How do I create a UCS to the Origin

[MattH_Work]

Should be a no brainer, but I'm drawing a blank, how do I connect a UCS to the existing Origin of a part. I can select the Centre Point to attach the UCS to , but I have nothing the align the X & Y axis to (X Axis and Y Axis in the Origin folder are not selectable)

If I try to add a UCS to a blank part, the ONLY thing I can select is the Centre Point, but the UCS requires 3 inputs!

Cheers

Matt

(Inventor 2013, SP1.1 Update 1, Win7 64bit SP1)

[sam_m]

dare i ask, with the origin and the origin's workplanes/axis - why do you need a UCS there?  (Since moving away from MDT I haven't needed a UCS in the last 9+ years using Inventor - so always interested to hear why people need them, and really confused why one is needed at the origin).

[MattH_Work]

I'm happy to use the Origin stuff and ignore the UCS but if we want to use 'Constraint Sets' it only works with UCS's

Whether I use it or not is neither here nor there, I'd just like to know how it works.

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Hi  MattH_Work,

I don't think you can use the origin axes. Like sam_m, I've never found much use for this, but I did explore creating UCSs for use in some iLogic code.

What I did was create a solid cube.

Then used the Move Bodies tool > Rotate option to position the cube.

Then I placed Grounded Workpoints on the corners of the cube.

Then I delete the cube.

Then I used the workpoints to define the UCS.

In the end I scrapped the whole thing and went a different direction, but that was the best I could do with the UCS without existing geometry.

This is from the Help files:

In a part file, UCS placement supports the following inputs as points:

• Point (vertex of solid edge, midpoint of solid edge, sketch, or work point origin)
• Solid circular edge or solid elliptical edge

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[MattH_Work]

I found that if I..

Create a grounded workpoint at the Centre Point and move it along the X axis

Create a grounded workpoint at the Centre Point and move it along the Y axis

This gives me 3 points to apply the UCS to, this then serves its purpose, which ultimatly is to make use of Constraint Sets

Regards

MattH

[SBix26]

I have used UCSs very rarely, but there are occasions when a UCS is extremely useful.  An example: a transition piece that changes direction.  Each end has a bunch of features that are related to that end of the piece, and unrelated to the other end.  Establishing a UCS at the angled end makes it so much easier to define all those features, gives you something to measure from, etc.  I should probably use them a bit more than I do, but I forget that they exist.

Sam B
Inventor 2012 Certified Professional

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[newton.kwan]

I also found it extermely annoying that Inventor doesn't allow me to pick the X Y Z axis to align the UCS. You will think the software should behave logically but it doesn't! Anyway the way I found to get around this is bacially enter the absolute coordinate system of the UCS: you enter 0, 0 ,0 to place the UCS at orign (using TAB key to cycle thru. the XYZ coordinate) Once you place the UCS at orgin you can either accept the default orientation (which usually aligned to the defautl XYZ axis correctly) or further transform the UCS by clicking the axis' arrows.

Hope this helps