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Bulk Copy With Mates

Question asked by Damon Frashure on Mar 2, 2011
Latest reply on Mar 4, 2011 by Damon Frashure

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Hi there. Quick question. Is there a way to do a bulk copy with mates? I keep running into cases where I might have 50 or so parts - leveling jacks usually - that I'm putting into an assembly and it's getting tedious putting them all in by hand. Even using multi-mate, it seems like there has to be a better way. Has anyone seem a way, or developed a macro that would allow me to insert and mate one part (coincident, parallel, and concentric) and then copy it to new concentric mate locations? In an ideal world it would just repeat the coincident and parallel mates. Thanks in advance.

Wayne Tiffany Mar 2, 2011 8:39 PM

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Ok then, next idea. :-) What about using the Hole Wizard to put in the base holes and then use a Feature Driven Pattern to populate into all those locations?

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Scott McFadden Mar 2, 2011 12:38 PM
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Damon,
The closest you are going to come (short of a macro) is to insert one then pattern it.
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- Damon Frashure @ Scott McFadden on Mar 2, 2011 12:45 PM
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  Hi Scott,
  
  Thanks for the quick response. I guess I'll be looking for a macro then. Unfortunately because I have to dodge other components in the system, there isn't really a clean pattern I can use for it.
  
  Cheers
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  - Scott McFadden @ Damon Frashure on Mar 2, 2011 12:55 PM
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    Damon,
    Understood. If you can do a linear pattern then you can pick and choose
    point locations to remove and maybe this will give you more of what you are looking for.
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Paul Marsman Mar 2, 2011 12:51 PM
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Don't have a macro, but depending on your assembly you could do a component pattern. Or after doing the repeating mate(s) with multi-mate look into SmartMates.
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- Joe Boggs @ Paul Marsman on Mar 2, 2011 1:35 PM
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  Try this - combine all the parts in question into a single subassembly, with all the internal mates established. Then insert that subassembly into the top level assembly. That sigificantly decreases the number of mates required in the top level assembly. Then right click on the subassembly in the feature tree (not in the graphics area), and select Copy with Mates. The only mates you will have to deal with are those that relate the subassembly to the top level assembly. This works for me.
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Wayne Tiffany Mar 2, 2011 4:19 PM
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"...allow me to insert and mate one part (coincident, parallel, and concentric) and then copy it to new concentric mate locations?"

This is exactly what Copy with mates does for you. You pick the set that you want to copy, and then specify the mates in the new position that are not "internal" to the group of stuff that you are copying. I do it all the time with bolt/washer/washer/nut, etc.

WT
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- Damon Frashure @ Wayne Tiffany on Mar 2, 2011 4:26 PM
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  Hi Wayne,
  
  I'm using Copy With Mates now to do it also, but one at a time gets tedious. I was hoping for a way to do many copies at a time.
  
  Cheers
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  - Wayne Tiffany @ Damon Frashure on Mar 2, 2011 8:39 PM
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    Ok then, next idea. :-) What about using the Hole Wizard to put in the base holes and then use a Feature Driven Pattern to populate into all those locations?
    
    WT
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    - Damon Frashure @ Wayne Tiffany on Mar 3, 2011 12:55 PM
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      That'll be the trick. Now I just need to talk to manufacturing and see if they're cool with me modeling the holes in the assembly rather than the main weldment drawings. I tried to use a feature in the part itself to pattern from, but no dice.
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      - Wayne Tiffany @ Damon Frashure on Mar 3, 2011 5:25 PM
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        Something is not right if you find that you can't use a feature in a part. Here is an example of a pin dropped into an assy that has a sub-assy, and I used the feature in the part in the sub to populate at this upper level. Should work fine.
        
        WT
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        FeatureDrivenPattern example.zip184.9 KB
        FeatureDrivenPattern.png215.2 KB
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        Damon Frashure @ Wayne Tiffany on Mar 4, 2011 11:47 AM
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        Sometimes I don't like SolidWorks. At least when it doesn't play nice. Anyway, for whatever reason it works now. Thanks for all your help on this Wayne.
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Wayne Tiffany Mar 2, 2011 8:42 PM
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Annnnd, "In an ideal world it would just repeat the coincident and parallel mates." makes me think that if they are truely to the same entities, then in the Copy with Mates dialog you check the boxes for those mates and then just click on each concentric location.

WT
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- Damon Frashure @ Wayne Tiffany on Mar 3, 2011 11:52 AM
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  Hi Wayne,
  
  I haven't used feature driven pattern before, but I'll give it a try real quick. That could be the trick.
  
  As far as your second post, that's what I'm doing now. my thought was that with lots of peices to put in though it just gets tedious adding them individually.
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Bulk Copy With Mates

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