Coralie How do I merge a SOLIDWORKS assembly into a part?
Save only the outer faces of the assembly (surface)
This first option allows you to generate a part containing only the external faces of your SOLIDWORKS assembly. This can be useful for representing the overall dimensions of a mechanism.
From your assembly, click on "File" then "Save as".
Choose the "Part" type, then in "Geometry to save" select "External faces".
Please note: If you save only the external faces of your assembly, you will obtain a surface part.
Save the assembly as a part with its components
This second option allows you to generate a part containing all the components of the assembly, or just the outer components. This can be useful for :
improve performance
Easier management of a non-evolving assembly (e.g. library file)
Use the multi-body part as a simplified representation of the assembly in a higher-level schematic representation assembly.
From your assembly, click on "File" then "Save as".
Choose the "Part" type, then in "Geometry to save" select "External components" or "All components".
On the other hand, the "Preserve geometry references" option is useful when you are using the multi-body part as a simplified representation of the assembly in a higher-level schematic representation assembly, and need to make modifications later. When you make changes to the sub-assembly and save it again as a multi-body part, you can replace the old part with the new one, without having to recreate the constraints.
In this case, the result is a multi-body part in volume.
Tips voor exporteren
If you want to transfer your file to a sharing format while maintaining confidentiality, you can merge bodies or change the scale of your file.
Merge parts
To convert your part with multiple bodies into one block, you can use the Combine function (Insert > Functions > Combine).
This manipulation allows you to hide the names of the parts in the assembly when exporting, thus avoiding the possibility of isolating one of the components.
Modify part scale
To avoid having to take measurements on your file, you can change the scale of the part using the "Scale" function (Insert > Functions > Scale). Select a random value.
File export
Once you've modified your file as you wish, click on "File" then "Save as" and choose a neutral format (step or parasolid, for example).
When we open this file, we'll only have a volumetric body with modified dimensions.
In conclusion
Using this example, you can easily merge a SOLIDWORKS assembly into a multi-body part file, to simplify your file management. In this way, you can transfer your files while maintaining a certain level of confidentiality.