About Modifying Components (AutoCAD Mechanical Toolset)

AutoCAD Mechanical toolset has several commands that modify the settings of a component view or a folder.

Use the AMSBASE command to change the base point of a component view or a folder. This gives you the freedom to set any arbitrary base point at the time of creation and set a more appropriate base point once all geometry is captured for that component view or folder.

Use the AMSREPLACEDEF command to replace the definition of a component view or folder with the definition of another. For example, if you have two similar parts that are identical except that the length of one is 15 mm and the other is 25 mm, and you want to replace the 15 mm part with the 25 mm part, use the AMREPLACEDEF command to replace the definition of the 15mm part.

In case you want to modify the geometry of just one instance of a component view or folder, without affecting the others, you can use the right-click menu on the mechanical browser to break the link the component view has with its definition and make it have an independent definition. The new definition is an identical copy of the original and hence the name for the corresponding command; AMSCOPYDEF. The changes you make after breaking the link does not affect the original definition. The changes apply only to that instance.

Note: You cannot use AMSCOPYDEF on the definitions of annotation views, and detail views created with AMDETAIL.

You can select a component in the mechanical browser and make the following property overrides:

You can assign phantom-type properties to one or a set of structured component views to bring to focus other components and views in the drawing. This is a mechanism for managing the visibility of components and views. You can also give more pronounced properties to components and views to bring more attention to a component with minimum visibility.