Speed Up Your xDesign Assemblies with Smart Mate!

This video shows you how to use the Smart Mate command in xDesign to quickly put together parts in an assembly. It automatically adds mates, saving you time and making sure things are put together right. It's a really helpful tool for anyone designing in 3D.

Key Takeaways

• Smart Mate automatically detects and applies concentric and coincident mates.
• You can easily review and adjust automatically applied mates.
• This feature significantly speeds up the assembly process.

Assembling Components with Smart Mate

We're going to look at how to use the Smart Mate command in xDesign. This tool is great for making your assembly process faster while still being precise. If you want to save time and avoid mistakes when putting parts together, this is the feature for you.

In this example, we have an Arbor Press assembly where most of the parts are already put together. We just have a few more pieces to position and connect to the main part of the assembly.

First, make sure the Smart Mate command is turned on. If it's not active, xDesign won't know where to put the mates automatically.

I'll start by taking the table part and moving it close to the base part. You'll see that Smart Mate automatically finds the right faces to connect them concentrically and coincidentally. You don't have to pick them yourself.

To check, I'll click 'Expand' to see the Smart Mate options. It shows the faces that have been selected. Everything looks correct. However, I need to remove the coincident mate between the two side faces so the table can spin. After that, I'll click 'OK' to add the mates.

As you can see, the mates were added without any problems. They also show up in the Design Manager.

Mating Bolts and Screws

Now, let's use Smart Mate to add a bolt. I'll drag the bolt towards the hole in the base part. Smart Mate correctly adds the concentric mate. But, the coincident mate it applied isn't quite right for this situation.

No problem! I can just edit the mate and pick the correct faces to get the bolt positioned just right. The mates are added to the Design Manager.

I'll do the same thing for the other four screws, connecting them to the main structure. And just like that, all the parts are perfectly mated using Smart Mate. It's fast, easy to figure out, and doesn't cause any headaches.

Smart Mate is a really useful tool for making your assembly work in xDesign go much faster. Try it out the next time you're building or changing a model!

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