Pattern To Object

[anthony.esau]

Many times in most designs I work on, the situation arises in which a pattern needs to be made to span between two specific locations.

Typical examples:

• joists in the floor of a platform between the outer walls
• holes for fasteners evenly spaced on a board between two of its edges

None of the pattern tools are quite suited to these scenarios because they cannot automatically span the distance from a specified point to another. Yes, you can measure a distance, but that distance is not parametric. If the objects, edges, or whatever were measured change positions or sizes, that distance in the pattern does not sync along with the change. The distance can also be set to a parameter, however creating an equation for a distance parameter is impractical when the size of objects are determined by how they fit together with multiple other objects of various shapes and sizes.

So, I propose a Pattern To Object tool, or added functionality of the existing pattern tools. What I have in mind is the ability to select the "From Object" and "To Object" similar to the way the Extrude Tool operates. A specified number of copies of the body, component, et cetera that you wish to pattern would be placed evenly between the two selected points. A quick mockup of the dialogue is attached to give you an idea of the basic options. Another helpful function would be to choose if you want a copy at the start and the end points along with the copies in between. 

This type of functionality has been inquired about before here and I know this tool would get a lot of use in my workflow. How about yours?

[anthony.esau]

To demonstrate the less than ideal workaround to the lack of a pattern to object tool, here is a screencast of my current workflow. 

https://autode.sk/2yYSJYZ

[gregmainland]

FYI this would let you pretty easily solve the issue once when it's implemented: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-ideastation/ability-to-reference-driven-dimensions/idi-p/5... 

[anthony.esau]

@gregmainlandThanks for making the connection between the two threads!

Driven dimensions would be incredible and indeed make this pattern to object idea irrelevant. The "when it's implemented" stipulation is the real hang up though. Sounds like a significant overhaul would be necessary.

Copying the "From Object" and "To Object" options that the extrude tool already has and putting them into the pattern tool seems on the surface to be simpler to actually do.

[gregmainland]

Yeah I totally agree it seems simpler because it already exists for extrude. And even if using driven dimensions existed, it would still be a little quicker to use a built-in pattern to object button so that you wouldn't have to make a sketch first.