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Indent feature breaking mates

Question asked by Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018
Latest reply on Jun 1, 2018 by Matt Peneguy

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I have an assembly where this blue brown slab protrudes into the purple body. It insists I have a clearance when I cut it out and I actually need some sort of clearance when the parts are injection moulded in plastic. So I have mated the parts, indented them with a little clearance, and then mated them again. I am a bit worried that moving them for the second mate will cause a 'second cut'. I have also got the clearance wrong and would like to expand it which will break a hundred mates all over again. I don't know what the correct procedure is for that. Any help welcome!

Also how would you line that brown face up with bright purple face in an assembly?

Huge thanks.

Glenn Schroeder Jun 1, 2018 9:48 AM

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Piers Newberry wrote:

Okay thanks for the reply, but I really couldn't find a mate that wouldn't be affected eg broken by the indent command though due to the added clearance. I wish there was some Fix command or something rather than having touching edges etc.

There is. If a component is in the position you want it you can right-click on it in the feature tree and choose "Fix" from the drop-down, or use the Lock mate.

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Glenn Schroeder Jun 1, 2018 8:01 AM

It's a little difficult to follow what you're doing from the one screenshot, but you said "So I have mated the parts, indented them with a little clearance, and then mated them again." Don't do that. Mate components completely in their final position before using the Indent feature. After doing that if you still need help be sure to reply back.

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Piers Newberry @ Glenn Schroeder on Jun 1, 2018 8:29 AM

So the faces are mated in the assembly (there is one edge to edge and point to point per piece) and because I indented with clearance the mates are broken because the edges and points move, so it needed to be mated again because the clearance pulled the mated surfaces apart. It actually seems impossible to mate these parts without having indent break the mates when it is applied. This is the weird thing having an assembly with parts which cannot be mated due the clearance.

Unless I guess I can send the model to the injection moulders with broken mates??

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Matt Peneguy @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 8:43 AM

Piers Newberry,

the mates are broken because the edges and points move, so it needed to be mated again because the clearance pulled the mated surfaces apart.

No, the edges and points have disappeared and the original mates lose their reference. You are not "moving" these edges, faces and points when you use indent, you are removing them and creating new ones. This is a fundamental issue that needs to be understood to produce robust models in SW.

If what I have stated isn't clear, please follow-up. If you go about things the way you currently are doing things, I can guarantee you will have problems later.

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Piers Newberry @ Matt Peneguy on Jun 1, 2018 9:08 AM

Yes correctly I have destroyed the original edges and points and have created new ones. However when I remate the pieces they then move again - does this actually cause any problems in that the indent is recalculated and more clearance gap is cut away?

Could I also ask whether this method is standard or do people do something else aside from mate, indent, remate. Thanks.

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Glenn Schroeder @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 9:30 AM

Piers Newberry wrote:

Yes correctly I have destroyed the original edges and points and have created new ones. However when I remate the pieces they then move again - does this actually cause any problems in that the indent is recalculated and more clearance gap is cut away?

Could I also ask whether this method is standard or do people do something else aside from mate, indent, remate. Thanks.

The reason I said above to not do that is because every time you move a component after using the Indent command it will change the Indent to match the new position. So to answer your question, you're the first person I've ever heard of that used that workflow. If you need to use one component to remove material from another one, then completely mate them first, so they won't move. When you mate them don't use edges, vertices, faces, etc that will be removed by the Indent command. Then, when both components are fully mated and won't move, do the Indent.

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Piers Newberry @ Glenn Schroeder on Jun 1, 2018 9:42 AM

Okay thanks for the reply, but I really couldn't find a mate that wouldn't be affected eg broken by the indent command though due to the added clearance. I wish there was some Fix command or something rather than having touching edges etc.

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Glenn Schroeder @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 9:48 AM

Piers Newberry wrote:

Okay thanks for the reply, but I really couldn't find a mate that wouldn't be affected eg broken by the indent command though due to the added clearance. I wish there was some Fix command or something rather than having touching edges etc.

There is. If a component is in the position you want it you can right-click on it in the feature tree and choose "Fix" from the drop-down, or use the Lock mate.

