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Here is a quick summary of the four master model tools that this chapter covers:

• Insert Part. Enables you to pull all the solid and surface bodies, sketches, reference geometry, and even features from an existing part into the current part. This feature is available as a toolbar icon and from the Insert menu.

• Insert Into New Part. Enables you to insert a selection of solid and surface bodies from the current part into a brand-new part. Even though this function is initiated from the parent document, it is classified as a Pull function because it doesn't leave a feature in the parent but does leave one in the child. This function does not have an icon.

• Split. Enables you to split a single solid body into multiple solid bodies and save (push) each body out to a separate part file. This function is available as a toolbar icon and a menu entry in the Insert⇒Features menu. It creates a feature in the FeatureManager of the originating (parent) part file.

• Save Bodies. Enables you to save (push) all the solid bodies from a part out to separate part files. This function is available only through the RMB menu on the solid bodies folder. It does not create a feature in the FeatureManager of the parent part and does not have an icon.

The one common weakness of all these tools is on the file management side, or more precisely, the body management side. It comes down to a question of what happens to the child document if you rearrange the bodies in the parent document. Body management issues can arise in a number of ways. The Insert Part feature is the one that has received the most development attention from SolidWorks when it comes to the robustness of file and body management issues, but Insert Part still does not cover all the functionality. (You cannot insert selective bodies; you must insert all solids or all surface bodies.)

Using Pull Functions

Pull functions are initiated from the child document and pull data from the master model (parent document) into the child document. These functions insert a feature into the child that points to the parent but do not insert a feature into the parent that points to the child. The features that fall into this category are Insert Part and Insert Into New Part.

Understanding the Insert Part feature

You initiate Insert Part from the child document by choosing Insert⇒Part from the menus or clicking the Insert Part button in the Features toolbar (which may not be on your toolbar by default). As the name suggests, this feature pulls one part into another. Insert Part gives you the option to bring forward all solid and surface bodies, planes, axes, and sketches in addition to other options. You can even break the link between the inserted part and the parent data. This simply copies all the sketch and feature data into the current part. The Mirror Part feature also uses this same PropertyManager with the same options. The Insert Part PropertyManager interface is shown in Figure 19.2.

FIGURE 19.2

The Insert Part PropertyManager

Figure 19.3 shows the FeatureManager of a part where the only feature is an Insert Part feature. All the solid bodies are listed under the normal Solid Bodies folder as well as under a second Solid Bodies folder under the inserted part icon. Other inserted items, such as surface bodies, planes, sketches, and axes, are also listed in folders under the inserted part icon.

You cannot be selective about which bodies are pulled forward, but you can delete unwanted bodies once you have brought them all in (using Delete Solid/Surface). If you are trying to handle data efficiently, this may not be the best option for you. Because you have to first bring forward all the bodies and then delete those you don't want, the body data is still stored inside the part. Remember that the Delete Bodies feature does not actually delete anything; it simply makes it inaccessible after the Delete Bodies feature in the part history. If you are inserting a part with many complex