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Reference Axes

andrew_troupandrew_troup Member, Mentor Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭✭✭
In due course we will no doubt see these added to OnS.

On the face of it, mate connectors might seem to provide the necessary functionality, but it would be good to discuss axis roles for which connectors are not well suited

1) Pierce relations to an axis

... my pet peeve about these in Solidworks: despite the documentation since about 1998 having consistently described axes as being viable candidates for pierce relations, the functionality was never extended to reference axes: it was always only to temporary axes. (Admission: I haven't checked this since about 2010; I got jaded by disappointment, after checking so many new releases).

Given that pierce relations were not solved for the virtual extension of sketch lines. this was a major omission. I used to work around it by providing a dedicated 3D sketch with a LONG line, constrained collinear to the reference axis (or 2D sketch line or model edge) I wanted to use, and would then use that 3D line to establish any pierce relations.

2) Providing an axis for circular patterns

3) Establishing a tangency vector for a loft

4) Defining a pivot axis in mechanisms (this would be particularly useful in the Part Studio environment, where a single axis could service a number of parts)

There are lots of others: anyone else care to take up the story?
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