topic Re: How to move center of donut to precise point? in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

How to move center of donut to precise point?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 00:18:27 GMT

...but not a simple donut. Imagine a complex collection of several curvilinear objects, and there's a void in the middle. There's symmetry.

These are also imported STEP objects, so there's no originating sketch or reference.

How to move them so that the "center of donut" is precisely at chosen grid point?

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 01:51:09 GMT

Maybe not possible.

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

Beyondforce — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 02:37:23 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

It will be helpful if you could make a screencast.

Ben.

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 04:57:02 GMT

I believe this question is too basic to have to go into screencast, not that I know how to do a screencast.

Another way of describing the problem is simply "how to snap-move an odd shaped donut so that the center of donut is at the origin?" Let's assume that the origin is where I want to put it.

Sub questions that come to my mind:

1. How to select the center of a donut?

2. What command to use (if not Move)?

3. What are the proper procedures in the Move command? Where are the instructions for the Move command?

4. Anything special to do if the odd-shaped donut is "Inserted into Current Design" from a file that was imported as X_T?

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

Beyondforce — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 05:15:11 GMT

Here you go:
http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/post-your-tips-and-tutorials/tutorial-how-to-create-a-screencast/td-p/6610867

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

etfrench — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 08:19:11 GMT

Center is a rather ambiguous term. Do you mean the center of mass (or center of least mass), center of bounding box, center between closest points, center between furthest points, etc.?

I'd start by projecting the doughnut onto sketches located on X, Y, and Z planes. From there, you should be able to locate a center based on your requirements.

p.s. You may be able to use mid planes or other construction planes to locate the center.

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 10:51:26 GMT

Yeah this is a real problem with Fusion 360, I have asked about this many times, every modelling system I have worked with besides Fusion 360 can snap to the centre of an object.

If you have an odd shape you sometimes you really have to work to get a point at the centre, it is very time consuming and a real pain (especially when scaling objects).

In the attached screen shot I created a Torus and had to use the Construction point function to place a point at the centre so I could scale it but after it was scaled the program cannot identify the centre .

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 19:44:38 GMT

In Vectorworks, for example, they've made it easier with a grab-able, snap-able, visible "center" for circular holes, torus geometries, etc. Previously in Vectorworks (long long ago before they had this "center point" handle), the workaround was to draw a 2D line segment over the geometry in question, "group" them together as a single "object" then grab the the mid-point handle of the line segment to move the entire group. Then ungroup, delete line, etc. This workaround isn't even available in Fusion 360.

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 20:19:58 GMT

I assume your real geometry is far more complex than the image you attached - since moving a Revolve is relatively simple.

It might be best if someone demonstrates using your geometry.

Can you File>Export the *.f3d file to your local machine and then Attach it here to a Reply?

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 20:28:17 GMT

It is not only more complex, but a proprietary design. So I cannot divulge the geometry, nor even the imagery. I'm legally obligated to not disclose. Regardless, seeing the complexity of the geometry should not be so enlightening towards a solution when a simple imported torus cannot be moved by center point. It's unfortunate that there's no user manual instruction on "how to move donut by center point."

Re: How to move center of donut to precise point?

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 21:00:26 GMT

Can you create a dummy file that represents the geometry without giving away any IP?

I just imported a skewed torus and was able to move the center point to a desired location.