Mechanical assemblies.
(Also for conversion to/from LDD.)

File has to be hidden. Honestly I don't care about the conversion to LDD but I care about LDraw and if this shows up along with 32283c01 in the parts tree we confuse users.

These parts came to my attention because of LDD but the main problem is not with LDD.
They are mechanical assemblies: the axle must be free to rotate. These parts are exactly like the cow (or horse) body without head: the head needs to rotate on the cow body. So the two parts need to be separate... and, IMHO, visible.

I agree, they need to be visible, and we already have many similar "assemblies" in the library.

Some opinion on from my side.

Then this is very poor naming:

Motor Pull Back 4 x 9 x 2.333 Type 1 Body with Black Base
Motor Pull Back 4 x 9 x 2.333 Type 1 with Black Base

I miss something like "without Axle" in 32282c01.dat or "(Complete). Where is the HELP? You'll have to work out the differences between these two files 'cos at first glance they seem the same. Somehow a missing cow or horse head is a bit more notable than a white axle.

I'm not a fan of "without X". Anybody against adding "(Complete)" to the "most complete" assemblies?

I'll also add HELP sections...

Added HELP section.

Existing certification-votes were deleted.

I have to Hold vote this, but only because the other half of this assembly also need to be findable.
Please recycle u9063 and all other affected parts, and remove the ~ (tilde), making it hidden.

In fact, I have to agree with Willy. We shouldn't have to have these as findable "parts" in the library and partbins.
As a user I only want to find the complete assemby, and then choose to adjust the angle on any movable part included in that assembly.
It is doable for an experienced builder. All I have to do is to inline the assembly to find the right part, or sub-assembly, and adjust.
It is very easy to do this in LDD, add the assembly and then choose the rotation tool, on any movable part.

As a user I don't want to have to assemble the complete ldraw part, and then adjust a small part of it.
These sub-assemblies are not findable in LDD, so why should they be findable in ldraw?

At least now the file structure is good/better. I can inline the assembly and adjust the movable parts. And this makes the conversion from LDD work.

First, the subparts that make an assembly ARE findable in LDD. E.g. search 3617 and it shows the three assemblies 84637, 10679 and 73200 that use them. But I get that they aren't in the parts lists.

Then, you say it yourself: one needs to be a power user to "inline" an assembly. Not all editors make this simple. (Studio did it for a few assemblies, like minifig parts and 2429c01. Not perfect.)
So, either we hide these, and we make them only available to power users, and we hope the editors will find a way to simplify their use, or we show them and make them usable but confusing.
Any way this goes, it needs to apply consistently to all such assemblies.

Comment:
Added tilde to description in order to hide the part

Comment:
Corrected HELP matrix

Release 2025-02