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Use the Circular Pattern command to duplicate objects around a common axis.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
6 min.
Transcript
00:04
The circular pattern command in a design workspace creates
00:07
a set of patterns faces features bodies or components
00:12
in a circular arrangement
00:13
and helps reduce the need to sketch and extrude multiple similar entities.
00:19
In this example,
00:20
we have this valve cover
00:22
and you're going to create a number of threaded holes to play some bolts.
00:26
One option may be to create a number of individual sketch entities
00:31
extrude them by selecting each profile independently,
00:34
then apply the threaded command to each cut out.
00:38
However,
00:39
you can minimize this process and use a more parametric approach
00:42
by instead using one threaded hole and creating a circular pattern
00:48
from the crate drop down menu,
00:50
open up the circular pattern command
00:54
in the dialog box that appears,
00:56
you can see we need to select our type,
00:58
the objects to pattern
01:00
the axis to pattern it around
01:02
and the type of spacing.
01:05
First
01:06
you want to select features from the drop down as
01:08
we are not patterning a face body or component.
01:13
Now you need to select the objects,
01:17
you can either select these directly from the 3D model
01:20
or an easier way maybe to pick them directly from the timeline
01:25
as you want to pattern both the extrude cut and thread command,
01:28
just left click on those two features
01:30
and you can see them highlighted in the 3D model.
01:34
Next,
01:35
you need to define our axis which is a reference for the pattern to revolve around
01:40
with a few examples shown here.
01:43
You can also select the origin axis or a two D sketch entity.
01:47
If these are placed correctly
01:49
for now,
01:51
go ahead and click on the select axis box, then select this edge.
01:55
If you go to the front view,
01:57
we may be able to see what is happening a bit more clearly with our preview pattern.
02:02
In this example,
02:03
you have a quantity of three with full angular spacing,
02:06
meaning it's patterning around 360 degrees,
02:11
you can change the quantity by dragging the handle
02:15
or entering the valleys in their respective boxes.
02:18
For now set this to six and press OK to create your circular pattern features.
02:26
Hopefully,
02:26
you can now start to see how this might help save time in your modeling workflow.
02:31
The added benefit is that this feature is editable.
02:34
So if you right click on the feature in the timeline and select edit,
02:38
this will bring us back the same dialogue box. We can nil at the valleys as before
02:44
to show you what the angular spacing options allow
02:47
select angle from the drop down.
02:49
And you can now see an additional box where you can enter an angular value.
02:55
This option lets you set a maximum angular rotation from the origin object.
02:60
For example, here it is set to 360 degrees.
03:04
Meaning this will pattern fully around the axis.
03:07
If you were to set this to 100 and 80 degrees,
03:10
you can see it now patterns half of the way around the axis.
03:16
You can also use a drag handle to get
03:18
an approximate position before entering a more accurate value.
03:23
Next
03:24
you have symmetric which as with the angle option
03:27
lets you set a maximum value.
03:29
But in this case,
03:30
it produces results on equal sides and the total
03:33
angle accounts for the total on both sides.
03:36
I'll set this to 100 and 80 degrees and
03:38
change the values just to illustrate what this means.
03:44
Again,
03:45
you can also drag the handle to get an idea of position before entering final values.
Video transcript
00:04
The circular pattern command in a design workspace creates
00:07
a set of patterns faces features bodies or components
00:12
in a circular arrangement
00:13
and helps reduce the need to sketch and extrude multiple similar entities.
00:19
In this example,
00:20
we have this valve cover
00:22
and you're going to create a number of threaded holes to play some bolts.
00:26
One option may be to create a number of individual sketch entities
00:31
extrude them by selecting each profile independently,
00:34
then apply the threaded command to each cut out.
00:38
However,
00:39
you can minimize this process and use a more parametric approach
00:42
by instead using one threaded hole and creating a circular pattern
00:48
from the crate drop down menu,
00:50
open up the circular pattern command
00:54
in the dialog box that appears,
00:56
you can see we need to select our type,
00:58
the objects to pattern
01:00
the axis to pattern it around
01:02
and the type of spacing.
01:05
First
01:06
you want to select features from the drop down as
01:08
we are not patterning a face body or component.
01:13
Now you need to select the objects,
01:17
you can either select these directly from the 3D model
01:20
or an easier way maybe to pick them directly from the timeline
01:25
as you want to pattern both the extrude cut and thread command,
01:28
just left click on those two features
01:30
and you can see them highlighted in the 3D model.
01:34
Next,
01:35
you need to define our axis which is a reference for the pattern to revolve around
01:40
with a few examples shown here.
01:43
You can also select the origin axis or a two D sketch entity.
01:47
If these are placed correctly
01:49
for now,
01:51
go ahead and click on the select axis box, then select this edge.
01:55
If you go to the front view,
01:57
we may be able to see what is happening a bit more clearly with our preview pattern.
02:02
In this example,
02:03
you have a quantity of three with full angular spacing,
02:06
meaning it's patterning around 360 degrees,
02:11
you can change the quantity by dragging the handle
02:15
or entering the valleys in their respective boxes.
02:18
For now set this to six and press OK to create your circular pattern features.
02:26
Hopefully,
02:26
you can now start to see how this might help save time in your modeling workflow.
02:31
The added benefit is that this feature is editable.
02:34
So if you right click on the feature in the timeline and select edit,
02:38
this will bring us back the same dialogue box. We can nil at the valleys as before
02:44
to show you what the angular spacing options allow
02:47
select angle from the drop down.
02:49
And you can now see an additional box where you can enter an angular value.
02:55
This option lets you set a maximum angular rotation from the origin object.
02:60
For example, here it is set to 360 degrees.
03:04
Meaning this will pattern fully around the axis.
03:07
If you were to set this to 100 and 80 degrees,
03:10
you can see it now patterns half of the way around the axis.
03:16
You can also use a drag handle to get
03:18
an approximate position before entering a more accurate value.
03:23
Next
03:24
you have symmetric which as with the angle option
03:27
lets you set a maximum value.
03:29
But in this case,
03:30
it produces results on equal sides and the total
03:33
angle accounts for the total on both sides.
03:36
I'll set this to 100 and 80 degrees and
03:38
change the values just to illustrate what this means.
03:44
Again,
03:45
you can also drag the handle to get an idea of position before entering final values.
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