THE DUPLICATE REPLACER
WHAT ARE DUPLICATES?
What do we mean by ‘duplicates’? We mean that two or more part files contained in the assembly have geometry that is exactly the same as each other, and if the solid geometry of the parts were rotated and laid on top of each other, they would match perfectly. We’re not talking about multiple instances of the same part file (like a component pattern for instance), we’re talking about an assembly containing multiple .ipt part files that are identical.
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Why is this a problem? Lets look at an example.
Typical Scenario
You’ve created an assembly and you're ready for manufacture, but you suspect (or know) it contains duplicate parts. Below are some common workflows for handling these. (Spoiler - we prefer the last option).
1) Ignore It
This means you will issue a parts list/cut list with potentially many more rows than are required, and potentially create multiple drawings and manage multiple files when you only actually need to create and manage one file (per group of duplicates). This can create a large amount of extra work, and further duplication of effort for all downstream consumers of the CAD data.
2) Place and Constrain Manually
Attempt to predict which parts will be duplicates, and only use the 'Make Components' tool on ONE of the group of duplicates, and either pattern or manually place and constrain additional copies of it around the assembly as required. This can be a lot of work. Also it is not always clear and sometimes impossible to see which parts will be duplicates once handing, orientation, small drillings etc. are considered.
3) Part Number iProperty Override
Attempt to merge identical items by giving them an identical Part Number iProperty, either by assuming that parts with identical volume in the BOM are the same (this is dangerous and will lead to all kinds of mistakes!) and giving them the same Part Number, or attempting to merge the Part Number iProperty using concatenated parameter values with iLogic or similar - this works in some cases, but it is difficult to cover all possible variations of a part with iLogic. Also this is not relevant for bespoke items.
4) Use the Vault Search Duplicates Tool
This tool was added to paid versions of Vault starting with release 2020.2. It searches for duplicates against files already in the Vault only. Therefore with the Vault tool you need a long workflow.
5) Our Favourite - Use The Duplicate Replacer App
The app quickly scans the active assembly, shows you all the groups of duplicates and allow them to be replaced (with any member of each group) in one operation.
Note – Also - if you are a Vault Duplicate Search user, now you've cleaned up the assembly with respect to , you could perform a check of your cleaned-up assembly against the Vault and replace from the Vault also. Beautiful.