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New Custom Feature - Arrows

NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
in FeatureScript
This new custom feature creates arrows that can be used to explain how parts are assembled / disassembled, direction of travel, or how a product should be operated. You can create them in the same Part Studio as your parts or you can use in-context editing (the preferred method), then insert them into your assembly or drawing. Each arrow can have it's own colour or they can be shown wireframe. You can also use thicken to add an arrow to your solid model if you wish. Enjoy!


Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
«1

Comments

  • owen_sparksowen_sparks Member, Developers Posts: 2,660 PRO
    That's brilliant Neil, good job.  This can be useful to us today so thanks for sharing.

    O.S.
    Business Systems and Configuration Controller
    HWM-Water Ltd
  • brian_bradybrian_brady Member, Developers Posts: 505 EDU
    Can the arrows be used in drawings? if not, the use is limited for documentation purposes and isn't that their primary purpose?
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    @brian_brady the above image is from a drawing. They are 3D arrows so they must be created in the assembly first then added to a drawing.
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • brian_bradybrian_brady Member, Developers Posts: 505 EDU
    NeilCooke said:
    @brian_brady the above image is from a drawing. They are 3D arrows so they must be created in the assembly first then added to a drawing.
    Great. Thanks. 
  • owen_sparksowen_sparks Member, Developers Posts: 2,660 PRO
    Hi Neil, any chance you could add some special "arrow" shapes.  Say about 104 of them give or take?

    Cheers, Owen S.
    Business Systems and Configuration Controller
    HWM-Water Ltd
  • Jake_RosenfeldJake_Rosenfeld Moderator, Onshape Employees, Developers Posts: 1,646
    @owen_sparks

    If you give a mouse a cookie...

    :)
    Jake Rosenfeld - Modeling Team
  • owen_sparksowen_sparks Member, Developers Posts: 2,660 PRO
    @Jake_Rosenfeld I'll admit I had to look that one up but yes, point very well taken.  On the other hand the mouse might subscribe to your annually billed cookie service facilitating the hiring of additional cookie engineers thus speeding up cookie production, and resulting in less stress placed on the original cookie fulfillment team. :p
    O.S.
    Business Systems and Configuration Controller
    HWM-Water Ltd
  • john_mcclaryjohn_mcclary Member, Developers Posts: 3,935 PRO
    Sweet! I've been doing this manually for years. Never thought of a script for it..
  • Jake_RosenfeldJake_Rosenfeld Moderator, Onshape Employees, Developers Posts: 1,646
    @owen_sparks

    Forget this CAD stuff, we may have to pivot into cookie production! Sounds very lucrative :grin::grin:

    On a more serious note, though, this sort of stuff is on our radar, and any notes you have about what could make features like this more functional are highly appreciated around here!
    Jake Rosenfeld - Modeling Team
  • john_mcclaryjohn_mcclary Member, Developers Posts: 3,935 PRO
    Any chance of a helix flow?
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    @john_mcclary - should be doable.
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • MBartlett21MBartlett21 Member, OS Professional, Developers Posts: 2,050 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2018
    @owen_sparks
    Well, Onshape does give your browser 13 cookies every time you open it up (I only counted ones from onshape.com and cad.onshape.com)
    The browser may end up getting sick :)

    However, it doesn't give it any glasses of milk :)
    mb - draftsman - also FS author: View FeatureScripts
    IR for AS/NZS 1100
  • MBartlett21MBartlett21 Member, OS Professional, Developers Posts: 2,050 ✭✭✭✭✭
    @NeilCooke
    How did you do the white model with red arrows?
    mb - draftsman - also FS author: View FeatureScripts
    IR for AS/NZS 1100
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    @mbartlett21 just a bit of marketing trickery! The arrows are in a part studio (made in-context) then inserted into the assembly. Then I made a drawing view of the assembly and added another view of the arrow part studio (shaded) and manually positioned it over the top. 
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    @john_mcclary like this?


    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • john_mcclaryjohn_mcclary Member, Developers Posts: 3,935 PRO
    edited November 2018
    Sure, that looks fine :)
    Thanks
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    Updated - look out for the blue icon!
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • john_mcclaryjohn_mcclary Member, Developers Posts: 3,935 PRO
    edited November 2018
    How do I get it to go Down & clockwise?


