How to Use Copy With Mates in SOLIDWORKS

Copy With Mates in SOLIDWORKS duplicates a component in an assembly while reusing or redefining its mates. It is useful when the same part appears multiple times with similar placement, such as fasteners, brackets, rollers, spacers, or repeated hardware.

When to use Copy With Mates

Use Copy With Mates when a component has mates that can be reused with new references. This saves time compared with inserting the same part and recreating every mate manually.

If each copy needs completely different placement, normal insert-and-mate may be clearer. Copy With Mates works best when the placement pattern is similar.

It is especially useful for repeated components that are not arranged in a simple linear or circular pattern. For true patterns, component pattern tools may be faster and easier to maintain.

Select the component to copy

Start by selecting the component that already has useful mates. The existing mates become the template for the copied component. Review the original mates first so you understand which references will need to change.

Simple, well-named mates make this command much easier to use. If the original component is over-constrained, fix that before copying it.

Check whether the original component has hidden or suppressed mates. Those mates can affect the copied result even if they are easy to overlook in a busy assembly.

Replace mate references

For each copied mate, SOLIDWORKS asks for new references. Select the new faces, edges, planes, or axes that should replace the original references.

Watch the preview after each reference selection. If the component flips, rotates, or lands in the wrong place, reverse mate alignment or choose a better reference.

Use reference geometry when faces are not stable. Mating to a named plane or axis can be safer than mating to a small face that may disappear after a part change.

Reuse references when appropriate

Some mates can reuse the original reference. For example, several fasteners may share the same top face but use different hole axes. Reusing references saves clicks and keeps the assembly consistent.

Do not reuse a reference just because it is convenient. The copied mate should still describe the real assembly relationship.

For repeated fasteners, make sure the copied component is placed in the correct hole or pattern location. A visually close placement can still be wrong if it references the wrong feature.

Check the copied components

After copying, rebuild the assembly and drag nearby components if needed to confirm the mates solve correctly. Check for interference, wrong orientation, and duplicate components in the BOM.

If the copied component is hardware, confirm that patterning or toolbox options would not be a better workflow. Copy With Mates is useful, but it is not always the cleanest way to manage repeated parts.

Also check the BOM behavior. Multiple copied components should appear with the correct quantity and should not accidentally create separate configured or virtual components unless that is intended.

Troubleshooting

If Copy With Mates fails, check whether the original mates are suppressed, broken, or based on references that do not exist in the new location. Replace weak references with stable faces, axes, or planes.

If the copied component is overdefined, suppress mates one at a time to find the conflict. A clean mate structure before copying prevents many downstream assembly problems.

Use Copy With Mates to speed up repeated assembly work, but verify every copied component before releasing the assembly or drawing.

For large assemblies, copy a small group first and rebuild before repeating the workflow many times. Catching a mate-reference issue early is much easier than cleaning up dozens of copied components later.