Lock Mate
Holds two components together as one. They keep the position and turn they have to each other at the moment you add the mate.
What you get: the two components held together as they sit now, and one mate named Lock1 in the Mates folder of the Model tree. Move one and the other follows.
When to Use It
- Weld a gusset to a plate in place
- Keep a pair of parts together while you work on others
- Join parts that should never move against each other
What It Does
Lock needs two different components. You can pick any face, edge or corner on each, and Lock is always offered when the picks are on two different components. It does not use the picks for geometry: it freezes how the two components sit relative to each other the first time it is solved. Move one and the other follows.
Step by Step
- Open an assembly (assemblies need the Pro plan) with at least two components in it. See Assemblies: Start and Insert Parts.
- Click Mate on the Assembly tab (or right-click a component and choose Assembly tools, Mate...). The Mate window opens on the Standard tab.
- Click the first entity on one component in the view. It appears in Mate Selections. You can also click the Front Plane, Top Plane, Right Plane or Origin row of a component or of the assembly in the Model tree.
- Click the second entity on a different component. After the second pick the parts move to show the result, and a small Quick Mate pop-up by the pointer lists the mates that fit. Leave it, or press Esc to close it; your two picks stay.
- Click Lock in the Standard Mates list of the Mate window. Click the other buttons in the list to compare; only the mates that fit your two picks are lit. (A click on a button in the Quick Mate pop-up adds that mate straight away, as it stands, with no further steps.)
- Click the green check (or press Enter) to add the mate. The message reads "Lock1 added." and the window stays open for the next pair.
Options
- Lock has no alignment, value or flip. The Mate alignment choice does not appear.
- Use for positioning only: moves the parts as the mate would, but no mate is kept. The message reads "Positioned. No mate was added."
- Make first selection transparent: the component you picked first turns see-through so you can reach what is behind it.
- Multiple mate mode: the first pick is the Common reference, every further pick is a Component reference on its own component, and one mate is made for each. Create multi-mate folder groups them (MultiMate1, MultiMate2 and so on).
Tips and What to Expect
- Place the parts where you want them before adding the Lock. Whatever position they are in then is kept.
- Flip Mate Alignment is not available for a Lock mate.
- A lock that fights other mates makes the assembly over defined. Use Diagnose to find the conflict.
- To weld parts that are also moved as a group, you can instead form a subassembly. See Subassemblies and Patterns.
Common Mistakes and Messages
- The mate you want is grey. The two picks do not fit it. Remove one pick (click it again, or press Delete in Mate Selections) and pick a different entity. The window says "Those entities have no mate in common." when nothing fits.
- "Pick the second entity on a different component." Both picks were on the same component. A mate always joins two components, or a component and the assembly's own planes or origin.
- "Collapse the exploded view to add mates." Mates cannot be added while the assembly is exploded. See Exploded Views.
- The Over defined prompt appears. The new mate conflicts with the ones already there. See Mates: Fixing Mate Problems.
- Nothing moves. A fixed component does not move. Right-click it and choose Assembly tools, Float, or fix the other component's side on purpose.