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View representation in assemblies

Question asked by Steve Barrett on May 1, 2019
Latest reply on May 2, 2019 by Glenn Schroeder

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I'm fairly new to SolidWorks. I'm used to Inventor which had a cool feature where one assembly file could contain many different versions or configuration of an assembly through a function called "level of detail". What it does basically is save the instances you suppressed in a large file as a different level of detail. So if I want the assembly type with motor X instead of motor Y, I click on the level of detail name i want and it supresses all of the parts associated with this particular configuration of motor X. Both motors are in the assembly file but one and many other things could be suppressed simply by activating the associated level of detail. Does solidworks have something similar or do i need to suppress and unsuppress each and every part of interest every time i want to look at a different configuration of the assembly?

Glenn Schroeder May 1, 2019 4:49 PM

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I'm not completely sure I understand what you're trying to do, but if you're trying to suppress a Part for selected configurations of a sub-assembly, the only way I know of without directly opening the sub-assembly would be to click on the sub-assembly in the tree and choose the "Edit Component" icon, which will allow you to edit the sub-assembly within the main assembly. However, I don't know if it will be faster. I have a pretty good computer, and rarely work with files large enough to slow it down much.

I'm about to leave for the day, but if you have more questions I'm sure someone else can help, or I'l reply tomorrow morning when I get to work.

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Deepak Gupta May 1, 2019 11:53 AM

In SOLIDWORKS you can create configurations (you can suppress components) or display state where you can hide components.

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Glenn Schroeder May 1, 2019 12:01 PM

As Deepak said, that's called configurations in Solidworks. Feel free to ask specific questions as you get involved.

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Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 3:51 PM

Ok so this is what I'm looking for but what's not clear is how to activate configurations i made at lower levels from the top level assembly. Is there a way to do this?

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Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 1, 2019 3:59 PM

Steve Barrett wrote:

Ok so this is what I'm looking for but what's not clear is how to activate configurations i made at lower levels from the top level assembly. Is there a way to do this?

Yes. The simplest (in my opinion) is to right-click on the component in the upper-level assembly and select "Configure Component" from the drop-down. That will open up a simple table, with a row for each configuration of the upper-level assembly and a column for the configuration name and one for the selected component. You can assign the desired component configuration, or their suppression state for each configuration, in this table.

Please see How do I set a configuration specific dimension or value? (especially method #2) for screenshots and more information. That blog post deals with setting dimensions for configurations, but it should still help.

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Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 4:38 PM

Perfect. One last question though:

I'm in the top level and I have "Lite" configuration activated and I activated a lower level config called "No Enclosure" in the way you suggested. But let's say I want to suppress 155839<1> below adding this suppress part to the "No Enclosure" configuration without having to open up the 158000 assembly in another window (because it's super huge and would take forever). Is it possible to do that as well?

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Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 1, 2019 4:49 PM

I'm about to leave for the day, but if you have more questions I'm sure someone else can help, or I'l reply tomorrow morning when I get to work.

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Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 4:51 PM

That does it. Thanks for your help.

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Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 5:30 PM

Another question on this however.

Is there a way to view and activate the various levels of different configurations from the configurations tab? For example, below, I'm at the 158000 level and I have one configuration at this level. But I don't see the sub assembly configurations and as a consequence cannot toggle them from this menu.

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Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 2, 2019 10:03 AM

You said you have one configuration at that level, but it looks like you have two: "Default" and "No Enclosure". The "No Enclosure" configuration is currently active. If you want to switch to the "Default" configuration just double-click on the name.

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Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 2, 2019 10:08 AM

Yes i know i can just double click between Default and No Enclosure. What I'm talking about is that i have others like "New Chuck" in a lower level assembly below No Enclosure. But i don't see it in this tree. What I'd like to do is be able to double click "New Chuck" from the lower level configuration from this menu.

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Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 2, 2019 10:22 AM

So you want the active configuration of the open Assembly to reference a different configuration of the sub-assembly? If yes, you can't do that from the configurations tab.

