Reacting to the Crisis

In the spirit of “what’s taking so long,” your manager turns the project over to Mr. Quick. He leaves the old bracket alone, assembling the new bracket on top of it (Fig. 6).

Figure 6. NEW_POST-BKT.PRT assembled on top of BRACKET_POST.PRT.

The problem with this approach is that both the new and old brackets are visible. One quick solution calls for another, so Mr. Quick creates two new simplified reps. The first, BRACKET_ORG, shows the assembly with the original bracket (Fig. 7). The second, BRACKET_NEW, shows the assembly with the new bracket (Fig. 8). In both cases BRACKET_ABC, which is assembled to both sides of A.ASM, is not part of the simplified rep. The crisis appears to be over. The assembly does not fail and now either bracket option can be viewed. Mr. Quick saved the day, or did he?

	Figure 7. BRACKET_ORG simplified rep of ABC assembly.		Figure 8. BRACKET_NEW simplified rep of ABC assembly.

The Drawbacks of Reacting

In the spirit of “one more chance,” your manager decides to let you move A.ASM to a lower position in the ABC assembly. Here’s your opportunity to redeem yourself. Since the ABC assembly is very large, open it using the BRACKET_ORG simplified rep that Mr. Quick set up. Now modify the offset assembly dimension shown in Figure 9. Select Regenerate, Automatic and watch only the original bracket move.

	Figure 9. Offset dimension to be modified in ABC.ASM BRACKET_ORG simplified rep.

Just as panic starts to set in, you think, “I bet this requires a second regeneration.” But even with the second regeneration, you see your boss approaching and you wonder why A.ASM still has not moved.

The answer is because parts in a simplified rep are frozen in their last known fully regenerated position. Everything is working as it should. But the results are alarming to those who think simplified reps are the best method for swapping options. Keep in mind that the best way to guarantee the integrity of an assembly is in fact to regenerate its master rep.