Welcome to the Onshape forum! Ask questions and join in the discussions about everything Onshape.
First time visiting? Here are some places to start:- Looking for a certain topic? Check out the categories filter or use Search (upper right).
- Need support? Ask a question to our Community Support category.
- Please submit support tickets for bugs but you can request improvements in the Product Feedback category.
- Be respectful, on topic and if you see a problem, Flag it.
If you would like to contact our Community Manager personally, feel free to send a private message or an email.
Having the legend "question" above the box where you want a title is .... not good.
buk_browseruk
Member Posts: 11 ✭
How do I construct a plane at 45° to the axis of a cylinder?
I managed to create a radial plane half way up the cylinder, but cannot find a means to tilt it to 45°.
0
Answers
Sketch a construction line perpendicular through the cylinder axis, then use the "line angle" option when creating your plane
I created an example document on the Android phone app but couldn't figure out how to share the link from the mobile app.
Or just use a mate connector do it in one step…
Mate connectors....something I probably should learn more about. All I've used them for is to position parts of an assembly.
Thanks Eric!
@eric_pesty
What would I be "mating" or "connecting" this plane to?
I only want this plane so I can create a sketch on it.
I can't belive how stupidly difficult is is to do this.
Nearly to hours of sessions with chatgpt and google's AI whilst waiting for my disappeared posts here to reappear, and nothing.
Dozens of attempts to simple tilt a plane to 45°.
In my current CAD, click "Move", Click the plane, click the direction handle. Type 45°. Done
@jim_zamecnik
"Sketch a construction line perpendicular through the cylinder axis,"
How?
How can I draw a line to put the plane on, when I need to plane to create the sketch so I can draw a line?
The cleanest method is to use "Select mate connector" inside the sketch dialog. Then click any mate connector reference in 3D.
Then click to edit on this smaller mate connector symbol.
Which brings up the mate connector manipulator dialog where the mate connector can be moved and rotated around any axis, note that the axis is the local axis of the mate connector itself, not the global coordinate system.
The XY-plane of the resulting mate connector becomes the sketch plane and you can sketch away as you wish normally.
Here's the doc.
All of this and more is explained in the video linked by @eric_pesty above, great watch!
Sketch your line on your current sketch. Then use that line to create a "line angle plane" at 45⁰. Then you can create a new sketch on that plane.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/7c165154098b00437acacab4/w/ed5856ae5b9212f36c3390ec/e/31de001658cb7daf32ebb751?renderMode=0&uiState=69fc9d1767af19aa08180a2a
That might get you to my document.
I still don't always get the link sharing right....
@wille_j
"The cleanest method is to use "Select mate connector" inside the sketch dialog."
3days wait for TPTB to authorise my response to a response to my question that took 3 days to authorise; and then only to have to question the very first sentence of an elaborate response. (Thankyou BTW!)
What sketch dialog?
I am sitting, not in a sketch, (is that what you call 3D), looking at my cylinder. I have exactly 2 (non-default) things in my features tree. A sketch on which I drew a circle, and the extruce to a cylinder.
I want (need) to construct an ellipse on a plane at 45° through the centre (axially and radially) of the cylinder. That ellipse will define the "cutting path" for a groove on a barrel cam.
So, is "the sketch" that original sketch? (Wouldn't modifying that screw up the extrade?)
Or do I need to create an new sketch (where) in order to gain access to this mysteriously named "mate connector", in order to define a plane in order to create the sketch I need to construct my ellipse?
@buk_browseruk Man, that is so basic, you really need to read the manual.
There is a "plane angle" option in the plane tool, and there are curve types called "construction curves" that won't 'screw up' your extrude. Now, after you used that, you only need to:
A - Use the split tool with the angled plane on your cylinder surface to 'cut' it, or
B- Use the tilt plane as another sketch plane and apply the "intersect" feature with the cylinder sleeve surface to create the ellipse as a 3D curve.
Or, if that fails, you could just
C- Sketch up that line at 45° and project it rihght on the cylinder to get the 3D ellipse.
Whatever serves you best.
But please take the time to go through at least the basic lessons in the leraning section. They are really good and will save you a lot of time and geusswork.
Hm.
The trouble is, there does not seem to be a"manual", just a plethora of long winded, slow video courses I have to sign in and wade through half a dozen to discover the one thing I want now;and then wade through half a dozen more to try and find the next thing.
Oh for a searchable and indexed manual.
I'm not a newbie to CAD, just a newbie to this CAD.
I thought I was missing something obvious that meant I needed to a) create a plane; b) draw a line; c) create a second plane that referenced that otherwise unneeded line that I now cannot delete else the dependent plane goes away.
