SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [111]
Reattaching mates can be tricky. If the two parts are similar in their topology (general layout of model faces), then the automatic reattachment will probably work. If the mates cannot be reattached automatically, you are presented with the interface shown in Figure 13.14. This interface shows each of the mates that cannot be reattached automatically, with a small window showing the equivalent face on the old part. It is asking you to select a face on the new part that matches the highlighted face on the old part to repair each mate.
FIGURE 13.14
Reattaching mates by selecting indicated faces on the replacement part
This is a fairly easy process to go through, and certainly better than deleting the original part, reinserting the part, and recreating mates.
Forming and dissolving subassemblies
When you initially create an assembly, you may not always know exactly how you want to organize it. Assemblies can serve many purposes, such as for motion, analysis, rendering, assembly instructions, inspection, or a BOM. The structure of each type of assembly with subassemblies might be very different. Thus, SolidWorks needs to be flexible in allowing you to change the structure on the fly, again without the wasted effort of deleting and recreating data.
To create a new subassembly within an existing top-level assembly, select a set of components through appropriate selection methods (advanced select, Ctrl+select, window select, and so on), then right-click and select Form New Subassembly Here. When the new subassembly is first created, SolidWorks just moves the selected components into the subassembly without any fanfare. The new subassembly is created as a virtual component, so it is just saved within the top-level assembly. If you want to immediately save the new subassembly (named in a format similar to [Assem1^Bike] where Bike is the name of the top-level assembly), right-click the new assembly and select Save Assembly (in External File) from the menu.
Moving parts in and out of subassemblies
If you have an existing subassembly, and you want to add to it or remove parts from it, you can drag the component name in the FeatureManager to accomplish this. To drag a part into the subassembly, drag the filename onto the name of the subassembly. You see the special cursor shown in Figure 13.15.
FIGURE 13.15
Adding the BB part to the virtual component subassembly Assem2^Bike
In the example shown in Figure 13.15, the Bottom Bracket part (BB) is being added to the virtual component subassembly Assem2^Bike. The virtual component has not been named yet, but it will be the top-level crankset assembly, with the left and right cranks, chain rings, and bottom bracket.
If you want to move a part out of a subassembly into an upper-level assembly, you have to drag the filename from its spot in the subassembly onto the name of the top-level assembly. If you just drag the part above the subassembly, SolidWorks may think you are trying to reorder the display of the name within the assembly FeatureManager. Remember that different symbols exist for moving parts up or down the subassembly hierarchy and reordering parts in the FeatureManager.
Moving mates from an assembly to a subassembly
Sometimes when you move a part into or out of an assembly, SolidWorks requires that you also need to move mates or destroy certain in-context relationships. If SolidWorks displays a message that it has to move mates to another level or that it will have to break some external references, you need to read the message carefully and try to determine whether you can live with the conditions mentioned in the message. You may not be able to easily undo these actions once they are complete. A typical message is shown in Figure 13.16. Losing all of the in-context relations in a particular sketch could mean a lot of repair work, so