Components versus Parts/Products

[MrCATIA]

This is a question for Spider007:

In one of your posts regarding your airplane project, you attached a image of some of the parts you've modeled with CATIA V5. (I've attached it again below).

I noticed that all the longeron assemblies are components in the assembly, while STATION1 is a part instance. I'm curious if this was done intentionally?

There are pros and cons for doing this.

[spider007]

Just a reminder, i'm not an experienced Catia user, and the biggest project i've done in assambly was an arbor bar back when i was taking the class.

From what i remember "components" are like internal assamblys. I didn't feel like having an assambly file saved in the folder just for the shims and a longeron, so i did it that way to minimise the ammount of subassamblys and sub-sub-sub assamblys that i'll have saved in the folder. I planed on having internal subassamblys of components that have shims attached to them, unless shims arn't the only commponent attached to them.

for example;
#1 longerons have the shims constraind to them in an internal assambly, and there is no other major component attached to the longeron (longeron being the main component - main focus if you will)

#2 station formers (arches that go on top of the frame) have shims, but they also have the frame and brackets constraind to them, so i have an external sub assambly for each station.

So to answer your question,

-yes it was planed,
-is there any advantage to it other then not having twice as many subassamblys? - not that i know off.
-will it bite me in the ass later? Maybe, I haven't planed that far yat


I'm not very comforatable with the way catia names things in the assamblys, lot of times i have to look up or "try out" to see what a "component", "part" or any other part of the assambly really means.

What are the pros and cons of doing it thisway?

[MrCATIA]

Good! What you're doing makes perfect sense to me. I think you're a lot more experienced then you're giving yourself credit for.

I was afraid that you might try to use components for all the parts and sub-assemblies. That would have created a huge file, and prevent you from opening and working with an individual part or sub-assembly later.

[spider007]

yes, that is defenitly something i have to keep an eye on

[spider007]

I just run in to one of those "cons"

can't use "open in new window"

sweeeeeetttttt

Hi there,

Can anyone explain me the diference from, part and component?? Couldn't understand so far...
By the way, spider007, when I finish the current project where I'm involved, I intend to project a model airplane for research reasons and I've seen you are in the structural business... Can we share notes each each other?

Greetings

[spider007]

Im not exacly in the stractual buisness. My background is In Plastic injection molding. I'm 23 years old and after a 5 year apprenticeship as a mold maker (shop floor) i went into Mold design (CAD), which is what i do now (2 years). I was recruted by a local non profit Historical society to help machine some parts for them (cnc) and then when they found out about my job, they wanted me to do this project (paper to cad of a SE5a) which is turning into a pain in the butt (especialy when you try reading drawings redone 20-30 years ago if not more and assamblying parst that just don't fit) This isn't going to be over night project and it will be couple of years before it's done.

Something that really amazed me always was looking at those planes and imagening the people that did it back in the day before the compluter.....They dremt all that COMPLICATED stuff up and put it together
just in time to help their country. It's just something that blows my mind sometimes when i'm looking at it.

Anyways, I'll be happy to tell you about anything i know (which isn't much). Lot comes from reading forums like this and trying things out.