Companies often create many different products that are similar to one another. Existing designs are copied and modified to create new designs. The Save As action is used to create a new part from an existing part. A new part number is required, because the part created from the Save As action is not a form, fit, and function equivalent of the original part. In other words, the new part cannot replace the old part in the assemblies where the original part is used. The following diagram illustrates how the Save As action launches a new part design with its own iterate-revise cycle from an existing part:

The relationship between the original part and the newly created copy is saved and displayed in the Save-As History table on the part information page. Save as history is useful for tracking the design history of a part, analyzing the impact of design changes, and optimizing production processes for similar parts.

For more information, see Save Part as New Part.