SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [80]
The workflow to mirror components in the assembly has three steps, as shown in Figure 9.4:
1. Selections. Select the parts and subassemblies that you want to mirror, along with the plane about which you want to mirror the components.
2. Set Orientation. Identify the components that need to have opposite-hand versions, and for the others, you can toggle through the available options for placement.
3. Opposite Hand Versions. For the parts that need opposite-hand versions, you can assign them to use new parts or derived configurations.
The first step should be self-explanatory. Just make selections of parts and the plane as you would in other situations. You move between the steps by clicking the arrows in blue circles in the upper-right corner of the Mirror Components PropertyManager.
Setting the orientation
The second step requires some explanation. In the PropertyManager labeled Step 2: Set Orientation (see Figure 9.4), notice that there are some mirror symbols (small bell shapes) in front of the BrakeLeverAssembly and BrakeMountBibleBike selections in the Orient Components panel. This means that these documents need to have mirrored instances. You control this option by selecting the part or assembly in the Orient Components list box, and then clicking the Create Opposite Hand Version button at the bottom of the PropertyManager.
Another part of this second step is to correctly orient those parts that do not require an opposite-hand version. To do this, select a part in the Orient Components list box, such as the GripsBibleBike part, and click through the double arrows just below the selection box. In Figure 9.4, the message, “3 of 4,” is grayed out because a part that requires an opposite hand is selected. When you click the arrows, the part repositions in another possible mirrored position and orientation.
Creating opposite-hand versions
In the third step, in the Opposite Hand Versions panel of the PropertyManager, only the documents that need to be changed are listed. In this case, the brake lever assembly is made of two parts: the lever part can be used in both left- and right-hand versions, but the mount must have two different versions of the part. This means the assembly must also have two versions.
FIGURE 9.4
Mirroring components of an assembly with the Mirror Components tool
This Mirror Components functionality is fantastic, involving a well thought-out process. To make the mirrored versions, you have the option to create new files or to create a derived configuration within the existing files.
As you are setting up these options, SolidWorks displays a preview of the result in the graphics window. The preview parts are transparent and may be a pale yellow (you may want to change them to a darker orange color at Tools⇒Options⇒Colors⇒Temporary Graphics, Shaded). You can see how the parts are oriented and can immediately fix any problems that arise. With larger assemblies and larger sets of mirrored components, the visualization may be more difficult, but the process demonstrated here on these parts works and gives a complete set of options as you work through the process of mirroring parts and assemblies within the top-level assembly.
Completing the task
When you are done with the task, you can click the green check mark icon. In this case, SolidWorks displays a message that one of the mates in the mirrored assembly could not be duplicated, as shown in Figure 9.5. After testing the motion of the fork linkage, this missing mate does not appear to affect the assembly.
FIGURE 9.5
A mate is not created as the mirroring task is completed.
On the DVD
The files for the fork and handlebar assembly are on the DVD in the Pattern and Mirror folder.
The Mirror Component feature leaves a marker in the assembly FeatureManager after the Mates folder. In Figure 9.6, notice that the BrakeLeverAssembly and BrakeMountBibleBike documents use a MirrorDefault