Chapter 14
Getting More from Mates
Mates provide the glue that holds SolidWorks assemblies together. When properly handled, mates enable your assembly to react predictably to changes in parts in exactly the same way that sketch relations drive changes in part features. As a result, mates and sketch relations often have the same function and even the same weaknesses.
This chapter goes one step further with mates, by not simply putting parts together with Coincident and Concentric mates, but also mating parts when real-life situations such as tolerances, gaps, and symmetry become issues. You will also learn about the more advanced mate types that may be useful for special situations.
One of the assumptions made in this chapter is that assembly mates are not just used for positioning parts, but also for motion. Making motion work takes a little more than just establishing the right spatial relationship between parts; it usually also involves analyzing the open degrees of freedom.
