About Changing Sketch Supports

Sketch Positioning Dialog Box

In this dialog box, you can change the position of a sketch using these options:

Sketch Positioning Frame

In the Type box in the Planar support area, three options are available:

• Positioned: positions the sketch using the origin and orientation of the absolute axis.
• Sliding: default type used for non-positioned sketches (i.e. when you edit a non-positioned sketch, this option will be selected by default, as is the case in our example). This option is mainly used for compatibility purposes, and to enable you to turn non-positioned sketches into positioned ones. With the Sliding option, the sketch is not positioned, i.e. the origin and orientation of the absolute axis is not specified. As a result, its absolute axis may "slide" on the reference plane when the 3D shape is updated. If you choose this option, the icon will appear in the tree and will indicate that the sketch originally created is a sliding one.
• Isolated: in order to break all absolute axis links (support, origin and orientation links) with the 3D or to solve update errors. Only the 3D position will be kept, to ensure that the sketch does not move. With the Isolated option, you cannot define the sketch support, origin and orientation.
• Positioned as reference : applies to sketches obtained using Copy/Paste As Result with Link

Origin

The Origin frame contains options for defining an origin.

Type

• Implicit: With the Implicit mode, the sketch origin point and the sketch orientation are positioned according to the geometry used for the sketch plane:

• When the sketch support is a plane, the sketch origin point is a projection of the 3D shape origin point in the sketch plane, and the sketch orientation is parallel to the reference plane directions.

• When the sketch support is defined by two secant lines, the origin is at the intersection of these. The H direction is co-linear to the first line, and its orientation directly depends on the orientation of this line. The V direction is deduced from the second line, which is not necessarily orthogonal to the first line. This second line simply defines, depending on its orientation, the side where the V direction will be positioned in relation to the H direction.

• Part origin
• Projection point
• Intersection 2 lines
• Curve intersection
• Middle point
• Barycenter

Orientation

The Orientation frame contains options for defining an origin:

• X Axis
• Y Axis
• Z Axis
• Components
• Through point
• Parallel to line
• Intersection plane
• Normal to surface: you just need to select a surface intersecting the sketch plane.

Positioning Sketches Created Using Copy/Paste As Result with Link

If needed, you can modify the 3D position of a sketch feature obtained by copying and pasting using As Result With Link using the same positioning capabilities as with any sketch features. In this case, associativity between the original geometry and the geometrical result is kept but associativity with the position is lost.

Positioned as reference available in the Type field of the Sketch Positioning area restores the associativity of position with the sketch feature reference. If you select this support definition option, all the other fields are disabled and set to their default values.

Move geometry is not available in the Sketch Positioning dialog box. If you isolate (using the Isolate contextual command) a sketch feature, its sketch positioning definition is not affected by default. You have to explicitly set an isolated sketch positioning definition using the Change Sketch Support... contextual command. But for a sketch obtained using Paste>As Result With Link with the Positioned as reference type, you need to set Isolated as the type of the sketch. In this case Positioned as reference is no more available in the Support Type field.

More about the Positioned Sketch Command

When using Positioned Sketch keep in mind the following:

• The absolute axis (its origin point, both its directions and the grid) can be used to specify the position and dimensions of the 2D geometry because it is associative with the 3D shape.

• With positioned sketches, the origin and directions of the absolute axis are similar to external references (Use-Edges) obtained using additional projections or intersections when creating non-positioned sketches.

• At any time after creating a positioned sketch, you can change the reference plane, the origin and the orientation of the absolute axis by specifying the new geometry in the associated Reference field. To do this from the 3D, right-click the positioned sketch in the tree, point to [sketch name] object in the context menu, and then select Change sketch support.