In the assembly environment, you can add existing parts and subassemblies to create assemblies, or you can create parts and subassemblies in-place.
A component (a part or subassembly) can be an unconsumed sketch, a part, a surface, or any mixture of both.
When a component is active, the rest of the assembly is shaded in the browser and graphics window. Only one component can be active at a time.
Place first component
Choose a fundamental part or subassembly, such as a frame or base plate, to be the first component in an assembly. Except for the first placed component, all placed components are unconstrained and ungrounded. You add the constraints you need.
The first component you place in an assembly is automatically grounded (all degrees of freedom are removed). Its origin and coordinate axes are aligned with the origin and coordinate axes of the assembly. It is a good practice to place assembly components in the order in which they would be assembled in manufacturing.
Create components in place
- Sketch on one of the assembly origin planes.
- Click in empty space to set the sketch plane to the current camera plane.
- Constrain a sketch to the face of an existing component.
Create components in assembly context
When you create a component in the assembly context, the created component is nested under the active main assembly or subassembly in the browser. A sketch profile for the in-place component that uses projected loops from other components within the assembly, is associatively tied to the projecting components.
