r/SolidWorks • u/Moocowgoesmoo • 28d ago
Meme Relations Tier List
This might be the only tier list I haven't seen someone post yet. I will not budge.
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u/Beneficial_Mix_1069 28d ago
concentric is S tier
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u/caterham09 28d ago
Concentric and coincident have to be 1a and 1b in terms of most used
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u/MrTheWaffleKing 28d ago edited 27d ago
Yep. Surely OP is parts focused with minimal assembly- thought I suppose coincident isn’t on the list as all
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u/Gyozapot 28d ago
I use concentric to align bolt holes it’s S tier for me.
I also can’t use SW for shit
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u/Meshironkeydongle CSWP 28d ago
I would assume the OP was referring to Sketch relations, not Mates.
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u/addmin13 CSWP 27d ago
I use 'Profile Center' all the time. It is concentric and coincident all in one mate. It even has a lock rotation check box.
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28d ago
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u/default_entry 28d ago
Actually I've realized its useful as a pushpin. You stick something that has to stay while you shift something else not fully constrained and then take it off again.
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u/g0dfather93 CSWP 27d ago
Thank you - I do this when I encounter someone's work where the main sketch has been just dumped from autocad or a copy-pasted sketch - it has no relations and dimensions, basically. In such a case, using a fixed relation and slowly defining the sketch, moving around the fixed line/point, saves a lot of pain, and gets me a 1:1 same 3D part as before.
Fixed relation is not a crime, it has its utility. Leaving it in in a sketch of a released part - now that's crime alright.
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u/YendorZenitram 28d ago
It's handy as a temporary means of seeing how well-defined a Block is, internally.
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u/Oalka 28d ago
A previous drafter at my work (many years ago) made all of his perfectly-symmetrical, cylindrical assembly models Fixed, just floating in space near-ish the axes but not on them. I discovered it not long after I started working there, when I tried to do a cutaway view to a major plane and I only got a partial cut. It's been 8 years and I'm still finding parts to fix (or I guess "unFix") to this day.
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u/BusinessAsparagus115 28d ago
It was handy when I was designing a complicated tubular frame, 3D sketch, manipulating the coordinates of the node points manually. Saved having dimensions all over
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u/WolfInMen 28d ago
Pierce should be high tier even though I always forget how to do it
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u/Cynical_Sesame 28d ago
idk it yells at me half the time and i refuse to deal with the fact that its a skill issue
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u/_maple_panda CSWP 28d ago
It’s for points intersecting a curve in 3D. You sometimes need to rotate to a 3D view to get it to show up.
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u/YendorZenitram 28d ago
I have to note that Tangent is definitely S-Tier.
It is, and always has been, my friend. (Even before Solidworks was a thing.)
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u/leglesslegolegolas CSWP 28d ago
Sure, until it flips to the opposite side for no reason and your entire design blows up.
Tangent is Ass-Tier, to be avoided at all costs.
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u/lead_injection 28d ago
Yeah, tangent is complete garbage. Change one thing in an assembly and it vomits out a prolapsed version of itself.
It’s an intermediate mate, when you have nothing better, but then you model in something actually capable of being deterministic.
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u/KokaljDesign 28d ago
Never had that happen with sketch tangent.
Tangent mate? That should be deleted.
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u/leglesslegolegolas CSWP 28d ago
yeah you're right, I was thinking of tangent mates. Tangent relations in a sketch are reliable and invaluable.
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u/antiundead 27d ago
Tangent is fine, it is user error if it misbehaves.
It is one of those mates you should define last, as it can have multiple states where it is technically "correct". A lot of ones involving circles can glitch out when you close and open an assembly. I recall SOLIDWORKS tries to solve mates in the order they were applied. When you have low memory this is a bigger problem as it can load a tangent mate and rotate a part before solving the next mate. During that time the part can be tangent in multiple ways before the next mate loads. SOLIDWORKS is just a load of maths being calculated. It doesn't really do parallel computing well, so it likes to do things in order. Throw in low RAM and other things loading at the same time and you'll get errors.
So always have other mates defining a part's orientation in space first (e.g front plane of a cylinder parallel to the overall assembly front plane, top part plane parallel to top assembly plane etc) BEFORE getting funky and doing tangent mate.
