Path Mate
Makes a point of one part follow a path on another part. The path can be a straight edge, an arc, a curve or up to three edges joined end to end. The place along the path is the one freedom left, and you can set it with the Path position slider or a typed value.
When to Use It
- A cam follower or a roller that runs along a track
- A slider on a curved rail
- A part that must travel along a set route, such as a chain link on a guide
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...), then click the Mechanical tab at the top of the window.
- Click the point that will follow the path: a corner (vertex), a circular edge (its center is used) or a round ball face (its center is used). It shows as Point.
- Click the edge of the path on a different component. It shows as Path edge. For a longer path, click up to two more edges on that same component. The edges must touch end to end, in a chain.
- Click Path. It is lit when the point and the path are on different components and the edges join.
- Under Path Constraint, pick Free, Distance along path or Percent along path.
- For a distance or a percent, drag the Path position slider, or type the value in the box. The part moves along the path as you go.
- Pick Keep orientation: Free or Follow path. Tick Reverse to measure from the other end of the path.
- Click the green check. Close the window with the X or Esc.
Options
- Free: the point stays on the path and can slide along it. Drag the part to move it. At an open end the point stops.
- Distance along path: the point sits a set distance from the start of the path, from 0 to the path length. The window shows Path length under the slider.
- Percent along path: the point sits a set share of the way along the path, from 0 to 100.
- Path position: a slider from one end of the path to the other. It sets the distance or the percent and moves the part as you drag it.
- Keep orientation, Free: the part may turn as it likes while its point moves.
- Keep orientation, Follow path: the part turns with the path. The way the part faced along the path when the mate was made is kept as it moves, and is saved with the mate, so it stays the same after the assembly is reopened. The part can still roll about the path itself.
- Reverse: the distance or percent is measured from the other end of the path. Ticking it keeps the part where it is and changes the number.
Tips and What to Expect
- The order of the clicks does not matter. One pick must be a corner, a circular edge or a ball, and the other picks are the path edges.
- A new Distance or Percent starts where the point is now, so the part does not jump.
- A curve is followed through the points the viewer draws it with, so a round arc is followed as many short straight pieces. The turn with Follow path is smoothed at the corners between pieces.
- The Model tree shows text such as "Path1 (Distance along path 220 mm, follow path, reverse)".
- With Collision Detection on, dragging the part stops it where it touches another part. The Path position slider shows a preview and does not stop at a touch.
- Play in an exploded view's animation turns gears and screws only. It does not run a part along its path.
- Flip Mate Alignment is not available for this mate.
Limits
- A path has at most 1,000 points and at most three picked edges, all on one component.
- Every path point is saved with the assembly, kept to 0.000001 mm. A path of 1,000 points adds at most about 40 KB to the saved assembly.
- A path must be longer than 0.001 mm and at most 10,000,000 mm.
- Sketch curves count only when they can be picked as edges in the assembly.
- Replace Components marks a path that is not found as missing. Edit the mate and pick the path again.
Common Problems
- "The edges of a path must join end to end." Pick edges that touch, in a chain, or pick fewer edges.
- "The edges of a path must all be on one component." Pick every path edge on the same component.
- "That path has more than 1,000 points." Pick fewer or shorter edges.
- "The distance along the path must be from 0 to the path length." Type a smaller number. The window says how long the path is.
- "The percent along the path must be from 0 to 100." Type a number from 0 to 100.
- The button is grey. The first pick is not a corner, a circular edge or a ball, or the point and the path are on the same component.
- "Collapse the exploded view to add mates." Mates cannot be added while the assembly is exploded.
- The Over defined prompt appears. The new mate conflicts with the ones already there. See Mates: Fixing Mate Problems.