What it does
Brings components into an assembly. It supports MECHCAD files (.metprt, .metasm) and importable CAD files (STEP, IGES, SolidWorks, Alibre and others).
Where to find it
- Assembly › Component › Insert Part
- Right-click in the view or in Assembly Explorer › Insert Part…
- Drag a file from Windows Explorer and drop it in the view
Steps
- Click Insert Part and select a file in the Insert Part / Assembly window.
- The component appears in the view and in Assembly Explorer.
- A STEP file that contains several solids asks how to import them:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Single Part | Fuses all solids into one rigid piece. Easiest to mate and lightest. |
| Sub-Assembly | Keeps each solid as a rigidly welded sub-assembly that you can open and edit later. |
Related commands
| Command | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Duplicate Part | Copies a component (if it is inside a sub-assembly, the whole sub-assembly is copied). You can also Ctrl+drag in the view to copy. |
| Duplicate Sub-Assembly | Right-click a sub-assembly row in Assembly Explorer. Copies only that sub-assembly and places the copy beside the original. |
| Open Part | Opens the component's source file in a new tab. After you edit it, the assembly updates. |
| Reload Part | Reloads the component file from disk. |
| Update Sub-Asm | Re-reads the linked sub-assembly and reports +N / -M part(s) and any mates that were dropped. |
Sub-assembly rules
- An inserted sub-assembly is always one rigid body. Its inner parts are welded by hidden Fastened mates [AutoFix].
- Drag, copy, delete, pattern, fix, hide, transparency and color all apply to the whole body.
- If you want the inner parts to move as joints, right-click › Rigid Body › Ungroup Rigid Body, then use Auto Mate.
- To combine several parts into one body, select two or more parts › Rigid Body › Group Selection as Rigid Body.
Copying a sub-assembly in a whole imported machine
When you open a whole machine (for example a STEP or other CAD file with hundreds of parts), the whole file is the main assembly. Copying never copies the whole machine:
- Duplicate Part or Ctrl+drag on a part copies the top-level sub-assembly that part belongs to (for example one leveling leg). If the part sits directly under the main assembly, only that part is copied.
- Duplicate Sub-Assembly on a sub-assembly row copies only that sub-assembly and names the copy after it.
- If you click Duplicate Sub-Assembly on the main assembly row, the program asks first: This is the main assembly itself (N components). Duplicate the WHOLE assembly into itself? The default answer is No.
An assembly cannot contain itself
An assembly cannot be inserted into itself. The program checks this before any file conversion starts and shows an Insert warning:
| Case | Message |
|---|---|
| You pick the file of the open assembly | [file name] is this assembly itself - an assembly can never contain itself. |
| You pick the source file of the main assembly (the file imported as the whole machine) | [file name] is the root of this assembly (it already holds all N components) - inserting it again would put the main assembly inside itself. To add a sub-assembly, insert its own file, or right-click the sub-assembly in the Explorer > Duplicate Sub-Assembly. |
To add another copy of a sub-assembly, insert that sub-assembly's own file, or use Duplicate Sub-Assembly.