Explaining Mechanical Block Properties in BricsCAD Mechanical

Quick answer: Mechanical blocks and their context menus live in the Mechanical Browser panel; right-click a block to open its context menu, and its properties display automatically once you select one or more blocks. Mechanical blocks fall into three categories: Main, Insert, and Sub-mechanical block.

Mechanical Block Icon Types

Six distinct icon types display across Rendered, Wireframe, and Hidden visual styles: mechanical blocks without sub-blocks, mechanical block assemblies (with sub-blocks), standard part mechanical blocks, mechanical block external references, mechanical block assembly external references, and mechanical entities (which display the same icon regardless of visual style). External mechanical blocks carry a small green arrow marker to distinguish them.

The Main Mechanical Block Context Menu

Right-click the main mechanical block’s name for: Remove material from mechanical block; Update (refreshes the block hierarchy if referenced sub-block drawing files have changed); Visual Style > All by Viewport (SHADEMODE); Switch all to local (BMLOCALIZE); Switch all to external (BMEXTERNALIZE); Add new parameter; Custom properties (if per-instance property sets exist, a submenu lets you toggle which sets apply to the main block only, or choose Configure to open a dialog; otherwise the Mechanical Properties dialog opens directly); Select all / Select same; Highlight all / Highlight same; Create exploded view; Renumerate child nodes / Renumerate child nodes continuously (continuous numbering applies to top-level blocks only, sub-block numbering stays unchanged); Collapse all / Expand all.

The Mechanical Block Context Menu

Right-click any mechanical block’s name (external and local blocks show slightly different menus): Open (BMOPEN); Open a copy (BMOPENCOPY); Update (BMUPDATE); Replace (BMREPLACE, replacing a local insert turns it external); Replace all inserts (every insert sharing the same source, with the same turn-external behaviour); Switch to local (BMLOCALIZE) / Switch to external (BMEXTERNALIZE); Set material to mechanical block (local blocks only); Remove material from mechanical block (local blocks only); Mechanical block’s BOM status; Dissolve (BMDISSOLVE); Custom properties; Unlink, breaking the connection between a mechanical block insert (a window, for example) and a 3D solid (a wall, for example) while retaining the opening, confirming BMUNLINK exactly against this hub’s assembly design commands and tools page; Hide/Show; Make mechanical block standard/non-standard; Exclude all inserts from section (sets Sectionable to No, affecting VIEWSECTION); Visual Style (every style saved in the drawing, plus By parent mechanical block, rendering according to the parent’s shademode, and All by Viewport, rendering per the current viewport’s shademode); Zoom to; Select / Select all / Select same; Highlight all / Highlight same; Delete (removes the block and its sub-blocks); Renumerate similar nodes / Renumerate child nodes / Renumerate child nodes continuously; Collapse all / Expand all.

The Sub-Mechanical Block Context Menu

A narrower subset of the mechanical block menu above: Open / Open a copy; Hide/Show; Exclude all inserts from section; Visual Style; Zoom to; Select all / Select same; Highlight all / Highlight same; Renumerate similar nodes / Renumerate child nodes / Renumerate child nodes continuously; Collapse all / Expand all. Notably absent compared to the full mechanical block menu: Custom properties, Dissolve, Delete, Set/Remove material, and the standard/non-standard toggle.

The Parameter Context Menu

Right-click a parameter for: Link to parameter (links one or more mechanical block parameters to assembly parameters); Collapse all / Expand all.

Properties: Main Mechanical Block

Click the main mechanical block’s name for: Type; Name (defaults to the file name); Description; File (path and name); Extension type (Face Feature, BIM Component, or Sheet Metal Feature); Sectionable; Standard part; BOM status; Material (its Name, Density, and optional Description are defined in the Physical Materials dialog; click Browse to choose one from the Project or Central database, its Density feeds BMMASSPROP; click Clear material to set it to <Inherit>, so it copies from the assembly’s main block when inserted elsewhere); Custom properties (for all blocks, or the root block only, click Browse to configure); and Preferable direction (the preferred disassembly direction for automatic exploded views).

Properties: Mechanical Block Insert

Click a mechanical block’s name for: Type (Mechanical Block or Mechanical component); Name (defaults to the source file name); Mechanical block name (as defined in the source file); Description (as defined in the source file); Visible (Yes/No); Sectionable; Standard part; BOM status; Visual style (inherited from the viewport by default, changeable via dropdown); File (the referenced drawing’s path and name); Material (for top-level inserts, overridable per instance; <Inherit> copies from the main block, or uses whatever’s explicitly defined in the source file); Parameters (the insert’s own parameters); Custom properties (inherited from the corresponding block by default, overridable for top-level inserts); and Preferable direction.

Properties: Sub-Mechanical Block

Click a sub-mechanical block’s name for largely the same set: Type (the insert type); Name (as defined in the parent block’s source file); Mechanical block name; Description; Visible; Sectionable; Standard part; BOM status; Visual style; File; Material; Custom properties; and Preferable direction.

Selection Methods

Selecting mechanical block(s) in the model highlights them in the Mechanical Browser panel. Clicking a mechanical block in the panel selects it in the drawing; with Always synchronize selection enabled in the Mechanical browser options, this happens automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I break the link between a window insert and the wall it’s placed in, without losing the opening? Right-click the mechanical block and choose Unlink, confirming the same BMUNLINK behaviour covered on this hub’s assembly design commands and tools page.

What’s the difference between the mechanical block context menu and the sub-mechanical block context menu? The sub-mechanical block menu is a narrower subset, missing options like Custom properties, Dissolve, Delete, Set/Remove material, and the standard/non-standard toggle.

What happens if I click Clear material on a main mechanical block’s Material property? It sets the field to <Inherit>, so when the block gets inserted into an assembly, its material copies from that assembly’s main block instead.

Does clicking a mechanical block in the panel always select it in the drawing automatically? Only if Always synchronize selection is enabled in the Mechanical browser options; otherwise it just selects the block within the panel itself.