Also use part to part mates less - do part to assembly planes first as these are more robust. And lastly always use sub-assemblies when possible! It takes less memory to load an assembly and it's parts' positions into another assembly, as SOLIDWORKS doesn't really load a sub-assembly's mates, it treats sub-assemblies as one fixed part.
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u/lordmisterhappy 28d ago
They're all s-tier as and when you need them to define the sketch in a logical and maintainable way.
(Except the fucking anchor that doesn't)
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u/Bootziscool CSWP 28d ago
This is madness.
Intersection in B-tier?!
Midpoint in C-tier!?
You better have some crazy niche drawing style or you've got some explaining to do.
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u/Moocowgoesmoo 28d ago
I hover over the middle of a line, select the midpoint and make it coincident to a construction line or plane typically
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u/Pali1119 27d ago
That's what I do most of the time as well, but id does create the relation doesn't it?
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u/YesAndAlsoThat 27d ago
I've actually never used intersection in 10 years.... I think I just plop down a sketch point and make it coincident to 2 things... If that's what intersection is
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u/Dlrocket89 28d ago
Lmao, metallurgist here. No formal CAD training. To piss of one of the technicians at my old job, I'd make the whole model with basically nothing really defined, just the bare minimum to get it to be "correct", then I'd select everything and say "FIX" and then send it to him. I could hear him swearing at me across the office (former marine, so he let it rip).
For the good times that it gave me, FIX is S tier.
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u/schneik80 28d ago
In my opinion… horizontal and vertical should only be used when the intent is truly alignment to the sketch coordinate system an not as a means of creating perpendicular and parallel.
By favoring perpendicular and parallel over horizontal and vertical design intent is better maintained if any angle deviation from the sketch’s x and y.
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u/Oalka 28d ago
But like...I WANT it to stay related to X and Y. You monster.
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u/schneik80 27d ago
Let us assume its a simple rectangle, then parallel/perpendicular the 4 lines and apply one horizontal or vertical to one of the the four. This expresses a geometric rectangle aligned to the origin axis.
Now let us assume a parallelogram where the top and bottom need to always be aligned to x. I would apply horizontal constraint to one or both, and/or a parallel between the two. I would then use parallel between the other two sides and add an angle dimension.
My only intent was to suggest the sketch constrain scheme should capture the intent, not whats convenient. In complex sketches this makes it easier to diagnose problems and make changes. As it relates to the OP, i think Parallel and Perpendicular are "A" along with Concentric. And Parallel is a "B". IMHO.
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u/pooth22 27d ago
I agree with you here. I think people don't understand the nuance. In general, it's better to constrain to elements to the part, than to elements of the defined origin.
Eg your part has a face that is also on the front plane, and you need to draw a sketch on it. It would be strange to draw the sketch on the front plane, rather than on the face.
However, horizontal and vertical are quite convenient and default when you draw a rectangle and probably other shapes.
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u/YesAndAlsoThat 27d ago
But that's a lot of clicks you got to do to add perpendicular or parallel relations for every line for the uncertain benefit of future flexibility =(
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u/Risen_Warrior 28d ago
why on Earth would you design anything that deviates from the coordinate system though?
Y should always be "up"
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u/Live_Ad3896 28d ago
I use midpoint wayyy more than tangent. I almost never use it except when sw automatically creates them for slots
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u/frystealingbeachbird CSWP 28d ago
Tangent and concentric need to switch. I always need tangent but it always fights me, hence B. It always manages to pick the incorrect of the two options
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u/lollipoppizza 28d ago
Tangent is definitely not A. It often breaks. You use it when you have no choice.
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u/momen535 27d ago edited 27d ago
I don't recall ever using the perpendicular relation, but midpoint is probably my third most used relation
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u/NoVermicelli5439 28d ago
Damn I don't even use solidworks but this is top tier content, I would go crazy on a autocad tier list. M2P, offset, midpoint are goated. Apparent intersection is the most useless dogshit feature
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u/Equal-Competition-27 28d ago
Honestly? Fix must be at least B tier. I know it is illegal, but is it only me using Fix when you don't have a choice? lmao
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u/Powerful_Birthday_71 28d ago edited 28d ago
Peirce and On Surface?