  • konstantin_shiriazdanovkonstantin_shiriazdanov Member Posts: 1,221 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I already thought you used a secret internal FS library for helical arrow wrapping, and was going to discover something new, how wrong I was  :o
  • brian_bradybrian_brady Member, Developers Posts: 505 EDU
    I tried it and it is a nice feature, but...

    Onshape needs to provide a method to align sketches and surfaces to parts when they are added to a drawing. CAD is all about precision and speed. It is neither precise or speedy to manually drag around an inserted sketch or feature and try to get it to align to a part view. Fix that and this feature will be perfect.
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    john_mcclary said:
    How do I get it to go Down & clockwise?

    Click the arrow next to "Turns" to change turn direction, use "Translate" and "Rotate" to move it into position.
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    konstantin_shiriazdanov said:
    I already thought you used a secret internal FS library for helical arrow wrapping, and was going to discover something new, how wrong I was  :o
    At least I was honest in the comments :)
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    brian_brady said:
    Onshape needs to provide a method to align sketches and surfaces to parts when they are added to a drawing.
    You can position sketches precisely by right-clicking the view and selecting "show sketches". For surfaces, you will have to insert a Part Studio or Assembly for precise positioning.
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • john_mcclaryjohn_mcclary Member, Developers Posts: 3,935 PRO
    Tried turns,
    it flips Up/Down direction, but not rotation CW-CCW



  • john_mcclaryjohn_mcclary Member, Developers Posts: 3,935 PRO
    Can you take a peek?
    https://cad.onshape.com/documents/e89fe92cc27465bb6eb0e421/w/4aab9e8adcde659b25215a2f/e/4b3386a3913ed02d2809b9c8
  • brian_bradybrian_brady Member, Developers Posts: 505 EDU
    edited November 2018
    NeilCooke said:
    brian_brady said:
    Onshape needs to provide a method to align sketches and surfaces to parts when they are added to a drawing.
    You can position sketches precisely by right-clicking the view and selecting "show sketches". For surfaces, you will have to insert a Part Studio or Assembly for precise positioning.
    The "show sketches" is news to me because it does not show up for me when I right click on a view. Are you using the same build as the rest of us? (EDIT: I found it. Need to click on view to "activate it" then right-click to find "Show/Hide Sketches".) I also tried to insert a part studio with a surface, and the surface was not included. Now what?

    Also, straight arrows cannot be offset off the axis. Say I have a shaft that slides so I want an arrow to show that movement. I use the shaft cylindrical surface to set the axis. The arrow is completely inside the shaft. If you kept the diameter dimension used for the other types, that could be used to offset the arrow from the center by ½ the diameter, allowing the arrow to be outside the shaft.
  • john_mcclaryjohn_mcclary Member, Developers Posts: 3,935 PRO
    You can't show sketches on assemblies i know... 
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    john_mcclary said:
    Can you take a peek?
    https://cad.onshape.com/documents/e89fe92cc27465bb6eb0e421/w/4aab9e8adcde659b25215a2f/e/4b3386a3913ed02d2809b9c8
    Can't access - not sure I follow until I look - this is changing CW/CCW isn't it?


    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,681
    brian_brady said:
    NeilCooke said:
    brian_brady said:
    Onshape needs to provide a method to align sketches and surfaces to parts when they are added to a drawing.
    You can position sketches precisely by right-clicking the view and selecting "show sketches". For surfaces, you will have to insert a Part Studio or Assembly for precise positioning.
    The "show sketches" is news to me because it does not show up for me when I right click on a view. Are you using the same build as the rest of us? I also tried to insert a part studio with a surface, and the surface was not included. Now what?

    Also, straight arrows cannot be offset off the axis. Say I have a shaft that slides so I want an arrow to show that movement. I use the shaft cylindrical surface to set the axis. The arrow is completely inside the shaft. If you kept the diameter dimension used for the other types, that could be used to offset the arrow from the center by ½ the diameter, allowing the arrow to be outside the shaft.
    "Show sketches" only works on Parts and Part Studios
    To show surfaces, click the surface icon before inserting a Part Studio.

    In the instructions, it mentions using Move Face to offset from the axis - otherwise it would have been too many fields in the Arrow UI to account for all possibilities, though your Diameter suggestion is not a bad one.
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • billy2billy2 Member, OS Professional, Mentor, Developers, User Group Leader Posts: 2,068 PRO
    Good job! I'll be adding this one to my FS tool bar.
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