×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Aligning a number of parts - how??

Aligning a number of parts - how??

Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
Maybe I should know this - but I don't:

Ok, if I have two parts in an assembly I can select a surface on each to line them up by using 'coincident' i.e. aligning the ends of two shafts.

What if there are more shafts, say 3 or ten even? From what I can see, you can only select two parts at a time to use the coincident mate. That means that at the moment I go through the numerous items, selecting them in pairs until the faces on each are all on a common plane. Tedious!

Somebody please tell me there is an easier way!

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

There is an easier way.

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
Thanks!  I feel better knowing that. smile

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
Please tell smile

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

One way could be "mate references" but that requires you to set up the parts for the mate.  Another method might involve assembly patterns.

I am curious what CBL suggests.  Because I know it is not as simple as selecting many faces and then applying a coincident mate.  That works for sketch relations... but not mates.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
Thanks CBL. Unfortunately none of those is simple or particularly easy.

All I want to do is select a face on more than two parts and get them to align to a common plane. I can't be the only one who needs that?

 

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
Thanks CBL - and everyone. I never knew!!

Selecting the faces BEFORE selecting the mate tool! I just knew it had to be easier than what I had been doing.

Thanks again.  

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

Quote:

Actually that's exactly what you can do ... sometimes. Just select the faces before activating the Mate tool

Excellent... when was that functionality added.  I know it was not there in 2006 ish.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

I have no idea when it was introduced. I only just found out before posting. smile

After playing around a bit more, I've found you don't need to pre-select the faces. but when I first tried, the Multi-mate icon wasn't available till I had pre-selected. Strange!

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
It aways amazes me how much of SolidWorks none of us know. There are always little tricks like this to be learned. You feel dumb asking the question but this is an example of when many get to learn something. I guess many others too, reading this now or at some future date.

I just love forums!  

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
OK, so it's a new day.

Just tried it again and can't now get it to work!!! Can't find that Multiple mates icon either. I'm confused. It worked perfectly last night.

I have even tried SWX 2010 and 2011 but both the same.  

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

My install is still OK (SW2011-SP2).

So, when opening the Mate Manager you don't see this?


What do you see if you pre-select some faces?

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

Yeah, Multimates is the way to go.  Select the electric paperclip, and the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com
Dan's Blog

RE: Aligning a number of parts - how??

(OP)
Happy again now!

Thanks again  big smile

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources