Is there anyway to select center of a cylindrical face?

Is there anyway to select center of a cylindrical face?

verygoldfish
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Message 1 of 16

Is there anyway to select center of a cylindrical face?

verygoldfish
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Contributor

The only way I found that seems to work is to construct an axis through it then select its center. But I'm hoping that there is a short cut key for this task, cuz that point right there that seem to be selectable but it always disappears before I can move the cursor over it to select.

 

 

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Message 2 of 16

Oceanconcepts
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Advisor

It's really hard to tell due to the small size of your screencast, but it looks as if you are trying to use the Move command with the Faces option and are in the process of setting the pivot (lower of the three highlighted boxes). Once you click on the point you want to use as the pivot, you need to accept that selection by clicking the Set Pivot box. Since you have the faces option selected in the Move dialog, only pivots located on faces will be selectable. 

 

Does this help?

Fusion 360ScreenSnapz009.png

- Ron

Mostly Mac- currently M1 MacBook Pro

Message 3 of 16

verygoldfish
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Contributor

Well, the problem that I have stated is that once I move my cursor to it
that point disappears, I wonder is there anyway to have that point stay
there still when I move my cursor over it.

Edit: BTW I'm talking about the middle point between the 2 faces of the cylinder.

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Message 4 of 16

Oceanconcepts
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Advisor

OK, I may be missing the point (sorry). You are trying to select the center point of the cylinder, not a point on a face? Not the center point of one of the circular faces?  

I missed that you had (I think I see now) a cylindrical surface body rather than a solid. I think you can only position the manipulator on the center points of each end, by clicking on an edge. The absolute middle of the cylindrical shape is not, so far as I can see, selectable. Am I getting your intent correctly? 

 

- Ron

Mostly Mac- currently M1 MacBook Pro

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Message 5 of 16

verygoldfish
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Contributor

Yes, i may not make it clear enough, but that's what I'm trying to do, rotating the cylinder face at it's center. There are ways to do it like placing an axis through and select it's center, but that is a long way to do it, I think, cuz why that middle point appears there, so there must be an easier way to do that to make that point not disappears when I move over it I think. Thanks for taking your time.

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Message 6 of 16

etfrench
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Mentor

When selecting a cylindrical face in the Move command, select the face, not the center point.  It will automatically set the rotation/move point to the center.

ETFrench

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Message 7 of 16

verygoldfish
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No I don't think it works that way, selecting it like that just pick the spot that you selected, not moving to the center unlike you do with flat face when you move over the edge of it.

 

Edit: you can see that in the screencast. It doesn't automatically be moved over to the center like with the 2 flat faces right at the edge

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Message 8 of 16

etfrench
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Actually, it does work that way.  In the screencast, you never click on the face.  Even though the face is highlighted when you hover over it, it is not selected until you click on it.

ETFrench

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Message 9 of 16

verygoldfish
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Uhm...I did, have a look at 0:25, I left clicks it and it stays there at that spot.

Edit: If you have a screencast to show me how you'd do it, that would be great.

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Message 10 of 16

Oceanconcepts
Advisor
Advisor

Does this help? You are setting the pivot point, nothing will actually move until you accept the position. 

 

 

 

 

 

- Ron

Mostly Mac- currently M1 MacBook Pro

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Message 11 of 16

etfrench
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Message 12 of 16

verygoldfish
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Contributor

Thank you all for taking your time for this, but again it seems that you guys don't understand the problem. What I mean is the center of the cylindrical face, that is the center of the midpoint across the length of the cylinder not the center of the circle at the 2 edges. 

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Message 13 of 16

verygoldfish
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Contributor

This is what I want to do, but just looking for a quicker way to click to it, rather than using an axis

 

 

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Message 14 of 16

Oceanconcepts
Advisor
Advisor

Understood. If you have a defined point and orientation that you want to move the part to, using the Align tool will allow you to move using the center of the cylinder axis as a reference. For free ration, using construction geometry is probably the easiest way to do it. 

- Ron

Mostly Mac- currently M1 MacBook Pro

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Message 15 of 16

laughingcreek
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Mentor

so I guess you've figured out by now the answer is no, you can't directly select that location for the move command.  if you want to save the step of creating the axis, you can calculate the center using the measure tool in the dialog box (see screen cast).

this won't be parametric of course.  but using the axis command here isn't either.

again see screen cast.  once you make the move, that's it.  going back to the move command will only let you change relative to where the object is currently at.  ie, you can't use a parameter here.

 

if you want the move to be parametric, you have to use one of the other move types.  but to use the rotate type move, you need an axis that is oriented differently.  again see screen cast

 

not any help, i know.  just musings. 

 

 

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Message 16 of 16

verygoldfish
Contributor
Contributor

Yeah these are some other ways to do it, and I in particular don't use parametric design at all, so no problemo, but I just can't help but wonder why there is that triangular point pops up in the middle between the 2 when you move over to the face even though we can't really select it. I'm just really tempted to click on but never can without the axis, also BTW when you pivot the view that point is actually the anchor point. So I guess nothing we can do with it then, just hoping fusion one day let us select that point.