Components and joints

A design is a tree of components. New Component (component.create) adds one, and Create Components from Bodies (component.from_bodies) turns bodies into components. Each component has its own origin, bodies, sketches and timeline entries. The active component (the radio button in the browser) receives new sketches and features; the others are drawn faded.

A component is placed by its occurrences. Paste creates another instance of the same component, and Paste New creates an independent copy. Move an occurrence with the move triad, then Capture Position to keep it or Revert to put it back. SolveCraft asks before the next command if a move wasn’t captured. Ground fixes an occurrence in place.

Joints (joint.create, J) connect two components by joint origins that snap to faces, edges, circles and vertices: rigid, revolute, slider, cylindrical, pin-slot, planar and ball, with offsets, flip and limits. As-built Joint keeps the current position, Rigid Group locks components together, Drive Joints moves a joint through its values, and Motion Link couples two joints. Contact sets stop motion where bodies would pass through each other, Motion Study keys joint values along a timeline, and Interference shows overlapping volumes in red.

STEP export writes the component tree as an assembly.