This tip will show you how to make a part or an assembly a reference component in an Autodesk Inventor assembly model. Those that worked on the board may remember how we showed reference parts with phantom lines.

Start by choosing a subassembly or part that you want to make into a reference in your model. (In this case I’m making my pump assembly reference.) Right-click the component, and select iProperties.



In the iProperties dialog box, select the Occurrence tab. Under BOM Structure, select the flyout and pick Reference. Your part is now a reference component and won’t show up on the BOM or parts list.





Open or create a drawing referencing the assembly we just modified. Notice how the 2D views represent the referenced component.



If you don’t want to see the referenced component that way — or you don’t want to see it at all — here is a tip to remedy that. Right-click the view and select Edit View.



In the Drawing view dialog box, select the Model State tab. Under Reference Data, select the desired line type you want the reference part to have. If you set it to Off, all reference parts will not be visible in your drawing view. If you set it to As Parts, the reference parts will appear as if they were not set to reference parts.



In the screen shot below I set the line style to Off, see results.



Note: This Inventor tip has not been reviewed by a Cadalyst tip reviewer.