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Can I control components' configuration by a global variable?

Question asked by Billy Poon on Jul 28, 2015
Latest reply on Jul 30, 2015 by Deepak Gupta

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I'm making a sliding door assembly, the opening width can be specified by increment of 1mm.

Some components such as the glass panel depends directly on the opening size,

while components such as tracks can cover a range, e.g. 2000mm track for opening of 900-1000mm, 2200mm track for opening of 1000-1100mm and so on...

So, is it possible to set up my model so that i can control everything (Glass size, track length configuration, etc) by one variable (my opening width)?

Or do I have to setup multiple configurations in my parent assembly and choose manually, and then enter my opening width as a separate variable?

Thanks for your help.

EDIT: SWK 2014 SP4.0

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Deepak Gupta Jul 29, 2015 6:24 AM

A quick thought would say Yes you can. But again I would like to know what final outputs you would be looking for?

Separate files based on the width factor? If yes then DriveWorksXpress is the best tool you need

Same file but multiple configuration? Configuration Publisher

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Billy Poon @ Deepak Gupta on Jul 30, 2015 6:40 AM

Thanks for your help Deepak,

At the moment I'm trying to make a "Master" assembly which I'll probably pack and go later project by project.

To simplify matter lets assume there are only 3 parts in my door assembly:

1. A glass panel which depends on the opening width which is a variable that's going to be a separate file for each project

2. A track, in multiple configurations which will cover a range of openings, I imagine it'll be the same file for every project

3. 2 rollers, same file, one configuration

For now I'm thinking about 3 possibilities:

1. My top level assembly will only have one configuration, set the opening width as a global variable and I can use that to control the track's configuration and panel size

2. My top level assembly have multiple configs, corresponding to the configs i have in the track file. I'll have to choose my top level's config and set the opening width as a variable to control panel size

3. Setup configs for each opening width, but if i do it this way, for opening of 1000mm to 1999mm, I can possibly have 1000 configs

Seems to me that option 1 will give me least amount of work and no chance of error down the road.

Using a few "iif" in the equations, I can generate the name of the config that I want to use as a variable, but how do i link that variable to the actual config is something that i'm trying to figure out.

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Deepak Gupta @ Billy Poon on Jul 30, 2015 7:25 AM

Bily, I would recommend you to have a look at DriveWorksXpress which can easily work your way down with the master file.

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Martin MacDonald Jul 29, 2015 7:00 AM

Yes you would be able to do that. I imagine the opening width would be used in the equations editor to control "if" statements for the other parameters. You would then have your configurations and change only the opening width in each configuration and hey presto the other parameter values would be read from there.

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Billy Poon @ Martin MacDonald on Jul 30, 2015 6:40 AM

Thanks for your help Martin, but I'm not sure if i made it clear in the original post. Please see my above reply to Deepak for some clarification on what i want to achieve.

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5 Replies

Deepak Gupta Jul 29, 2015 6:24 AM
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Correct Answer
A quick thought would say Yes you can. But again I would like to know what final outputs you would be looking for?

Separate files based on the width factor? If yes then DriveWorksXpress is the best tool you need

Same file but multiple configuration? Configuration Publisher
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- Billy Poon @ Deepak Gupta on Jul 30, 2015 6:40 AM
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  Correct Answer
  Thanks for your help Deepak,
  
  At the moment I'm trying to make a "Master" assembly which I'll probably pack and go later project by project.
  
  To simplify matter lets assume there are only 3 parts in my door assembly:
  1. A glass panel which depends on the opening width which is a variable that's going to be a separate file for each project
  2. A track, in multiple configurations which will cover a range of openings, I imagine it'll be the same file for every project
  3. 2 rollers, same file, one configuration
  
  For now I'm thinking about 3 possibilities:
  1. My top level assembly will only have one configuration, set the opening width as a global variable and I can use that to control the track's configuration and panel size
  2. My top level assembly have multiple configs, corresponding to the configs i have in the track file. I'll have to choose my top level's config and set the opening width as a variable to control panel size
  3. Setup configs for each opening width, but if i do it this way, for opening of 1000mm to 1999mm, I can possibly have 1000 configs
  
  Seems to me that option 1 will give me least amount of work and no chance of error down the road.
  Using a few "iif" in the equations, I can generate the name of the config that I want to use as a variable, but how do i link that variable to the actual config is something that i'm trying to figure out.
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  - Deepak Gupta @ Billy Poon on Jul 30, 2015 7:25 AM
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    Bily, I would recommend you to have a look at DriveWorksXpress which can easily work your way down with the master file.
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Martin MacDonald Jul 29, 2015 7:00 AM
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Yes you would be able to do that. I imagine the opening width would be used in the equations editor to control "if" statements for the other parameters. You would then have your configurations and change only the opening width in each configuration and hey presto the other parameter values would be read from there.
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- Billy Poon @ Martin MacDonald on Jul 30, 2015 6:40 AM
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  Thanks for your help Martin, but I'm not sure if i made it clear in the original post. Please see my above reply to Deepak for some clarification on what i want to achieve.
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Can I control components' configuration by a global variable?

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