While
in an assembly, you can create features that affect component parts.
You determine which parts you want the feature to affect by setting the
scope. You can specify whether the feature exists only in the assembly file or
propagates to the part file. You can create a pattern of assembly features in the same
manner as you create a pattern of features in a part.
Use an assembly feature if, in manufacturing, the feature is added after
the components are assembled and the feature affects more than one component. For
example, use assembly features such as when you need to represent post-assembly material-removal operations.
When you want to add a feature to a single component in an assembly,
it is better to create the feature in the part rather than the assembly. To do so, you
can do one of the following:
- Edit the part in context.
- Create the feature in the assembly and then propagate it to the
part by selecting Propagate feature to
parts in the PropertyManager.
While it is not a requirement, it is good practice to fully define the
positions of the components of the assembly, or fix their locations, before you add
assembly features. This helps prevent unexpected results if you move the components
later.
Assembly features cannot be propagated to Toolbox parts.
Assembly Features and Top-Down Design
Assembly features are not associated with top-down design. The
geometry of the parts (as they exist in the part files and drawings) is not defined
by the geometry in the assembly (using a layout sketch or other parts). No external
references are created.
For example, holes in assembly components such as bearings, gears,
and components with bolt holes are manufactured in the parts before assembly. For
these cases, create the holes in the part documents. If you then want to define the
location of those holes based on assembly geometry, for example using a layout
sketch or the geometry of a different part, that is top-down design.