CadActiveSupport

howto

Assemble from a File

Assemble models into a Creo assembly from a spreadsheet, JSON, or schematic file with AutoAssemble.

Assemble from a File is the Creo how-to for AutoAssemble: pick an assembly, pick an input file, preview the tree, and assemble. See AutoAssemble for what the command is and is not.

note

This page is only the dialog. Column names by format: AutoAssemble Files. Worked jobs (file-driven trees, schematic connectors, backshells): AutoAssemble Examples.

This page is only the dialog. Column names by format: AutoAssemble Files. Worked jobs (file-driven trees, schematic connectors, backshells): AutoAssemble Examples.

Open Auto Assemble

  1. In the CadActive ribbon, Automate group, select Auto Assemble.

The dialog title is AutoAssemble - by CadActive. The command help is: Assemble models based on a file input. You need an Automate license and a CadActive server session. You can open the command without an assembly already in session.

The header is: Please select the items as directed below:

File → Close dismisses the dialog (same as Cancel in the footer).

Select or create the assembly

The selected assembly receives the newly assembled components.

  1. If an assembly is already active, click Select Assembly and pick the output assembly (or subassembly). The field default is: Select a desired output assembly. If you cancel the pick, AutoAssemble can use the current assembly.

  2. If no assembly is active, the button is Create Assembly. Enter the name of the desired new assembly.

You can also open the cascade next to Select Assembly and choose Create Assembly when an assembly is already in session.

Select the input file

  1. Click Select Input File and pick the file. The field default is: Select the desired file.

The file dialog groups:

  • Auto Assemble File — .csv, .xlsx, .json

  • Routing File — .xml (Creo Schematics rsData only), .nwf

Which headers and keys each format uses: AutoAssemble Files.

OK stays disabled until a valid file with components is selected. If the file cannot be read, CadActive reports that it could not find components, or that a CSV/Excel file is missing required headers.

After a valid file is selected, the preview tree fills under Show Preview. Nodes show the model name and a Designation column.

Settings for this run

Turn on Show Settings to override the organization defaults for this session:

  • Create Models if Not Found — create missing models from the default start part (or empty if that start part cannot be copied).

  • Update Parameters on Existing Models — write file parameters onto models that already exist.

Organization defaults and mating interface names: Settings for Automate (Assembly).

Assemble

  1. Review the preview tree.

  2. Choose OK.

Existing models are retrieved. Missing models are created when Create Models if Not Found is on. Skeleton models (TYPE SKEL, or PRT + SUB_TYPE SKEL) are added as skeletons, not packaged parts. New models often have no geometry until you add it.

What the file is trying to do — build a tree, place connectors from a schematic, or mate backshells — is on AutoAssemble Examples.

Create an input file from Creo

Tools → Create Input File writes an AutoAssemble file from models you already have:

  • Create from Model — available when an assembly is current. Writes the assembly’s components (designations, constraints, parameters, groups) to a file you save.

  • Create from Directory — opens Select Models From Directory (button Export), then saves a file listing those models.

If more than one mode is available, CadActive prompts: Select Export Mode: