Sometimes you may receive a different part file that you need to use in the assembly. Or perhaps the original file was lost and needed to be recreated. If the new file is saved as the same name as the original one, when you try to open your assembly, you may experience for some SOLIDWORKS Non-Matching Internal ID Errors.

SOLIDWORKS internal ID code

When you create new file, even if the geometry is identical, every face/edge/vertex is assigned to a different internal ID code. The ID codes will not match if an assembly is referring to a completely new file . You will have the option to choose to browse for the original file if it has moved and avoid errors.

If you select “Use this file anyway”, mate errors will unavoidably be waiting for you. Mates are assigned to specific IDs so mate errors will be there when these IDs are missing.

It can be a intimidating task to see the SOLIDWORKS Non-Matching Internal ID error and all the mate errors that need to be repaired, as shown below:

Replace Components Tool as Alternative

Other than replacing the file with the same filename in Windows Explorer, another method is to use the Replace Components feature in SOLIDWORKS. This will prompt out the graphical showing what mates are missing their ID codes. A component with the same filename could not be replaced by using Replace Components command. It is always good to practice to have files with unique filenames to avoid reference errors. In this example, I am replacing the “Wrist Pin” file with “Wrist Pin v2”.

Right-click on the component in the Design Tree and click the arrow at the bottom of the menu to expand. Select Replace Components to open this command.

Then you may browse to the replacement file. Ensure that the “Re-attach mates” option is enabled.

Fixing missing mates

The PropertyManager will list all mates and show a “?” beside any mates that do not locate the modified face/edge/vertex. Click on each one to see a graphics window highlighting the face of the original file, then select the face on the new file that has been inserted.