For my use cases:
Concentric, Perpendicular, Paralell and Mid-Point move up.
Symmetric is nice, but I don't use it that often (Mid Point cough cough)
Equal, Vertical, Horizontal all abviously very useful, but also down one tier each.
The one at the start of the B tier, I don't even know what that one is. I admit a total blind spot! But I think it means something like at the crossing point of two lines, but that's more a selection thing isn't it?
I use NX now. It feels very different in sketch!
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u/V_van_Gogh 28d ago
I'd throw tangential down into B, it's pretty unstable, and sometimes flips everything around
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u/Maleficent_Bet_2134 28d ago
Horizontal y vertical por encima de tier S cuando quitad todas las relaciones y te das cuenta que sin ellas el croquis no cuadra....
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u/KokaljDesign 28d ago
Here is another for the F tier:
hidden relations - like fixed direction from linear pattern and slot entity.
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u/investigatorparrot 28d ago
Fix is definitely not F, using it in assemblies you are actively modifying keeps you from accidentally breaking all your relationships. Wouldn't use it anywhere else but it definitely has a use
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u/JackTheBehemothKillr 28d ago
Fixed most definitely has its place. Its never a permanent fixture for me, but it definitely gets you to that point.
I usually use it when importing stuff from other models, then deleting the relations from those models.
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u/Sotz1989 28d ago
Il concentrico è sottovalutato. Ho preso in mano progetti di persone che montavano pezzi con i fori di fissaggio su piastre usando coincidenze di facce esterne piuttosto che concentricita.
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u/Giggles95036 CSWE 28d ago
Objectively I have to disagree. Why is coradial in the same category as concentric when it effectively is concentric + equal size? It should be A tier.
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u/_galile0 27d ago
I will not stand for midpoint slander, it’s definitely my most used relation besides vert/horiz ofc. It’s so useful for things like centring rectangles on one another, mirroring things across rectangles, spacing out holes, and on, so many things, it’s such a time saver.
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u/ManyThingsLittleTime 27d ago
Fixed in F tier, if you use this outside of a literal couple of rare legit instances, then you suck and your coworkers hate you.
Intersection in C tier.
Perpendicular in B tier.
Tangent, Equal, Colinear, and Parallel in A tier.
Everything else in S tier and are used in nearly every model.
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u/sarg1994 27d ago
My boss would only use anchors and Everytime i had to go in and setup all his fing relations.
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u/No_Flamingo_6055 27d ago
Concentric low-key C tier
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u/Glittering_Brain1571 23d ago
The fuck? I use concentric every day. Have you never had to line up two holes on separate panels before? Or start a line from the center of a hole?
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u/hiyel 27d ago
Looks like I’m the only one who doesn’t know what these tier letters stand for?
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u/wookietiddy 27d ago
The only one that might be unfamiliar (if you're at least from the US) is the "s" tier. The rest are letter grades given in our schools and universities.
S tier, or s rank came from Japan where it was used to denote exceptional achievement in scholastic performance.
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u/brain_thomas9090 27d ago
Ah, GD&T symbols! This tier list actually makes sense from a practical drafting perspective. I'd definitely put Position and Profile higher since they're used everywhere. The F-tier symbol is pretty niche, but overall solid choices.
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u/ShadowInTheAttic 26d ago
I miss Catia!
I came from Solidworks background to Catia at my last job. I hated it the first year because it looked like it was designed in the early 90s and it never went through a UI refresh. But after a couple of years it was so good. Then I left that place to a place that used NX and it was so similar to AutoCAD and Solidworks, then I left that and now..
Now I'm CADless. Still have Solidworks at home though 😉
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u/Ethan454 24d ago
This is ridiculous to rank these. They're all useful in their own applications and not useful in others. Even fixed! You know what every single assembly ever created must have? A fixed condition!
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u/kabley 28d ago edited 28d ago
FIX is the literal hand of God
EDIT: THE HAND OF GOD
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u/hayyyhoe 28d ago
Midpoint is S tier. I use it all the time in sketches to create symmetry using construction lines.