In my previous post we spoke about the importance of making successful copies for the parts and assemblies that are created from a Top Design technique like skeletal modelling.
The number one choice I would make is to do it with the Vault software that comes bundled with Inventor and the other Autodesk softwar available.
If you are not able to implement Autodesk Vault in your business, you do have options but in my opinion not as good as the Vault.
My second choice would be the iCopy design tool. You might hear the I in iCopy and think iLogic but it is not just for copying designs that have a little iLogic injected into them.
The fantastic thing about iCopy is that it will copy and leave no trace to the original part you were working on. If you have iLogic code inserted then it will also carry that over (if you wish) unlike the other copy design tools available.
One of the options I really do not favour, is the design assistant. I find this laborious and frankly confusing to use but if you want to give it a shot be my guest.
If you know the exact configurations that your assembly will have, you can also try out iAssemblies. This allows you to change settings and setup part names before hand.
This makes copying components very quick and easy when orders come in for a stock design you might have.
There is no one size fits all when it comes to copying designs in Inventor but between the different methods that Inventor has you will always be able to find a way.