Shared sketches and features

You can reuse a sketch, work feature, or surface feature that is consumed by a feature.

You can select a feature sketch, and extrude it in the opposite direction from the original feature. To cut into the original feature, you can extrude in the same direction. Each feature is separate, but they share the original profile sketch.

A single feature can also share the sketch. For example, you can select two rails from a single sketch for a loft, or two-rail sweep.

You can share sketches and features manually. You can unshare shared sketches, work features, and stitch features.

Behavior of shared sketch or feature

When a sketch or feature is reused, it is automatically shared. For example, when you share a sketch, a copy of the original sketch is marked as shared and placed above the original feature in the browser. It has the same number (or name, if you changed the name of the sketch from the default). You can track the origin of the sketch. The consumed feature or sketch is nested under the feature, marked as shared, and visibility is turned off. All changes or additions to the sketch or feature update all features that share that item. By default, the same consumption and nesting is true for surface and work features.

You can activate the shared sketch or feature, and then create or modify geometry. All edits you make to the shared item update all features that use it. For example, if you change a dimension on the shared sketch, all features that use the sketch change size.

Note: After a feature consumes a shared sketch, you cannot delete the shared sketch.

Surface features consumed by default

All surface features in the following list are consumed by default. Consumed features nest, indented below the consumer. For instance, stitch features consume input surface features, such as extruded or revolved surfaces. Because automatic consumption can result in unwanted deep nesting of browser nodes, you can change the consumption behavior for features.

Consumption behavior for all, or individual features

Stitch or Sculpt features consume:

• Extrude surface features
• Revolve surface features
• Loft surface features
• Sweep surface features
• Boundary patch features (2D and 3D)
• Offset features
• Base features
• (Other) Stitch features

In general,

• Sculpt or Stitch features do not consume features, such as Thicken and Offset, that result in a solid body.
• Features that allow face selection, such as Replace Face, do not consume other features.

Work features consumed by default

As with surface features, the following work features are consumed by default. Consumed features are nested and indented below the consumer.

Consumption behavior of work features

Work plane consumes:

• Other work planes
• Work axes
• Work points

Work axis consumes:

• Other work axes
• Work planes
• Work points

Work point consumes:

• Other work points
• Work planes
• Work axes

The behavior described previously does not apply to work features in the following cases, which maintain their current behavior:

• Assembly work features, and work features with references external to the part.
• Work features existing in different environments. Work features are not shared or consumed between environments.