Finding a measurement in Assembly

james_munro

I am building a model of a shed, and I need to find a specific measurement in the assembly window. I need to know what length will bring the jack stud in the screenshot below to meet the top plate in dark blue. Please let me know if I am approaching this the wrong way, thanks!

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/f79f11d5cd86f79d77340d8b/w/ca0b3d6bebef0ee4abf52efa/e/10b033ea863946e4fb02d922?renderMode=0&uiState=644927f24d176d066982e2e9

S1mon

I took a quick look through your document. While you can approach things the way you've done, but it's really a mismatch between the power and capability of Onshape and the features you've used to achieve your goals. I would highly recommend you spend some time going through some of the learning pathways:

https://learn.onshape.com/learning-paths/onshape-fundamentals-cad
https://learn.onshape.com/learn/learning-path/top-down-design
https://learn.onshape.com/courses/frames-fundamentals

The most obvious red flag: 


Sketch 1 through Boolean 1 could be done as one sketch and one extrude, or even better, you could use some of the top down design concepts or the Frames features to build all of your lumber in the context of the walls and structure so that miters and notches would be tied to the overall design. Using transform over and over like that is basically taking how things work in a non parametric modeling tool and translating that approach directly to Onshape. It's possible, but it really is wasting the power of the tool. It's kind of like taking a electric saber saw and using it manually like a file.

S1mon

I took a quick look through your document. While you can approach things the way you've done, but it's really a mismatch between the power and capability of Onshape and the features you've used to achieve your goals. I would highly recommend you spend some time going through some of the learning pathways:

https://learn.onshape.com/learning-paths/onshape-fundamentals-cad
https://learn.onshape.com/learn/learning-path/top-down-design
https://learn.onshape.com/courses/frames-fundamentals

The most obvious red flag: 


Sketch 1 through Boolean 1 could be done as one sketch and one extrude, or even better, you could use some of the top down design concepts or the Frames features to build all of your lumber in the context of the walls and structure so that miters and notches would be tied to the overall design. Using transform over and over like that is basically taking how things work in a non parametric modeling tool and translating that approach directly to Onshape. It's possible, but it really is wasting the power of the tool. It's kind of like taking a electric saber saw and using it manually like a file.

james_munro

Thanks for the suggestions! After I posted this I started re-doing the project in such a way that makes more use of the assembly aspect of things (using sub assemblies that makes better use of constraints, for example, keeping a consistent orientation and tying the sub assemblies to the origin). I ended up finding the measurement via simple hand calculations, not the right way to do things but I could move forward. I will definitely be checking out all of the learning pathways you recommended, I really appreciate the help!

james_munro

S1mon said:

I took a quick look through your document. While you can approach things the way you've done, but it's really a mismatch between the power and capability of Onshape and the features you've used to achieve your goals. I would highly recommend you spend some time going through some of the learning pathways:

https://learn.onshape.com/learning-paths/onshape-fundamentals-cad
https://learn.onshape.com/learn/learning-path/top-down-design
https://learn.onshape.com/courses/frames-fundamentals

The most obvious red flag: 


Sketch 1 through Boolean 1 could be done as one sketch and one extrude, or even better, you could use some of the top down design concepts or the Frames features to build all of your lumber in the context of the walls and structure so that miters and notches would be tied to the overall design. Using transform over and over like that is basically taking how things work in a non parametric modeling tool and translating that approach directly to Onshape. It's possible, but it really is wasting the power of the tool. It's kind of like taking a electric saber saw and using it manually like a file.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/25025155be31feeb694041a4/w/eb6035960f3084c5335fad1e/e/3c66efbdc683935a05465286?renderMode=0&uiState=644ff3a6a81303542d35e393

Take a look at my second attempt and let me know what you think.

I am also looking for advise on how to approach adding the studs in the spaces highlighted in the screenshot below, as well as adding a coped butt jointed 2x4 in between the header and door stud on the left along the roof. I would like to do these with the frame feature. Thanks!

S1mon

Typically the idea of a part studio is to create all the unique parts once. Then in the assembly, you can pattern or assemble multiple copies of the parts there. Frames are a bit of an in-between kind of thing, because a weldment (that's the core reason for the tools) is an inseparable assembly, but it's nice to have a cut list of all the tubes, or in your case, lumber. I've actually never used Frames, so hopefully others can look at how you're using it and comment. @NeilCooke?

One thing I see is that the way you create the sketch plane for the Roof Area sketch is very strange. A more typical way would be to use the plane feature with an edge and an angle or with 3 points. Again, transform does have good uses, but for the most part, if you find yourself using it, there's probably a more parametric typical way that makes more sense.

james_munro

S1mon said:

I took a quick look through your document. While you can approach things the way you've done, but it's really a mismatch between the power and capability of Onshape and the features you've used to achieve your goals. I would highly recommend you spend some time going through some of the learning pathways:

https://learn.onshape.com/learning-paths/onshape-fundamentals-cad
https://learn.onshape.com/learn/learning-path/top-down-design
https://learn.onshape.com/courses/frames-fundamentals

The most obvious red flag: 


Sketch 1 through Boolean 1 could be done as one sketch and one extrude, or even better, you could use some of the top down design concepts or the Frames features to build all of your lumber in the context of the walls and structure so that miters and notches would be tied to the overall design. Using transform over and over like that is basically taking how things work in a non parametric modeling tool and translating that approach directly to Onshape. It's possible, but it really is wasting the power of the tool. It's kind of like taking a electric saber saw and using it manually like a file.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/25025155be31feeb694041a4/w/eb6035960f3084c5335fad1e/e/3c66efbdc683935a05465286?renderMode=0&uiState=644ff3a6a81303542d35e393

Take a look at my second attempt and let me know what you think.

I am also looking for advise on how to approach adding the studs in the spaces highlighted in the screenshot below, as well as adding a coped butt jointed 2x4 in between the header and door stud on the left along the roof. I would like to do these with the frame feature. Thanks!

james_munro

It’s nice to know that the frames are an in-between as I was having trouble connecting the part studio and assembly in my head. I used the frames because of the cut list. Thank you for mentioning the plane tool! I could not figure how to get an angled sketch plane beyond selecting an angled face, hence the transformation. I know what you mean as I used no transforms other than for the roof plane. Thanks again for the feedback! I know this is a strange use case for Onshape but it’s something that I had in my head and fairly simple so I thought it would be a good starting point.