About Modifying a Parametric Part

As your design develops and parts change, you can modify parametric parts using Content Builder. You can change the part behavior, part size parameters, and connectors. For parts you created using Content Builder, you can also change the part model, including geometry, profiles, modifiers, constraints, and dimensions. You can use the same procedures that guide you through creating a parametric part to modify it. This section outlines how you can modify a parametric part and provides references to the related procedures that you can use to make changes.

Attention: When making changes to a parametric part, refer to the illustration in About Model of a Parametric Part. This illustration shows the relationship dependencies between features that must be maintained to ensure you are creating a usable part.

Modifying the Part Configuration

You can change the part configuration that controls the behavior of the part. In the part browser, expand Part Configuration and change the part type or subtype. For more information, see Specifying the Part Configuration of a Parametric Fitting and Specifying the Part Configuration of a Parametric MvPart.

Modifying the Part Model

For parts that you created using Content Builder, you can change the model parameters that define the overall size of the model. You can change the geometry, dimensions, and constraints of the model.

You can add, modify, or remove geometry in the model; however, you must append the changed geometry to the profile in order for Content Builder to update the model and assign new geometric constraints.

You can also change the parametric relationships of model elements by modifying the geometric and dimension constraints. Because constraints control the overall shape of the model, you cannot safely make changes until you know the current constraints applied to the model. You can delete an unwanted constraint or add new constraints to reshape the sketch.

Content Builder’s parametric commands ensure that relationships among geometric elements remain intact; however, after changes are made to the model you should re-examine the geometric constraints and dimensions to verify that nothing else in the model needs to be updated. For more information, see Modeling a Parametric Fitting and Modeling a Parametric MvPart.

Modifying Connectors

You can add, delete, and edit the connectors of a parametric part. The shape of the connector is determined by the shape of the modifier that the connector is attached to. Therefore, to change a connector’s shape you must modify the associated modifier. For more information, see Adding Connectors to a Parametric Fitting and Adding Connectors to a Parametric MvPart.

Modifying Part Sizes

You can change the model dimensions of the part that determine the overall size of the model, such as length and width. You can also change individual size parameters for a specific part size. For example, you can change a constant value to a list of values or add custom parameters for enhancing scheduling data. For more information, see Adding Dimensions to a Parametric Fitting and Adding Dimensions to a Parametric MvPart.

Modifying the Preview Image, Schematic Symbol, or Part Insertion Behaviors

You can change the preview image by selecting a different view direction that Content Builder uses to generate the preview image. You can also attach a predefined image. For more information, see Generating a Preview Image of a Parametric Fitting and Generating a Preview Image of a Parametric MvPart.

You can change the insertion behaviors of the part that define how the part is added to a drawing, including layer key, trim lengths for fittings, and the placement point of a parametric part. For more information, see Defining the Part Insertion Behaviors of a Parametric Fitting and Defining the Part Insertion Behaviors of a Parametric MvPart.

For parametric MvParts, you can also modify the schematic symbol. Schematic symbols can be predefined symbol blocks or you can create them from scratch in the modeling area of Content Builder. Therefore, you can attach a new schematic symbol or modify the schematic symbol block. For more information, see Creating a Schematic Symbol of a Parametric MvPart.