Editing the Placement of a Layout Component

Once you have imported a Layout Component, you can move it by using its handle (referred to as Reference in the Import Layout Component window's Coordinate System tab) and target coordinate system or by using standard modeler operations.

To move a layout component, you can edit the component handle and target CS in the General tab of layout component instance properties.

All CS that are included in the layout component are available to be used as the handle. All coordinate systems in the assembly design that are eligible for component placement are available as target CS. Note that the default handle is shown with an asterisk.

You can also use the Position parameter to offset the layout component in the X, Y, or Z direction along the axis of the target coordinate system.

Modeler operations like Move, Rotate, and Mirror also apply to Layout Components. During these operations, snapping points can be helpful to set the start and end points of the move. Any visible object (layout component geometry and 3D geometry) will have snapping locations when in snap mode or when creating a CS. Note the following about layout component snapping:

• The snapping location of a layout component behaves the same way as that for a 3D component.
• All snapping types are supported, which include vertex, face center, edge center, edge quadrant, and arc center.
• If an object from a layout component is visible, its snapping locations will be turned on. Once the object becomes invisible, its snapping locations will be removed.
• Snapping locations are restricted to the top and bottom of layers.

To move a layout component, select one of its vertices snapping point as the start location and another 3D object’s vertex as the end location. The layout component will be moved from the start to the end location.

To demonstrate, we will have the example shown below. The green component is a 3D component, and the pink component is an imported layout component. In this example, you want to place the layout component under the 3D component so that its holes (in the middle of the component) are aligned with the hole from the 3D component.

1. Right click on the Layout Component, and select Edit > Arrange > Move.
2. Zoom in on the center hole of the Layout Component, and a snapping point will appear. Click to select.
3. Drag your cursor to the snap location where you want to move the layout component, and then click.

The layout component is now located underneath the 3D component.

For a detailed view of how to move a layout component, watch the following video: