Part IV: Creating and Using Libraries
FIGURE 19.9
The Smart Component PropertyManager interface
Creating an auto-sizing Smart Component
The simple Smart Component took about 20 minutes to model and set up. That is not too bad for
a feature that you might use a lot. The benefits are somewhat modest, placing three components
and a feature.
However, when it comes to the auto-sizing example that is shown next, the benefits are more exten-
sive. A total of seven individual parts are placed (including Toolbox parts) — three of which are
automatically sized, depending on the geometry into which the Smart Component is dropped —
and an in-context feature is added.
To begin, open the part from the CD-ROM named Chapter 19 - Clamp Start.sldprt.
Notice that this is a multi-body part. There is no special knowledge that you need to have about
multi-body parts to complete this task. Multiple bodies are discussed in detail in Chapter 26.
- With the Clamp Start part open, notice that several configurations already exist. If
you click through the configurations or examine the design table in the part, you can see
that various dimensions change. The primary dimension that changes is the diameter of the
hole, and this change drives the diameter of, and distance between, the mounting holes.
