Bugs in assembly modeling? (platinum)

Jim Canale

Either I don't understand how assembly modeling works, or I'm finding a lot of other bugs in assemblies.  I created all my components separately, and placed them in a subfolder called "PARTS".   Then I used bmINSERT, and numerous types of constraints to assemble all the components.   I created some 2D drawing views on a layout but didn't like what I saw.   I decided to change some of the components.  I pulled them up separately and edited them.  Then I returned to model space of my assembly drawing, and ran bmUPDATE.   But the changes did not get reflected in the assembly!   Is it because I put some components are in a "rigid set"?  Is it because I applied a fixed constraint to one of the components?  None of this is explained well in the literature that I have seen thus far.  What are the rules?.    There are a lot of components in this assembly, and it took a fair amount of time to position them with the restraints.  I don't want to willy nilly start deleting them.   

I clicked on the tab to return to my layout, and noticed that the 2D views were being updated.  Good.  That makes sense.    So I finally got to the layout, and the drafting viewports have been moved, disassociated from the dimensions I placed, and STILL don't show the changes I made to the components!    WORSE, when I returned to model space, I discovered that my constraints had been removed from the mechanical assembly!   (I used CTRL-Z back out the actions that caused my constraints to go BYE BYE.  Then I tried again to move to the layout view.  And AGAIN, the process removed constraints from my mechanical assembly. 

I have also discovered that the assembly structures break when you change the name of the ROOT directory holding the assembly drawing.  I could well imagine changing the name of the component subfolder would damage the structure, but why a change to the name of the root directory?  Aren't the paths all relative? Shouldn't they be?

I am also having problems with the default SUN lighting of this assembly model.  Somehow that got screwed up too.   I can't see the bottom of my assembly without turning on additional spotlights.  The default sun is altered, but I cannot change it.

I have submitted a SR on these issues, but I wanted to find out if anyone else has experienced problems like this.  Maybe I am misunderstanding how to use the tools.

Roy Klein Gebbinck

Let me try to explain the path issue that you refer to.
The BmInsert command stores both the relative and the absolute path. If a component file isn't found in the relative path the absolute path is used. IMO this is a pretty clever solution. Of course for a path to become relative the main assembly drawing has to be saved first. (Maybe the BmInsert command should check this and force the user to save?)

Somehow you have managed to break the links between your files, which probably explains your update issues.

What can be confusing is that (modified) components are stored in the main assembly drawing, they remain visible even if they are not found on disk. In the Parameters Section of the Properties Bar you can update the File field.

Roy Klein Gebbinck

... When you save the main assembly drawing file for the first time the paths of existing components are checked and made relative if possible. So, contrary to what I have suggested before, there is no reason to save before using BmInsert.

Roy Klein Gebbinck

FWIW I agree that certain conceptual aspect of components and 3D constraints should be (better) documented.
- How are paths handled (see my previous posts)?
- Why are some components xrefs and some (linked) anonymous blocks?
- When 3D constraints have been applied, what are the dos and don'ts?

Joe Dunfee

The more complex a program is to use, and the "smarter" it is, the more its behavior can seem random and uncontrollable.  Good documentation is the only way to solve that sort of issue.  

I have never been motivated to learn much about Platinum's mechanical assemblies in my v14, in spite of needing to design mechanical assemblies. The existing documentation was not enough to get me over the learning curve.

-Joe

Jim Canale

@Roy Klein Gebbinck said:

.......What can be confusing is that (modified) components are stored in the main assembly drawing, they remain visible even if they are not found on disk. In the Parameters Section of the Properties Bar you can update the File field.

Roy,
That has not been my experience. Once the subfolder containing the components is renamed or moved, the assembly disappears. Which brings up another question.... I used to create assembly drawings in one file, in a 3D Modeling workspace, without BricsCAD's special tools. I kept the components in separate layers, and either used 3D constraints or groups to join them. I didn't have any problems with that approach until the file sizes started topping 25 MB. (My machine is pretty slow.) I didn't have all the bugs that I am encountering with the Mechanical workspace. And the assembly was easier to email or upload as one file.

Anyway, the question is, how do I quickly convert one of these assembly (with XREF components) into a self contained file, without building it from scratch?

Jim Canale

@Joe Dunfee said:

The existing documentation was not enough to get me over the learning curve.

-Joe

You're right Joe. The documentation isn't good enough yet. I've been hounding the support group with questions about the tools. And I have seen plenty of bugs, or what certainly appears to be bugs.

Roy Klein Gebbinck

@Jim Canale:
When I said '(modified) components' I meant parametric components that have had their parameters changed in the main assembly and not static 'xref' components.

You can change a component to 'local' by right-clicking it in the Mechanical Browser and then selecting the appropriate option.

Jim Canale

@Roy Klein Gebbinck said:
@Jim Canale:
When I said '(modified) components' I meant parametric components that have had their parameters changed in the main assembly and not static 'xref' components.

You can change a component to 'local' by right-clicking it in the Mechanical Browser and then selecting the appropriate option.

Thanks Roy. I opened the browser, selected a component at a time, and switched it to "Local". Tedious process as there were a lot of individual components. It removed all the xrefs. It also greatly increased the file size, as expected. Pretty neat. I presume there is also a way to reverse the process, directing each component to an external location.

Is there a quicker way to switch all the components to "local"?

Roy Klein Gebbinck

Actually there is: the BmLocalize command.
It seems that you and I both should RTM and digest the documentation that is available.

Jim Canale

Roy,
I have an assembly that defies my attempts to convert it to a local drawing. I've manually switched all the components "to local", and have run the BmLocalize command. If I rename, (or move) the subfolder that holds the components, and re-open the assembly *.DWG, my assembly is replaced by the former path to the components. The assembly is NOT growing in size either. So it is NOT getting converted to a local file. I'm beginning to think these advanced features (assemblies) are too buggy to bother with.

Roy Klein Gebbinck

Jim, it is hard to understand your last post. But your suggestion that an external component is found after moving its file seems unlikely. I think you should send in a support request.

Jim Canale

Roy,
It was my understanding that one could convert an assembly drawing with xrefs to local. That SHOULD make the file standalone viewable, albeit with a larger file size. But the procedure outlined here does not work for me.