Component nesting

I know component nesting should be avoided, if possible, for many reasons.

Pretty sure the answer to this is No, but doesn’t hurt to ask: Is there a better way to do this without component nesting?

In my example below, “this” refers to using two 2x4s to create a leg. The 1st 2x4 is a component and the 2nd is just a copy of it. The leg component just has the two nested within it for ease of movement.

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If you want to be able to select the the leg as a unit then nesting them is fine. There’s really nothing wrong with nesting as long as it’s done correctly and makes sense for the model construction. Just don’t do things that make your work more difficult such as excessive nesting.

A blanket guideline to avoid component nesting seems too strict to me. I use nesting all the time in my models, but with fairly shallow depth - 2 to 3 levels commonly, 4 or 5 sometimes. I collect components into a nested component if there will be multiple copies of the assembly, or it just logically makes sense to me (e.g., a coaxial or multi-pin electrical connector composed of many pieces, even if the model will only have one such connector). Sometimes the ability to tag/layer various intermediate components factors into the decision for how to structure the hierarchy.