Components have disappeared
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I've been making a model of a desk I'm about to start building and have been making each part a component so I can pull it apart and look at the pieces individually. Now I've just opened it again to do some more work on it and found that all the components have back to individual lines and faces. I can't think what I can have done and it's almost impossible to get them back without starting again.
Please tell me I've just clicked something I shouldn't have! -
At some point, didn't you incidentally exploded them?
What can you see in you open the component browser (Window menu) and go to the "In model" folder (that small house icon)? Are the original components still there? -
Yes they are there in the component browser. I don't think I could have exploded them all by accident as there are 50 or so.
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And are you sure (sorry for the lame question) that they were turned into components when you created them? When you select geometry you want to make into a component and that touches other geometry, the "Replace selection by component" box at the bottom left remains inactive. So it's easy to create a component but actually not get it into the place of the geometry in the model.
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Oh ok, I didn't see that box so it probably wasn't ticked. So what I have now is the component and the original on top of each other or just the original?
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Peter, in your case you made components and they were stored in the In Model library but you never had any components in your drawing itself. To build the model again out of components, you'll have to drag in the components from the In Model library and assemble the thing. Check those components as you go because they are likely missing faces and possibly edges.
It would be much better to draw one part and make it a component before moving on to the next part. You'll avoid the problem you have and every component should have all of its edges and faces. You can, of course go back and edit components to add further details if needed.
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What Dave says...
If you did not check that box, it's just the original. But at least you have the components - of which (aligning them to the original), you should be able to easily put together the desk (desk?). Then delete the original geometry and leave the components.
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Thanks very much for the help - it will save me several hours of frustration!
I did actually make the components as I went along so I shouldn't have a problem there, but thanks for the reminder. -
If you had unselected entities (even one) when you made your components, that little box would need to be ticked manually. If you select all connected entities (edges and faces) that box will get ticked automatically when you choose Create Component.
BTW, Peter, to get an idea of how it works to draw as I suggest by making one component before moving on to the next, take a look at the video here. The video isn't really done as a detailed tutorial but it demonstrates my workflow when drawing furniture and other things will many parts.
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