In this section, we will learn how to apply the width advanced mate. We will do that by fixing the width of the Inner Joint to the Outer Joint, as highlighted in the following diagram. All of the parts needed for this exercise are available for you to download with this section:
To generate this mate, follow these steps:
- Download all of the parts and assembly file linked with this part. Then, open the assembly file as a starting point.
- Select the Width mate by selecting the Mate command and then scrolling to the Advanced Mates option. Then, select the Width mate, as highlighted in the following screenshot:
- Once we select the mate, we will get more options to set it up. We can follow the selections highlighted in the following screenshot, which are as follows:
- Width selections: For this, we can select the outer boundaries for our width constraints. In this case, they are the inner surfaces of our outer joint.
- Tab selections: For this, we can select the inner boundaries for our width constraints. In this case, they are the outer surfaces of our inner joint.
- Constraint: This allows us to determine the relationship between our Width selections and our Tab selections. There are four options that we can put in the context of this example. Centered will make the inner joint centered in the space available between the outer joint boundaries. Free will allow the inner joint to move both sides within the boundaries of the outer joint. Dimension will allow us to set the inner joint to a certain distance from the boundaries of the outer joint. Percent is similar to Dimension; however, instead of setting a distance dimension, we can set a percentage. In this exercise, we are required to set the constraints to Free as per the initial drawing. However, while you are here, you can also experiment with the other constraints:
- Click on the green checkmark to confirm the mate. Once you confirm the mate, it is a good practice to check its effect. So, at this point, you can try moving the inner joint to different sides to see the effect of the new width advanced mate. You will notice that the inner joint will move to the sides only within the space available before it hits the outer joint.
- Repeat steps 2-4 for the other inner joint.
Note that we can also switch the Width selections with the Tab selections. However, this will result in having only one constraint setting, which is Centered.
This concludes this exercise on the width advanced mate. We covered what a mate is as well as how to use it. Now we will move on to another advanced mate, which is symmetric.