Locking a SOLIDWORKS Concentric Mate
Author: Scott Durksen, CSWE, Javelin Technologies
Starting in SOLIDWORKS 2014, you have the ability to lock rotation of concentric mates. This can help avoid additional mates required if you didn’t want the components to rotate.
How to quickly tell if a concentric mate rotation has been locked
In order to see if a concentric mate rotation has been locked, simply review the mate icon for the component. A regular concentric icon will show two concentric circles. The locked rotation icon will have a solid circle on the inside. The following images use Breadcrumbs and D-key for easier viewing.
FIGURE 1: SOLIDWORKS Concentric Mate Unlocked Rotation
FIGURE 2: SOLIDWORKS Concentric Mate Locked Rotation
What if a component is already fully defined?
If a component is already fully defined, trying to lock one of its concentric mates will fail and provide a message that rotation is already locked for all concentric mates. As you can see in FIGURE 3, the three concentric mates are actually not locked (based on the icon) but it still gives the message. Due to the concentric mates fully defining the component, locking the rotation will no longer apply.
FIGURE 3: SOLIDWORKS Concentric Mate Rotation is Already Locked
Lock all free concentric mates in an entire assembly
You also have the ability to lock all free concentric mates in an entire assembly. Right-click on the overall Mates folder and select ‘Lock Concentric Rotation’. But again, it will only lock those that are applied to under defined components that can spin freely.
FIGURE 4: SOLIDWORKS Lock All Concentric Mates
FIGURE 5: SOLIDWORKS Locks only Free Concentric Mates
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