Mirror sketch items without copying them

[markD2LV3]

Hi,

Is there a way to mirror sketch items without copying them in Sketch?

I find I need that functionality quite often.

Thanks.

[chrisplyler]

I'm not sure I understand. The act of mirroring a sketch element, let's say a line for example, of course does create a second line. That seems like common sense to me, and I can't imagine "creating another line over here" without, well, creating another line over there.

Perhaps if you give a more detailed example of what you ARE trying to achieve, we can give you a specific method of achieving it.

[chrisplyler]

Or perhaps I've assumed to much. Are you actually Copying sketch elements, Pasting them, and then moving them into position in order to create a mirrored element? Are you aware that there is a Sketch>Mirror tool?

[davebYYPCU]

AutoCad has this functionality, but Fusion doesn’t 

there are times that it is very handy.for changing the orientation of the same set of articles, that for me are not symmetric, Airfoils.

Same applies in the modelling area, no option to delete originals in the command.  Last night I had to mirror 41 Bodies and then delete originals (Pins on an Arduino board in a Grabcad Step File, top to bottom)

I presume it is in the black hole (IdeasStation) but never chased it up.

[markD2LV3]

I did not express myself clearly.

That was based on the fact that all the other brands of CAD software I have used in the past call it "mirroring".

It works the same as Fusion's mirroring except it deletes the original mirrored items. There is an option to keep them, however - and if that is selected, they work the same as Fusion's mirror command.

I find I sometimes need to move something to the other side of the mirror line, just like mirroring does. 

So perhaps, if that's more logical to others, that kind of a "mirror move" could be an option in the move command.

One way or the other, that kind of 'mirroring" is often useful for all kinds of entities.

[markD2LV3]

Please see my reply to your first message for clarification. And thanks!

[markD2LV3]

That's exactly what I'm after. I'm really surprised Fusion does not have that functionality. 

[chrisplyler]

Ahhhhh I get it now. Sounds useful, but not really a necessity, right? I mean, it might look sloppy, but it doesn't really hurt anything that the original elements remain on the other side, right?

[davebYYPCU]

You have a right handed part, and your wife is left handed, until the divorce you will need a lot of left handed bits, 

There is functionality we don't have, and with complexities of computers tick the box, remove original, works better than reselecting all that stuff again, and then delete, remove, hide etc.

there is an entry in the black hole, by the way.

[markD2LV3]

No it, doesn't.

It's just that it's a drag if you have to do it a lot (delete them). If you leave them in place, the sketch etc. could get messy or too complex.

Anyway, I do think it must be an oversight on the Fusion team's part. Everything else I've used before gave me that option.

[TrippyLighting]

Hmmm... I see a lot of talk, but not a single example of a sketch where that is necessary.

[markD2LV3 · Accepted solution]

We are talking about convenience, not necessity.

It’s not necessary to have automatic transmission in a car but manual shifting in heavy traffic can get old real soon. It’s that kind of thing.

I’m done with the topic. If a bright programmer at Autodesk notices and understands the issue, and runs with it, so much the better. If not, it’s not a show stopper for me.

[lkeays]

Hi, the topic is old but I don't think anything has changed...  Just to re-argument that it is indeed very convenient - @TrippyLighting  - look at the design there. A simple frame to be carved in wood using CNC.  My cnc is very small, so I have to do it in 4 parts. 

So mirror left, bottom right, then bottom left. 

• Each "mirror" will need to be placed (moved) back under the stock for manufacturing
• Then each manufacturing passes need to be redefined with the mirrored component
• That creates roughly 50 operations in total - all that are "manually modifying something"

Indeed convenience... but also risk avoidance and better quality approach.  I would really like this feature...

If it existed, I would "Mirror Component", then "generate manufacturing paths".  2 steps.

Thanks!

[terry_fusion]

Or when you import TEXT as a DXF, and it comes in upside down and backwards, it would be nice to be able to mirror the text about a center line without copying all the text and having it superimposed over the original text.

Basic stuff this program can't seem to handle, yeah it's kind of stupid that way

[mwesse]

Exactly

I dont think the op was originally understood

EVERY program I use...and thats quite a number, allow you to reflect elements about an axis. Whether its the import of sketches, etc its such a basic tool.

Reflecting elements is so basic and unless Im missing something, how do you simply create a reflection of what could be a complex part with 3 mouse clicks as in 

Inventor

Solidworks

Archicad

Autocad

Realsoft 4d

Rhino

Grasshopper (programatically)

Photoshop

After FX

Indesign

Blah Blah....

Even most music programs let you invert elements around nyquist/axis

Thanks

Blah Blah

[BlaylockLLC]

Aug 10/22

I've had some success using the move command on a selected group of active sketch elements, then scrolling down, and setting the left-right axis (y) rotate to 180 deg. There does seem to be a complex relationship to the chosen point of rotation, that I haven't quite worked out. I've had it work as expected, and also not....Producing reflections and rotations simultaneously. Maybe including a vertically constrained line and setting somewhere on it as the point of rotation makes the difference.

[alicia.coto]

I am looking for a solution to this, and seems like a lot of comments that don't solve the problem.

I have a cicular array of coils (in sketch) and I want to mirror it around the center to reverse the direction of the coils. If I do this using mirror, it overlays the mirrored version on top of the original, making it near impossible to select all the old lines and delete them. Has anyone found a way to do a mirror without keeping the original? I need a true mirror, not a move, or rotate 180 degrees, that wouldn't accomplish what I need.

Thanks,

Alicia

[mwesala9MRZ8]

2023 and still not an option, this is ridiculous. Devs, please add this simple function.

[Mortronitron · Accepted solution]

2024, there still doesn't seem to be a way to mirror sketch entities around an axis without keeping the original.  However, after much digging around, I found the Move command lets you rotate around an axis, which is essentially the same thing and has a check box to make a copy if desired.  At least it worked for me to make a left and right with the origin in the center (x,y) of my part.

[markD2LV3]

Thank you. I’m just puzzled why Autodesk will not implement such basic functionality after all these years. Also, I believe there’s no keyboard shortcut for  window zoom. I just don’t understand why. All the other cad software I have used has it. The lack of features like that really slows me down.