Symmetrical pattern

[JimmyDoe]

Is there any way to create a pattern as shown below? I have two planes on 24" centres and I would like to pattern them symmetrically about the centreline, at 12" increments, but without having a plane in the centre. I would obviously be using the cenreline plane as the reference, but I do not want that plane as a feature in the pattern.

All I've found are workarounds, but this is a very common design intent, to have things spaced on centres about a centreline and I find it hard to believe that Inventor does not have this functionality.

Someone please prove me wrong.

[IgorMir]

Hi Jimmy,

In this particular case Mirror would be a better option, I would say.

Cheers,

Igor.

[JimmyDoe]

I'm setting up a skeleton for a bridge model that is going to be controlled with iLogic. If I change the pattern, will the mirrored planes/features etc. update properly? I'm not a big fan of mirroring.

[IgorMir]

I don't see any reason why there would be a problem. Updates in the parent pattern will propagate into the mirrored one.

[JimmyDoe]

So, for this do i create a pattern going one way and then mirror it about the centerline? My experience with mirroring has been in models and I don't like how once you mirror something you then have to ground it and it's stuck. Then if you need to change the location of something slightly, you have to delete the mirror and remirror it. 

I find a lot lacking in inventors patterning functionality. And everyone's answer is mirror. It just seems that autodesk uses mirror as a big deflector when it comes to looking at improving their software.

But enough of that, I'll work with the mirroring and see how things go. It's not as troublesome as when you use mirroring in a model right? If I mirror a pattern of planes, the mirrored planes aren't floating in space, the way a mirrored part is, is it?

[Anonymous]

I would simply create a parallel workplane amnd use a parameter to drive the postion.

Go to user parameters and create a parameter "Plane_Distance", make it 12 per your example

Plane A would be Plane_Distance/2 from the origin plane and so on

Couple of quick keystrokes moves the planes on the fly and keeps all of your constraints

Obviously I am missing something because I cannot seem to mirror a plane on its own

[IgorMir]

Well, as I said previously - I yet to see the problems with mirroring features on a part level. Mirroring in assembly is different. I steer clear from that functionality for the time being.

Regards,

Igor.

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@JimmyDoe wrote:

So, for this do i create a pattern going one way and then mirror it about the centerline? My experience with mirroring has been in models and I don't like how once you mirror something you then have to ground it and it's stuck. Then if you need to change the location of something slightly, you have to delete the mirror and remirror it. 

I find a lot lacking in inventors patterning functionality. And everyone's answer is mirror. It just seems that autodesk uses mirror as a big deflector when it comes to looking at improving their software.

But enough of that, I'll work with the mirroring and see how things go. It's not as troublesome as when you use mirroring in a model right? If I mirror a pattern of planes, the mirrored planes aren't floating in space, the way a mirrored part is, is it?

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[IgorMir]

Yes, for two off occurrences it will do. But if you need more then two - then array is a better option IMO.

Here is a part with work planes only. IV2010 format.

Cheers,

Igor.

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would simply create a parallel workplane amnd use a parameter to drive the postion.

Go to user parameters and create a parameter "Plane_Distance", make it 12 per your example

Plane A would be Plane_Distance/2 from the origin plane and so on

Couple of quick keystrokes moves the planes on the fly and keeps all of your constraints

Obviously I am missing something because I cannot seem to mirror a plane on its own

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[Anonymous]

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@IgorMir wrote:

Yes, for two off occurrences it will do. But if you need more then two - then array is a better option IMO.

Here is a part with work planes only. IV2010 format.

Cheers,

Igor.

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 The same parameter can drive an array

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[JimmyDoe]

Mario said:

I would simply create a parallel workplane amnd use a parameter to drive the postion.

Go to user parameters and create a parameter "Plane_Distance", make it 12 per your example

Plane A would be Plane_Distance/2 from the origin plane and so on

Couple of quick keystrokes moves the planes on the fly and keeps all of your constraints

Obviously I am missing something because I cannot seem to mirror a plane on its own

I had my planes started off how you are saying as one at 'beam centres' and then one off of that at 'beam centres/2' But its when it comes to patterning those off my skeleton centreline that I'm not sure how to proceed. This is going to be set up with a form, so that the customer will basically be able to build the bridge themselves, so I want to make absolutely sure that I do it properly, from the very start.

Igor said: I don't see any reason why there would be a problem. Updates in the parent pattern will propagate into the mirrored one.

I have opened your part and played around with the pattern and the mirrored pattern does update accordingly. So, maybe this will be the option to use.

Igor said:

Well, as I said previously - I yet to see the problems with mirroring features on a part level. Mirroring in assembly is different. I steer clear from that functionality for the time being.

