A couple things to remember before beginning this final step. First, remember that when mating parts, mate faces, not features. Mates of faces and of features can give you mates with different properties.

Sometimes, after you’ve mated two pieces, you may find the executed product is not what you desired, and SolidWorks may havemated the pieces backwards. This is because each piece has a front and a back, and while you may have wanted to mate a front to a front, SolidWorks will mate the two sides that are closest together. It will not rotate pieces for you. To rotate a piece manually, select “Rotate Component” on the tab under “Move Component” on the Assembly ribbon at the top of your screen. Remember that, oftentimes, the first part you insert into an assembly will act as an anchor, and will be immovable.

Create a new assembly, and insert the right side of your piece and the seat. Create the following mates.

  • A concentric mate between a peg on the seat and the correct hole on the side. This will keep the pieces from moving in the X and Y directions.
  • A parallel mate between the bottom of the chair and the bottom floor of the front loader. This will keep the two parts parallel to each other.
  • A distance mate between part of the seat and part of the inside of the front loader. A distance mate will keep parts locked at the distance specified. This is important for two reasons. First, it stops any movement in the X direction. Second, if you make the side of the seat flush with the inside of the cab, the seat will not be centered, as the width of the seat is slightly smaller than the width of the cab. I chose to make the side of the seat .4 inches from inside of the cab. You will most likely have a similar number. To make this mate, select the Mate command. Click on the side of the seat and the inside wall of the cab. Click on the “Distance Mate” icon (second to the bottom on the list of “Standard Mates”. Enter in the desired distance, and execute the command.

You’ve fully mated your seat and first side. Now, add the left side to the assembly.

  • Create a concentric mate between a peg on the left side and the cylindrical inner wall of the hole on the right side the peg is to fit into.
  • Create a coincident mate between the tops of the two sides.
  • Create a coincident mate somewhere where the right and left sides touch to create a whole piece.

Now, we’re going to add the wheel assembly. Import your wheel assembly with your tire, hub, and axle.

  • Create a concentric mate between the axle and the inner wall of the hole the axle passes through. Notice the mate still allows for action in the Z direction. We will address this later.
  • Import your assembly with the hub and tire. Create a coincident mate between the back wall of the hole the axle will insert into in the hub, and the end of the axle as shown (the selected areas are light blue). This keeps the two pieces in the same Z plane.

  • Now, create a concentric mate between the inner, cylindrical wall of the hub and the body of the axle.

Notice that, although the wheels and axle now move as a unit, they move freely in the Z direction. To prevent this, made a distance mate between a part of the wheel and part of the side of the cab.

Import the tire, hub, and axle assembly again, as well as the hub and tire assembly. Repeat the steps above to mate the last two wheels to the assembly.

Now, it’s time to add the arms. Import your arm assembly. Mate it in the way you mated your wheels- with the coincident mate and the distance mate. Depending on what your end effectors are, you may have to mate it differently. Remember, the point of mating parts is to restrain their X, Y, and Z motions so they move (or don’t move) depending on the nature of your part.

Congratulations! You’re now finished making and mating your front loader. Or, in my case, ray-gun death machine.

This tutorial has taught you

  • To choose features, not faces, when mating parts
  • How to rotate parts so the proper faces mate
  • How to use a “Distance Mate”