Solidworks Curved Slot Mate
The first one is the Cam mate. Now select a surface that belongs to the cam surface, plus a surface on the follower. SOLIDWORKS does the rest and makes sure the cam surface is a set of tangent, closed-loop surfaces. Sketch paths don’t need to be tangent, but cam paths need to be tangent. To add a cam-follower mate: Click Mate (Assembly toolbar) or Insert Mate. In the PropertyManager, under Mechanical Mates, click Cam. Under Mate Selections, for Entities to Mate. SolidWorks has given us some great enhancements over the years. One that I am finding really useful lately is the slot mate. This was released as an enhancement in 2014 but it seems to have been forgotten. The Quick Mates toolbar provides a means to rapidly assemble components directly from the graphics area. Learn how SOLIDWORKS 2020 extends this popular tool, by adding the Slot and Width mates with their position constraints, and Limit Mates. Using the Edge of the “D” Bore signals SOLIDWORKS to apply two mates in the assembly; a concentric to the shaft OD and a coincident to the end face of the shaft. One thing to keep in mind is the coincident mate will be placed as anti-aligned and can be switched to aligned by using the Tab key.
This example shows two ways to add the following dimensions and annotations to a curved slot:
Centerline (A)
Length of arc (B)
Center marks (C) and (D)
Note:
To add a centerline annotation to a curved object, you cannot use the Center Line command. Instead, use the techniques described here.
The method you choose depends upon whether you start from a model document or a draft document.
Starting with a curved slot in a model document, create a drawing view that shows the curved slot by doing the following:
Click the application button at the top-left of the window, and then choose Create Drawing.
In the Create Drawing dialog box, select a drawing template with file name extension *.dft.
In the Drawing View Wizard, set the drawing view creation options and drawing view orientation you want to use.
To learn how, see the help topic, Create Drawing Views of a Part or Assembly.
Right-click the drawing view and choose Draw In View from the shortcut menu.
Do the following to draw a curved line to represent the centerline of the slot:
Choose the Arc By 3 Points command.
(Optional) On the command bar, set the Line Type, Line Color, and Line Width options as desired.
When prompted to click the start point, locate the arc at one end of the slot and press C on the keyboard. Do not click.
This automatically selects the center point of the arc.
When prompted to click the end point, locate the arc at the opposite end of the slot and press C on the keyboard. Do not click.
When prompted to click a point for the arc, move the cursor to the middle of the slot so that the centerline curves in the appropriate direction, and click.
The centerline is now complete.
On the command bar, click the Return button.
Choose the Smart Dimension command , and then select the centerline.
On the Smart Dimension command bar, select the Length option, and then click to place the arc length dimension.
Choose the Center Mark command .
On the Center Mark command bar, from the Orientation list, select By 2 Points.
At one end of the slot, specify the center point of the center mark by clicking the end of the slot centerline.
At the same end, specify the location of the center mark by clicking the center of the curved end of the slot.
Repeat steps 8 and 9 to place a center mark at the other end of the slot.
To create the curved slot in a draft document, draw a single curved line using the Arc By 3 Points command: .
Choose the Symmetric Offset command.
In the Symmetric Offset Options dialog box, do all of the following:
In the Width box, type a value for slot width.
In the Radius box, type a radius value for the curved ends of the slot.
Under Cap Type, select the Offset Arc option.
Tip:
The Offset Arc option creates a centerline that does not extend to the ends of the slot.
Select the arc line you drew in step 1, and click the green check mark on the command bar to automatically creates both the curved slot and the centerline.
Click Smart Dimension , and then select the centerline.
On the Smart Dimension command bar, select the Length option, and then click to place the arc length dimension.
Choose the Center Mark command .
On the Center Mark command bar, from the Orientation list, select By 2 Points.
At one end of the slot, specify the center point of the center mark by clicking the end of the slot centerline.
At the same end, specify the location of the center mark by clicking the center of the curved end of the slot.
Repeat steps 9 and 10 to place a center mark at the other end of the slot.
Imagine a slot and a pin:
.... _____________
<> _____________>
I am trying to use a limit mate to make the slot stop at the side of the pin but it is not working as intended. Before mating I selected the cylindrical face of each feature then specified limits. It does not stop at the pin but moves in both directions. Is this a limitation of the limit mate type or am I misunderstanding the functionality?
3 Answers
Ok to make it move and be limited in that one direction, you need to make a plane at the center of one ends slot diameter (green plane in picture) at the part document level. Then go back to the assembly and select that plane and click mate, select the parallel plane in the center of the pin, then click your limit dimension mate, the minimal distance will be set at zero, and the max will be the amount of travel (length of slot center to center.) Hope that helps.
I would do this by using planes, unless you need the slotted part to rotate and slide. I've upload an assembly for reference. Pin/Slot Limit mate
Curved Slot Solidworks
Alright, so I created a plane at the center of the pin hole then mated it with the edge of the radius on the slot and it works really well. Now I can get back to the gears. Thanks so much!