How to setup a multi file project

Support Basics & Interface
1

Hi,

In short my question is: How to setup a multi file project.

What I’ve done so far is create a nice set of wheels in one blend file. Each wheel consists out of multiple objects (tire, rim, spokes and hub). All of which are children of an empty. This for easy scale, position and rotation manipulation. These wheels need of course to be placed in the frame of a motor bike. I was intending to design the frame in a separate blend file and put them together in a third.

When thinking of this setup I was presuming that when I would link the empty (the parent of the different meshes) its children would be included to. Can I do this without having to combine the different meshes into one?

Besides this how do I append/link a mesh in to a blend file, while still beable to scale and move it around. This all withoud losing the ability to change the material in the source file and see the result on the linked object.

For instance I have a blend file with nuts and bolts. They don’t have a material jet and have one default size/position. In an other blend file the bolts are used in similar setup as with the wheels. They are to be used on different positions and in different sizes. All should be given the same material. I’d rather not have to do this by selecting all of them one by one. I prefer to change the material in the “source” blend file and see the change on all “applied” bolts.

If there is a way to reach the same result but by starting out differently please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your reply,

Bart

Attachments

Back_and_front_wheel.png799×522 230 KB

2

If I understand your question correctly, I think Library linking will do the trick.

Lets say you have 2 blend files. In one, you have your parts and in the other you have your destination motor bike. In the original file, you would add each object to a Group. Import these groups from the original file into your destination file but click the “Link” button on the bottom header of the “Append or Link” window.

Now you can add group instances of these objects all around your scene. But the cool thing is that if you go back to the original file and change an object, in the destination file all the instances of the linked groups will be updated!

I hope I explained this clearly enough and I hope it helps. Happy New Year :slight_smile:

3

Robo3Dguy,

Thank you very much. This was indeed exactly what I needed to know! :slight_smile:
A happy “blending” new year to you to!