Working with the Product Flexibility

You can define the flexibility of a product reference.

A flexible product is a multicomponent product where components are allowed to move relatively to each other after the product has been instantiated into a larger product. It is also called a positional mechanical reference.

Once the product reference is defined as flexible, you can define which of its instances are repositionable.

Tip: These commands are also available from the context menu of a root product, in Properties > Mechanical Behavior. For more information, see Editing Product Properties.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
About Modifying a Position

Define the Flexibility of a Product Reference

  1. Select a root product.
  2. From the Product Modification section of the action bar, click Product Mechanical Behavior .
    The Product Mechanical Behavior dialog box appears.
  3. In the Product Mechanical Behavior dialog box, from the Flexibility area, select Flexible at instantiation.
    The Repositionable area is now active and displays a list of the available instance candidates.

Define Repositionable Product Instances

Before you begin: Define a product reference as flexible. See Define the Flexibility of a Product Reference above.
  1. In the Product Mechanical Behavior dialog box, from the Repositionable Instances area, select the instances to be defined as repositionable.
  2. Click Analyze to compute the full list of available instances. This command scans for repositionable candidates.
  3. In the Sub tree column, click Browse .
  4. Select a product and click one of the following commands:
    OptionDescription
    Command Description
    Specifies an instance as repositionable in the context of the root product.
    Specifies an instance as nonrepositionable.
    Specifies all the instances as repositionable.
  5. Click OK to validate your modifications.
  6. Click OK to validate your product flexibility settings.
    The instances are defined as repositionable. In other terms, when instantiating them, you can overload their position.

Use Flexible Products

You can use products with defined flexibility.

Note: For more information about flexibility masks, see Tree Masks.

  1. Open a product containing at least one flexible instance.
    In this example, Product 1 is flexible and it contains a repositionable Product B reference.

  2. Create a product P0.
  3. Select and copy the Product 1 root product under product P0.
    In the tree, the Product B product instance is seen as overloadable.

  4. Select the overloadable product instance and drag the Robot onto it.
  5. Move the Product B product instance.
    In the tree, the Product B instance is seen as overloaded.

    Note: If no object is declared as overloadable, the whole product structure moves while dragging it in the 3D area.

  • If you copy a flexible product reference within the same structure, this creates a new instance of the same reference.
    Important: The overloaded position is copied.
  • If you replace a flexible product reference (using the Replace or Replace by version commands), the flexibility property is lost and the replaced instances are not repositionable.
  • if you split the configuration of a flexible reference, the flexibility property is lost, and the split instance is not repositionable
    Note: The position of flexible components is not taken into account by the 3D index or by the Collaborative Lifecycle 3D display.