SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [50]
FIGURE 5.19
Setting up a Hinge mate
Belt/Chain
The Belt/Chain assembly feature is not technically a stand-alone mate type, but it uses mates to accomplish its task. You can use the Belt/Chain feature in two ways: to create relationships between sketch blocks or to create relations between parts. This feature also creates a sketch and a solid part representing the belt or chain. You can initiate the Belt/Chain function from a toolbar button on the Assembly toolbar or through the menus by choosing Insert⇒Assembly Feature⇒Belt/Chain.
Editing and Troubleshooting
You should become proficient with editing and troubleshooting assembly mates. If you are not comfortable with repairing and modifying mates, you may find assemblies frustrating to work with. However, once you master the techniques, you will be more confident and willing to experiment with assembly changes.
Editing existing mates
If you are editing just one mate, then you can simply right-click it and select Edit Feature (or if you are using Context Toolbars, left-click it and click the Edit Feature button). Remember that you can find mates in places other than the Mates folder at the bottom of the assembly FeatureManager; most notably, you can find them in folders under the parts that they are mating together.
You can also select View Mates from the RMB/LMB menu for a part in an assembly, and for multiple selections of parts. This brings up a small window that contains all the mates involving the selected parts.
You can make several types of changes to mates, including changing the selections, the mate types, and the mate alignment. These types of changes are all shown in Figure 5.20, which displays a mate being edited. The selected faces are highlighted in the graphics window.
FIGURE 5.20
Editing a mate
To edit multiple mates consecutively without exiting the Mate PropertyManager, it is best to pre-select the mates. Pre-selected mates are shown in the Mates panel in Figure 5.20. You can switch from editing one mate to another by simply selecting the new mate in the Mates panel. If you select only one mate before clicking Edit Feature, but realize later that you want to edit multiple mates, you can select more mates through the FeatureManager.
When mate entities are lost, the mate appears grayed out, as shown in Figure 5.21. Also shown is a mate that cannot be resolved — for example, a face coincident to two points separated in space. You can repair the missing reference problem by selecting the Invalid reference in the Mate Selections window and then selecting the correct item from the graphics window.
The yellow triangle is a warning symbol that shows that a mate is satisfied, but it is in conflict with another mate that is not satisfied.
FIGURE 5.21
Repairing mates with missing references
Troubleshooting assembly mates
It is best to troubleshoot an assembly mate problem as soon as it appears, and not after it has become complicated by other issues. Failed mates also cause performance problems because SolidWorks keeps trying to solve the mates that are in conflict with one another.
Assembly problems often appear to be far larger than they actually are. For example, the entire tree may light up with warnings and error symbols when one extra mate is applied. You can use several approaches to troubleshoot situations like this. For example, you can purposely over-define mates just to locate a leftover mate or a mate that is not supposed to be there.
Two types of symbols may help you distinguish the kinds of errors that are present in different mate features. The yellow triangle that contains an exclamation point is not an error; it is actually more of a warning. It tells you that this mate is in conflict with other mates (this symbol is used for a variety of warnings), but that the mate is still satisfied. One of the other mates with which it conflicts is probably not valid, and so this type of warning is usually accompanied by an actual error symbol where