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how to draw rectangular patterned array of objects at an angle?

10 REPLIES 10
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Message 1 of 11
monsieurdewatson
1762 Views, 10 Replies

how to draw rectangular patterned array of objects at an angle?

Hi there,

 

I'm hoping someone can help with a pretty simple design of an array of posts.

 

My question - is there a way to create an associative array of posts so I only have to edit one part to have the entire array change?  that is, I want to have global values for the dimensions in the picture below:

  • post diameter
  • vertical width between post centres
  • horizontal width between post columns (again, centre to centre)
  • vertical shift of each column w.r.t. previous one

I've used the Rectangular Pattern tool to create a repetition of my posts, but I want to shift each column of posts up slightly with respect to the one before as in the attached picture:

 Post Array v2.png

 

It seems that if you want to repeat along non-perpendicular axes like this, Inventor fails if there are too many repeats.  I came across this when searching the site:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Autodesk-Inventor/Pattern-instance-limit-3-okay-4-fail-Bug/m-p/557489/...

 

I can verify that this is my exact problem but can add that in my example, 4 repeats on the almost horizontal axis and 3 on the vertical work fine.  However, 3 almost horizontal axis repeats by 4 vertical axis repeats will only work if I choose the vertical axis as Direction 2.  (Is this a bug or am I trying to use the Rectangular Pattern Tool incorrectly?)

 

The repeat unit can be simplified to 1 circle with 2 construction lines along the repeat Direction instead of the 2x2 circles shown here but the problem persists. Also

 

I've attached a file with my testings inif that's any help, speaking of which any help would be appreciated

 

 

 

10 REPLIES 10
Message 2 of 11
mrattray
in reply to: monsieurdewatson

Have you tried using a feature or component pattern instead of a sketch pattern?
Mike (not Matt) Rattray

Message 3 of 11
monsieurdewatson
in reply to: mrattray

Wow, quick response cheers.

 

I haven't as I'm pretty new to Inventor and it was for a photomask so I wasn't really thinking in 3D.  Loving the constraints way of working though.  Can you suggest a starting point to try a feature or component pattern please?

Message 4 of 11
mrattray
in reply to: monsieurdewatson

This is how I would do it.

 

By the way, do you mean to be working in microns?

Mike (not Matt) Rattray

Message 5 of 11
monsieurdewatson
in reply to: mrattray

Indeed that's what I'm looking for, thanks very much!  How did you get the sketch in the browser window to be a child of the rectangular pattern?

 

Also if I edit your dimensions, only the circle dimension and row shift seem to have an effect, the two column spacing constraints don't seem to change the model, is there some other way to do it rather than editing the constraint values in the sketch?

 

edit: Sorry, yes it's meant to be in microns, working with microfluidics.  There will be thousands of posts so guessing it could become a bit of a memory hog...

Message 6 of 11
mrattray
in reply to: monsieurdewatson

You need to right click on the sketch in the browser and toggle the "Share Sketch" option on. This will make it available for use to other features such as the rectangular pattern. Also note that the lines have to be normal lines, not construction in order to be valid entities for use with the pattern.
I should have deleted those dimensions to avoid confusion as they don't do anything. In order to change the spacing you have to edit the rectangular pattern feature and change the spacing parameter there. This is also where you can change the number of rows and columns.
Mike (not Matt) Rattray

Message 7 of 11
monsieurdewatson
in reply to: mrattray

Ah of course, like in the 2d pattern modes.

Fantastic, exactly what I needed, thanks very much!

Message 8 of 11
swhite
in reply to: monsieurdewatson

Just out of curiosity, have you tried patterning your pattern?

Steven White
Lee C. Moore, Inc.
www.lcm-wci.com
Inventor 2011
Intel Dual Xeon E31225 @ 3.1 GHz CPU
16 GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro 600 GPU
Windows 7 - 64 Bit
Message 9 of 11
monsieurdewatson
in reply to: swhite

Yeah, I tried patterning in a single direction, say 6 rows, then began a new pattern with all 6 rows as the starting element for the second pattern in the second axis.  I got the same errors if it was more than 4x3 generally.

 

I find it quite odd that it's perfectly possible to do the pattern in 3D but not in 2D sketch mode.  Given the number of permutations I tried, it seems like a bug to me, but then I don't know the software very well.

For example, in the file I uploaded (I forget which sketch now), I managed to get the pattern up to 7x4, but 8x4 would fail while 7x5 would work.  This seemed to be irrespective of the geometry (all pretty simple) or if construction lines were used.  

 

Should I raise some sort of bug ticket?

Message 10 of 11
mrattray
in reply to: monsieurdewatson

Sketch patterns tend to be a bit flaky in the first place. It's generally recommended to use feature patterns when possible.
Out of curiosity, did you see any difference in behavior at a larger scale? I noticed some odd camera behavior trying to work with your micron sized geometry.
If you do choose to report it, the idea station is the standard location for doing so.
Mike (not Matt) Rattray

Message 11 of 11
monsieurdewatson
in reply to: mrattray

Not quite sure what you mean but by scale but occasionally found I couldn't middle-click and move the view around when zoomed in.

I jumped straight in to working in microns so hadn't tried patterning with any larger feature sizes.

Are either of those what you mean?

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