Component Reposition Methods

Component Reposition Methods

Overview: There are several different ways to reposition components in an assembly. You can manipulate the components using the compass as you would in the Part Design workbench; create constraint relationships between components; or activate one of the move commands.

Compass Repositioning

Compass repositioning allows you to reposition and rotate components freely in space using the compass. If you have a 3D device installed, you can activate Move compass with 3D devices in Tools | Options, General, Devices and Virtual Reality. By dragging and dropping the compass onto a component, you can control the position and orientation of the selected component with the space ball. This becomes useful when you add constraints to a component and find it hard to pick an edge or a face based on its current position within the assembly. You can drag the component into free space and then pick the required geometry and apply the constraint. Selecting Edit | Update updates the assembly and moves the component back into the correct position based on the constraint added.
To add more control to compass manipulation, you can right-click on the compass and select Edit. This displays the Compass Manipulation dialog, which gives you numerous options for moving components.

Component Manipulation

Component manipulation lets you change components without specifying translation or rotation values. Select Edit | Move | Manipulate to activate the command. You can drag the components along any axis or plane and rotate them around a local or specified axis. This is similar to positioning the component using the compass.

Snap

  Use Snap to move or rotate components using their geometry as reference elements. You can select a point, line, or plane on one object and snap it to similar geometry on another component. Likewise, you can rotate components by snapping a point at one end to a point at the other end of the component.

Constraints

  Constraints let you establish positioning relationships between components in the assembly structure. These relationships enable you to link components so that modifying or repositioning one component in the assembly also updates any constrained components, maintaining the established relationships. This becomes useful when analyzing interferences and clearances between components. It allows you to modify a piece part and then update the whole assembly while retaining a positional relationship. Other positioning methods require you to move the component manually in a certain direction by a specific amount. Constraints reduce the need to measure a distance and then move the component. It is automatically done for you based on the component's relationships to other components.