SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [257]
When you are hiding or showing bodies from the FeatureManager, but not using the bodies folders and using the features themselves instead, things get a little complicated. If you want to hide or show a solid body, then you can use any feature that is a parent of the body to hide or show the body. For example, you can use the Shell feature in the mouse model to hide or show all the bodies of which it is a parent.
Other facts that you need to know about bodies and their hide or show states are that the Hide or Show feature is both configurable and dependent on the rollback state. As a result, if you hide a body, and then roll back, it may appear again and you will have to hide it. Then, if you roll forward, the state changes again. Also, a body can be hidden in one configuration, and then when you switch configurations, it remains hidden. This makes it rather frustrating to work with bodies. To me, it would be nice if bodies had simple on/off switches.
SolidWorks 2010 adds the Display State functionality from assemblies to multi-body parts. This is extremely handy, and a very fast way to change color, transparency, or display modes for individual bodies. The best way to handle this is to expand the Display Pane and control Hide/Show, Display Mode, Appearance, and Transparency directly from the Display Pane. Figure 19.24 shows the Display Pane in action on a multi-body part.
FIGURE 19.24
Using the Display Pane to control multi-body Display States
In Figure 19.24, the FeatureManager panel is split so you can see the configurations and Display State information alongside the bodies folder and display pane. If you are familiar with Display States in assemblies, it is the same as for bodies.
You are able to assign different materials to each body. If different parts are made of different materials, the only situations in which I would model this way would be overmolds, where multiple materials are molded onto one another, and inseparable subassemblies, like purchased components such as screws with captive washers or a circuit board with rivets. If you need to manufacture something that has different materials, you need to have each material in a separate file for manufacturing purposes. Computer Numerical Control (CNC) software operators generally do not want parts that need to be machined separately given to them as multi-body single parts. To apply materials to bodies, right-click the body in the Solid Bodies folder and select Material.
Caution
Some features exclude bodies if the bodies are hidden when you edit the feature. Be careful of this, and be sure to show all the bodies that are used in a particular function before you edit it. For example, if a body is hidden and you create a new extrude that touches the hidden body, then the new body does not merge with the hidden one even if the Merge option is on. If the hidden body is then shown and you edit the second body, then the bodies will merge upon the closing of the second body.
Deleting bodies
I have already mentioned that you can delete bodies using the Delete Solid/Surface feature, and that this feature exists in the tree of the part. This feature used to be called Delete Bodies.
Delete Solid/Surface does not affect file size or rebuild speed. In fact, I find it difficult to come up with examples of when you should use it, other than the situation already mentioned with the Rib feature, or if a throwaway body somehow remains in the part. Some people use this feature to clean up the organization of the tree, which could be useful if there are many bodies in the part. Other users insist on keeping the tree free of extraneous bodies and immediately delete bodies that have been used. To me, this technique replaces one kind of clutter with another, and means that tools that should be available to you