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Andy Sanders May 1, 2019 1:23 PM

Not only can Solidworks do what you want with assemblies, the functionality also is there for part files to suppress features, change dimensions, etc.

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S. Casale May 1, 2019 4:08 PM

In addition to the assistance others have helped you with, here is a help page from SW:

2018 SOLIDWORKS Help - Design Table Configurations

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13 Replies

Deepak Gupta May 1, 2019 11:53 AM
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In SOLIDWORKS you can create configurations (you can suppress components) or display state where you can hide components.
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Glenn Schroeder May 1, 2019 12:01 PM
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As Deepak said, that's called configurations in Solidworks. Feel free to ask specific questions as you get involved.
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- Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 3:51 PM
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  Ok so this is what I'm looking for but what's not clear is how to activate configurations i made at lower levels from the top level assembly. Is there a way to do this?
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  - Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 1, 2019 3:59 PM
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    Steve Barrett wrote:
    
    Ok so this is what I'm looking for but what's not clear is how to activate configurations i made at lower levels from the top level assembly. Is there a way to do this?
    
    Yes. The simplest (in my opinion) is to right-click on the component in the upper-level assembly and select "Configure Component" from the drop-down. That will open up a simple table, with a row for each configuration of the upper-level assembly and a column for the configuration name and one for the selected component. You can assign the desired component configuration, or their suppression state for each configuration, in this table.
    
    Please see How do I set a configuration specific dimension or value? (especially method #2) for screenshots and more information. That blog post deals with setting dimensions for configurations, but it should still help.
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    - Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 4:38 PM
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      Perfect. One last question though:
      
      I'm in the top level and I have "Lite" configuration activated and I activated a lower level config called "No Enclosure" in the way you suggested. But let's say I want to suppress 155839<1> below adding this suppress part to the "No Enclosure" configuration without having to open up the 158000 assembly in another window (because it's super huge and would take forever). Is it possible to do that as well?
      
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      - Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 1, 2019 4:49 PM
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        I'm not completely sure I understand what you're trying to do, but if you're trying to suppress a Part for selected configurations of a sub-assembly, the only way I know of without directly opening the sub-assembly would be to click on the sub-assembly in the tree and choose the "Edit Component" icon, which will allow you to edit the sub-assembly within the main assembly. However, I don't know if it will be faster. I have a pretty good computer, and rarely work with files large enough to slow it down much.
        
        I'm about to leave for the day, but if you have more questions I'm sure someone else can help, or I'l reply tomorrow morning when I get to work.
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        Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 4:51 PM
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        That does it. Thanks for your help.
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        Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 1, 2019 5:30 PM
        Mark Correct
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        Another question on this however.
        
        Is there a way to view and activate the various levels of different configurations from the configurations tab? For example, below, I'm at the 158000 level and I have one configuration at this level. But I don't see the sub assembly configurations and as a consequence cannot toggle them from this menu.
        
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        Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 2, 2019 10:03 AM
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        You said you have one configuration at that level, but it looks like you have two: "Default" and "No Enclosure". The "No Enclosure" configuration is currently active. If you want to switch to the "Default" configuration just double-click on the name.
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        Steve Barrett @ Glenn Schroeder on May 2, 2019 10:08 AM
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        Yes i know i can just double click between Default and No Enclosure. What I'm talking about is that i have others like "New Chuck" in a lower level assembly below No Enclosure. But i don't see it in this tree. What I'd like to do is be able to double click "New Chuck" from the lower level configuration from this menu.
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        Glenn Schroeder @ Steve Barrett on May 2, 2019 10:22 AM
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        So you want the active configuration of the open Assembly to reference a different configuration of the sub-assembly? If yes, you can't do that from the configurations tab.
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Andy Sanders May 1, 2019 1:23 PM
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Not only can Solidworks do what you want with assemblies, the functionality also is there for part files to suppress features, change dimensions, etc.
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S. Casale May 1, 2019 4:08 PM
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In addition to the assistance others have helped you with, here is a help page from SW:
2018 SOLIDWORKS Help - Design Table Configurations
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View representation in assemblies

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