Creating a Tritangent Circle

Circle lets you create a circle by defining any three elements to which the circle is to be tangent.

  1. In the Circle type list, select Tritangent.
  2. In the Element 1, Element 2 and Element 3 boxes, select three elements to which the circle is to be tangent.
  3. In the Support box, select a planar surface.

    Note: To project the circle onto the support plane or surface, click .

    Tip: If one of the selected inputs is a planar curve, the Support is set to Default (Plane). If an explicit Support needs to be defined, a context menu is available to clear the selection in order to select the desired support. This automatic support definition saves you from performing useless selections.

    As several solutions may be possible, select the arc of circle that you wish to create. Depending on the active Circle Limitations icon, the corresponding circle or circular arc is displayed. The first and third elements define where the relimitation ends.

    For a circular arc, you can specify the trimmed or complementary arc using the two tangent points as end points.

  4. Click to trim the element.
  5. To specify the axis computation mode, select the Axis computation check box.
  6. To specify the center computation mode, select the Center computation check box.
  7. Click to select the other circular arc that is suitable for current specifications.
  8. Click OK to create the circle or circular arc.

 

See Also
More help on this topic