part studio sketching

doug_hills

hi everyone, I've got a question I hope you can help me with, guide me to the training module that covers it. I have done the fundamentals, and a few other courses, as required.

I need to sketch a new part which is hidden by other parts in the part studio. I can't just "hide" those parts, as I need them for reference. How can I create a cutaway, so I can access what is behind/inside?

thanks in advance
Doug

Matt_Shields

Depending on your specific needs, you've got a few options that will help.

• Taranslucent or Hidden edges visible (https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/moving.htm)
• Select Other (https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/select-other.htm)
• Section View (https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/moving.htm)
• In-Context (https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/in-context.htm)

steve_shubin

doug_hills said:

I need to sketch a new part which is hidden by other parts in the part studio. I can't just "hide" those parts, as I need them for reference

You could start your sketch on the background part. And then UNHIDE the foreground parts to make points or lines coincident. And hide them again if they get in the way as you further develop your background sketch

So if you hide a part in the foreground that you previously used as a reference, that IS NOT going to eliminate its reference point to the sketch in the back

In other words — you could hide and unhide parts all you want during the course of making a sketch — and still use them as references for a sketch in the background

steve_shubin

So there’s at least a couple ways to go about getting those parts in the front to act as a reference for the sketch in the back

One way is to use the USE tool on various edges and points of the part in front, to project onto your sketch in the back. This will allow you to snap to those projected lines that are now on the sketch in back. Remember that if you’re going to use these projected lines as construction lines, that you can make them dashed lines, if desired

An example for how to do it in another way, is by drawing a line on the sketch in back where the end points are NOT constrained. Then select one of the end points of that line. Next, unhide the part in the front, and then select a point on that part and make it coincident to the point on that line in the sketch in back

steve_shubin

In this GIF below, I sketch a line on the face of the blue part, with end points coincident to the green part

Notice how I hide the green part so that I can select the blue part’s face to sketch on.

After I draw the initial line, I unhide or show the green part so that I could select its’ corner points in order to make them coincident with the end points of the line

I rotate the viewpoint at the end of the GIF in order to show that that line is on the face of the blue part