About Assembly Constraints  

Setting constraints is rather an easy task. However, you should keep in mind the following:

You can apply constraints only between the child components of the active component.

...and do not mistake the active component for the selected component:

The active component is blue framed (default color) and underlined.
It is activated by double-clicking.

The selected component is orange framed (default color).
It is selected by clicking.

You cannot define constraints between two geometric elements belonging to the same component.

You cannot apply a constraint between two components belonging to the same subassembly if this subassembly is not the active component.

The following example illustrates what you are allowed to do:
     

(1)  

 The constraint cannot be applied because Product K does not belong to the active component Product B. To define this constraint, Product A must be made active.
(2)

 The constraint cannot be applied because Product E and Product F both belong to a component other than the active component Product B. To define this constraint, Product D must be made active.
(3) The constraint can be applied since Product C belongs to the active component Product B and also Product E is contained within Product D which is contained within the active component Product B.
Note

When you set a constraint, there are no rules to define the fixed and the movable component during the selection. If you want to fix a component, use the Fix command. See Fixing a Component .

Symbols

The following table lists the symbols used to represent the constraints you can set between your components:
Constraints

Symbol used

in the geometry area

Symbol displayed

in the specification tree
Coincidence bt350.jpg (1013 bytes)
Contact bt349.jpg (1078 bytes)
Contact

(point)
Contact

(line)
Offset bt354.jpg (1007 bytes)
Angle

Planar Angle

 bt355.jpg (1113 bytes)
Parallelism bt344.jpg (1069 bytes)
Perpendicularity bt343.jpg (1025 bytes)
Fix bt342.jpg (1043 bytes)
Note also that deactivated constraints are preceded by the symbol ( ) in the specification tree.

Tip
The name of a constraint displays when passing the mouse over that constraint.

 

 

Geometry
To set constraints it is possible to select the geometry (plane, line or point) resulting from intersections, projections or offsets from the specification tree. For more about these operations, please refer to Generative Shape Design User's Guide.

Customizing Constraints
The application lets you customize the creation and the display of constraints. For more information, please refer to Customizing Assembly Constraint and Customizing Constraint Appearance.
 
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