Here is a brief explaination for some of these features that I have used in the past
Merge or cut-out (component): Use Merge to add or subtract the material of one part to or from another part, after they have been placed in an assembly. By default, when merge is performed material is added from the source part into a target part. If the remove material option is used, source part material is subtracted from a target part.
Note: The cut-out or merge assembly operation will appear in the target part model tree. When creating the feature, you will be prompted for either reference (default) or copy as applied to the merge or cut-out feature in the target part.
Transform is to translate or rotate a component in the assembly in reference to a coordinate system.
A practical example of using cut-out in an assembly is to visually check for interferences between mating parts. Of course, there are other ways to perform this check (I do remember off-hand as I have mostly been using SolidWorks lately), but having the cut-out feature appear in the target part lets me determine the degree of interference between mating parts, and I can make changes as needed.
Regards,
Chris Thompson
www.appianwaytech.com
In Reply to D L:
In assembly mode, I came across Edit -> Component Operations. There is Copy, Insert Mode, Reorder, Group, Merge, Cut Out, and Transform options. Has anyone used Component Operations? If so, for what tasks? Just looking for some very general info to get started. thanks.
