A hinge mate limits the movement between two components to one rotational degree of freedom. It has the same effect as adding a concentric mate plus a coincident mate. You can also limit the angular movement between the two components.
Advantages of hinge mates:
-
When modeling, you need to apply only one mate, where otherwise you would have applied two.
- If you run an analysis (such as with SolidWorks Simulation), the reaction forces and results are associated with the hinge mate, not one particular concentric or coincident mate.
To add a hinge mate: