Line perpendicular to a spline at a point

[sz20080]

Good afternoon. I am working in inventor. I have drawn a spline made up of various points and now I want to draw a line which is perpendicular to the spline at the point where I begin drawing the line. Is there a way to do this in inventor. I have attached an image for clarification below.

[SBix26]

I don't think you can apply a perpendicular constraint in that situation, but you can make a line segment tangent to the spline, and then make your line perpendicular to the tangent line.

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Sam B
Inventor Pro 2022 | Windows 10 Home 2004
LinkedIn

[sz20080]

And how can I draw a line which is tangential to the spline at a particular point?

[SBix26]

Draw a line (neither vertical nor horizontal); make the midpoint coincident to the spline; make the line tangent to the spline.  Now you can dimension the midpoint of the line so it stays where you want it, and the midpoint is where you construct the perpendicular line.

What version of Inventor did you say you were using?

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Sam B
Inventor Pro 2022 | Windows 10 Home 2004
LinkedIn

[JDMather]

Attach your *.ipt file here.

[j.palmeL29YX · Accepted solution]

Try >>this<<. 

- add a fit point to the spline at the wished position

- activate the handle at this fit point

- fix the position of the handle 

- draw the perpendicular line 

optional:

- delete the fix constraint

If my reply solves your problem, click the "accept as solution" button. This can help others find solutions faster

[sz20080]

That worked perfectly. Thank you very much.

[j.palmeL29YX]

Additional a much more flexible solution you can see >>here<<. 

- Draw the line_1 (which you want to be perpendicular) coincident at the spline

- Draw a line_2 anywhere. (This should be a construction line, not done in the video).

- add a coincident constraint between the line_1 and the midpoint of line_2

- add a perpendicular constraint between line_1 and line_2

- add coincident constraints between the endpoints of line_2 and the spline. 

- Now you can add a dimension to the length of line_2. The smaller the line_2, the more precise will be line_1 to the spline.  

Even if the result is not 1000% accurate, I'm sure because you can choose a length as small as you want the result will meet all practical requirements. 

The advantages of this method: 

- It is not necessary to add a (perhaps unwanted) Fit Point. 

- you can move the line to a position along the pline wherever you want. 

- you can use Interpolation Splines and also CV-Splines (as shown in the video). 

- And of course you can modify the geometry and also the type (Interpolation or Fit) of the spline without limitations. 

Please mark "Accept as Solution" if my reply resolves the issue or answers your question, to help others in the community.