Even FreeCAD — surely the worst CAD interface ever; least that's what I thought — allows me to create a Datum plan positioned according to some existing model feature and the rotate, and or translate it to where I need it as a simple, simgle operation.
willy_j's method of abusing a connetor to proved missing fucntionality seems cleanest — no unwanted auxilliary sketch and unneeded line cluttering the feature tree.
The mate connector route is meant precisely for this kind of use case. :P Plus, I place practically all my sketches on implicit mate connectors so that I don't have to maintain a separate feature or set of features constructing intermediate geometry. Makes navigating a complex Part Studio a whole lot easier.
The mate connector option is definitely the best option and what I suggested… The name isa bit mis-leading as it's used for a lot more than assembly mates. It's actually a coordinate system that can be defined on the fly.
Have you looked at the help files? It's definitely indexed and searchable.
There is also the "AI advisor", although it's very disappointing that it didn't suggest using a mate connector with the following prompts @_anton , who's in charge of collecting feedback on the advisor as this seems like a massive fail!
Also, it seems to be hallucinating things that don't exist in Onshape, "New Sketch on Plane" function, really????
And the absolute worst; I followed up with this and the answer made me want to scream:
I was literally just asking about ways to angle sketches and they didn't get mentioned so it's a good thing I'm told that's not the only thing they are good for! I really hate how absolutely dumb AI can be sometimes (often)!
/rant
Why's it called "mate connector"?
I wanted to reorient a plane; the first term that came to mind was 'move', followed by 'transform', followed by 'rotate' and 'tilt' and…I would never have thought to even consider something labelled 'mate' or 'connector' for this purpose..
Its like putting steering wheel of your car in the glove box and lablelling it 'directional widget'. (Actually, that's less obsure.)
There's a principle software design called the 'principle of least surprise'; this is more ;Principle of upsell the training courses.
Mate connectors were originally just for mating parts in assemblies. Over time, their use has expanded to anything that needs a plane or coordinate system. Since they have powerful functionality for locating and positioning, that's being leveraged and reused for other purposes.
Is it obvious terminology? No.
If you go through the learning pathways, you will learn about a lot of different ways to use them.
Simon Gatrall | Product Development, Engineering, Design, Onshape | Ex- IDEO, PCH, Unagi, Carbon | LinkedIn
Mate is a British/Australian figure of speach indicating a friendly relationship, like between a sketch and an angled plane.
I didn't know of the usefulness of mate connectors until recently. It's a feature that could use a better name. I propose "Really useful gizmo". I found the video Eric posted above pretty helpful, if you have 20 minutes to watch it.
@S1mon "If you go through the learning pathways, you will learn about a lot of different ways to use them."
That's exactly the problem with "learning pathways". I want to find a specific (preferably single, simple) solution to my immediate problem; not take a long and winding road, 95% of which is totally unrelated to my current requirement and which may or may not include an oblique (often unrecognisible) reference to the solution I seek.
It like asking "How do I get to the hospital?" and being told to take the walking tour as it will (evenually) pass by it, though it might not be pointed out specifically.
@jim_zamecnik "I found the video Eric posted above pretty helpful, if you have 20 minutes to watch it."
I did watch the entire thing, and if how to apply a mate connector to a plane is in there, I didn't see it. The only starting point (for a mate connector) seems to be the button on a sketch, which means I need a sketch, which means I need a plane to construct the sketch on which…brings us full circle.
@eric_pesty "Have you looked at the help files? It's definitely indexed and searchable."
Where? When I click on the "Help menu" dropdown I see:
Nothing there is obviously a manual, and nothing I clicked on in there looked like one either.
Click on the "help" item and I get a search box. Ask my question there and I get:
Same for 3 other variations I will not bore you with.
12 days on from my original enquiry, and due to the 3 day turnround between posting and approval, I'm no nearer to solving my original problem: that of how to find quick answers to ostensibly simple questions.
This is what I was trying to draw:
Took me about 10 minutes in my CAD; but I was doing it for a friend who wants to use it in OnShape, so I tried here. 12 days later…
We settled on FreeCAD — which I dislike with a vengence — but at least the help is easy to find. It took about an hour there.
I guess I now know why all the YT videos I see promoting this product either show a simple sequence of drawing a simple 2D shape and lofting it to a planer 3D object, or just a static image of "their design". Enough for sponsership, but nothing more complicated.
Being british, my mate wants me to go for a drink with him Sunday lunchtime, but my mate wants me to stay home and help her, and she's offering a mating reward. (Guess who won!)
But using that as a justifiction for the "mate" prefix to a (industry standard term) "connector"; and implying it is logical? Obvious? Derigour?
Not so much pal!