Creating an Associative Link Between Measures and Parameters

You can create a persistent and associative link between a measure created using the Measure Item or Measure Between command and a parameter.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: Check Keep measure in the Measure Item and Measure Between dialog boxes (if not the result is copied as a simple value.)

Use the Measure Item Command

Measure Item allows you to get the minimal distance or angle between two elements, depending on the parameter magnitude.

  1. Create a parameter of Length type.
  2. Click Formula .
  3. From the New parameter of type list, select Length and click New parameter of type.
  4. Right-click the value box of the Length parameter and select Measure Item.
    The Measure in Part dialog box appears.
  5. In the 3D area, select one side of a pad for example and click OK both in the Measure in Part dialog box and in the Formulas editor.
    A new parameter is added under the Parameters node and under the Measure node. The Length parameter is now linked to the result of the measure.

Use the Measure Between Command

You can use the Measure Between command to calculate an angle.

  1. Create a parameter of Angle type.
  2. Click Formula .
  3. From the New parameter of type list, select Angle and click New parameter of type.
  4. Right-click the value box of the angle parameter and select Measure Between.
    The Measure Between in Part dialog box appears.
  5. In the 3D area select, two edges of the pad.
    The selected items are highlighted in the 3D area and the measure appears in the Measure Between in Part dialog box.
  6. Click OK in the Measure Between in Part dialog box and OK in the Formulas editor.
    An angle parameter is added below the Parameters node and the measure is displayed below the Measure node.

Measure Item allows you to get the length of a curve (edge, line, curve), radius or angle depending on the parameter magnitude.

  • The icon located on the right of the editor box is a measure between or item icon. Note that you can edit the measure.
  • The parameters located below the Parameters node are directly linked to the measures.
  • You can invert the sign of the parameter using the Invert value command in the Measure Item or Measure Between window. The sign concerns only the valuated parameters and not the parameter of the measure.
  • To have an associative link, you must make an associative measure. If you select the Picking point mode and the Measure between function, the measure is not associative. As a result, there is no associative geometry.
  • When a measure is not associative, the value appears in the value box.
  • Even in the case of an associative measure, if you only want to get the result of the measure, clear the Keep measure check box.
  • To create a customization, click Customize in the Measure Item dialog box to see the properties the system can detect for the various types of item that you can select.

Note: If several characteristics of the measure are computed and have the same magnitude, the system chooses the most convenient according to predefined rules.