Activating the command:
- Draw tab
Pattern panel - If lines or construction objects are selected, right-click and choose command.
The operation of moving, rotating, scaling, and copying items are combined on one dialog. Choosing Move or Copy or Rotate or Copy or Scale or Copy will let you do any or all of the other operations.
- Select the lines and/or construction objects that you want to perform the operation on. FEA objects (loads, boundary conditions, and so on) cannot be altered with these commands.
- Select the appropriate command.
- The Operation section of the Move, Rotate, Scale or Copy dialog will have the check box activated for the operation you selected. To perform more operations, activate the appropriate check boxes.
- To create copies of the selected lines during the operation, activate the Copy check box. If you want the copies to be joined, activate the Join check box. Lines will be drawn from the endpoints of the original lines to the endpoints of the new lines, and construction objects will be drawn from the endpoints of the original construction objects to the endpoints of the new construction objects. Specify how many copies you want to create in the adjacent field.
- To also move the ends of lines that share an end point with the selected line, activate the Move Ends check box.
- If you are performing a move operation, specify how far you want to move the lines in the Total distance field in the Move tab. If you are creating copies, you can either specify this distance or the distance for each copy in the Incremental distance field instead. The other field will be filled in based on how many copies are selected. Select the coordinate system in which the move will be made in the Coordinate system drop-down box. Specify the direction you want to move the objects in the Direction vector section. Either select the radio button for the global direction, or select the Custom radio button to specify a vector. You can also press the Vector Selector button to define a vector by selecting two vertices in the model. If you want the move to be performed in the opposite direction of the vector, press the Reverse Direction button.
- If you are performing a rotate operation, specify the total angle through which you want to rotate the lines in the Total angle field in the Rotate tab. If you are creating copies, you can either specify this angle or the angle for each copy in the Incremental angle field instead. The other field will be filled in based on how many copies are selected. You can also press the Select Total Angle button to select three vertices in the model to define the rotation angle. The first vertex will be the origin of the angle. The second point will define the start point of the angle. The third point will define the end point of the angle. Specify the axis about which you want to rotate the objects in the Rotation axis section. Either select the radio button for the global axis, or select the Custom radio button to specify a vector. You can also press the Vector Selector button to define a vector by selecting two vertices in the model. Specify the center point of the rotation operation in the Rotation center point section. You can either enter the coordinates or press the Select Center Point button and select the vertex in the display area.
- If you are performing a scale operation, select the radio button in the Scale type and factor section to define how you want the scaling to be performed.
- Select the Uniform (scale in all three directions) radio button to scale the lines equally in all directions. Specify the point about which you want the lines scaled in the Fixed point section. You can either define the coordinates of the point or press the Select Fixed Point button and select the fixed point in the display area. Specify the scale factor for each scale operation in the Scale factor field. You can also press the Select Scale Factor button and select three points in the display area. The first point will be the fixed point. The second will be the start of the scale factor and the third point will be the end of the scale factor. For example, if you select the points so that the second point is closer to the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will increase the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point. If you select the points so that the second point is further from the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will decrease the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point.
An example of this scaling method can be demonstrated on a circle that has been divided into several line segments. Select the Uniform (scale in all three directions) radio button and select the center of the circle for the fixed point. If you specify a scale factor greater than one, a set of concentric circles will be generated outward from the original circle. If you specify a scale factor less than one, a set of concentric circles will be generated inward from the original circle.
- Select the Perpendicular to (scale in two directions) radio button to scale the lines equally in two directions. Specify the point about which you want the lines scaled in the Fixed point section. You can either define the coordinates of the point or press the Select Fixed Point button and select the fixed point in the display area. Specify the direction of the vector perpendicular to the two directions in which you want the lines to be scaled in the Scale direction vector section. Either select the radio button for the global axis, or select the Custom radio button to specify a vector. You can also press the Vector Selector button to define a vector by selecting two vertices in the model. Specify the scale factor for each scale operation in the Scale factor field. You can also press the Select Scale Factor button and select three points in the display area. The first point will be the fixed point. The second will be the start of the scale factor and the third point will be the end of the scale factor. For example, if you select the points so that the second point is closer to the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will increase the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point. If you select the points so that the second point is further from the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will decrease the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point.
An example of this scaling method can be demonstrated on a circle that has been divided into several line segments. The circle lies in the XY plane. Select the Perpendicular to (scale in two directions) radio button and select the center of the circle for the fixed point. If you select the X direction for the scale direction vector, the result will look like ellipses whose axis along the Y direction gets larger or smaller depending on the scale factor. This is because the distance from the X axis will be scaled. If you select the Y direction for the scale direction vector, the result will look like ellipses whose axis along the X direction gets larger or smaller depending on the scale factor. This is because the distance from the Y axis will be scaled. If you select the Z direction for the scale direction vector, the result will look like concentric circles.
- Select the Along line (scale in one direction) radio button to scale the lines along one direction. Specify the point about which you want the lines scaled in the Fixed point section. You can either define the coordinates of the point or press the Select Fixed Point button and select the fixed point in the display area. Specify the direction of the vector along which you want the lines to be scaled in the Scale direction vector section. Either select the radio button for the global axis, or select the Custom radio button to specify a vector. You can also press the Vector Selector button to define a vector by selecting two vertices in the model. Specify the scale factor for each scale operation in the Scale factor field. You can also press the Select Scale Factor button and select three points in the display area. The first point will be the fixed point. The second will be the start of the scale factor and the third point will be the end of the scale factor. For example, if you select the points so that the second point is closer to the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will increase the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point. If you select the points so that the second point is further from the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will decrease the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point.
An example of this scaling method can be demonstrated on a circle that has been divided into several line segments. The circle lies in the XY plane. Select the Along line (scale in one direction) radio button and select the center of the circle for the fixed point. If you select the X direction for the scale direction vector, the result will look like ellipses whose axis along the X direction gets larger or smaller depending on the scale factor. This is because the distance along the X axis will be scaled. If you select the Y direction for the scale direction vector, the result will look like ellipses whose axis along the Y direction gets larger or smaller depending on the scale factor. This is because the distance along the Y axis will be scaled. If you select the Z direction for the scale direction vector, no scaling will occur because all of the lines have the same Z coordinate.
- Select the Uniform (scale in all three directions) radio button to scale the lines equally in all directions. Specify the point about which you want the lines scaled in the Fixed point section. You can either define the coordinates of the point or press the Select Fixed Point button and select the fixed point in the display area. Specify the scale factor for each scale operation in the Scale factor field. You can also press the Select Scale Factor button and select three points in the display area. The first point will be the fixed point. The second will be the start of the scale factor and the third point will be the end of the scale factor. For example, if you select the points so that the second point is closer to the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will increase the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point. If you select the points so that the second point is further from the fixed point than the third point, the scale factor will decrease the distance of the selected lines from the fixed point.