An exploded view of an assembly shows each component of the model separated from the other components. You can create exploded views with the Explode Tool tab, accessible through the Model tab, the View tab and the View Manager dialog box. An exploded view affects the assembly appearance only. The design intent and the true distance between assembled components do not change.

When the exploded view is turned off, information about the exploded position of components is kept. The components return to their most recent exploded position when the exploded view is turned on.

You can define and save multiple exploded views for each assembly and then toggle between these views. Saved exploded views can be redefined. To switch between exploded views, select them in the View Manager dialog box.

For each exploded view, you can perform the following actions:

You can leave the current view unchanged and apply the changes to a new exploded view using the View Manager dialog box.

The transition between the unexploded view and an exploded view is animated by default. You can further customize the display by specifying a duration in seconds for the explode operation. When you select the Follow explode sequence option, components are exploded in the order in which you set their explode positions and unexploded in reverse order. Control animation settings with the animate_explode_states configuration option and the Model Display dialog box.

The default exploded view shows each component separated according to its placement constraints in the assembly. However, you can define the position of any number of components in a new exploded view. Explode positions can be defined for each component separately, or you can move two or more components as a unit. You can also set an explode state for each drawing view of an assembly.

Components can be separated using any of the following motion types:

When you select a component to translate, a coordinate system appears at the selection point. This coordinate system is based on the component's assembly constraints. Select an axis and drag the component in one or more steps to define its exploded position. You can also select a translation motion reference. For rotations, you must select a reference.

When you explode a subassembly in the context of a higher level assembly, the components in the subassembly are not exploded automatically. You can specify the exploded state to use for each subassembly. Multiple occurrences of the same subassembly in an exploded view can have different characteristics at a higher level assembly.