Inspire Mating Tool for Assembly Constraints

Before Mating Tool:

After Mating Tool:

Overview:

Do you have complex CAD assembles and are tired of moving all your parts to their proper positions? Do you have parametric CAD models and want your assembly to adjust automatically based on varying part sizes? Or are you just tired of using the boring ol' move tool? Well have I got a solution for you!

Introducing…. the……. Mating Tool!

Perfect for all your assembly constraining needs. This tool allows you to define a list of assembly constraints and save them as a file. This is one of the earliest version of this extension, so please post any comments, questions, or bug reports below. Thanks for trying out my extension!

Prerequisite: Install Inspire v2023 or newer

Installation Instructions:

1. Download zip folder containing extension and unzip
2. Add extension via File > Extensions > Add Extension > Select unzipped folder
3. Mating Tool should be added in the Extensions Browser.

How to Open Mate Browser:

1. After adding extension, click on "Extensions" tab, then click "Mating Tool" icon.
2. Mate Browser window will popup. I recommend docking below your model view window.

Mate Browser Buttons (Left to Right):

1. Open Mate File - open a mate file into the Mate Browser
2. Save Mate File - save Mate Browser contents as a mate file
3. New Mates File (Clear All) - clears Mate Browser and starts a new mate file
4. Delete Mates - delete selected mates permanently
5. Move Mates Up - moves selected mates up by 1 positionin browser
6. Move Mates Down - moves selected mates down by 1 position in browser
7. Edit Mate - opens guidebar for detailed editing of the lowest selected mate
8. Create Mate - opens mate creation guidebar for a new mate
9. Resolve Mates - executes translations and rotations of all mates from top to bottom

Mate Creator Guidebar (Left to Right):

1. Mate Type Dropdown - distance, concentric, width, or parallel
   1. Distance – 2 planar faces which are parallel and a certain distance apart (can be 0 which means they are coincident)
   2. Concentric – 2 cylindrical faces with aligned center axes
   3. Width – 2 sets of 2 faces, all 4 are parallel, with 2 faces (1st set) centered between the other 2 faces (2nd set)
   4. Parallel – 2 planar faces are made parallel but not translated
2. Primary Face(s) – face(s) on part which remains stationary during mate resolving
3. Secondary Face(s) – face(s) on part which is moved during mate resolving
4. Distance – distance between faces; only applies to distance mate
5. Reverse direction button – click to change arrow direction, which will determine secondary part orientation. The arrows will be facing in the same direction once the mate is resolved.
6. Resolve checkbox – if checked, the mate will immediately resolve meaning your secondary part will be moved to satisfy the mate
7. “Play” button – create mate and keep guidebar open
8. “Checkmark” button – create mate and close guidebar
9. “X” button – close guidebar

How to Create a Mate:

1. Click "Create Mate" button in Mate Browser
2. Choose mate type in guidebar dropdown
3. Select primary and secondary mate faces. Primary will be marked with "P" and secondary will be marked with "S".
4. Arrows will have appeared to indicate face direction. Click the "Reverse Direction" button to switch the arrow and resulting part orientation.
5. Click the "play" or "checkmark" button to create the mate. It will now appear in the mate browser.

Tips / Info:

1. There are example models and mate files packaged with the extension in the "example_models" folder.
2. Once you create a mate, the tool will automatically ask you to save as a mate file. The mate file saves all mates in a CSV so it can be reopened, edited, and resolved later.
3. Select a mate in the browser to highlight faces and show direction arrows
4. In the mate browser, the only columns which can be edited are Name, Active, Distance, and Direction. Any other edits need to be made with the "Edit Mate" button, which will reopen the guidebar on your selected mate.
5. Mate order matters. When mates are resolved, the tool merely performs translations and rotations from top to bottom in the mate browser. It is possible that a series of mates cannot be satisfied, which will be indicated in the "Status" column of the mate browser. Try to reorder your mates by moving some up and down the browser to satisfy all mates.
6. 2 concentric mates on the same part are not currently possible because the tool does not have the capability to rotate a part about anothe axis, only about the part center.
7. A mate may not be satisfied because it has the improper direction. Try to switch the direction and resolve again.
8. Mates will currently only move one part at a time.

Future Improvements:

1. Auto-switching of mate direction to satisfy
2. Allow 2 concentric mates on same part
3. Add a "scope" selection to apply a mate to an assembly, not just a single part

Release Version: Mating Tool v0.0.6 for Inspire v2023 or newer