Smart Mates. Solidworks used to add parts to an assembly with “Smart Mates”, for snap-to-fit mating. There was even a Smart Mate Icon. Where did it go?
Smart Mates are still available inside Solidworks. As enhancements have been mate to the regular Mates dialog, and to the ability to create Mate References, the relative savings afforded by Smart Mating has reduced. But, you can still use them to reduce the number of clicks-per-mate from 4, down to 3, 2, or sometimes even just 1 ‘drag’ operation, and here’s how:
Smart Mating with no extra keys
If you have your desktop tiled such that you have a Part file open in one window, and an Assembly file open in another, you can drag from any Point, Face, or (non spline) Edge of the Part file, and drag it over into the Assembly file. Before you release the mouse button from the Drag operation, hover the cursor over any corresponding Point, Face, or Edge in the assembly, and the part file will be added, and mated, (usually Coincident or Concentric) in that one motion. This type of smart mating needs no menu, no icons, no extra keyboard codes - it happens with a simple cursor drag. (Note: both the Part, and the Assembly, have to have arleady been saved so that they have valid file names, for this to work).
Smart Mating with the ATL key
If your part has already been added to the assembly file, you can still drag two faces, edges, or points into contact with each other, and thus imply the mate. Before selecting the item to move, mash down and hold the ALT key. Then, when you hover your cursor over a planar face (for example), and drag this face over to another one, it will apply an implied Coincident Mate between the faces. If the preview image of the mate has gotten the dragged part in the wrong orientation, you can flip it around, by tapping the TAB key, before you let go of the mouse to complete the drag.
Smart Mating via its Icon
Finally, what if the face I want to drag FROM, and the face I want to drag it TO, are oriented so as to not be visible at the same moment? This needs the 3rd flavor of Smart Mate, the version which required an icon to activate. The mechanics were: Click the Smart Mate icon. Then double-click the faceor edge of the part to be moved. This put you in a suspended state of waiting for a second selection for the target face or edge, except that, because it needs a click, and not a drag, you can now re-orient the view to suit yourself before placing the final click. This only saves 1 click, net, over using the Mate dialog box anyway, so the programmers felt justified in de-emphasising this method of Smart-Mating. So where is this original flavor of the Smart Mate Icon? It is now buried within the Move Component dialog – notice in the image below, the icon with a paper-clip and a yellow star;
