how to make a line tangent to spline

how to make a line tangent to spline

Anonymous
Not applicable
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Message 1 of 52

how to make a line tangent to spline

Anonymous
Not applicable

I cannot make a line tangent to a spline.  Is there a workaround?

 

Attached is a simple example of a fully constrained spline I need to make tangent to a vertical line.

 

Thanks.

Accepted solutions (1)
14,361 Views
51 Replies
Replies (51)
Message 41 of 52

scottnorrie
Explorer
Explorer

I'm evaluating a transition from SW to Fusion. I've put some time into this and so far finding the Fusion UX good. However, I didn't expect this sketching limitation to trip me up on my first test part.

 

In SW, I use the tangent to spline constraint so often it is almost indispensable (both in modelling and drawings for section thickness measurements). A good example is a relatively simple single body fin component. In SW, section foil thickness can be adjusted/measured using a horizontal/vertical constrained line that is tangent to the foil spline (similar to original post). The 2018 Fusion work-around provided doesn't work because this involves modifying the spline (+ geometry) when adding a fit spline point. This technique is also unavailable for projected / intersected / section drawings (which is where it often needs to be used frequently and quickly I multiple sections). Seems there's also no way to measure foil section thickness in a Fusion 2D drawing because there's no points / lines referencing the thickest part of the foil (spline) section to dimension with.

 

@jeff_strater - Understood that not every suggested improvement can be prioritised, but are you able to share if this is under consideration / in development? This would help to evaluable the suitability of Fusion for these types of parts & workflow.

 

Thanks!

Message 42 of 52

HughesTooling
Consultant
Consultant

Edit Deleted. 

Mark Hughes
Owner, Hughes Tooling
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Message 43 of 52

lqg5960
Contributor
Contributor

No, as I said, I know about that setting; that would also be an issue if it weren't there. What's missing is the ability to invert the scroll/panning direction.

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Message 44 of 52

lqg5960
Contributor
Contributor

And it continues to not be funny now.....

Message 45 of 52

Art5
Advocate
Advocate

Agreed. As others have stated, I have need for this functionality almost daily. Very disappointing to see that this has been an issue for years that many have brought up and it still hasn't been addressed.

Message 46 of 52

VeloDsn
Explorer
Explorer

I need this all the time. probably my top frustration with fusion right now is the lack of this capability.

 

Seems like a pretty basic capability that doesn't request a huge investment.

Message 47 of 52

diegopaivaQJDA7
Explorer
Explorer

The "create a plane along path" solution only works if you are working on a more "freehand" style like the video posted in this topic, 'cause Fusion 360 don't have the option "to the object" when we create a plane along path... I hope the team make this uptade ASAP

Message 48 of 52

ericjm297ML
Explorer
Explorer

But this changes the shape of the curve?

You are making the curve tangent not picking a tangent angle.

You can see the shape change in the video.

Or am I missing something?

As this was many years ago has this problem been fixed?

I am still looking.

 

Message 49 of 52

bwalker145
Advocate
Advocate

I think I've found a solution that can create a true tangent line between two splines.

Obviously going to be some limitations, and it's a little finicky, but has worked well on the few examples I've tried.

I built a separate component to use as an alignment plate, and constrained it to the spline component via "Tangent Relationship" under Assemble (constrain each face on the alignment plate separately to each spline). Project the components onto a sketch, and constrain a point at the line intersections to define the locations of tangency.

 

[Edit: Revised method. Breaking projection link not necessary, just add a point with a coincidence constraint between the two lines to find the intersection, and then the new sketch remains parametric.]

 

bwalker145_0-1740750883601.png

 

 

Message 50 of 52

pickinben
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

7 years later.....  this is a little tough and exactly the thing that makes the life of the sales people more difficult.  I understand that most users of Fusion are making prismatic parts, but this would really go a long way if it were addressed.

Message 51 of 52

VeloDsn
Explorer
Explorer

Still waiting for this to happen. I also wonder why this request is marked as 'solved' when it clear has not been. The linked solution is to add a fit point to the spline and then use the handle for the constraint. This could work if you never make a change to the spline but any movement of the underlying geometry would result in a change the spline

Message 52 of 52

neil.mendoza
Contributor
Contributor

The hacky workarounds I normally use don't work for my current project so thought I'd check back in to this thread and see if it was fixed yet. Guess not 😭 We should all submit this as a feature request. https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-submit-a-pr...

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