About Making Content Resizable (AutoCAD Mechanical Toolset)

To make the part/feature you are editing resizable, you constrain the geometry.

You first apply geometric constraints to ensure that the geometry wont be distorted during resize. After that you apply dimensional constraints to describe the dimensions that define the size.

When you insert the part/feature in the drawing area, AutoCAD Mechanical toolset displays the Size Selection dialog box. This dialog box provides a space for you to enter values for the dimensional constraints, and the part/feature resizes accordingly.

Parts/features in a content library typically have multiple views. The same edge across different views must be associated with dimensional constraints that have the same name. Hence, do not use the default names AutoCAD Mechanical toolset uses for dimensional constraints. Instead be conscious of other the views you intend to create, and rename them in a manner that you can recall the names easily.

See the following sections in AutoCAD Help for more information on constraints.

• Add Constraints to Geometry
• Add Constraints to Dynamic Blocks

Note:

• In AutoCAD, the commands to constrain objects are on the ribbon, while in AutoCAD Mechanical toolset they are on the Authoring Palettes window. The Authoring Palettes window displays automatically when you start the Content Editor.
• Do not use expressions to calculate dimensional constraints. Use the Family table instead. The Family Table can be accessed across multiple views of the same part/feature. The Parameters Manager (and hence an expression) is local to that view only. See Define valid sizes via the Family Table for more information on the Family Table.
• Fully constrain geometry. If a part/feature is not fully constrained, the behavior upon insertion is unpredictable.