(Yesterday, 5:44)SNIPE Wrote: Can't LDRAW have such helper parts but where you can bend several of them in different ways yet still just have them instancing a single submodel? when I place this part in a new project and bend it, it also modifies the submodel itself instead of just the instance of it.
I'm sorry but I don't really understand the problem unless you're talking about the "Bill Of Parts" aka BOM.
The templates are just that: a starting situation you COPY into your model as a submodel you then manipulate into the shape you need.
When you need another shaped one, you copy the template again in order to create a second submodel to shape.
BOM wise you can use LPubs substitution tools to let it show the unformed part in instructions part lists.
Also the LDCad path submodels offer a "Length constrains" table in the "Edit header"/Path dialog. This feature maps the resulting path into library parts.
But it will only work when correctly configured otherwise you're path might end up truncated.
But as far I know LPub does nothing with the information though.
The whole feature has never been fleshed outed inside LDCad itself ether as I kinda abandoned it thinking it was never needed.
Maybe I'll pick it up again in Beta 3.