Within an assembly, we might end up having different parts interfering with each other, meaning there might be one part inside another. This could happen because of a deficiency in our design or because it was intentional. Regardless, SOLIDWORKS assembly provides us with the Interference Detection tool to find out how much interference is taking place in our assembly. The tool allows us to know whether or not any interference is taking place; it also allows us to find out the location of the interference, the parts involved, and how much volume is interfering.
To learn how to use the tool, we will apply it to the assembly shown. You can download the parts as well as the assembly file with this chapter. Open up the assembly file after downloading it. Our task is to find out whether some parts are interfering with each other:
To apply the Interference Detection tool, we can follow these steps:
- Select the Evaluate tab, then select the Interference Detection command, as shown in the following screenshot:
- In the feature's PropertyManager, the assembly will be listed under Selected Components, as shown in the screenshot. Click on Calculate. Then, the interference result will be shown in the space under the Results tile:
Notice the result will show how many interference incidents are taking place in the assembly alongside the interference volume. In this example, we have two interference incidents, each with an interfering volume of 1288.05 mm^3. If you expand the interference incident menu, you will see a list of the parts involved in that particular interference. Also, if you select the interference incident, it will be highlighted in the canvas as a visual indication where the interference is taking place.
Once we know where the interference is taking place, we can choose to address or ignore those instances based on our requirements. Generally, we can address those interferences by adjusting the design of the parts or adjusting how the different parts are mated together. A common perception in practice is that interferences are always undesired when modeling products. However, that is not always the case. Let's address this practical point.