The Assembly icon is available from the View | Toolbars | Graphics Modes toolbar.

## Working with Assemblies of Parts

A CAD Assembly consists of two or more imported part models merged together in the Graphics Display window. For example, the graphic below shows an assembly of two visible parts.

A Sample CAD Assembly

You can have multiple parts and even multiple assemblies together in a single .cad file.

To work with assemblies, select the Assembly icon
or selecting Edit | Graphics Display Widow | CAD Assembly displays the CAD Assembly dialog box.

CAD Assembly dialog box

The CAD Assembly dialog box contains a list of all imported and merged parts or assemblies used in the Graphics Display window. You can use this dialog box to view, edit, and manage assemblies of parts.

This dialog box contains the following options:

Item | Description
Information Box | The gray box at the top of the dialog box displays information about the item currently selected on the Assembly Tree View. The information changes depending on the item selected.
Assembly Tree View | The left side of the dialog box has a tree view representing the CAD assembly structure. Each item in the tree view represents an assembly component.

- If you select a component from the tree view, PC-DMIS displays information about that item in the gray box above the list.

- If you double-click on a component in the assembly, PC-DMIS selects and highlights it in the Graphics Display window. Conversely, with the dialog box open, if you press CTRL and select a CAD object in the Graphics Display window, PC-DMIS selects its corresponding component in the tree view. This makes it easy to identify which CAD objects belong to which assembly component.

Each component has its own check box to show or hide that component immediately within the Graphics Display window.

- If you mark a check box, PC-DMIS shows that component.

- If you clear a check box, PC-DMIS hides that component (and any children components, regardless of their visibility state).

- Once you mark a check box, you can also change the visibility state of that component or of its sibling or children components by using the buttons in the Visibility area.

Your original imported image name has the number 1 appended to its name. Any CAD transformation that creates a new instance of this same CAD file will then increment to have a unique number. See "Transforming a CAD Model".

Mirrored CAD File names with unique numbers inside a CAD Assembly Tree View

A shortcut menu appears when you right-click in the tree view. It contains these items:

- Select - This functions as if you had double-clicked on the assembly component.

- Unselect - This deselects the assembly component in the Graphics Display window.

- Expand Descendants - This expands an assembly to show a list of child parts making up the assembly.

- Hide - This hides the selected component.

- Hide Siblings - This hides all of the components except the selected component at the same level on the assembly tree.

- Show - This shows the selected component.

- Show Siblings - This shows all of the components except the selected component at the same level on the assembly tree.

- Show All - This shows all the components on the assembly tree.

- Rename - This renames the selected component in the assembly.

- Delete - This deletes the selected component from the assembly and removes it from the Graphics Display window. You cannot delete the root tree view component.

- Transform - This displays the CAD Transform dialog box. This dialog box allows you to transform (translate, scale, and rotate) a single component in the assembly. You cannot transform the root tree view component. See "Transforming a CAD Model" for more information.

- Coordinate System - This displays the CAD Coordinate System dialog box. This dialog box lets you create and manage different coordinate systems. See "Working with CAD Coordinate Systems" for more information.

- Replace Component - This allows the selected assembly component to be replaced with another CAD model. This can either be an imported CAD model or a model connected with the DCI. The sub-menus have the same structure as the File | Import and File | Direct Cad Interface menu options respectively. The new model will replace whatever model was associated with the selected node. The new model on the node retains whatever transformation was applied to the previous model. For information on importing model files, see "Importing CAD Data or Program Data" in the "Using Advanced File Options" section.

Visibility area | The Visibility area provides option buttons and icon buttons that allow you to run visibility operations in order to change the hidden state of assembly component groups. The colored icon at the top of this area shows your current screen layout. It corresponds with the icon used in the Layout area of the View Setup dialog box. See "Setting Up the Screen View".

The Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green options limit the visibility operation to only that "view" of the Graphics Display window. The All option applies the visibility operation to all views.

These command buttons have pictures on them that depict their action:

- Hide - This hides the selected component.

- Hide Siblings - This hides all of the components except the selected component at the same level on the assembly tree.

- Show - This shows the selected component.

- Show Siblings - This shows all of the components except the selected component at the same level on the assembly tree.

- Show All - This shows all the components on the assembly tree.

Note: Only the hide and show properties are applied to individual views. The Color and Transparency settings in the Editing area are always applied to all views.

Editing area | The Editing area lets you edit the currently selected component from the Assembly Tree View.

- Create Assembly - This creates a new assembly node in the currently selected assembly. Initially, it is empty but you can then move other assembly components into it by using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow buttons on those components.

- Create Part - This creates a new part node in the currently selected assembly. Initially, it is empty, but you can move CAD objects into it by using the Move to Part button in the CAD Elements area.

- Up Arrow - This moves the part or assembly component in the tree view up into the assembly just above it in the list.

- Down Arrow - This moves the part or assembly component in the tree view down into the assembly just below it in the list.

- Color - This check box enables the Color button and displays the Color dialog box. This dialog box lets you apply a color to the selected tree view component. This check box also enables or disables the display of the selected color. Once you choose the initial color, you can click the Color button thereafter to modify the color used. This overrides any colors set for CAD elements using the Edit CAD Elements dialog box until the assembly component no longer uses a color or is removed from the CAD Assembly dialog box. See "Editing CAD" for more information.

- Level - This list lets you assign the CAD objects within the selected assembly component to a predefined CAD level. This overrides any CAD level assignments that were set using the CAD Levels dialog box until the assembly component is removed from the level or from the assembly within the CAD Assembly dialog box. See "Working with CAD Levels" for more information.

- Transparency - This check box applies the selected transparency percentage to the selected tree view component. You can drag the slider or change the value manually in the box to change the transparency percentage.

You cannot perform some edit operations on the root-level component (usually the part name used in your part program) or DCI components. Those operations you cannot use are disabled when you select these types of components.

Saved Views area | The Saved Views area lets you manage different visibility states of the Assembly Tree View.

- Save - This saves the current visibility state, giving it the name specified in the current Saved Views box. You must click the OK button to permanently save your view. PC-DMIS stores saved views in the .CAD file associated with the part program.

- Delete - This deletes the stored visibility state of the name selected from the Saved Views box.

To load a stored visibility state, select it from the Saved Views list. The check boxes in the Assembly Tree View are immediately modified according to the loaded view.

CAD Elements area | The CAD Elements area lets you select CAD objects and move them to a different part. You can select or deselect items by simply clicking on them within the Graphics Display window. You can also box-select multiple CAD objects.

- Move To Part - This moves the selected CAD objects to the currently selected part in the Assembly Tree View.

- Deselect All - This deselects all previously selected CAD objects.

- Selection Filter - This area lets you filter the CAD objects that PC-DMIS can select. If an item is selected, PC-DMIS will have the ability to select that type of CAD object when you click or box-select CAD objects in the Graphics Display window.

You can also filter the selection by the color of the CAD object. If you select the Color check box, the color of the next CAD object that you select in the Graphics Display window is then used as the filter color. For subsequent selections, PC-DMIS will only select CAD objects with that color.