Assembly: Precise part placement

tj_thorniley

Below are some neodymium magnets, placed on a plastic part. They've been placed freehand (XYZ Transform, No Mates), but I'd like them to be precise.
Is there a way to do that?
Would be nice if I could use the existing lines, and place them an equal distance from the surrounding edges and/or fillets, etc.
FYI: In reality, they will simply be fixed with some kind of glue/adhesive. Thanks.

bruce_williams

@tj_thorniley
a cool trick for centering is to make some construction geometry on a sketch.  In your example 3 construction lines connecting the edges to center; then add an equal constraint to the three lines.  You may either use this method to make a 'layout sketch' or add an explicit mate to use in assembly.  See screen shot below and document here (also note sketch one is a screenshot I used to trace over, so ignore my sizing since I have no idea actual) - 
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/5f0f01f208648552e325bcd0/w/3da86721ea762e8bfb292d4b/e/24ac2c2ed0987117c8cdfb4d

barry_gibson

owen_sparks come on, got out of bed yet, you are very good on this forum  

owen_sparks

@barry_gibson Yep, I'm here.  Working for a change though, not forum-ing.

In a previous thread for @tj_thorniley I've already built him a document with an example of how to transform things precisely with mate connectors.

Assemblies are even easier to mate and the help files and tutorials are excellent.

@tj_thorniley As ever it's hard to help without a link to the document, and at least meet us half way and read the help then post with the problem you're facing. Your "is there a way to do that?" question indicates you've not put much effort into reading the help files, doing the tutorials or even just pressing the buttons to see what they do.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but come on fella.

Owen S.

tj_thorniley

I've put in a considerable amount of time and effort. I just haven't quite worked out exactly how to do what I want; place a part dead center between 3 edges of another part in an assembly. If it's in a tutorial, I missed it. A link would suffice.

bradley_sauln

If you are using XYZ Transform (not the tirad manipulator) then is sounds like you are still in a Part Studio. If you insert the items in an Assembly tab then you can use a fasten mate to specifically place them. Mates also give you the option to offset in X,Y,Z for any fine-tuned adjustments. Here is a good place to start: https://learn.onshape.com/learn/course/fundamentals-onshape-assemblies/creating-an-assembly/starting-an-assembly

As @owen_sparks said, if you copy and paste the link to your Document here we can take a look and assist further.

bruce_williams

@tj_thorniley
a cool trick for centering is to make some construction geometry on a sketch.  In your example 3 construction lines connecting the edges to center; then add an equal constraint to the three lines.  You may either use this method to make a 'layout sketch' or add an explicit mate to use in assembly.  See screen shot below and document here (also note sketch one is a screenshot I used to trace over, so ignore my sizing since I have no idea actual) - 
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/5f0f01f208648552e325bcd0/w/3da86721ea762e8bfb292d4b/e/24ac2c2ed0987117c8cdfb4d