My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

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jtidwell
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Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:58 am

My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by jtidwell »

UPDATE: made edits to include pic link

I love the sketcher but is there some way of managing constraints that isn't like staring into a bowl of noodles? I want to check the X,Y coordinates of the green arc in the pic below, but I can't find the center point of the arc on the screen. It's likely buried under one of the "0 in" dimensions at 0,0 but how can I tell?

Is there a way to manage constraints without having to pic the points on the screen?
https://imgur.com/0gM00PE
Last edited by jtidwell on Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Kunda1
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Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by Kunda1 »

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papyblaise
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Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by papyblaise »

Hi
0'0 dimensions should never exist
they must be replaced by tangents or coincidences
and now if you click on the arch you can see the center which is the same color as the arc
If the center is off the screen, you do "Zoom all"
chrisb
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Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by chrisb »

In the elements section of the panel to the left (you may have to expand it) select Type=Center. Then select the arc in the elements list. It will select the center point in 3D view.
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mario52
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Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by mario52 »

hi

maybe this macro help you macro for hiding geometric constraints

mario
Maybe you need a special feature, go into Macros_recipes and Code_snippets, Topological_data_scripting.
My macros on Gist.github here complete macros Wiki and forum.
jtidwell
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Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:58 am

Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by jtidwell »

mario52 wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:38 pm maybe this macro help you macro for hiding geometric constraints
Thanks - I'm not sure, but I'll check it out
jtidwell
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Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:58 am

Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by jtidwell »

papyblaise wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:25 pm Hi
0'0 dimensions should never exist
they must be replaced by tangents or coincidences
and now if you click on the arch you can see the center which is the same color as the arc
If the center is off the screen, you do "Zoom all"
Hi! I have several concentric circles defined so the center points are overlapping and their centers are x0.0, y0.0. It's super difficult to figure out which centerpoint at 0,0 is the circle I want. I know it's hard to see this without a picture so I've edited my original post to include an Imgur link to the screenshot.

I guess what I'd really like is a way to highlight the associated dimensions/constraints when I select a feature from the Elements combo box on the left (Thanks chrisb). They just stay red right now. Maybe I'm missing a preferences/setup step or something?
chrisb
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Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by chrisb »

If you want to select the constraints associated with an element, it's easier: select the element (e.g. your arc), then use the menu entry Sketch->Sketcher tools->Select constraints or use the corresponding icon.

You may have a look at my Sketcher tutorial. It covers this selection stuff to some extent, although it concentrates more on elements and constraints.
A Sketcher Lecture with in-depth information is available in English, auf Deutsch, en français, en español.
jtidwell
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Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by jtidwell »

chrisb wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:58 pm Sketch->Sketcher tools->Select constraints or use the corresponding icon.
This is it. It hilites the constraint for the selected element. I guess I've been making my sketches in the Part or Part Design workbenches and those don't show the corresponding icons you mention. Thanks for laying it out. Thanks for making the tutorial and linking to the PDF!
chrisb
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Re: My constraints are a frustrating mess to work with

Post by chrisb »

The Sketcher which is called from PartDesign is the same Workbench which you can select with the workbench selector. The difference is, that calling it from PartDesign, the sketch is placed inside of the active body and it gets Attachment and AttachmentOffset.
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