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Can the vertices be "Fixed" to each other? A relative constraint?

ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
edited January 2018 in Community Support
Can vertices be "Fixed" to a plane? or relative to a plane or sketch? I have made some free hand spline curves and I want to "freeze" them, but but frozen relative to a point. I can then move or constrain the point and the curve will follow. It would be nice if the vertices can "unfrozen" so I can adjust the curve, then re-freeze it.

The current "Fix" constraint seems to fix the points to the world. Dimensions to a reference point are cumbersome.

Best Answers

  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    Answer ✓
    The new Mate Connector sketch accomplishes a lot of what I wanted! Thanks!

Answers

  • michael_mcclainmichael_mcclain Member Posts: 198 PRO
    Try to use "coincident" to lock the points to a plane that is normal to the sketch plane
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    I think I'm asking for a new type of constraint. A "relative" constraint that maintains the relative position of the items sharing that constraint. Move one, move them all the same amount. Selecting that constraint on one of the items and deleting it frees all the items that shared that constraint.
    When I paste an item into a sketch, there are move handles and I can move the pasted item as a group. A constraint like that.
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    I think i can use a Transform feature. It would be awkward.
  • bruce_williamsbruce_williams Member, Developers Posts: 842 PRO
    Could you share an example of what you are trying to do?  I do not understand why Transform is awkward.  Transform allows entities to be moved or rotated even while 'fixed'.

    www.accuratepattern.com
  • mahirmahir Member, Developers Posts: 1,291 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You can fix a point's position in a sketch, but that is likely relative to the origin. To fix a point's position relative to another point you would need to add a system of constraints/dimensions. In general, you will need two constraints to fix both degrees of freedom of one point relative to another. That can be one vertical dimension and one horizontal, or one radial and angular, or a combination of the two. Constraints also lend themselves to design intent. Arbitrarily fixing one point relative to another doesn't show the same level of design intent and is more difficult to edit discretely, whereas a dimension can easily be increased or decreased by 1mm.
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    Here's a simple example:

    The "Q" is an imported dxf. Lot's of unconstrained points. I want to constrain the "Q" to be 1" from the edge of the containing rectangle. How do I do that?
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    Mahir,
    How do I fix a point to the sketch? The fix constraint is "fixed" to the world, I think. I think fixing it to the sketch would be helpful.
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    Grouping would be a nice addition, but a relative/relation constraint could work. Constraints already exist as function, just add another one... No problem. right?
  • Jake_RosenfeldJake_Rosenfeld Moderator, Onshape Employees, Developers Posts: 1,646
    @ron_moreland

    If you'd like to see functionality that's not currently in the system, please log an improvement request from the Improvement Requests section of this forum.  This will allow other users to also promote your idea, and will help prioritize the idea in our system based on number of interested users.
    Jake Rosenfeld - Modeling Team
  • mahirmahir Member, Developers Posts: 1,291 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    Thanks,
    Maybe the next release!
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    I'm bringing this up again. I've asked for this before and the response was "Drawings don't support grouping" and that was that. I'm asking again because it would be useful and I disagree about the need for grouping or blocks or higher level abstractions. I'm asking that the "fix" constraint allow for a reference point to be "fixed to". This is similar to the symmetric constraints mirror line.There is no grouping in the sense of hierarchy, only a list of points that are fixed to that reference point. Simple.
  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,307
    edited July 2018
    @rob_moreland did you vote on the improvement request? Creating a new type of sketch constraint is not simple so it will need a lot of votes to be considered. 
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    I've never voted something up or down. Do I just click the "Vote Up" button?

  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,307
    @ron_moreland click on the link that Mahir posted and you will see a coloured vote up button there. 
    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    Got it, thanks
  • ron_morelandron_moreland Member Posts: 79 ✭✭
    Answer ✓
    The new Mate Connector sketch accomplishes a lot of what I wanted! Thanks!
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