Over-constrain Issue - Box with Variable Compartment Sizes

[Anonymous]

Hey Everyone,

Newbie here! I have watched all of the Sketch videos in the Learning section, and I tried searching on the forums for something similar to my issue, however I am not seeing anything from a quick search on my specific over-constraint issue. My guess is there is a much better way to do what I am doing, but I just do not know what it is! So what am I trying to do? Ultimately, this is a case for a card game with two compartments (and eventually a lid) that I am going to 3D print. The issue I am running into is with adding dimensions to the constrained internal compartments of the box.

The walls (both outer and inner) need to be 2mm at all times, and the two compartments need to be equal sizes. To solve these issues, I started by setting the two compartments' lengths and widths equal to one another, so I only have to change one set of dimensions. I then set the dimensions between the left compartment's rectangle and its top, left, and bottom sides to 2mm, and then I set the gap between the two compartments to 2mm as well to form the inner wall.

That all went well, but the issue came when I was defining the actual compartment size. I started with the width of 67mm, and it worked no problem. However, I get the error in the photo below when I tried to add the length dimension. I tried reversing it by doing the length first, but then I get the same error when trying to dimension the width. I even tried pulling on the corners of both the outside box and the compartment box to adjust the size manually, and it would not budge, so clearly it is constrained to the point of no longer being able to change size except for the compartment's one, already set dimension.

I even tried recreating this design with the inner wall being its own rectangle, so there would not be that additional constraint, but it still gave me the error. I also tried using two construction lines from the origin point to the outside of the main box and building my rectangles on the midpoint of each construction, but then I was getting errors when trying to dimension the 2mm gap between the compartments and the out box because the 2mm I was specifying was violating the midpoint constraint.

This seems like it would be so simple to create, as it is just a box with two compartments, yet I am clearly doing something very wrong. How am I supposed to be going about this? Teach me, Master(s)!!

[Anonymous]

I decided to do another test to see what would happen, and I got the same error. I first started with the compartment box's dimensions, and then I did the 2mm wall dimensions. It worked all the way up until, you guessed it, the very last dimension.

So it seems that now matter which way I am going about this, I am left one dimension short of exactly the box I want. This is really frustrating...

[davebYYPCU]

Quick assessment, 

If the width is equal to the height by constraints, you don't need a height dimension.  

another way to put it, if all lines are black and you still wish a dimension for neatness, then adding the driven one is not really an error, just means you can't make the box a rectangle while the equals are constraining it to a square.

Might help....

[mavigogun]

It would help to diagnose to have the design in hand- File>Export>Save local>Attach to your reply here.   

In the meanwhile,  consider setting your Selection Filter to only include Constraints (Select>Selection Filter>uncheck everything-but), lasso select the entire Sketch, then Delete all the constraints.    Restore your ability to freely select, then re-impose Dimensions, starting with the gross outside.

[Anonymous]

RE: davebYYPCU

I am not sure I follow, as you can see in the pictures that the widths and heights (I called them lengths) of a single compartment are not equal, nor should they be as they will be holding playing cards. I may have misworded that in my post, so my apologies for any confusion. The whole point of this is to create compartments that can vary in size (different sized cards, with and without sleeves), while the the box itself remains a 2mm border including the dividing wall between compartments.

RE: mavigogun

I have attached the file to this reply.

I have completely started this design from scratch thirteen times now haha. Each time, I tried to do something in a different order or even try another way of going about it with a different constraint, thus why I have created this post to see if there is a completely different way of doing what I am trying to accomplish.

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

I think I understand what the issue is.  When you created the inner rectangles, you snapped the corner to the construction line for the center point rectangle for the outer box:

Because that point is coincident to that diagonal line, you cannot dimension its distance from both the top and the side lines of the outer rectangle - it is already at the right distance.  If you want the distance to be different, delete this constraint.

Is this what you were trying to get?  It is fully constrained, so no more dimensions are needed:

model is attached

[Anonymous]

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@jeff_strater

Holy moly, that was it!!! Stupid construction lines in the Center Rectangle. I spent WAY too many hours on this... I just knew it was going to be something simple, too! Hahaha.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

[mavigogun]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Each time, I tried to do something in a different order or even try another way of going about it with a different constraint, thus why I have created this post to see if there is a completely different way of doing what I am trying to accomplish.

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In the spirit of that statement, I think you will appreciate this brief Fusion video:

[video]

[Anonymous]

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@mavigogun wrote:

In the spirit of that statement, I think you will appreciate this brief Fusion video:

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Hah! That is pretty much how I felt, just without ANY of the success haha. Very cool to know you can do all of that, though. I haven't really done any of the modeling tutorials yet, so I am sure I will learn all about those next!