Hi!

I need to be able to replace components with driveworks without failing mates. Since driveworks basically uses the internal replace component feature of Solidworks, i will try my luck here

I know that the easiest way to do this is by copying one of the parts i need to be able to replace, then delete the part, import one of the replacements, and save as a new file. This way, the int. ID will be the same. This is not an option for me (my employers dont have easy access to delete/add new SW files, only changing existing ones). I`ve heard that the 3 planes Front/Top/Right can be used for mates instead. I have a couple of questions to this:

1 - Will they need to have their original name?

2 - What if i name the front plane in one file A, and the right plane in another file A. Will they still be able to mate?

3 - I make 2 planes

PlaneA - 30mm offset from "Top" in file1

PlaneA - 50mm offset from "Top" in file2

Will these 2 planes be able to swap without ruining mates ?

  (In other words: can i use the 3 original planes to create a more extensive reference geometry for mating?)

I would GREATLY appreciate any insight

Thank you!