Analyze Assemblies
aP Pro allows you to import, analyze and review results for assemblies, containing multiple parts or sub-assemblies.
Assembly Analysis Options
To analyze (cost) an assembly, you can use:
-
Standard interactive scenario costing functions for assembly components - see Analyze a Component. Typically this is most effective for small assemblies with few parts.
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Deep Costing to analyze an assembly and its sub-components in a single operation - see Deep CostingTypically this is better for previously costed scenarios (and iterations of them) requiring less component-level configuration.
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Bulk costing for analysis of multiple components - see Bulk Costing and Analysis. Typically this method is most effective when you have multiple separate components and want to configure more inputs more easily based on a spreadsheet.
After running analysis, you can view results - see View Assembly Analysis Results.
Open an Assembly
When you open an assembly CAD file, aP Pro automatically recognizes that the file is an assembly, and selects the Assembly process group by default.
In addition, after you analyze an assembly, the analysis results include Assembly Details and Assembly Tracker tabs. See View Assembly Details and Assembly tracker.
Example Assembly
This shows an isometric and an exploded view of a bearing bracket assembly taken from a CAD file named Bearing Bracket.
Here are the separate parts for this assembly.
|
Description |
CAD Model Filename | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Bracket | Bracket | 1 |
| Plate | Plate | 1 |
| Bearing | Thrust Roller Bearing_ISO | 2 |
| Bolt | Hex Structural Bolt GradeC Short_ISO | 4 |
So Bearing Bracket contains 4 unique parts, and 8 parts in total.
After you import the CAD files for the assembly and each of the four unique parts, you have the following components in aP Pro:
|
Description |
aPriori Component (Name / Part #) |
|---|---|
|
Bracket Assembly |
BEARING BRACKET |
| Bracket | BRACKET |
| Plate | PLATE |
| Bearing | THRUST ROLLER BEARING_ISO |
| Bolt | HEX STRUCTURAL BOLT GRADEC SHORT_ISO |
For each component, you can then create and analyze multiple scenarios with different combinations of materials, production volumes, processes, process options, factories, and machines. For the Bearing Bracket assembly, you can also create multiple scenarios by using different scenarios for the components in the assembly.
You can then compare the cost, manufacturability, and sustainability for each scenario, to select the scenario which best meets your goals and requirements.
Topics and Examples