What is Make Independent in SOLIDWORKS?

The Make Independent feature in SOLIDWORKS has been around for years. It's a very helpful tool when you need to separate individual instances of components in an assembly.

Sometimes, you bring in several instances of a part for use in an assembly but then discover that one or more of those instances actually need to be modified and saved as a new part. That exercise was possible before. However, it involved several steps, and not everyone was comfortable with the process. And, if you're like me, the easier and faster it is to do simple tasks, the better!

Using Make Independent in SOLIDWORKS allows you to save one or more component instances as a new file from within an assembly. The assembly points to the new file for those instances only; other unselected component instances in the assembly still point to the original file.

How to Use Make Independent in SOLIDWORKS

 Here are 4 easy steps to save one or more component instances as a new file using Make Independent.

Step 1: In an assembly, in the graphics area or FeatureManager Design Tree, right-click a component or CTRL + select multiple components and click Make Independent. 

Step 2: In the dialog box, click OK when asked to save the component with a new name. I chose Arrow_&.sldprt.

Step 3: In the Save As dialog box, type a name and click Save. For this example, I chose Arrow_&.sldprt and created Arrow2BLOG.sldprt.

Step 4: The new component (ArrowBLOG2) is the chosen reference in the assembly for each instance you selected.

Open the new part externally or within the context of the assembly and make your changes. In this case, I added our company name to the dart.

Save and close your part and notice the updated assembly.

You can save component instances as new files for virtual and envelope components. You cannot save instances of patterned components as new files. 

I hope you found this article explaining the SOLIDWORKS Make Independent feature helpful. Check out more tips and tricks listed below. Additionally, join the GoEngineer Community to participate in the conversation, create forum posts, and answer questions from other SOLIDWORKS users. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in November 2015 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

More SOLIDWORKS Tutorials

SOLIDWORKS Fixed vs Floating Components

How to Create Text Around a Circle in SOLIDWORKS

Work Smart with SOLIDWORKS Smart Components

SOLIDWORKS Costing: Sheet Metal Parts

SOLIDWORKS Unabsorb Sketches Explained

VIEW ALL SOLIDWORKS TUTORIALS