[Zabco]

Assemblies in Alibre can be one of the more frustrating things to do in that program. If two parts are off by only the smallest fraction of an angle, they won't go together. If two holes are out of alignment by as much as half the thickness of the hair on fly's ***, they cant be made concentric. Absolutely no more than three constraints on any component. Always anchor one of the first components you add, otherwise you chase components all over the screen. You can add constraints between components and planes or axis lines as well as other components. With constructions that have a lot of components make small sub-assemblies and then assemble the sub-assemblies. Sometimes you just have to try a number of different constraint configurations to find one that works.

The real nice feature of assemblies is that you can edit individual parts, or create new parts, from within the assembly. For example in the assembly you posted, if you want to add a cross member to your frame you can create the cross member, put it in position where you want it and then edit the frame rail to put the mounting holes to match the location of the holes in the new cross member. When you save the assembly the cross member will be saved as a new part file and the frame file will be updated with the new holes. FM

Have fun.