When you add a Part (see Add Part) to a Mechanism-Editor, you can edit the Part with the Part-Editor.

You use the Part-Editor to add or edit sketch-elements, geometric-constraints and dimensions to a Part.

See more: Why edit a Part.

A Part represents a rigid-body in your machine (and occasionally “virtual parts”).

Parts in MechDesigner are:

•Base-Parts : the fixed-frame that we add for you when you add a new Mechanism-Editor

•Parts : the Parts that you add to the model

Other Derived names for Parts are:

•Connecting-Part : a Part in a spatial mechanism

•Free, Completely-Free, not kinematically-defined, or not solved Part : a Part whose Mobility > 0

•Kinematically-defined, solved Part: a Part whose Mobility = 0 - your goal

•Motion-Part, Rocker, and Slider : a Part whose motion you control with a Motion-Dimension FB

The first time you edit a Part with the Part-Editor, you will see the:

•Graphics-area -  the workspace to add Geometry - sketch-elements and constraints - to the Part

•XY-Axes - on the Mechanism-Plane that define the Coordinate-System of the Part

•CAD-Line - is between the start-Point and end-Point of the Part (not the Base-Part)

•Dimension - the length of the CAD-Line and Part

•Name-tab - the name changes from the name of the Mechanism-Editor to the name of the Part

Note:

See also: How to start the Part-Editor and How to exit the Part-Editor

Geometry menu

Geometry menu : Add sketch-elements, constraints, and dimensions

When you show menus, the Geometry menu is above the graphics-area - menu above

The commands in the Geometry menu are in two toolbars:

•Geometry toolbar (left (<<) of workspace and graphics-area

To add sketch-elements and dimensions

•Constraints toolbar (right (>>) of workspace and graphics-area)

To add constraints to and between sketch-elements.