Managing Replacement Parts
A replacement part may be used in place of the part specified by the design engineer.
You can use the Manage Replacements action to assign the following two types of replacement parts to the specified part:
• Alternates—Parts that may be used in any assembly where the specified part is used. Alternates may be designated as one-way or two-way.
For example, a 1/4” x 20 grade 5 bolt may be used in any assembly where a 1/4” x 20 grade 2 bolt is specified. However, the grade 2 bolt may not be used wherever the grade 5 bolt is specified because it may not be strong enough. The grade 5 bolt is a one-way alternate for the grade 2 bolt. If the grade 2 bolt can also be used wherever the grade 5 bolt is specified, then the relationship is described as a two-way alternate. For more information about defining alternate parts, see Defining Alternate Parts.
• Substitutes—Parts that may be used in place of the specified part in a specific assembly.
Continuing the previous example, a 1/4” x 20 grade 2 bolt may be used in place of a 1/4” x 20 grade 5 bolt in a specific assembly where the extra bolt strength is not critical. The grade 2 bolt is a substitute for the grade 5 bolt in the specified assembly. For more information about defining substitute parts, see Defining Substitute Parts.
Manage Replacements Window
To open the Manage Replacements window, select Manage Replacements from the right-click actions menu of the selected part in the Structure tab of the part information page.
The Manage Replacements window displays a summary of the Alternate For and Substitute For relationships for the selected part.
Alternates
You can manage the alternates for a selected part using the following actions available under Alternates:
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Action
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Description
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 Remove |
Removes an alternate for the selected part.
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 Add Alternate Part |
Opens the Find Alternate Part window. Search for one or more parts to assign them as alternates to the selected part. In the Two-Way column, select Yes if you want to change the relationship between an alternate and the part from one-way to two-way. The default value is No. A part defined as an alternate is indicated by the Part Alternate (gray) icon  . |
For more information about adding alternates from the Manage Replacements window, see Defining Replacements in a Part Structure.
Substitutes
You can manage the substitutes for a selected part using the following actions available under Substitutes:
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Action
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Description
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|---|---|
| Remove |
Removes a substitute for the selected part.
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 Add Substitute Part |
Opens the Find Substitute Part window. Search for one or more parts to assign them as substitutes for the selected part. A part defined as a substitute is indicated by the Part Substitute (blue) icon  . |
For more information about adding substitutes from the Manage Replacements window, see Defining Replacements in a Part Structure.
For more information about showing alternates and substitutes in the structure, see Viewing Related Information in a Structure.
In addition to the Insert Existing, Insert New, and Remove actions for part structure editing, the Replace action is available to edit an existing part usage in the part structure with a new part, an existing part, or a replacement part. For more information, see Replacing a Part in a Structure.
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When you select the Replace action, the parent part is checked out if it was not already checked out. You must manually check in the part to apply the change.
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