Locking constraints in an assembly

[ChristianSmith]

I have an assembly with multiple moving parts each with a different constraint such as pin, plane, or ball. Using the drag components feature you can move parts along their rotation axis. Is it possible to lock all but one of those parts so that I can work only with the one I want, instead of having all of the constraints move at once?

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[chris5]

Hi Christian

I sometimes have the same problems.

I would even like them to move in an specific order.

Is there someone who can help us

Regards

Christiaan

[DavidButz]

A couple of responses, neither of them providing as slick a technique as you might like.

(1) You can add constraints to components and disable/enable them to "freeze" certain components, then return them to their packaged state. In some cases you could even make this happen quickly with a mapkey (two to toggle).

(2) Sometimes you can confine a key component using the Point-on-Curve or Point-on-Surface constraints in such a way as to "force" the assembly to behave as you wish. This has been successful for me on a few occasions.

[MGortner]

Try using snapshots in the Drag dialog box. You can lock bodies together or you can define a value for the motion constraint. Read pg 88 in the assembly help pdf or the section called "to apply constraints during a dragging operation" in proe's help.

-Matt