Alternate Components
Assembly Design
Tool Bar
Use these commands to work with alternate components. Alternate components allow you to develop a family of assemblies from a single assembly. Any component can be assigned any number or alternates. You can add, delete, activate and inquire about alternates for a components. refer to the commands below.
Assign an alternate to a component. Once assigned, use the Activate Alternate Component to activate it. The active alternate will be displayed until the original component is reactivated. Using alternate components makes the assembly more dynamic by allowing for optional or replacement components. They can also be used to test various components in the same design.
If the assembly is variational, this command is logged to the active assembly's history.
Required
Inputs
Component
Select the component to pattern. You can select the component directly or right-click and pick Browse to select a component from the History Manager.
Part
Select the part that will be assigned as an alternate to the component(s). You can select the part directly or select the name of the part from the Object Browser.
Optional Inputs
Blank alternate component
Blanked components are not displayed until they are unblanked.
Activates an alternate assigned to a component. Once activated, the alternate takes the original component's place in the assembly. The list shows all alternates that have been assigned to the component and the component itself. When you assign the first alternate you are really assigning two, the alternate and the component itself.
Required Inputs
Component
Select the components to activate an alternate for. You can select the components directly or right-click and select Browse to select from the History Manager.
Alternate
Select an alternate component to activate from the list.
Inquire Alternates
for Component
Lists all alternates that have been assigned to a component. You can select the component directly or select the name of the component from the History Manager.
Use this command to delete an alternate assigned to a component. The alternate object itself is not deleted only its assignment as an alternate to the component. If the assembly is variational, this command is logged to the active assembly's history.
Select the components to delete the alternate for. You can select the components directly or right-click and select Browse to select from a list of components.
Select the alternate to delete from the list or middle-click to delete all alternates assigned to the components.
