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How to define an Angle Mate?
david_58
Member Posts: 2 ✭
Answers
I assume you mean an angle mate such as keeping two faces or edges at a defined angle? If so, I would use a fasten mate at the axis of rotation and then rotate the first mate connector by the desired angle.
1. Insert the two components you want an angle defined between. I have the same part twice, the first one is fixed at the origin. Start a fasten mate and select the point on the first part you want to rotate about (I inferred to the face so that I could rotate about the z-axis)
2. Select the point on the second part that creates the correct center of rotation. Since there is no angle defined, these mate connectors will be aligned and currently be fixed.
3. Now that the fasten is created, we need to edit the mate connector definition to have an angle involved. Expand the fasten mate to see the two implicit mate connectors. Right click on the top one and choose edit.
4. With the edit mate connector dialog open, select the "move" checkbox and see that there is a "Rotate about z-axis" option. Enter the desired angle and hit enter. This now fastens the two mate connectors with an angle of the angle entered.
For completeness, I would rename my mate to reflect that it is an angle mate.
If you were hoping to make a different kind of angular mate, let us know and we'll see if we can help.
If you are trying to do something that limits the range of revolution, we don't have that implemented yet. If you want something to be a fixed angle relative to another edge/face then try the method I have listed above. If you are still having issues, you can share your document with support and we can try to collaboratively work through the issue.
My recommendation, if you want to be able to move the hinge by hand part of the time (to get a feel for the motion, check for collision, etc) then you will need the revolute mate that you have; then to lock it at an angle (to check for design issues in a specific phase of the motion, or to just not have to worry about stray drags messing up your model while working with it) you will need a second fasten mate that you enable and disable.