SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Chapter 15: Using Component Patterns and Mirrors

3. Opposite Hand Versions. For the parts that need opposite hand versions, you can assign
   them to use new parts or derived configurations.

You should find this version of the mirror components capability to be more robust and thorough

than previous versions.

Using Feature-Driven Component Patterns

By their very nature, feature-driven component patterns defy some of the best practice suggestions

in this book. This is because the pattern is driven by part geometry, and the part must first be

solved (by solving features internal to the part) and then placed (by solving mates); only then can

the feature-driven pattern be solved. Nevertheless, I recommend using feature-driven patterns over

local patterns when available because of the parametric link.

Note
For the feature-driven component patterns, the location of the initial component is important. You need to
match the placement of the initial component with the position of the original feature from which the pattern
was created, not one of the patterned instances. You can get around this requirement if you use the Select Seed
Position option. When you do this, the feature pattern instances all appear with dots and you can select which
instance to use as the seed. Again, the selected dot is blue and unselected dots are purple, nearly indistinguish-
able at the size and spacing of the dots. Figure 15.5 shows the PropertyManager interface for a feature-driven
component pattern. n

FIGURE 15.5

The feature-driven Component Pattern interface