Hinge Mates

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 or SOLIDWORKS Motion), the reaction forces and results are associated with the hinge mate, not one particular concentric or coincident mate. This reduces the negative effects of redundant mates on the analysis.

To add a hinge mate:

  1. Click Mate (Assembly toolbar) or Insert > Mate.
  2. In the PropertyManager, under Mechanical Mates, click Hinge mate-hinge.png Button.
  3. Make selections and set options under Mate Selections:
    • Concentric Selections . Select two entities. Valid selections are the same as for concentric mates.
    • Coincident Selections . Select two entities. Valid selections include a plane or planar face and:
      • Plane or planar face
      • Edge
      • Point


    • Specify angle limits. Select to limit the angular rotation between the two parts. Define the extent of rotation:
      • Angle Selections . Select two faces.

      • Angle. Specify the nominal angle between the two faces.
      • Maximum Value
      • Minimum Value
  4. Click .

    Hinge appears in the Mates folder in the FeatureManager design tree.

    To use Hinge Mates in a Motion Study, SOLIDWORKS Motion must be loaded.