Project: HiCAD Feature Technology
During the construction of parts, reference is often made to other drawing objects. This reference between two parts is called an external reference.
Examples:
In the green bracket, a recess for the blue tab (which is displayed transparently here for better visibility) is created via the function Subtract part, via translation. This subtraction should adapt to the position of the tab. Therefore, the option To surface was chosen for the depth of the subtraction and the surface on the bottom side of the tab was selected.
If the tab is now moved or its thickness is changed, then the depth of the subtraction adjusts after a recalculation of the bracket:
When applying the hole to Part 2, the centre of the countersink of Part 1 is defined as an external reference. If this reference part changes its position, then the hole will also change position so that the defined distance remains the same.
The use of external references can be set per part as well as per external reference, whether external references are to be used or not.
If the use of external references has been deactivated, the respective functions ("Subtract, to surface", for example) are still available. However, changes to the third-party reference are then not tracked. In the above example with the bracket and the tab, this would mean that the subtraction is first created up to the surface at the tab, but then is no longer updated when changes are made to the tab. However, since the reference is still saved in the feature log, you can still reactivate the use of external references for this part later.
The function for switching the use of external references per part can be found directly in the toolbar of the feature window in the ICN: 
If the use of external references is activated for the active part, the button is displayed as activated 
and the tooltip Use external references appears when the mouse is moved over it. If, on the other hand, the use of external references is deactivated for the active part the button is displayed as not activated 
and the tooltip reads Do not use external references. You can toggle between the two states by clicking the button with the mouse.
In addition, you can also specify for each external reference whether it is to be used or not. To do this, right-click on a third-party reference in the feature log to open the context menu.
In the External references in processings section of the menu you will find three options:
Body setting is the default value and means that the use of this external reference adapts to the setting of the part.
Do not use means that this external reference is not used, regardless of the settings of the part.
Use has the effect that this external reference is always used, regardless of the settings of the part.
In the Configuration Editor you can define whether the use of external references for newly created parts should generally be switched on or off.
External references are specially marked in the feature log. If a feature parameter contains an external reference that is used, this is indicated by a 
symbol. If external references are not used, the icon is greyed out (
).
| External references | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
Point option |
Mid point or end point of an edge, an edge, a centre of a circle etc., e.g. given at the placement point of a standard hole. |
|
|
Edge |
E.g. an edge that is filleted or around which a facet is rotated. |
|
|
Facet |
E.g. a facet that is rotated or to which a part is trimmed. |
|
|
Plane |
The plane can be an actual plane in a part, but also defined by three points or two straight edges. |
|
Sketch | Displayed on the sketch entry if the feature uses a sketch that contains external references. |
|
|
Part |
A different part. |
|
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