Finding the right Mates, mate ???? 4

[CorBlimeyLimey]

In a large assembly, a single part could end up having many mates. The mates used to locate the part are not always at the top of the mate list & it is often trial & error to find the mate(s) you want. I have sometimes suppressed all the parts below the part in question, so that the dependant mates also get suppressed, leaving a shorter list of mates to search. This can be a problem though when working with configurations with suppressed parts, as you have to remember which parts to resolve.
Anyone have any tips or better workarounds they use.

from Barrie, Ontario.

For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain
faq559-863

 

[JNR]

Go to the top of the feature tree and right click the top assembly. Select Show Dependencies (I believe it is still named that). Then when you expand the + next to a part or subassembly in the tree, it lists the mates instead of the file structure for that part. Note they are still listed en-mass under mategroup at the bottom as well.

John Richards Sr. Mech. Engr.
Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics

A hobbit's lifestyle sounds rather pleasant...... it's the hairy feet that turn me off.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

That what I normally do, but often there are many mates other than the ones used to originally place the part. Other parts can be mated to the part in question which can make a long list. I was looking for a way to make a short-list.

from Barrie, Ontario.

For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain
faq559-863

 

[MechEng13]

What about renaming the mates when you create them. This helps twofold. When you go back to look for what you did originally with the parts, and when someone else comes in to edit it down the road they can better follow your train of thought. I did that back in my SWX days and it was a tremendous help.



Alan M. Etzkorn
Product Engineer
Nixon Tool Co.

http://www.nixontool.com

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

MechEng13

Doh....Of course!!!!
I do that for almost everything else ... why didn't I think of that for mates?

Thanks.

from Barrie, Ontario.

For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain
faq559-863

 

[APPENG]

JNR has a good approach and that does work however it can at times clutter up the FeatureManager... what I normally do is this. If I am looking for the mates that affect a particular component. I will right-click on the component in the graphics area and select "View Mates", this will split the FM into two and on the bottom you will see the mates that relate to that component.

Renaming mates is a good idea... but a new recently new feature manager enhancement give us the ability to create folders in the mate group so we can group our mates together..

hope that helps,


Regards,
Jon
jgbena@yahoo.com

 

[alexsasdad]

This issue is just a side effect from having bi-directional mates. Renaming the mates is a very good tip. This is also a great tip when you have configurations that use different mates ar different values for distance mates.

 

[mncad]

Along with naming the mates you can also place them into folders to help organize all of them.

mncad

 

[SBaugh]

I would rename them as MechEng13 has p[ointed out then do a "View Dependencies" so the mate or mates are listed below each part or sub-assembly?

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[MElam]

You no longer need to do "view dependencies" in 2004. There is a "Mates in ..." folder directly under each part (expand the part) in the Feature manager.

 

[SBaugh]

That works but if you want to see the mates first and the features last then the View Dependecies works better. What I mean by that is if you turn on "View Dependencies" and expand the part you will see all the mates and a folder that contains all the features. So it really depends on how you want to view it.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[JNR]

APPENG - good call, I forgot about view mates. Hmmm... it's the old problem over again. As things get enhanced they get more complex with more ways to do essentailly the same thing - you just can't remember all of them if you are trying to use the system in combat. Only the support guys and trainer have time to do that.

John Richards Sr. Mech. Engr.
Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics

A hobbit's lifestyle sounds rather pleasant...... it's the hairy feet that turn me off.

 

[SBaugh]

Well John, I do Support here and I don't have anytime to do much since the release of SW04 .

,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[APPENG]

HAHAHAHA JNR!

I sooooo know what you mean about that! I learn new ways but still use the old in a lot of respects... have to force myself to use the new way! Guess Im an old dog!

BTW Im jealous of your job title! Myself being a pilot and HUGE aircraft afficianado. I just got an offer from Northrop but I would have to relocate and I cant on account of the children



Regards,
Jon
jgbena@yahoo.com

 

[Theophilus]

JNR,

I agree. I didn't know I could do this either. (Disadvantages with learning SW in '97. But there are also some good advantages to knowing work-arounds from that era.)

Very useful tips for huge assemblies with repetitive parts. Thanks all! Stars.




Jeff Mowry
Industrial Designhaus, LLC

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

 

[JNR]

Scott: I should have said only the support and training guys even have a chance of boning up on everything. Been there done that myself - I know what you mean. Everyone expects support to have ALL the answers at their fingertips. Eventually after you have researched and answered every user question imaginable and think you are getting ahead of the game - along comes the next rev!

Here's some advice I was once given. How to be the world's expert on anything. You just have to be a couple of pages ahead of everyone else in the textbook. If someone asks a question you can't answer, send em' off up a blind alley. By the time they figure out it is not correct and come back, you can look it up, answer it and calmly explain that you misunderstood their question!

I am not suggesting this is good practice of course.....

APPENG: Well, I used to be in weapons years ago so I guess I have gone from killing them to saving them. (Try a Google search on "Chevaline".) It's not a glamorous as you might think. Ours is a neat product though. It does give you the chills to read a pilot's log saying they hit a windshear at 300 feet on takeoff in a B727 cargo and our HGS (tm) guided them through it and on their way without a glitch. Not as spectacular as instantly laying waste to large areas of the world, or spraying indellible purple dye over a bunch of rioters from a safe distance or anything in between - but at least you can talk about what you do for a living without getting a visit from the boogie men.

Back to business: It would be nice if you could hover over a mate listing and it highlighted the mated geometry in the graphics area. Better still if you could select a part either in the tree or graphics area and it highlighted all its mating geometry - maybe I should put in for an enhancement.



John Richards Sr. Mech. Engr.
Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics

Forget rich and famous - I want to be rich and unknown.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

It would be nice if you could hover over a mate listing and it highlighted the mated geometry in the graphics area.
Actually it does! I've just realized that in SW04 it is much better than in SW03. When you hover on a mate, it highlights the parts edges & if you single click on the mate, the faces get highlighted. Much clearer than SW03.

Thanks everyone.

from Barrie, Ontario.

For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain
faq559-863

 

[JNR]

Seems like there is a lot of "what's new" that never got written up in the "what's new" manual!!!! (Apparently most of the "simple" but COOL stuff!). Perhaps the programmer types and tech-pubies thought they were insignificant. Maybe we need to line a few of 'em up behind a wall with the lawyers and get their attention?



John Richards Sr. Mech. Engr.
Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics

Forget rich and famous - I want to be rich and unknown.

 

[Arlin]

One more tip here:

If you select more than 1 component when viewing mates, all mates for each component will be shown with mates common to both selected components in bold.

 

[TheTick]

When there are a small number of key mates with dimensions driving assembly configurations, I'll put those dimensions into equations.

The reason for this is that it is easier for other useers to find the parameters in the equations list than to sift through the mates or design tables. Another plus is that it is an added safety against accidentally changing a critical dimension.

"Great ideas need landing gear as well as wings."--C. D. Jackson

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com