Regards,

Igor.

As for not mirroring in assemblies, if you have, for example, two doors that are identical except opposite hand, would you create another complete assembly for the second door or mirror the first?

I will be working on this at home tonight and I'll give you an update on how it's going. Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

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@JimmyDoe wrote:

Mario said:

I would simply create a parallel workplane amnd use a parameter to drive the postion.

Go to user parameters and create a parameter "Plane_Distance", make it 12 per your example

Plane A would be Plane_Distance/2 from the origin plane and so on

Couple of quick keystrokes moves the planes on the fly and keeps all of your constraints

Obviously I am missing something because I cannot seem to mirror a plane on its own

I had my planes started off how you are saying as one at 'beam centres' and then one off of that at 'beam centres/2' But its when it comes to patterning those off my skeleton centreline that I'm not sure how to proceed. This is going to be set up with a form, so that the customer will basically be able to build the bridge themselves, so I want to make absolutely sure that I do it properly, from the very start.

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You would then use a reactangular pattern of planes using your parameter to drive the distance of each plane in the pattern. One parameter changes then sets everything

[JimmyDoe]

Ok, I was getting a little frustrated yesterday, so maybe I wasn't seeing or thinking as clearly as I could/should. But I will start fresh(after ten hours of Inventor at work) 😛 We'll see and I'll give an update, maybe even post my model so you guys could take a look. Thanks again! 🙂

[IgorMir]

I would derive them into a new part file and mirror there. Then I place a new part (which represents the mirrored door, as in your case) into assembly file. But then again - it is a general motion. For a specific requirement there is a specific approach.

Igor.

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@JimmyDoe wrote:

As for not mirroring in assemblies, if you have, for example, two doors that are identical except opposite hand, would you create another complete assembly for the second door or mirror the first?

I will be working on this at home tonight and I'll give you an update on how it's going. Thanks for your help.

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[JimmyDoe]

Ok, it turns out SolidCAD took us out for dinner last night so I didn't get to work on my skeleton. But, I was picking one of the guys brain and it looks like mirroring a pattern should be the way to go.

As for the deriving the door into a part, mirroring it and then placing that in the assembly. Isn't that just doing the same thing as mirroring in the assembly? Since when you mirror something it just makes a derived copy of that part? You're just doing it one level below?

[IgorMir]

Hi Jimmy,

I would say - it is a matter of preferences and a particular modeling case.

Cheers,

Igor.

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@JimmyDoe wrote:

As for the deriving the door into a part, mirroring it and then placing that in the assembly. Isn't that just doing the same thing as mirroring in the assembly? Since when you mirror something it just makes a derived copy of that part? You're just doing it one level below?

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[JimmyDoe]

Ok, so I have things set up with mirrored patterns in my skeleton. Now I am putting some parts into an assembly that contains the skeleton. When I choose to use the pattern from my skeleton that I had mirrired as a reference pattern, my beams only pattern to the original patterned planes and not the mirrored ones? Shouldn't my beams be shown on the mirrored planes as well? Or else what is the point of mirroring the pattern in my skeleton, if it doesn't translate into the modelling stage?

[IgorMir]

No, it should not. To generate the desired result in a skeleton you were using two commands - pattern and then mirror. Now in assembly you expect to get the same with one command only. I would review the workflow you are trying to implement.

Regards,

Igor.

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@JimmyDoe wrote:

Ok, so I have things set up with mirrored patterns in my skeleton. Now I am putting some parts into an assembly that contains the skeleton. When I choose to use the pattern from my skeleton that I had mirrired as a reference pattern, my beams only pattern to the original patterned planes and not the mirrored ones? Shouldn't my beams be shown on the mirrored planes as well? Or else what is the point of mirroring the pattern in my skeleton, if it doesn't translate into the modelling stage?

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[JimmyDoe]

that is really too bad :S Do you know if there is a way to have a pattern go symmetrically outwards from a midplane in one command? This is so I can use it as a reference pattern in a higher level assembly.

 This doesn't seem like a very advanced operation, so I'm thinking there must be a solution staring me right in the face that I cannot seem to see.

[IgorMir]

Yes, there is such an option in pattern DB. But it won't work in your case. Unless you just suppress the item(s) you don't want to see in array.

Regards,

Igor.

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@JimmyDoe wrote:

that is really too bad :S Do you know if there is a way to have a pattern go symmetrically outwards from a midplane in one command? This is so I can use it as a reference pattern in a higher level assembly.

 This doesn't seem like a very advanced operation, so I'm thinking there must be a solution staring me right in the face that I cannot seem to see.

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[JimmyDoe]

Ok, thanks for your time, Igor!