Parallel Mate

Mate two entities allowing individual translational movement along any axis, and parallel rotation along any axis.

Steps

1. Click .
2. Select two Mate connectors (implicit or explicit).

   

3. To impose limits on the movement of the Mate, click Limits and supply minimum and maximum distances for the relative displacement of the Mate connectors.

   Limits are visualized in the graphics area as dashed lines with bars at the ends. The dashed lines represent the direction and distance of the movement and the solid lines represent the limit.

   If a Mate has one or more applied limits, the Mate limit indicator icon is visible to the right of the Mate in the Mate Features list.

4. Click the entity to access the manipulator.
5. Click and drag the various manipulator handles to see which motions are allowed; notice that the parallel Mate allows the entities to translate freely in the X, Y, and Z directions and that the entities are able to rotate freely around the Z axis while the Mate keeps the Mate connectors parallel.

Editing a Mate connector

Once an Mate is created between two explicit or implicit Mate connectors, you can edit either Mate connector:

1. Open the Mate dialog. In the example below, the Fastened mate is used as an example. The process is similar for all Mates, except Tangent mate which does not use Mate connectors.

   

2. Click the Mate connector icon (). The Mate connector dialog opens, where you can edit the mate connector's origin type, origin entity, alignment, location, primary axis direction, and secondary axis orientation:

Editing Mate connectors from the Mate dialog is limited to implicit or explicit connectors located in the current Assembly. Mate connectors from Part Studios, subassemblies, or linked documents must be edited in their original location.

Steps

1. Tap .
2. Confirm that Parallel is selected in the Mate type field.
3. Select two Mate connectors (implicit or explicit) to use.
4. Optionally, tap Limits to set distance limits for movement.
5. Optionally, tap to Flip the primary axis, Z orientation of the instances.
6. Optionally, tap to Reorient the secondary axis; rotate the quadrant orientation (in the XY plane) of the instances by 90 degrees at a tap.
7. Tap checkmark.

Touch and drag OR use the Triad Manipulator to move one of the parts. Notice that the parallel Mate allows the parts to translate freely in the X, Y, and Z directions and that the parts can rotate freely around the Z axis while the Mate keeps the Mate connectors parallel.

Steps

1. Tap .
2. Confirm that Parallel is selected in the Mate type field.
3. Select two Mate connectors (implicit or explicit) to use.
4. Optionally, tap Limits to set distance limits for movement.
5. Optionally, tap to Flip the primary axis, Z orientation of the instances.
6. Optionally, tap to Reorient the secondary axis; rotate the quadrant orientation (in the XY plane) of the instances by 90 degrees at a tap.
7. Tap checkmark.

Touch and drag OR use the Triad manipulator to move one of the parts. Notice that the parallel mate allows the parts to translate freely in the X, Y, and Z directions and that the parts are able to rotate freely around the Z axis while the Mate keeps the Mate connectors parallel.