Uses the Assembly browser to organize and manage component entities.
When you open any generator and calculator, a prompt displays with the option to save the design accelerator generator or calculator to the assembly. Change the assembly name and folder, or accept the default and click Save. An assembly node is added to the browser structure. The component is designed in this assembly.
Design Accelerator generators and calculators are saved as subassemblies. All inserted design accelerator components are stored together. For example, when you insert Spur Gears connection, Gear 1 and Gear 2 are placed together in one subassembly with a user-specified name. Use the Promote command to create another instance of a component and move it up within the assembly structure.
Browser structure of generators and calculators
- Machine Assembly
- Top level: This file is created to manage the structure of the design accelerator assembly and its members.
- Component subassembly
- One level below the machine assembly. Design Accelerator components are inserted as subassembly into your machine assembly. The components and calculations are inserted into subassembly so they can be grouped as Design Accelerator components. So, if you insert gears using Spur Gears Generator, you can see both, Gear 1 and Gear 2 grouped under Spur Gears Assembly. You can immediately recognize Design Accelerator generators and calculators. Right-click to edit the generators and calculators.
Solving the components: Creates automatically when you insert the first design accelerator component or calculation. If necessary, change the solving option to disable solve or automatic solve. The Solver state is designated by an icon displayed before the name of the subassembly.
You can have an unlimited number of Design Accelerator subassemblies in your machine assembly.
You cannot change the order of Design Accelerator components within the subassembly.
Promote and demote commands are available on the context menu within the component subassembly for some generators (for example, belts or gears). To see the Promote and Demote Commands, select the component, right-click, and select Component.
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An icon displayed next to a node in the browser indicates that the element is sick. When you pass the cursor over the node for the sick element, a tooltip explains the reason for the sickness.
- Component subassembly
Design Accelerator Context Menu
When editing Design Accelerator components, right-click to display the context menu.
- Edit using Design Accelerator
- Opens the appropriate Design accelerator generator or calculator where you can change the desired values.
Note: If a component was not created with the current version of the generator or calculator you are prompted to select if you want to generate a new component. The original component remains unchanged.
- Delete Design Accelerator component
- Deletes selected Design Accelerator component.
- Calculate
- Select Component
Calculate. Available for Design Accelerator generators only. Disable the calculation and open a Design Accelerator generator using Edit using Design Accelerator, Calculation tab (and Fatigue Calculation tab, if applicable) to disabled, and design the component. No calculation is available. Performance of the generator is much faster and you can fully concentrate on your design.
- Promote Design Accelerator components
- Click Component Promote Design Accelerator components. Available for some generators only: Gears, shafts, belts, and cams. Use the command to move up the Design Accelerator components in the browser hierarchy. The original instance of the components remains in the original subassembly, only another instance is created. If you edit one of the instances, all within the assembly are updated.
- Demote Design Accelerator Components
- Click Component Demote Design Accelerator components. Available for some generators only: Gears, shafts, belts, and cams.
Context menu for Design Accelerator Update
Update option determines how the Design Accelerator components are updated within the assembly.
In the browser, right-click the component. In the context menu, click Component to see Design Accelerator Update options.
For more information about an assembly update, see To Apply Updates to Files.
- Solve off
- Disables Update. No components are automatically solved or updated during edit. For example, you change the dimension of one part where the bolted connection is placed. Bolted Connection is not updated automatically. Open Bolted Connection Generator and adjust bolted connection manually. No icon is displayed in front of the Design Accelerator component in the browse
- Manual Solve
- The icon is displayed in front of the name of the Design Accelerator component in the browser. It represents the selected option and state of Update. The icon does not represent an error - there is nothing wrong with Design Accelerator component.
Manual Solve is the default state after the installation.
Select this option to update the assembly manually. For example, if you change a part within your assembly that should affect the length of your bolted connection, open the bolted connection generator manually to update the bolted connection.
- Automatic Solve
- The automatic update recognizes any changes made within the assembly that should affect the components inserted by Design Accelerator commands and such components are updated automatically. For example, change a part within your assembly that affects the length of the bolted connection, the bolted connection updates to reflect the changes in your assembly.
If a strength check is not required, the generator updates the data. If a strength check of the design is performed, the calculation check is required and the data updates. If a check fails, the icon displays, and the change is performed manually.
- Manual Solve