From the course: SOLIDWORKS 2021 Essential Training

Mating parts with Path Mate - SOLIDWORKS Tutorial

From the course: SOLIDWORKS 2021 Essential Training

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Mating parts with Path Mate

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- To get started with the Path Mate, we need two things. One is, we need a part, and two, obviously, we need a path. Right here on my screen, I have a part in, right on that part, I have a spline, which is the path I'd like to use. And over here is my part. And what I need to do is choose a point on that part to connect to that path. Now, check this out, right at the bottom of the part is my face. And over here, I've added a point. See that point number one? I went into the part itself, opened it up, and I just added a point. And a point pretty straightforward and easy to do. Just click over here under features, reference geometry, and point. Choose that one there, make sure you're looking at the part, and then choose something like center face like that, like I did right there. And that's how I created that point. Okay, anyways, back over here to our assembly. What I want to do is I want to take that point which is right here, and then I want to grab this path and create that mate. So come up here to Mate. And notice I already have that point selected, here it is. And my selection for the advanced may have to come into that folder down here is Path Mate. Okay, so here's my point and here's my path. Choose the Path, and just that easily we're able to create the Path Mate. The only problem is, check this out. If you go over here to the part itself, my parkin rotate around in 3D space. So just that point is attached to the path. The rest of the part can still kind of flop around. So we probably want to grab another mate, just use the coincidence mate, choose the bottom of the part and the top of the plate, click Okay. And now we should have this nice little part that can slide along that path, pretty handy. So it's a great little tool to add that Path Mate. You just need to have a point on the part and then some type of path. And it doesn't have to be a 2D sketchy, there could be a 3D path, it doesn't really matter. And then just easily add that Path Mate, and then that part should just slide along wherever that path happens to go.

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