Link parts from a Catalog

[bmckelvie]

Hello,

 

I have a common part that I use in many different assemblies,  I keep it in a catalog to make it really easy to insert.   The issue is if I pull in more than one, they are not linked so they show up as separate instances in the BOM.   Is there a way to make them linked?

[SHORNBRO]

Hi there,

If you want to keep pulling them in as a catalog item and have them internally-linked within whatever scene instance you are working from, the only way I know how to do this would be to externally-link the part, add that to the catalog, and then whenever you drop the part into a scene it (and any others you wish you drop in) will be externally-linked to that outside scene file (and in-turn, all "copies" within the scene you are working in will also be effectively internally-linked).  *Apologies for the long-winded, run-on sentence there.

For instance, my company builds a variety of different equipment, some of which are very similar and can reuse common parts.  We have gotten into the habit of externally-linking out every part of each assembly of a machine.  We can then insert these common parts into any other equipment we choose.  The only caveat with this is that we have to be careful that we (or someone who isn't aware/knowledgeable of our processes) can't accidentally alter a common part which will affect a large variety of different equipment.

My preferred alternative (and sometimes safer method) would be to keep the part in the catalog as you currently have it (not externally-linked), drop the part in the scene as you need it, then "Copy As Link" the part as many times as you will need it (for alternate instances or different assemblies).  From here you can then "drag" those copy-linked (internally-linked) parts within the different assemblies using the scene browser for organization.  They should retain their internal links, despite being pulled into many different assemblies. 

I will try to put together a quick video in a little bit to demonstrate if that will make it a bit more clear to conceptualize.

 

Best regards,

Sam