About Derived Representations

A derived representation stores geometries contained in an assembly product through a global import in a unique 3D Shape representation.

Derived representations help you manage and protect intellectual property by providing a filtering and associative mechanism included in exchange processes.

This page discusses:

See Also
Creating a Derived Representation
Editing a Derived Representation
Administration: About Data Setup for Assembly Design
No Update of a 3D Part in a Derived Representation
Icons Do Not Display Keep Link Statuses

The derived representation command creates an associative 3D shape from a list of representation occurrences.

Derived representations allow you to share data that are relevant for OEMs and supplier chain partners only. They can complete product definition operations with the required level of information you choose to share.

You can also use derived representations to overload a representation that can be protected or not protected by adding assembly feature impacts for example.

You can define a business rule that implements business logic opening ids specific to the Derived Representation Resources set.

The color of the selected geometries in the assembly product can be imported or not during the copy. The copy colors behavior is managed in Part Design preferences, see Graphic Properties.

Important: If you select an existing 3D Shape representation as Target shape, the All Colors: each color visible in 3D is reported on its corresponding face option of the Colors representation properties must be cleared. This one disables the selected preferences.

Derived Representation Panel

This panel is dedicated to the creation or the edition of the derived representation.

This panel contains the following sections:

Inputs

Specifies where the derived representation will be created and the shapes involved.

Target Shape

You can either select an existing target shape by selecting the shape from the tree or the 3D area, or create a new one.

Source shapes

By default all existing shapes under the active product are selected.

Reset removes all selected shapes from the list.

Add all shapes adds all existing shapes to the list.

Remove removes the highlighted shapes from the list.

You can also add or remove a source shape, by selecting it from the tree or the 3D area.

Options

Specifies the creation options.

Keep Link

A derived representation can keep links with the original geometry.

Modifications in the 3D shape of an assembly are updated in the derived representation while links are kept, otherwise original geometries are copied as result.

The contextual mask is added to the target 3D shape icon in the tree: .

Important:
  • Keep Link: Applies to a newly created derived representation or to added representations only.
  • If you clear the Keep Link check box when editing a derived representation, the links are not broken.

Copy Technological Results

A derived representation can copy technological results keeping links with the original technological results.

This behavior is optional but useful for thread and tap analysis of large assemblies.

By creating a derived representation of a large assembly and copying technological results of thread and tap, the analysis of the derived representation in Part Design is faster than the same analysis of the large assembly in Assembly Design.

Map name of target bodies and sets

Using this option, all resulting bodies and sets are automatically renamed: instance titles of the source part, source body names, and set names are accounted for the creation of new names.

Optimize memory

When you work with large assemblies, and your computer is low on memory, it is sometimes necessary to use this option: representations are loaded step by step.

But for reasonable assemblies this option is useless and consumes more CPU.

Hide source occurrences

Swaps all source instances in No Show space and swaps the derived representation in the Show space.

Legend

Shapes involved in the derived representation are colored according to their statuses.

Advanced Options

Filters shape geometries involved in the derived representation.

Edit filter opens the Filters Definition dialog box.

Geometries can be any of the following:

  • Sketch
  • Body
  • Hybrid Body
  • Geometrical Set
  • Axis System
  • Shape

You can edit and delete these features that are copied in a unique 3D Shape representation.

By default, all types of geometries are copied. However, you can specify the geometry types that will be copied by clicking Edit filter in the Derived Representation Definition panel, and by selecting the geometry types in the Filters Definition dialog box.

CATIA V4 features are not taken into account.