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Piers Newberry @ Glenn Schroeder on Jun 1, 2018 9:58 AM

Thanks Glenn - that seems to be the correct procedure then in this instance.

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Matt Peneguy @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 10:51 AM

The other thing you can do is to mate both part origins to the assembly origin. That's how I do all of my stuff.

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9 Replies

Glenn Schroeder Jun 1, 2018 8:01 AM
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Correct Answer
It's a little difficult to follow what you're doing from the one screenshot, but you said "So I have mated the parts, indented them with a little clearance, and then mated them again." Don't do that. Mate components completely in their final position before using the Indent feature. After doing that if you still need help be sure to reply back.
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- Piers Newberry @ Glenn Schroeder on Jun 1, 2018 8:29 AM
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  So the faces are mated in the assembly (there is one edge to edge and point to point per piece) and because I indented with clearance the mates are broken because the edges and points move, so it needed to be mated again because the clearance pulled the mated surfaces apart. It actually seems impossible to mate these parts without having indent break the mates when it is applied. This is the weird thing having an assembly with parts which cannot be mated due the clearance.
  
  Unless I guess I can send the model to the injection moulders with broken mates??
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  - Matt Peneguy @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 8:43 AM
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    Piers Newberry,
    
    the mates are broken because the edges and points move, so it needed to be mated again because the clearance pulled the mated surfaces apart.
    No, the edges and points have disappeared and the original mates lose their reference. You are not "moving" these edges, faces and points when you use indent, you are removing them and creating new ones. This is a fundamental issue that needs to be understood to produce robust models in SW.
    If what I have stated isn't clear, please follow-up. If you go about things the way you currently are doing things, I can guarantee you will have problems later.
    Like • Show 1 Like1
    Actions
    - Piers Newberry @ Matt Peneguy on Jun 1, 2018 9:08 AM
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      Yes correctly I have destroyed the original edges and points and have created new ones. However when I remate the pieces they then move again - does this actually cause any problems in that the indent is recalculated and more clearance gap is cut away?
      
      Could I also ask whether this method is standard or do people do something else aside from mate, indent, remate. Thanks.
      Like • Show 1 Like1
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      - Glenn Schroeder @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 9:30 AM
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        Correct Answer
        Piers Newberry wrote:
        
        Yes correctly I have destroyed the original edges and points and have created new ones. However when I remate the pieces they then move again - does this actually cause any problems in that the indent is recalculated and more clearance gap is cut away?
        
        Could I also ask whether this method is standard or do people do something else aside from mate, indent, remate. Thanks.
        
        The reason I said above to not do that is because every time you move a component after using the Indent command it will change the Indent to match the new position. So to answer your question, you're the first person I've ever heard of that used that workflow. If you need to use one component to remove material from another one, then completely mate them first, so they won't move. When you mate them don't use edges, vertices, faces, etc that will be removed by the Indent command. Then, when both components are fully mated and won't move, do the Indent.
        Like • Show 1 Like1
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        Piers Newberry @ Glenn Schroeder on Jun 1, 2018 9:42 AM
        Mark Correct
        Correct Answer
        Okay thanks for the reply, but I really couldn't find a mate that wouldn't be affected eg broken by the indent command though due to the added clearance. I wish there was some Fix command or something rather than having touching edges etc.
        Like • Show 1 Like1
        Actions
        Glenn Schroeder @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 9:48 AM
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        Piers Newberry wrote:
        
        Okay thanks for the reply, but I really couldn't find a mate that wouldn't be affected eg broken by the indent command though due to the added clearance. I wish there was some Fix command or something rather than having touching edges etc.
        
        There is. If a component is in the position you want it you can right-click on it in the feature tree and choose "Fix" from the drop-down, or use the Lock mate.
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        Piers Newberry @ Glenn Schroeder on Jun 1, 2018 9:58 AM
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        Thanks Glenn - that seems to be the correct procedure then in this instance.
        Like • Show 1 Like1
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        Matt Peneguy @ Piers Newberry on Jun 1, 2018 10:51 AM
        Mark Correct
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        The other thing you can do is to mate both part origins to the assembly origin. That's how I do all of my stuff.
        Like • Show 1 Like1
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