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Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

(OP)
Why is SWx so damned picky about creating points and planes. "Cannot create plane (or point) with these entities" Man that's annoying.

In CATIA... v4 ayway, you could choose any points, lines, edges, solids to create whatever you wanted. Create a line with two intersecing planes. Create a plane with a point and a line. Create two points with the projected intersection of two skewed lines. Project a point onto a plane or a line. It was so easy.

Now either I just don't know how to do it, I'm dumb and the Help is just not helping me, or SWx just doesn't have the capability.  The last one would surpise me.

But jebus...what should have been quick is taking me days to do!  

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

You can create an Axis with two planes, then you can either create a sketch or a 3D sketch and make a sketch collinear to the Axis.

You can create a plane with a point and a line.

You can create a plane with 3 points so make a sketch point at the intersection using a 3DSketch and you will get a plane

Why would you want to project a point onto a plane, when you can simply place the point on the plane? You can use 3D sketch and 2D sketches to help you get there with construction geometry.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

www.3dvisiontech.com
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
FAQ559-716 - SW Fora Users

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

(OP)
Well if I already have an intersection point in space, that I want to project onto another plane...I'd want to project that point.

But I realize that there HAS to be a way to do all of the things I want to do. I think I just need to learn 3d sketching a little better. After 8 years of CATIA v4, I always knew exactly how to do whatever I wanted.

SWx has been easy to learn basic mates and all that, but now I'm creating something a little more complicated spacially speaking and it's giving me grief.

I just tried to create a point by interecting an axis and a plane. wouldn't work. "Failed to create reference point". Are planes and axes NOT infinite entities? Because the the axis most certainly DOES intersect the plane. So why won't it create a point?

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

You can't project points onto other entities. You will have to use construction sketches to help get you to the point you want to be at (no pun intended).

I'm sure there are ways of doing what you want, but your Catia training is in your way. You are going to have to completely forget Catia if you want to learn SW.

SW is easy to learn in all aspects you just have to be more patient when coming from another CAD system, because you think like Catia and SW isn't Catia... SW has it's own way of doing things. Call your VAR if you having trouble with this.

You have to start a sketch and pick the Point icon and place the point out there. Use Relationships to constrain the point.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

www.3dvisiontech.com
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
FAQ559-716 - SW Fora Users

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

The reference point command is pretty much unfinished and doesn't work in cases where it should. Please report these to you VAR.

I use a 3dsketch and sketch point instead. Just start a 3d sketch, place your points then add sketch relations to them.

As Scott said,
You can create a Axis with intersecting planes, or sketch a line and contrain it to the planes.
You can add a plane to an endpoint of a line, spline or arc, select the line and then the endpoint.

Jason Capriotti
Smith & Nephew, Inc.

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

(OP)
I also just tried creating a plane with two parallel axes and it would work either. It just shouldn't be so picky.... Z'all I'm sayin' yo....

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

(OP)
that should have been would NOT work.... (can you edit posts on this forum?)

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

Regardless of what you are trying to put on the plane, I wish that SW had more options for making planes.  After using Mechanical Desktop (I know, outdated) for several years, I found SW plane creation rather limited and somewhat cumbersome.  
Maybe a few requests for plane creation should be submitted to SW.

Flores

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

To project anything onto a plane just open a 2-D sketch onto the plane you are projecting onto.  Then either use the convert entities tool or use relations (colinear, coincident, etc.)

To make a point where an axis intersects a plane.  I would open a 3-D sketch and draw a point anywhere.  Make the point coincident to the plane and the axis.  If the axis is perpendicular to the plane then you can open a 2-d sketch on the plane and make a point with a coincident relation to the axis.

How to create a line at the intersection of two planes?  Open a 3-d Sketch and make each endpoint coincident to both planes.

SW has many different ways to do everything.  And these are just one way to do them.  I am sure there are better ways.  I am not sure what you are ultimately trying to do, but SW probably has a better way to do it.  I find that it best to describe your desired end result, than to ask about a step in the process you are using.

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

I believe the reason that SWx will not allow 2 parallel lines/axis to create a plane is because of the problems that would arise if a design change caused the lines to become skewed.

A line and a point ALWAYS define a plane regardless of each entities location.  Two lnes do not.

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

MMike1,

I feel your pain.  I am also a transplant from Mechanical Desktop.  One of the very first things I noticed about Solidworks is the limited capability of the plane command.  MDT had a much broader range of ways to define a plane.  That said, you can still build any plane you want in solidworks by sketching and using the sketch parts to define the plane, or sometimes I have to make intermediate planes to get the one I want.  I have often wondered if this is a result of limitations of the modeling kernal (I believe ACAD and SW use different kernals).

Timelord

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

I don't think it's the modeling kernal.  If I'm not mistaken, it is based on the parasolid kernal, and other programs so based have much easier methods of plane creation.

RE: Gripe with SWx - points, planes etc...

Going from AutoCad/MD/Inv to SolidWorks, you have to do a complete formatting of the brain ... and the other way around. Different ways of doing things. Most the same as all other CAD software. Just the way it is.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP2.0 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site
FAQ371-376
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-1091
FAQ559-716

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