SmartMates Overview
The SmartMates functionality
saves time by allowing you to create commonly-used mates without using
the Mate PropertyManager.
SmartMates Procedures
Desired Mate Action |
What to Do |
Mate two components already in the assembly. |
Press Alt and drag the face
of one part onto the face of another. (See Types of SmartMate for
details.)
|
Mate a new component while adding
it to the assembly. |
Drag a part from another window
onto another part in the assembly. (See Types of SmartMate for
details.)
|
Fully mate a commonly-used component
while inserting it in the assembly. |
Drag a part with
mate references from Windows Explorer or the Design Library
into the assembly. This method can fully mate a new component, but you
must set up mate references beforehand. |
Types of SmartMates
The mates added by the SolidWorks application depend on the
situation.
In most cases, the application
creates one mate. The type
of SmartMate created depends on the geometry used to drag the
component, and the type of geometry onto which you drop the component.
The application creates multiple
mates under certain conditions:
If the application finds
circular edges to mate, it creates a peg-in-hole SmartMate.
If the application finds
circular edges and a circular pattern that matches on both components,
in addition to the peg-in-hole SmartMate, it adds a concentric mate to
line
up the patterns on flanges ( useful for pipe fittings).
Mate References
For parts that you typically mate the same way every time,
you can set up Mate
References to define the mates used and the part geometry being
mated.