a warning message is displayed, explaining that the operation is transferred on the product's children as well:

Click OK. Note that the instances of Cube.1 do not have moved back to their initial position. There is synchronization between the first instance of Cube.1 within 2cubes.CATProduct and all the other instances of Cube.1 (for instance the instances in 16cubes.CATProduct: 8cubes\4cubes.1\2cubes.1\Cube.1 and 4cubes\2cubes.1\Cube.1 and 2cubes\Cube.1).

 

Advice: Do Not Use Propagation With Multi-Instances

  1. To make 2cubes.1 flexible, right-click it and select the 2cubes.1 object > Flexible/Rigid sub-assembly contextual command to make its children Cube.1 and Cube.2 flexible.

  2. To make 2cubes.2 flexible, right-click it and select the 2cubes.2 object > Flexible/Rigid sub-assembly contextual command to make its children Cube.1 and Cube.2 flexible.

It is possible to make 2cubes.1 and 2cubes.2 flexible simultaneously. 

For this, you need to click 2cubes.1 and 2cubes.2 by pressing and holding down the Ctrl key. Release the Ctrl key, right-click one of these two components and select the Selected objects > contextual command.

  1. Move Cube.1 in both Cubes.1 and in Cubes.2 (2 instances of Cube.1).

You can apply the propagation of an overload position only on a product's instance but not on a Part and a root Product, otherwise the following message is displayed:

Select 8cubes.1, right-click it and select the 8cubes.1 object > Propagate position to reference contextual command. And the following message appears because 8cubes is the common root of Cube.1.

  1. Select 4cubes.1, right-click it and select the 4cubes.1 object > Propagate position to reference contextual command. And the Error Message appears because 4cubes is the common root of Cube.1.

It is recommended not to use this propagation command with Multi-Instances because you need to have only one flexible instance (Cube.1 for instance) to propagate rigidification.

  1. Select 2cubes.1 or 2cubes.2 and the Propagate position to reference contextual command. The position is propagated on all the rigid instances: all the Cube.1 instances within 2cubes, except the flexible ones (16cubes\8cubes.1\4cubes.1\2cubes.1\Cube.1), adopt the last applied position.

If you select 8cubes.1 and make it rigid, the other rigid elements are not modified. But Cube.1 in 2cube.2 becomes rigid and keeps the same position. And Cube.1 in 2cube.1 becomes rigid and retrieves its initial position that is to say the position of Cube.1 in 2cubes.2.