Bad Mates: Repair or Delete? Troubleshooting is a Real Skill.
I’m fond of the saying “Delete is not an editing option”. And its true. You lose a lot of data when you delete something instead of fixing it. But CAD users, and CAD software developers, are so afraid of errors. Errors are frustrating and often hard to fix or understand why they occurred. So often I’ve seen people create a mate which inexplicably blows things up, and so they just start deleting things. Errors often help you find things you didn’t know were there or didn’t intend.
Troubleshooting is a real skill, and the higher your mastery, the better an overall CAD user you are. Troubleshooting takes equal parts curiosity and patience. I personally think you always come out ahead if you can fix things like mates or sketch relations rather than just deleting and recreating them.
If your mates are named or in folders, or controlled by configurations or design tables or whatever, deleting them will break those controls. There are a number of ways you can be creating extra work for yourself when you delete things instead of learning to fix them. Beyond all of that, most things are actually fixable.
Take the time to troubleshoot errors, and I guarantee you will learn something valuable.
I actually tend to agree with Devon, mates are great for simulating motion, but other than that they are a drag. In Solidworks though you’re kind of forced to use mates because there aren’t many other good ways to accurately position parts. “Move with Triad” is a pretty sub-par tool, only useful in a pinch.
Hello Kevin- I recently spoke to the Support Manager at a San Diego Reseller and they recommend my method of positioning parts using mates, then fix in place and delete all mates. It improves rebuild, save and opening times.
In an assembly file, I use Move component, By Delta XYZ, dig it.
Oh man, “King of Delete”? That makes my CAD heart cry a little. I am a teacher of SolidWorks for my organization and the first thing I teach, and reiterate each day of training is stop striking the “Esc” so much, and don’t willy-nilly delete mates to fix a problem, especially if configurations are established!
I am the King of Delete, dump those pesky Mates! Mates, for Positioning checked, then Fix in place. Good bye Mate errors.