Hi I am wondering what is the best way to simulate two pipes that will be connected male to female, and then secured with a bolt.

So far I just mated them as coincidence, but I was told that left like this, Solidworks would treat the whole thing as one piece. I was told that I need to make it so that the two members are allowed to slide and are held together only by the bolt or the simulation wont be accurate.

I saw online that I can make the connection a no penetration one, but is there an easier way than putting together the whole assembly, starting the static study, then taking the whole thing apart, making the no penetration connections, then putting it back together again?

Also, what would be the best way to do the bolt? do I need to create my own bolt, then manually it to each hole? That would be very tedious. I know there is a bolt connector feature, but it doesn't work on these parts, I think maybe its because the holes are not on flat surfaces.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Thank You,

Matt