Make components move as one
A rigid group holds several components together where they are now, without picking faces for joints: a motor and its bracket, the parts of a jig you are still positioning. Move one, or join one to something else, and the others follow.
Access: assembly editor > Rigid.
Make a rigid group
- Place the components where they belong to each other.
- Click Rigid. The selected component is already checked.
- Check the other components that move with it, at least two in all.
- Click Group N components.
The group appears under Rigid groups in the tree. Each component keeps where it is relative to the first one in the list, and the group counts as one body: a free group of three components leaves 6 degrees of freedom, not 18.
Change or remove a group
Select the group in the tree:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | Names the group in the tree; Rigid group 1 and so on when empty. |
| Suppressed | Lets the components move on their own again without deleting the group. |
| Delete | Deletes the group; its components stay where they are. |
A component is in one group at most. Deleting a component takes it out of its group; a group left with one component goes.
Tips
- To move a group to another place, move its first component, or join that one with a joint.
- A group and a joint that disagree are flagged like any loop that cannot close (
JOINT_CONFLICT): suppress the group or change the joint.