dimensioning diameters on flat lines

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FBXL5
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by FBXL5 »

Jee-Bee wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 12:26 pm I don't like the idea of adding (construction )circles...
So if it is added please make a property that i can put them off
- They don't need to be added, they are already there! You have to use them manually.
- It is a feature you can use right out of the box in any version.
- This way half dimensions are redundant IMO.

If someone else has to make changes to your sketch he/she/them could see on first sight that this dimension gives a diameter on the finished object.
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by Jee-Bee »

check now i understand what you meant. Thanks for the explanation
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by bleber »

The arc of the diameter / radius can be part of the final dimension limit line.
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user1234
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by user1234 »

FBXL5 wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:01 am I still think construction circles are the better solution within the sketcher
I am with @adrianinsaval, this clutters sketches. Your example is a very specific simple example with a long shaft. Her also a simple example, without fillets or any one transition or curves.
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Very hard to read. And when you have short flanges with many more diameters or a cone, tangential or anything else transition, where the diameter is somewhere in the middle of nowhere, it will be a nightmare.


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FBXL5
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by FBXL5 »

user1234 wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:09 pm...
The concept is to highlight important diameters.

You don't need to use circles on every dimension representing radii or diameters. A simple length dimension does the job, maybe in connection with an expression. As shown in your second picture.
But if you know what you are doing you don't need half dimensions as well.

Sketcher is not a drawing tool. Drawings are TechDraws job.
In TechDraw half dimensions may be useful for designers that are unable to create a view or a section view (/section cut) to displays the true shape of the geometry to be measured. Dimensions on the true shape of circular geometry do neither need half dimensions nor auxilliary circles.

It is not forbidden to add a section for each diameter of a lathe part to not clutter a single side view.
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by user1234 »

FBXL5 wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:58 pm The concept is to highlight important diameters.
But what are the import diameters. FreeCAD can not determine what are the important diameters are. Like my example, except the big outer diameter, every diameter is a functional important diameter. If this is an opt-in function, i do not care, but is should not be default.

Do not get me wrong, i like the feature request like @NewJoker in his example provided, it is a absolute nice feature, but not with the circles. Else every, who have to do with shafts, flanges and/with pipework, hydraulic cylinders, or general machine engineering, will avoid the (like originally requested) feature like the devil avoid the holy water.


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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by NewJoker »

user1234 wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 3:30 pm Do not get me wrong, i like the feature request like @NewJoker in his example provided, it is a absolute nice feature, but not with the circles. Else every, who have to do with shafts, flanges and/with pipework, hydraulic cylinders, or general machine engineering, will avoid the (like originally requested) feature like the devil avoid the holy water.
Right, circles are not the way to go here, in my opinion. They would make sketches much messier than they should be. This FR should be realized in a minimalistic way, like in SolidWorks - it should be just a small feature making the dimension show diameter instead of radius, possibly with the dimension ending on the other side of the symmetry axis, in empty space. Maybe with just a point there:

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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by -alex- »

NewJoker wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 5:13 pm Right, circles are not the way to go here, in my opinion.
+1

FBXL5 wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:58 pm Sketcher is not a drawing tool. Drawings are TechDraws job.
Sketcher is not ATM, but it could be someday maybe. I hope in future it will be possible to export dimensions of sketches directly in related TD views. This is possible in Solidworks for example and it's a good practice for a lot of reasons (reliability, do the job once, only one source of informations, etc...).
See here for more informations : https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=44786
IMO only linear type should be used for doubled dimensions, like in the picture above of Newjoker, because that fits the standards for dimensioning drawings.
BTW IMO dimensions in sketches should be similar with dimensions expected in drawing views, as far as possible. But it's not mandatory of course, it depends the workflow the user is familiar with and if he likes to do the job once or twice.
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by Jee-Bee »

-alex- wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:45 pm Sketcher is not ATM, but it could be someday maybe. I hope in future it will be possible to export dimensions of sketches directly in related TD views. This is possible in Solidworks for example and it's a good practice for a lot of reasons (reliability, do the job once, only one source of informations, etc...).
Even if TD can use model dimensions, sketcher will never be a replacement for TD!
By the way using model dimensions is impossible in more cases than where it is helpfull. Model dimensions is a nice selling point and not more than that... ;)
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Re: dimensioning diameters on flat lines

Post by -alex- »

Jee-Bee wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:06 pm Even if TD can use model dimensions, sketcher will never be a replacement for TD!
You're right, and I never said that BTW ;)


By the way using model dimensions is impossible in more cases than where it is helpfull. Model dimensions is a nice selling point and not more than that... ;)
I've achieved tons of drawings this way during many years in a previous job, by importing up to 80% of dimensions directly from 3D model (well dimensioned), even on complex drawings. This is not only a selling point, this is a powerful point, and quite unknown on this forum it seems to me. Even with Solidworks it requires some practice and knowhow of course, but that's so powerful at the end.
I try to explain this workflow here since a while, but the answer of FC users is always the same, they don't understand or they don't believe me (BTW some SW users don't understand this workflow neither ...). Well it's up to you guys :roll:
Anyway, this point is a bit offtopic, want not hijack this thread. Let's focus on diameter on flat lines maybe.
Last edited by -alex- on Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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