Dear forum readers,

I know the "part-in-part" modelling method has a poor reputation, but I like to know if anyone is using it, and if so for what kind of models.

With permission  of  , I used one of his designs as an example to demonstrate the part-in-part method. Although I know John will probably prefer a different method.  

I think it is a very suitable design for testing different methods because it contains enough details, a lot of symmetry, patterns and opposite-hand components, which can be modeled in various ways.

Short description of the method:

Part-in-part method is based on a master-sketch-part with only sketches and planes. This master-part is imported "in place" as a part when a new part is created. In the new part the sketches in the master-part are used as a reference. The geometry of all the parts is created “in place”. Assemblies or sub-assemblies can be created by inserting the parts without mates. When a new assembly or sub-asembly is created, the first inserted part should be the master-sketch-part.

The method is simple, intuitive and easy to learn and creates small and few files. When I built the model, I discovered also some disadvantages. When the number of part gets larger, the assembly and drawing will get slower. Some mistakes like deleting entities in the master-sketch-part, are easy overlooked and time-consuming to repair it.