I have an assembly. I am mating the parts. I have set numeric values for the distance in a coincident mate.
I want to be able to change the values based on values that I set in the assembly's equations.
I have assigned some Global Variables in the assembly's equations but I can't figure out how to replace the value that I have in the coincident mate with the global variable. How is this done?
I am using SW2012.
Hello Steve,
First of all, you referred several times to a coincident mate. I'm assuming that you mean a distance mate instead, since a coincident mate doesn't involve measurements. I don't want to sound like I'm nit-picking but that could create confusion for someone else reading this.
With that being said, you can link a distance mate dimension to a global variable, but not directly in the Mate command. First you will need to create the distance mate, entering some random numeral. I would recommend using one that's close to your global variable value, but it's probably not necessary. Close out the Mate command, expand the tree to find the Distance Mate, and click on it (or double-click, depending on whether you have Dynamic Highlight turned on) to display the dimension in the graphics area. Double-click on it. That should bring up the standard dimension box. You can highlight the existing dimension value, then type =. That should bring up a drop-down where you can select the appropriate global variable.
Thanks. That was very helpful. I was trying to assign the variable from the Edit Feature window of the mate but now that I know to assign the variables in the standard dimension box, that is the solution and easy to do. Excellent.
-- The point about the coincident mate being different than a distance mate was good to learn too. I thought distance was just a value for the coincident mate but now I realize that SW considers a Distance mate and Conicident mate two different things, in a sense.
Glad I could help. Starting with SW2013 equations can be added directly in some features, such as Linear Patterns.
Hello Steve,
First of all, you referred several times to a coincident mate. I'm assuming that you mean a distance mate instead, since a coincident mate doesn't involve measurements. I don't want to sound like I'm nit-picking but that could create confusion for someone else reading this.
With that being said, you can link a distance mate dimension to a global variable, but not directly in the Mate command. First you will need to create the distance mate, entering some random numeral. I would recommend using one that's close to your global variable value, but it's probably not necessary. Close out the Mate command, expand the tree to find the Distance Mate, and click on it (or double-click, depending on whether you have Dynamic Highlight turned on) to display the dimension in the graphics area. Double-click on it. That should bring up the standard dimension box. You can highlight the existing dimension value, then type =. That should bring up a drop-down where you can select the appropriate global variable.