Make Bodies/Components Unselectable

Visible stock and workholding models can help visualize what will eventually happen in the machine, but can also complicate CAM selections. More bodies in the canvas mean more stock and workholding features to accidentally select. One method is to long click to open the Select Other menu, but that gets old quick. This is where Selectable/Unselectable comes in. In the Model Workspace, right click on the Body or Component that you want to make unselectable and click Selectable/Unselectable in the right-click menu. In this case I’ll do my work-holding subassembly and stock body. This will add a little red no symbol to the icon, and now that body or component will not be selectable.

Note that making this change flags all toolpaths with the red warning symbol. I would recommend making this change early when there are fewer toolpaths to regenerate. Check out the full video linked below to see this tip in action.

I’m sure there are even more applications outside of CAM. Let me know how you see yourself using this tip in the comments!

Cheers!