Co-ordinate system orientation

[[jo...]]

Afternoon all,

I was just wondering if it is possible to snap the co-ordinate system to a feature on a CAD model?

[[Ma...]]

Yes it is possible.

Better description from you - better answer from us.

[[jo...]]

so just looking to make life a bit easier for myself. so for example in this screenshot I'm wanting to snap the system to the top of the outer sphere with Z facing up to replicate how it will be held on the CMM.

Capture.PNG

[[La...]]

Do you have experience making base alignments?

The features you select in the base alignment screen will decide a) where the coordinate system is located and b) the direction of the axes.

You can use the dropdown menus in the Spatial and Planar fields to decide which direction to "snap" your axes to.

[[Er...]]

Prior to alignments you can go to CAD/Modification/CAD Model Transformation and move and translate the model any which way you would like.

[[No...]]

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If by 'snap' you mean whether you can grab it with the mouse and snap it to prominent points on the model, then no, this is not possible. But you can construct all sorts of intersections etc. and use the results in the transformation dialog.

[[Er...]]

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This is a best practice that I do with all my CAD.

[[To...]]

I agree with using the Transformation option but I only deal with the rotation aspect. Once that it is done, assigning features in the BA does a great job with translations.

Another trick is to extract the features in their original position and manipulate the spatial and planar orientations within the BA. Close the BA to set the new coordinate system. Then, create a NEW BA and extract NEW features. Go back and delete original BA features.