Flexible Sub-Assemblies
By default, when you create a sub-assembly, it is rigid. Within the parent assembly, the sub-assembly acts as a single unit and its components do not move relative to each other.
However, you can make sub-assemblies flexible. This allows movement of the individual components of a sub-assembly within the parent assembly.
An example of the benefit of this function is when you want to move the components of a piston sub-assembly in a motor assembly. You can move the individual components of the piston while still grouping the components as a sub-assembly.
Please note the following regarding flexible sub-assemblies:
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Mates. The mates in a flexible sub-assembly are solved simultaneously with the mates of the parent assembly. Therefore, moving or rotating a sub-assembly component does not violate the mates in the sub-assembly or its parent. A component moves only within its degrees of freedom according to its mates.
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Multiple Instances. You can insert more than one instance of the sub-assembly in the same configuration of the parent assembly. You can make some instances rigid and others flexible, and the different instances can have different positions of the sub-assembly components.
To make a sub-assembly flexible:
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Right-click a sub-assembly in the FeatureManager design tree and select Component Properties.
The Component Properties dialog box appears.
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Under Solve as, select Flexible, then click OK.
In the FeatureManager design tree, the icon changes to 
to indicate that the sub-assembly is flexible.