Sharing Parts
This section shows how to make a shared part. Shared parts are useful if you require a particular part to appear several times in a drawing.
Examples of parts suitable for sharing are nuts, bolts, rivets, and other standard parts.
The geometry of a shared part always remains the same as the original part. However, the location of each shared part can be different and the overall size of each shared part can be altered by using the Scale command.
You can also determine the plane in which the shared part lies by using the Isometric command from the Modify menu. If you place a shared part in a different plane, make it active and then turn on the Ruler or Grid, so that they will also be displayed in the same plane.
The advantages of shared parts:
• Although you have several copies of the shared part displayed on your drawing, in memory you have only one. This saves you memory and allows you to carry out certain commands faster.
• If you change any geometry of a shared part, the changes will automatically appear in all other occurrences of that shared part in their respective planes. For example, if you add a horizontal line to a shared part, it will be displayed on the respective horizontal axis of each occurrence of that shared part.
To share a part:
1. Click Share in Parts.
2. Select the part to be shared.
The part must be non-active and may not be at a level above the active part or at the same level. In the Share column of the Part Browser, a shared part is identified by one or multiple hash characters followed by the appropriate number (such as: #3).