Make Midpoint/Centerpoint a selectable reference

[Anonymous]

• Possible:
Constrain a point/endline to the midpoint of another line/arc

Constrain 2 lines' midpoint to be coincident (eg: symmetrical cross)

• Not Possible:

Having a line (A) going through the middle of another line/arc (B) and being constrained to it.
• Current Solution:

Create a split line (A1/A2) with 2 collinear lines, and constrain the meeting point with the midpoint of the other line (B).

• Bonus:
Making a midpoint/centerpoint a selectable reference would also allow any other type of constraints (aligned, concentric...)

This exists on every other CAD softwares I used in the last 10 years...

[Phil.E]

Have you discovered holding shift to select line mid points?

[Anonymous]

Hey Phil.E, thanks for the suggestion.

I just gave it a try but I don't seem to have this command available.
You're saying, after creating a line, if I hold shift while having the cursor over the line, it should show the midpoint as a selectable reference?
Here is my config: MacbookPro MacOS 10.14.6 + Fusion 360 Personal 2.0.7046, in case it might explain why I don't find it?

[Phil.E]

No.

When you are drawing sketch objects that need to snap to mid points, hold down shift and the mid point will appear when you hover over the line. 

1. Draw a line

2. Start to draw another one that will terminate on the mid point of the first line.

3. As you approach the mid point of the first line, hold shift.

The mouse will now snap to the mid point and it also makes a mid point constraint.

Same for applying constraints. That takes two clicks. Either one can be on the mid point of a line if that is a valid selection.

[Anonymous]

Hey Phil,
Thanks for clarifying, I was able to achieve what you were describing. Truth is, I don't even need to hold shift for an automatic midpoint selection and constraint, I just have to be close.

However, in the picture below, I'll try to make my suggestion more clear.

It's a very simple representation of why you would need that feature, obviously here, an angle constraint of 45° would solve it, but let's imagine a more complex situation.

Ideally, I would like to be able to make Line B going through the middle of Line C, without having to build collinear Lines A1 and A2.
From my understanding you can't yet, since you would need midpoints to be selectable.

Other example is, imagine building an isosceles triangle, you want to align the summit point with the midpoint of the base. I don't think you can without building the median line.

Does it make more sense?

[Phil.E]

Hi and thanks. I'm not at all trying to argue with you here, just make sure you know all the tools in Fusion to help with your workflows. Please try these two, and let me know how it can be improved. 

I think perhaps you are missing some useful constraint behavior. Here are two examples. Using horizontal/vertical and perpendicular.

And also using Mid-Point constraints:

You can also use Coincident to stick a line to the middle of another line. 

If these workflows don't quite do what you want, please let me know.

[Anonymous]

Hey Phil.E, Thanks for the help, I finally got it right.

The "+shift" click works actually in order to make the midpoint selectable, in all the situations I need it too.
However there is a trick to it, you have to select a constraint feature first! Meaning you can't select the midpoint and another element first and then decide which constraint you want to apply to it.

It doesn't feel really intuitive to me, with all the softwares I used before, you can always select the midpoint no matter what. Maybe something to update within the user interface?

Anyway, thanks for the help again!

[Phil.E]

You are welcome. And correct. The midpoint should be selectable prior to command start. We try to use noun-verb and verb-noun selection for every possible case. I don't see why not here. 

So.. we can leave this post as-is. The title is still entirely valid! 🙂  I can also make sure the sketch team sees this, but cannot promise any fix for it. 

[Anonymous]

Awesome, thanks!