Chapter 7: Using Assembly Tools
In This Chapter
Assembling without mates Interfering options Using AssemblyXpert Defeaturing in assemblies Using sensors Aligning holes Working with large assemblies
SolidWorks assemblies enable you to take advantage of several tools in addition to the standard and best-known functionality. The tools covered in this chapter didn't fit into other chapter headings easily, but deserved significant coverage.
Placing Parts without Mates
Assembly mates are great tools, but they aren't the only tools for placing parts in an assembly. Sometimes you might need to place parts without applying a mate, such as when you are setting up an animation, and the mate would prevent the animation from working correctly. You might also want to place a part and allow motion of the part it is placed relative to, while making sure the actual part remains stationary.
The use of these tools opens up best practice questions about fully defined parts in the assembly. Sometimes that gold standard is difficult to achieve. As counterintuitive as it may seem, the easiest way to deal with mates that are difficult to complete because parts keep moving around is to build the assembly without mates. This idea will not appeal to all users, but if parts do not have any relationships to one another, then moving one part cannot set off a chain reaction of parts moving around the screen.
In a perfect world, assembly mates are well controlled and easy to understand. But in reality, sometimes ...
