Advanced and Mechanical Mates Flashcards

Which mechanical mate simulates a gear relationship between two rotating components by maintaining a fixed ratio of angular velocities?

Answer: Gear mate

The Gear mate constrains two rotating parts so their angular velocities maintain a constant ratio defined by their pitch circle radii.

When defining a Cam mate in SolidWorks, what geometry types are valid for the cam follower?

Answer: A point, line, or planar face tangent to the cam profile

The cam follower in a Cam mate can be a point, line, or flat face that remains tangent to the cam surface during motion.

A Rack and Pinion mate requires which two geometric references to be specified?

Answer: A linear edge for the rack and a cylindrical face for the pinion

The Rack and Pinion mate links the linear translation of the rack (specified by a linear edge) to the rotation of the pinion (specified by a cylindrical or circular face).

What does the 'Reverse' option do when configuring a Gear mate between two shafts?

Answer: Changes the rotation direction so the shafts rotate in the same direction instead of opposite directions

By default, meshing gears rotate in opposite directions; the Reverse option makes them rotate in the same direction, simulating an internal gear arrangement.

Which advanced mate type is used to constrain a component so that it always maintains a specific angle relative to another component as both move?

Answer: Angle mate with 'Flip Dimension' enabled

An Angle mate with a defined value constrains the angular relationship between two components' reference planes or faces throughout motion.

In a Width mate, what does SolidWorks center between the two 'width' faces?

Answer: The tab component (selected faces) equidistant between the two width references

A Width mate centers the selected tab faces of one component symmetrically between the two width-reference faces of another component.

A Screw mate relates which two types of motion between components?

Answer: Rotation about an axis and translation along the same axis

The Screw mate links axial rotation of one component to its axial translation, simulating lead-screw or threaded-fastener behavior.

When using a Limit mate, what happens when the component reaches the defined maximum angle or distance boundary?

Answer: The component stops moving at that boundary

A Limit mate acts as a hard stop, preventing the component from moving beyond the defined minimum or maximum value during motion studies or manual dragging.

Which SolidWorks mate allows you to define that a component must remain within a specific distance range from a reference, rather than at a fixed distance?

Answer: Distance mate with Limit option

Enabling the 'Distance' mate's Limit option lets you specify a minimum and maximum allowed distance, giving the component a range of free travel.

In SolidWorks, what is the primary purpose of the 'Profile Center' mate?

Answer: Centers the cross-section centroid of one component's face with another face's centroid

The Profile Center mate automatically centers the geometric midpoints of two similar cross-sectional profiles (e.g., rectangular slots and tabs) relative to each other.

Which statement correctly describes the behavior of a Symmetric mate?

Answer: It constrains a component so its selected entity lies equidistant from a symmetry plane relative to another entity

A Symmetric mate keeps two selected entities (one on each component) equidistant from a specified symmetry plane, so they mirror each other's position during motion.

What additional input beyond two component references is required to define a Symmetric mate?

Answer: A symmetry plane or planar face

The Symmetric mate requires a plane (or flat face) to serve as the mirror reference about which the two selected entities are kept equidistant.

In a Hinge mate, which degrees of freedom remain after the mate is applied?

Answer: Only rotation about the hinge axis

A Hinge mate combines a Concentric and a Coincident mate, leaving only one rotational DOF — rotation about the shared hinge axis.

When setting up a Gear mate, the ratio is defined by entering values for which parameters?

Answer: Pitch circle radii or a manually entered ratio

SolidWorks Gear mates accept either pitch circle radii (from which it computes the ratio) or a directly entered numerical ratio to define the angular velocity relationship.

What does the 'Reverse' checkbox do specifically within a Rack and Pinion mate?

Answer: Reverses the direction of pinion rotation for a given rack translation direction

The Reverse option in a Rack and Pinion mate flips the sign of the relationship so that rack motion in one direction causes pinion rotation in the opposite sense.

Which advanced SolidWorks mate would you use to ensure a pin always stays in contact with a slotted track as the assembly moves?

Answer: Path mate

A Path mate constrains a selected point on a component to travel along a specified curve or edge path, keeping the pin within the slot throughout motion.

In a Path mate, the 'Pitch/Yaw/Roll' controls define what?

Answer: How the component's orientation is controlled relative to the path tangent, normal, and binormal directions

Pitch, Yaw, and Roll settings in a Path mate govern whether the component's orientation follows the path tangent (aligned), stays free, or is locked about each local axis.

A Linear Coupler mate links the motion of two components in what way?

Answer: Defines a ratio between the linear (or angular) displacement of one component and another

A Linear Coupler mate lets you specify that a defined amount of motion (linear or angular) in one component produces a proportional amount of motion in another, using a user-defined ratio.

When would you use an 'Angle' mate's 'Flip Dimension' option?

Answer: To switch which side of the reference the angle is measured from, selecting the supplementary angle

Flip Dimension switches the angular measurement to the supplementary side (180° − θ), effectively changing which face normal direction is used as the angle reference.

Which mate type would best simulate a ball-and-socket joint allowing rotation in all three axes while preventing all translation?

Answer: Coincident mate on two spherical faces

Applying a Coincident mate between two spherical faces constrains all three translational DOFs while leaving all three rotational DOFs free, simulating a ball-and-socket joint.