I was wondering if someone could tell me why you would use the symmetric mate. The SW books I have all skim over this mate telling you how it is applied, but not why and in what situations it is useful. Thanks
I was wondering if someone could tell me why you would use the symmetric mate. The SW books I have all skim over this mate telling you how it is applied, but not why and in what situations it is useful. Thanks
behnt 1:06 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink
When I have used it is when a part is centered between two plates that may change in distance apart. The part stays centered regardless of separation distance.
Chris Serran 1:12 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink
I have used them when positioning linear ball rails on a plate. You would set the plane of the plate as the symmetry plane and then set the planes in the ball rails as the entities to mate. Voila, symmetrical ball rails.
Other applications have been the same type of setup but for engine mounts or centering a tube between two hoses.
Alan 6:47 pm on December 3, 2008 Permalink
I just discovered this when I upgraded to SW09, was it there before? I use this relation a lot for placing holes or other features in parts (since I found it…). I did use this relation in ProE in school a year ago, but hadn’t seen it in SW until recently.
admin 7:06 pm on December 3, 2008 Permalink
It has been around for a while. I think 06 was it’s debut.
Chris Serran 9:40 pm on December 3, 2008 Permalink
There are a few different symmetrical type commands within SolidWorks:
In a sketch, Symmetric relation
In a part, Mirror command
In an assembly, Mirror Component
In an assembly, Symmetrical Mate (Advanced Mates)