So here is what I have going on. I am making hydraulic hoses (without the piping extension... long story) but anyways here is what I am doing.
1. I create and model x_hose_rep.
2. I then insert that model assembly x.
3. I include one hose part number y (Our company has bulk (not set up as bulk in creo, but bulk in reality) hose set up as a 1 foot section in creo. )
4. I create the drawing and BOM, there is the fitting, the one section of hose y, and one x_hose_rep.
5. I filter out the x_hose_rep using repeat regions
6. I create relations to modify the qty in the bom to make the hose y match what we really need.
That means that the hose in the picture of the part, is not actually the part that is shown on the BOM, so making BOM balloons becomes tougher.
Now that you understand what I am doing (right or wrong, doens't matter), Is there a way to point a balloon to the the x_hose_rep part and have the number on the balloon relate to the y part number (the bulk hose).
I know that I can manually type in a number on a balloon, is there a way to relate that manual balloon with the part number y so that the BOM will change if the list number changes for some reason?
This might be helpful for other situations as well.
Thanks in advance
You can always create a "dumb" balloon. Or, you can create a part copied from the hose part number that will fill out your BOM correctly.
I get the dumb balloon,
How would the copied part work? I'm not sure how that would make me able to point a balloon with a relation to the hose_rep part that I made.
You create one "start part" with all the parameter info in it for your BOM table, pluse maybe OD and ID parameters to control the actual geometry, and maybe a material parameter for color and mass properties, using a "PN" parameter for your table instead of the actual filename. At the assembly, insert the empty part, maybe at the default position. Route your hoses.
So, you now have one part to fill out your BOM table, but it consists of ALL the hose routings in your assembly. You could even make a family table, splitting out each route separately for a view, if needed. That way, there is only one part. You can then use reference balloons (or dumb balloons) to call out the part again for each route.