move copy - rotate center point

[harrybennett]

i'm trying to copy a component and move it into place but when I rotate the center of rotation is not at the center of the component itself as it usually would be. why is this and how can i correct it? i have screen captured the issue in the attached video

[jhackney1972]

In your video, you neglected to select the Set Pivot option before you moved or rotated your component.  When you select it, pick the point you want to rotate about which will serve as the move point also.  Remember, once you select this icon, it is in select mode until you select it again.

[harrybennett]

thanks @jhackney1972. usually when i use move/copy to rotate a component it will pivot by default around the components center. i'm curious to know why it doesn't for this component? screen capture video attached to show the 2 different behaviours

[Drewpan]

Hi Harry,

I think you might be best off copying the component and then using a Joint to place it. It is much more accurate than

Move/Copy then manually placing an As Built Joint. It also does not clutter up the timeline with moves.

I have just downloaded your model. Why do you have so many linked components? Is this a group effort? I can see

why you might want to split them into assemblies but there is no reason I can ascertain why you need to import

a link pin or a clamp. Especially since they all seem very similar.

There are WAY too many Move and Group components in the timeline. As a guide, if you need to group them together

then use Joints and they almost certainly should be a sub-assembly.

Nobody would EVER put this design on the market. It is so complicated that the assembly alone would cost a fortune

if it was done on an assembly line and if I had a choice between buying this and taking it home to assemble it, and

buying a much simpler one from the hardware store - I am going to the hardware store. The Monitor Mount has

ELEVEN Clamps. I am not sitting down to assemble that lot and I am certainly not going to trust my monitor that

may cost thousands of dollars to something with so many potential failure points.

Ergonomically it is way too complicated and there are so many pinch points that you would never get it past Health &

Safety. Surely this was not the design brief you were given? I found this mobile monitor stand in two minutes with

Google. This is much more feasable.

Some advice. Just because you can do something does not mean you should. If you actually designed all of these

linked components then you probably should have broken all of the links and gone with what you had and made

copies from the original. It would have made what I ended up with in my folder MUCH simpler. If you imported these

things from elsewhere then you should also have broken the links. I am quite happy to import from McMaster-Carr

but I don't need updates on things for what will obviously be a one off design.

You must also be using some super-computer to design this. All of these linked files and the complexity will be

slowing fusion down to snail's pace just re-calculating where you are moving and re-moving all this stuff.

Engineering and design is about making things as cheap and simple as possible to get the job done as safely as

possible. If you have never heard the term Keep it Simple S..... (insert appropriate S word here) then learn it and

start using it.

Another common saying is that if you build a BETTER mousetrap then the world will beat a path to your door. It isn't

a MORE COMPLICATED mousetrap.

Don't think I am being too harsh or picking on you please. I really am trying to help. I would strongly recommend

getting  on the AutoDesk YouTube channel and looking at how some of those guys go about designing. I would

also read a few books on design and try to get an idea on different ways of going about it. It is hard to tell but it seems

that you have taken the advice of using off the shelf parts to keep costs down, but there is a point where a well

designed custom part is much cheaper than a collection of off the shelf parts.

Cheers

Andrew

[harrybennett]

Hi @Drewpan 

Definitely not too harsh, I appreciate you not holding back. I'm still learning so better fix bad habits early.

I take on board the linked components point. Most of them are downloaded from manufacturer and won't need to be updated. Honestly my computer is coping fine though if it's just a matter of system resources..

Most of the moves in the timeline is me creating copies. I'll investigate alternatives that if it's not the preferred method.

You're right, the design is mostly off the shelf components as a means of saving costs - it costs 4 times less than what is commonly purchased for the task, and weighs half as much. The monitor stand you found on google maybe good for a classroom but not for all terrain location work that mine is designed for. Mine can also hold 100kg of rack equipment.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

Like @Drewpan , I can only encourage you to use joints.

You will see how much easier it is to create such a construction.

I will not download your f3z because of the numerous linked components.

But I could show you how to deal with joints if you share a file (f3d without links) with just a few pipes and connectors.

günther

[harrybennett]

thanks @g-andresen actually everything is already jointed, that's not the issue. however when creating a copy of a component I do like to move it from it's source so i can see it clearer for joint selection. it's during this initial move that i noticed the different than usual behaviour regarding pivot center

[laughingcreek]

the pivot point for an assembly (vs just a component) is at the assembly origin.  turn on the viability of the origin for the assembly. it's probably going to be the same as the initial move pivot.