About Balloons

This topic provides more information about generating balloons.

This page discusses:

See Also
Generating Balloons
Creating Balloons

Automatic Balloons Generation

  • Using the Automatic Balloons Generation command, you can create the balloons in an active view for all the instances of the part, that is all the leaf products represented in the view.
  • In the Automatic Ballooning Options dialog box, only those BOMs are shown which have the same context as the context of the view.
  • You can generate balloons even if the BOM list is empty. In this case, the balloons are generated on all the instances (depending on which Number of balloons option is selected) of the view and numbered accordingly.
  • If a BOM is selected from the BOM list, the balloons are generated according to the instances referred in that BOM (depending on which Number of balloons option is selected).
  • If the command is used twice on the same view, new balloons are generated on the parts, irrespective of whether balloons already exist on the parts (either automatically generated or manually added) or not. In this case, the balloons are also generated on the newly added parts/products in the product structure represented in the view. However, it is possible to use one of the two options Update or Reset to avoid having duplicated balloons.
  • The balloons that were automatically generated, but manually deleted are created again provided that the product they are attached to is still in the corresponding BOM.

Once created, the balloons are positioned automatically according to the position of the ballooned part in the view.

Balloon Generation Scenarios

A few scenarios are possible depending on whether a bill of materials (BOM) exists in a drawing or not:

  • If there is only one bill of materials in the drawing and it points to the same root product as the view, it is selected in the list and the balloons are generated with reference to this BOM.
  • If one or several parts seen in the view are not in the BOM (for example, balloons for phantom products that are not listed in the referenced BOM), the balloons will show a number that is increased as the balloons are created. However, content of these balloons does not change associatively because they do not have their respective part/product representation in the BOM.
  • If there is one or several bills of material in the drawing that point to a different root product from that of the view or that are isolated, then the balloons show a number that is increased as the balloons are created (1,2,...,N).
  • If there is no BOM in the drawing then the BOM list will be empty and the balloons will show a number that is increased as the balloons are created (1,2,...,N).

About Update
You can use Update in a view where balloons have previously been created and if you select the same associated BOM and its creation options.

When using Update, if a phantom product that was previously listed in the BOM is no longer listed in it because of a change of BOM format, and if you do not select the Show Phantom Products option, then its balloon is updated with a ? symbol to indicate that the content is no longer valid. Otherwise, its number is changed to an incremented number.

Likewise, if you select the Show Phantom Products option:

  • If an N-line BOM becomes an N+X-line BOM (when a product is added in the product structure), and if a phantom product that was not listed in the referring N-line BOM is ballooned with number N+1, its content is updated to N+X+1.
  • If an N-line BOM becomes an N-X-line BOM (when a product is removed in the product structure), and if a phantom product that was not listed in the referring N-line BOM is ballooned with number N+1, its content is updated to N-X+1.
  • The BOM used as a reference for the balloons can also be preselected before clicking on the Automatic Balloons Generation command. In this case, the selected BOM is automatically displayed in the BOM list of Automatic Ballooning Options dialog box. However, if required, you can change this selection by choosing another BOM in the BOM list.

Balloons Lifecycle

The lifecycle of the balloons generated through the command is managed and therefore is different from the ones generated manually.

  • In the active view, you can delete all the balloons and recreate them as new if you select Reset during Automatic Balloons Generation.
  • If a BOM line associated with a balloon disappears (but the geometry still exists), the balloon’s content changes to ?.
  • If a balloon automatically generated points to a product which geometry disappears from the view (whether it is because it has been deleted or because another product is now hiding its geometry in this view), the balloon’s content changes to ?.
  • If a Top Level BOM becomes a Summarized one or vice versa, the previously automatically generated balloons associated to this BOM are deleted and recreated in the next usage of the command.
  • If a BOM associated to balloons is deleted, its balloons are isolated.
  • If a balloon automatically generated is cut or copied, it becomes isolated from the BOM when pasted.
  • If a part pointed by a balloon is deleted, its balloon is not deleted, but its content will change to ? if updated using the Automatic Balloons Generation command.

Balloon Numbering

During balloon creation, all the existing balloons of a drawing or a layout (except the features in detail sheets) are parsed to retrieve the highest number of all the numbers used.

In case of detail sheet, only parent of balloon (main view of detail sheet or 2D component) is parsed to retrieve the highest number of all the numbers used. The value of the new balloon is initialized to value of the next number.

For example, if a drawing contains balloon such as, 1, 2, 4, then the next balloon is initialized to 5.

Balloon Positioning

Balloon leader can be positioned on dimension lines either with a perpendicular extremity or without it.

  • When you snap the balloon leader on the specified perpendicular directions, the balloon is positioned with the perpendicular extremity link.
  • When you position the balloon on a dimension line with a perpendicular extremity, the balloon switches from one dimension line to the other, depending on the closest position with balloon body. This property is applicable only for leaders with perpendicular extremity link.



    To stop switching the balloon from one dimension line to the other:

    1. Right-click the yellow handle at the leader extremity, select Extremity Link and clear the Perpendicular check.
    2. Drag the balloon to the required location.

  • When you position the balloon on a dimension line in an inclined position, the switch of the balloon from one dimension line to the other does not occur.