To Merge Two Parts in an Assembly
1. Retrieve an assembly, select a part, right-click, and choose Activate.
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The Merge feature will be created in the selected, activated, target part.
2. Select a second, source, part in the assembly as the reference model from which geometry will be copied and click Get Data > Merge/Inheritance. The Merge/Inheritance tab opens with the source part selected by default. You can replace the source part by selecting a different part from the Model Tree or graphics window.
3. Set the reference type:
—Set reference type to assembly context (default).
—Set reference type to external.
4. Use the following options to define the Merge feature properties:
Add Bodies—Bodies of the source part are copied and added as bodies to the target part, increasing the number of bodies in the target part.
Add Material—Geometry of the source part is copied and merged with the geometry of the target part. When there are multiple bodies in the source part, they are merged into 1 body and it is copied to the target part.
Remove Material—Geometry of the source part is removed from the geometry of the target part.
Intersect Material—Geometry of the source part is intersected with the geometry of the target part keeping the shared geometry.
When you add, remove, or intersect material the Body Options tab becomes available.
5. Click References to define the following options:
Edit—Control propagation of annotation features.
Copy Datum planes—Toggle copying datum planes from the source part to the target part.
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You can copy datum planes only if the Dependent option is active. If the feature is independent, no datums are copied. Datums may be refitted with existing geometry only.
Copy Quilts—Toggle copying quilts from the reference part.
Include Construction Bodies—Toggle including construction bodies from the reference part to the target part in the Merge feature. When you select the Include Construction Bodies check box, construction bodies are copied and added to the target part.
6. Click Options to define the following:
Include Properties—Defines the properties of the copied references to include in the merge feature when you add bodies or add material. All properties in the list that follows are copied by default. You can then decide which properties you do not want to copy.
Appearance—Appearances applied to the inherited geometry. Only appearance colors assigned to the solid surfaces of the reference model are transferred to the target model.
Parameters—Parameters of the merged entities.
Names—Names. When cleared, generic names are provided for merged entities.
Layers—Layer assignment. Places the merged entities on layers with the same name when they exist in the target part.
Materials—Material assignment. When the material does not exist in the target part, it is copied to the target part and assigned to the newly created body.
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Mass properties are copied along with materials.
Construction yes/no—Construction attribute of a body, whether the body is a construction body or not.
Copied Geometry Update—Sets update preferences for the Merge feature.
Automatic Update—Keeps the relationship between the current feature and the original geometry.
Manual Update—Temporarily suspends the relationship between the current feature and the original geometry. If the original part changes, the current feature does not change. You can update the merge feature at any time as long as the original geometry is in session. Click the Provide Notification check box to receive a notification when the source geometry is updated.
No Dependency—Creates an independent merge feature.
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If a Merge feature is independent, you cannot externalize the feature.
Refit Datums (available when you copy datum planes)—Changes the size or reference of a copied datum plane. The Refit Datums dialog box opens. Select a datum and then choose Size to edit the width and height of the selected datum. If the Lock aspect ratio check box is selected, the original width and height ratio is maintained when one of these values change. Alternatively, choose Reference to change the reference of the selected datum.
7. Click Body Options to determine the bodies affected by this feature.
When you add material, you can add the resulting geometry to the selected body or to one of the body options below:
A new body—Select the Create new body check box
A different body—Right-click the body in the collector and click Remove. Select a different body in the part.
When you remove material, you can remove it from the selected body or from all bodies in the target part.
When you intersect geometry, you can intersect with the selected body or with all bodies in the target part.
8. Click Properties to change the Merge feature name.
9. Click to complete the Merge feature.