Multi-Body Options

aPriori Professional provides a preference setting for Multi-Body Options. This enables you to specify how aPriori should interpret CAD model files that contain more than one distinct solid body. 

To open this dialog, click Tools User Preferences Multi-Body Options. 

\

This dialog provides three options:

  • Keep Free Bodies

  • Preserve CAD: (for NX™ Assembly files with Keep Free Bodies)
    This only applies when Keep Free Bodies is selected.

  • Ignore Missing Component: (for NX™ files with a rare error) This only applies when Keep Free Bodies is selected.

 

Each option in the dialog is documented:

 

Note: As of Release 21.1.0.0, multi-body options are no longer configurable in in apriori.properties file. If you do add multi-body options in this file they have no effect. Multi-body options are configurable in the UI only. You can still configure and apply multi-body settings in the properties file for previous releases.

Prior to 2019 R1, the only way to change the processing of multi-body CAD files was to change the values of three corresponding entries in the apriori.properties file and then restart aPriori.  These properties are:

  • apriori.keep.free.bodies

  • apriori.free.bodies.preserve.CAD

  • apriori.free.bodies.ignore.missing.component

These properties are discussed in the aPriori Professional System Administration Guide, in the “apriori.properties” section. There is also a discussion in this User Guide using these properties with Bulk Costing at Costing multi-body parts (free bodies).

The Multi-Body Options dialog dialog enables you to make these changes quickly and easily without restarting aPriori. However, note that any changes to the options in this dialog affects CAD files that you open subsequently, and not already opened files.

If you open a CAD file and the current settings of those options do not produce your desired results, delete the unwanted/incorrect scenarios to avoid confusion in the future, then change the Multi-Body Options settings, reopen the file and re-extract GCDs.

Note: aPriori always applies the current settings of the Multi-Body Options when opening scenarios.  aPriori does   remember and reapply the settings were in effect when the scenario was last saved.  If the current settings are different than when the scenario was saved, the scenario become disassociated from its CAD file, as indicated by the “broken connection” icon screenshot. 

 

If you observe this disassociation or determine that the current Multi-Body Options settings are not appropriate for the scenario, do the following:

  • Close the scenario without saving it.

  • Change the Multi-Body Options settings as appropriate.

  • Re-open the scenario.

  • Re-associate the CAD file by clicking File > CAD File Association and selecting the CAD file.