Interchange Assembly and Simplified Reps

[mparmenteri]

Hello,

I'm working in Creo Parametric 9.0.7.0.

I have a model of a box with a door on it. I have two versions of the hinge for the door, one open and one closed (the only difference is an angle constraint that switches between 0 degrees and 180 degrees). I created an interchange assembly that maps all the pertinent geometry on one hinge to the other.

I can replace these hinges and update my model and the door will open/close fine. I would like to have a simplified rep to be able to swap between open/closed configurations, but Creo doesn't seem to allow that unless I use a simplify interchange assembly rather than a functional interchange assembly.

My problem is that the simplify assembly only does a cosmetic update rather than a functional update (it doesn't update the constraints).

Is there any way to set up a simplified rep to switch between parts of an interchange assembly and have the constraints update in a top level assembly?

Thanks,

Matt

[tbraxton]

Why are you not using a mechanism snapshot to position the door open/closed?

In Creo, Snapshots are used to configure the kinematics of a mechanism in mechanism mode. They allow you to assemble individual components (let’s say component A and component B) and display them in various positions without having to create multiple versions of the same components 

About Dragging and Taking Snapshots (ptc.com)

[mparmenteri]

I hadn't thought of using snapshots but I'm not currently in mechanism mode, this is just a normal assembly where all the parts are fully constrained.

I will eventually have a wire harness moving across this hinge to some LEDs on the door, and it would be helpful to have all of this parametrically update rather than just be cosmetic.

[tbraxton]

You can use snapshots in assembly mode. The snapshots are parametric in your case you will have one snapshot with the hinge set to 0 deg and one with the hinge set to 90 deg. All assembly components are common in this scenario.

[tbraxton]

If you want to use simplified reps with snapshots in assembly mode, then you can use this method:

Create a Combination State that calls the Simplified Rep and also the desired Snapshot as an Explode State.