Your next task is to create instances of your parts.
A part instance can be thought of as a representation of the
original part; an instance is not a copy of a part. You can then position these
part instances in a global coordinate system to create the assembly.
An instance maintains its association with the original part. If the
geometry of a part changes,
Abaqus/CAE
automatically updates all instances of the part to reflect these changes. You
cannot edit the geometry of a part instance directly. The assembly can contain
multiple instances of a single part; for example, a rivet that is used
repeatedly in a sheet metal assembly.
An instance may be classified as independent or dependent. Independent
part instances are meshed individually, while the mesh of a dependent part
instance is associated with the mesh of the original part. Part meshing is
discussed further in
Meshing the assembly.
By default, part instances are dependent.
When you create a part instance,
Abaqus/CAE
positions it so that the origin of the sketch that defined the base feature
overlays the origin of the assembly's global coordinate system. In addition,
the sketch plane is aligned with the X–Y plane of
the global coordinate system.
When you create the first part instance, the
Assembly module
displays a graphic indicating the origin and the orientation of the global
coordinate system. You can use this graphic to help you decide how to position
a selected instance relative to the global coordinate system. For the tutorial
you will keep the hinge with the lubrication hole fixed and move the second
hinge and the pin relative to it.
For this tutorial you will create the following:
An instance of the hinge piece with the lubrication
hole—Hinge-hole.
An instance of the hinge piece with the lubrication hole
removed—Hinge-solid.