AnsweredAssumed Answered

Concentric/Rotation Lock Does Not Work

Question asked by Iain Hendry on Jan 7, 2014
Latest reply on Sep 20, 2017 by Austin Broeker

Like • Show 0 Likes0
Comment • 13

SolidWorks 2014 introduced something I've been wishing for, for years; rotation lock on concentric mates.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work - no matter what combination of checking and unchecking I do of the "lock rotation" checkbox, the mate does not constrain the parts as it should and they still show up underdefined ( - ) in my feature tree. That is to say, it functions simply as the "old" Concentric mate would have, and I have to add a third parallel mate to a pin or fitting, for example, to constrain it fully.

Can anyone else confirm they are having trouble with this? If not, I'll retrace my steps and make some screenshots or videos.

Cheers,

-Iain

No one else has this question

Outcomes

13 Replies

Jim Sculley Jan 7, 2014 11:38 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
It is working fine for me in SW 2014 SP0 x64, Windows 7. When locked, the parts do not rotate relative to each other and the icon for the concentric mate in the feature tree has a 'filled in' center:

Jim S.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
- Iain Hendry @ Jim Sculley on Jan 7, 2014 3:19 PM
  Mark Correct
  Correct Answer
  I found the glitch. I never use Show Preview*. When I checked this option to test functionality, suddenly the Rotation Lock functioned as intended.
  
  * - I do not use Show Preview, as I like to drag several components close to one another, add many mates in a frantic clicking session all at once, hit Accept, and everything snaps perfectly into place. Show Preview forces the parts to jump away after each mate is added, and I hate that.
  
  So, this is definitely a bug, it's reproducable by toggling the Show Preview option.
  
  -Iain
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
  Actions
  - Jerry Steiger @ Iain Hendry on Jan 14, 2014 2:32 PM
    Mark Correct
    Correct Answer
    Iain,
    
    As a work-around, can you click on "Show preview" when you add your last mate?
    
    Jerry S.
    Like • Show 0 Likes0
    Actions
    - Iain Hendry @ Jerry Steiger on Jan 17, 2014 6:31 AM
      Mark Correct
      Correct Answer
      Hi Jerry,
      
      Thanks for the suggestion - but unfortunately, that does not seem to work. Does the Lock Rotation function work properly on your installation when not using Show Preview?
      
      (I made a screen capture video but can't seem to upload it)
      
      -Iain
      Like • Show 0 Likes0
      Actions
      - Jerry Steiger @ Iain Hendry on Jan 17, 2014 3:39 PM
        Mark Correct
        Correct Answer
        Iain,
        
        Can't tell, still running SW2010.
        
        Jerry S.
        Like • Show 0 Likes0
        Actions
      - Anna Wood @ Iain Hendry on Jan 17, 2014 11:15 PM
        Mark Correct
        Correct Answer
        Iain,
        
        If you think it is a bug get with your VAR and report it. If they confirm it is a bug they can get an SPR so it can get in the queue to be fixed.
        
        Cheers,
        
        Anna
        Like • Show 0 Likes0
        Actions
  - Adrian Ilie @ Iain Hendry on Jan 18, 2014 7:40 AM
    Mark Correct
    Correct Answer
    Iain,
    
    As per Help file:
    Show preview. When selected, a preview of a mate occurs when you make enough selections for a valid mate.
    
    If this option is unchecked, you can see the Mate after press OK in PropertyManager (and close Mate PM). I don't see any bug here.
    
    Thanks,
    Adrian
    Like • Show 0 Likes0
    Actions
    - Iain Hendry @ Adrian Ilie on Jan 20, 2014 8:24 AM
      Mark Correct
      Correct Answer
      I concur. That is not where the problem is.
      
      If I do not have Show Preview selected, then when I am done adding the mates, the Concentric mate with Lock Rotation does not in fact lock the rotation. The part is still left able to rotate and shows up as undefined ( - ) on the tree.
      
      This is definitely a bug because if I select "Show Preview" and perform the same actions, the Concentric mate with Lock Rotation funtions as intended. See below.
      
      -Iain
      Like • Show 0 Likes0
      Actions
      - Adrian Ilie @ Iain Hendry on Jan 20, 2014 8:32 AM
        Mark Correct
        Correct Answer
        Yes, I can see what you mean now, and I agree with you: this is a bug.
        
        Thanks,
        Adrian
        Like • Show 0 Likes0
        Actions
Steve Calvert Jan 20, 2014 8:51 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Iain, are you trying to lock hardware from rotating?

I've always been wondering why so many have a hard-on for this feature. It's just one more mate that SW has to solve before I can work on my assembly. I couild care less is my 20 or so screws can rotate. I could care less that I have a sign next to my components.

Steve Calvert
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
- Iain Hendry @ Steve Calvert on Jan 20, 2014 9:01 AM
  Mark Correct
  Correct Answer
  Ah, we agree. I also could care less, because I do care some amount to begin with. ("couldn't care less" is the phrase you're looking for)
  
  When working colaboratively on a project it is important to understand where other people have "left off" - if I see stuff undefined/floating on the tree, how do I know that they've taken the time to fully position each component? How do I know/remember when worknig on assemblies with thousands of parts if I'm done wtih a particlar section? Drawings with baloons attached to surfaces or edges of features will go screwy if someone goes in and rotates a non-fully defined component.
  
  Etc., etc., etc.
  
  Everyone designs a different way; I'm OCD about having everything locked down so I know where stuff is. If you're fine with stuff flapping in the wind, then so be it. That's not the point of this discussion; it's to point out that there's a function in SolidWorks that is not functioning as intended.
  
  -Iain
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
  Actions
  - Steve Calvert @ Iain Hendry on Jan 20, 2014 9:19 AM
    Mark Correct
    Correct Answer
    The point of my comment was to wonder why so many THINK that having the sign there is bad. Most of the time (most being the key word in the phrase) it's just a piece of hardware. That piece of hardware with two mates is just fine MOST of the time. Two mates for each piece of hardware takes time to solve. Three mates for each piece of hardware takes even longer to solve.
    
    We have grown to "want" everything in out lives. We demand perfection from everything. Look at some of the "wants" in the voting for the top ten lists.
    
    I have users all around the world and we have an understanding - a CAD direction. WE know why things are done the way they are done. Teach others...
    Like • Show 0 Likes0
    Actions
Austin Broeker Sep 20, 2017 11:26 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
I know this is an old thread, but for what it's worth I've seen this type of behavior quite a bit (especially in larger assemblies). I've also had locked concentric mates that were fully defined suddenly become undefined after adding more mates to the assembly. My solution has always been to do a full rebuild (CTRL+Q), which seems to redefine everything again. CTRL+Q seems to fix a lot of random quirks like this, and I use it so often that I've created a macro for it and added it to my mouse gestures.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions

Concentric/Rotation Lock Does Not Work

Outcomes

Related Content

Recommended Content