Assembly 4 Referencing Linked Geometry

[zardozer]

I've been wondering this for a while, when incorporating assembly 4 into the design process. How do you reference sketches or geometry from linked parts? It looks like link objects don't support shape binders or sub-shape binders, so there's no way to reference them. Am I not doing it right, or how does everyone get around this?

As a work-around, what I've been having to do instead is bring the part in separately, and do its placement manually so I can do a shape binder... but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having assembly functionality, right?

[Zolko]

I've been wondering this for a while, when incorporating assembly 4 into the design process. How do you reference sketches or geometry from linked parts? It looks like link objects don't support shape binders or sub-shape binders, so there's no way to reference them. Am I not doing it right, or how does everyone get around this?

Create a Datum_Point in your (linked) part placed on relevant sketcher points, and then import that Datum_Point into your assembly. In this way, the imported Point will be native in the assembly meaning you can use it for references, and it will follow the point in the included part whatever the changes in that part.

It's not extremely user-friendly but very effective

[zardozer]

Create a Datum_Point in your (linked) part placed on relevant sketcher points, and then import that Datum_Point into your assembly. In this way, the imported Point will be native in the assembly meaning you can use it for references, and it will follow the point in the included part whatever the changes in that part.

Ok, thanks for that idea. I tried this and was able to bring the datum point into the main model part. And if you make a sketch in the model part level, you can reference it. I can see it being useful for master sketches, for example.

However, what I'd like to do is to be able to reference this from within one of the assembled parts, because that's usually what you would want to do. So really it would be like multi-body modeling, just with an assembly. You need to make holes line up, or dimensions match between to parts that are supposed to mate together, for example. It doesn't look like I can reference that imported datum point from within an attached part at all.

I also tried to import the datum point into an assembled part, but I don't think it's set up to do that. The datum point becomes native to the assembly, but no other parts attached to the assembly can access it. Or is there a way to do this that I'm missing?

What would be ideal really is to make shape and sub-shape binders work for linked parts. Has anyone brought this up for linked parts?

[zardozer]

Another thing that it seems to be possible to do is create a new body on the model level, and drag that datum reference in there to make a part from scratch. Then that body can be moved into the parts folder, then it can be attached. Not sure if this is the intended workflow, but it may work. But a lot of times you don't want to design from the assembly level, or you're modifying an existing part that exists in its own file.

[goutnet]

Hi,

sorry to revive this (probably closed) thread, I am trying to do something very similar here, but I can't find how to use datum_points from one file into another…

I created a new thread here too: https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic. ... 20&t=73245

If I have an assembly file A including 3 other files B, C, and D, to use the datum point in A, should I add the datum point first in B, C, and D, or directly in A?

When I add to included file (ex: D), I can create the datum point, but then after import in A, it isn't useable as reference for sketches… I tried to copy paste the datum in A to a new model/body in A, but then it (1) copies the linked geometry [which is what I am trying to avoid in the first place], and then still fail to be used as references for sketches…

When I try to add it directly from A, I can not add a Datum_Point since it yells at me saying it doesn't support external shapes…

kind of stuck there for a while…

what would be the normal workflow?

[Zolko]

When I add to included file (ex: D), I can create the datum point, but then after import in A, it isn't useable as reference for sketches

how did you "import" the datum point ? Did you use the dedicated button ?

[goutnet]

Didn't see that button, will try I assumed all datum points would be imported as part of the "Part Import" process

[Zolko]

I assumed all datum points would be imported as part of the "Part Import" process

yes, they are, but they stay in the imported part, while this import button imports them at the assembly level to be referenced by other functions