How to two parts plane mate in Onshape Assembly?

team_esc

How to two parts plane mate in Onshape Assembly?

3dcad

@team_esc  In Onshape you don't use part default planes for mates, instead you can create mate connector in part studio which will be available for mating in assembly.

andrew_troup

https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/mate-planar.htm

3dcad

@team_esc  In Onshape you don't use part default planes for mates, instead you can create mate connector in part studio which will be available for mating in assembly.

jone_miller

I too have this problem.  I import parts that do not have any surfaces or planar faces to mate to.  So I would need to use the part default planes.  Unable to align parts properly.  Also seems like this program is designed to make you draft your whole assembly in part mode...in their intended positions...then double the work by adding mates in a different mode.
Also, you are required to import additional parts into a part, and cannot choose them from your normal list of parts....lots of extra double work.
It's almost like in the design of this program they are needing to not mimic tools form other programs.  But in the end, that is what we want, the tools that work and have been time tested, and not re-imagined tools.

jone_miller

I too have this problem.  I import parts that do not have any surfaces or planar faces to mate to.  So I would need to use the part default planes.  Unable to align parts properly.  Also seems like this program is designed to make you draft your whole assembly in part mode...in their intended positions...then double the work by adding mates in a different mode.
Also, you are required to import additional parts into a part, and cannot choose them from your normal list of parts....lots of extra double work.
It's almost like in the design of this program they are needing to not mimic tools form other programs.  But in the end, that is what we want, the tools that work and have been time tested, and not re-imagined tools.

adamohern

I have the same problem. Most of my parts are organic surfaces with no flat faces for mating. In SolidWorks I typically mate to datum planes or axes. The only equivalent in Onshape is to create mate connectors, which are tedious, weird, and ugly. Mating to datum elements and sketches is a must have.

Terry1

I find the mates just to strange and clunky to use. The goal should be to follow the convention that SW has used as it's so logical and flexible to use. Even the naming of the mates in OS are odd. 

Sure nice to see all the updates lately.

adamohern

I wouldn't discount mate connectors entirely. They are actually really powerful. The problem is that they are a layer of abstraction that most users will find less intuitive then something more direct like solidworks. And yes, the word "revolute" is not a word any English speaker would recognize :-)

3dcad

I've been using Onshape for work almost everyday for past year. Today when I create any design, I know from the beginning how I'm going to build assembly using many groups and only few mate-connectors for moving parts (instead of repeating myself adding traditional mates to each part). I would say time used for assemblies is around 25-75% of what it used to be in my work.

Surely you need to think hard to get mate right in first time but I rather think hard few times than click thousand times.

+ you don't need to mate stuff modeled in same part studio or even different part studios if modeled in correct position - just use default position and group
+ replicate tool is awesome for repeating mates
+ 1 mate connector = 3 traditional mates (in most cases) = just 1 feature to edit when adjusting position

Please do remember also that Onshape is not cloud version of solid works and some users might not have sw background so it's not always bad if they choose different path than sw. IMHO 

david_ayers

Onshape is killing me in my assemblies.  I am doing contract work and I can't charge my customer for the time I'm wasting trying to figure this stuff out.  I am trying to mate a part into a cylindrical part, and I want to mate the key of that part to the Front plane of the 1st part.  No plane to choose from, and I since every mate connector looks like every other, I can't tell what feature I've really chosen on the part.  You can't instruct Onshape to do what you want, you just have to hover with your mouse until the mate connector pops up and until it orients randomly to give you options.   I took mate training, but I can't find how to select the blue/red/green axis to use it like the Front plane that's not available to me.  And I need a section view in the assembly, but there are no planes to select for creating this section view!  It's just crazy.  I should be able to select the Front plane of the part I've added for this.  If they want to replace our SolidWorks way of thinking, they need more help available.  Searching in "help" doesn't solve much of anything for me -- "mate to a plane" should offer some advice if I search on it.  They should suggest how to create a section, how to mate without a plane, while I'm trying to do the action.  

brucebartlett

david_ayers said:

Onshape is killing me in my assemblies.  I am doing contract work and I can't charge my customer for the time I'm wasting trying to figure this stuff out.  I am trying to mate a part into a cylindrical part, and I want to mate the key of that part to the Front plane of the 1st part.  No plane to choose from, and I since every mate connector looks like every other, I can't tell what feature I've really chosen on the part.  You can't instruct Onshape to do what you want, you just have to hover with your mouse until the mate connector pops up and until it orients randomly to give you options.   I took mate training, but I can't find how to select the blue/red/green axis to use it like the Front plane that's not available to me.  And I need a section view in the assembly, but there are no planes to select for creating this section view!  It's just crazy.  I should be able to select the Front plane of the part I've added for this.  If they want to replace our SolidWorks way of thinking, they need more help available.  Searching in "help" doesn't solve much of anything for me -- "mate to a plane" should offer some advice if I search on it.  They should suggest how to create a section, how to mate without a plane, while I'm trying to do the action.  

Hi David, I understand your frustration as higher level mates are totally different to SolidWorks mates and have a fairly sharp learning curve. All the hot point's that jump up can be a bit overwhelming as first but if you can hang in there with them you will find them heap's quicker. Here's a few way you maybe able to tackle your issue.

1. If you have modelled the parts in position in a part studio just drop them in and Group mate them together. No other mates required.
2. If they are separate parts that don't align when dropping in , you could just use the Fasten mate between the 2 cylinders and then use the offset's to position parts, you find a quick quadrant spin down the bottom, however to change the angle more gradually you have to expand the mate on the tree to find the mate connectors, click 1, tick move and adjust angles around chosen axis's with the dialogue.
3. If you want to go down the plane track as first mentioned you would need a Revolute or Slider mate on the two cylinders and then a Parallel mate (not planner mate) on the face's of the keyway cutouts.

Hope that help's,

See this image for moving a mate  connector in a fasten mate. as mentioned in point 2