5 Replies Latest reply on Oct 14, 2015 6:10 PM by Steven Mills

Designing from the Assembly Level question - shared vaiables, got tips?

Steven Mills Sep 11, 2015 3:14 PM

Here is a repeating problem for me. I have an assembly with multiple parts and sub-assemblies, and I need to share a variable across several parts. More importantly I would like to have only one place that controls that variable. Is there something I can set at the top level and have it go down to each sub part and assembly?

A couple of really cumbersome ways I did this before. And I say cumbersome because as time went on, I found links getting broken between parts, assemblies, and design tables. It also became really hard to back-track from the bottom levels to the top level ;

1. Have a top level sketch with the variable as dimensions in the sketch. Then have each part have their own sketch that links to whatever variables are needed in the top one.

2. Use a spread sheet that drove the Design Tables of each individual part and sub-assembly.

Re: Designing from the Assembly Level question - shared vaiables, got tips?

Martin MacDonald Sep 11, 2015 3:34 PM (in response to Steven Mills)

just a though but you could have your variable in the top level asay and then link it to the necessary parts and sub assy by editing them in the context of the top level assy.
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- Re: Designing from the Assembly Level question - shared vaiables, got tips?
  
  Steven Mills Sep 14, 2015 10:08 AM (in response to Martin MacDonald)
  
  Can that be linked to a part down several levels? Or do I have to have the equation on each level?
  
  Good point though, you can now do that in more recent updates.
  
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  - Re: Designing from the Assembly Level question - shared vaiables, got tips?
    
    Martin MacDonald Sep 14, 2015 10:26 AM (in response to Steven Mills)
    
    It can be linked to a pert several levels down. I just checked myself to be sure. I created a cylinder and then put it in a sub-assy and put that sub assy in a top level assy. I then wrote a variable for the diameter and I was able to drive the cylinder diameter from the top level assy.
    
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Re: Designing from the Assembly Level question - shared vaiables, got tips?

Vladimir Urazhdin Sep 17, 2015 3:43 PM (in response to Steven Mills)

Global Variables assembly ->part (or sub assembly) can be linked via equations. There are two ways to create links.
Top-down: link Global Variables assembly -> part
Bottom-up: link Global Variables part -> assembly
This technique works in SW 2014, but so far may not work in SW 2015. SolidWorks has confirmed this issue and has reported it to their development team as SPR 895813 (Changing the value of global variable equation in assembly).
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- Re: Designing from the Assembly Level question - shared vaiables, got tips?
  
  Steven Mills Oct 14, 2015 6:10 PM (in response to Vladimir Urazhdin)
  
  Thanks. I did start using these more, and ended up getting 40 dimensions controlled in a small model. A little awkward to have to do it all from the assembly level. To get the more complicated dimensions, I needed to isolate the part I was working on, just to get everything else out of the way. But it works.
  
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