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Move/Copy Bodies

In multibody parts, you can move, rotate, and copy solid and surface bodies, or place them using mates.

To move, copy, rotate, or mate a solid or surface body:

  1. Click Move/Copy Bodies (Features toolbar) or Insert, Features, Move/Copy.

    The Move/Copy Body PropertyManager appears. This property manager displays one of two pages:

  1. Click Translate/Rotate or Constraints at the bottom of the PropertyManager (if necessary) to switch to the page you want.

  2. Set options in the PropertyManager as described below.

Translate/Rotate

Bodies to Move/Copy

Solid and Surface or Graphics Body to Move/Copy . Select the bodies in the graphics area to move, copy, or rotate. The selected bodies move as a single entity. The bodies that are not selected are treated as fixed. A triad appears at the center of mass of the selected bodies.

Copy. Select to copy bodies, and set a value for Number of Copies . Clear to move the bodies instead of copying them.

Translate

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Set the Delta X , Delta Y , and Delta Z values to reposition the bodies.

    • Drag the triad's arrows in the graphics area to reposition the bodies.

The Delta X , Delta Y , and Delta Z values dynamically update.

    • Click in Translation Reference and do one of the following:

      1. Select an edge in the graphics area to define the translation direction.

      2. Set a value for Distance . Type a negative number to switch the translation direction.

- or -

      1. Select a vertex in the graphics area.

      2. If necessary, click To Vertex to select a second vertex.

The bodies move the direction and distance defined by the vertices.

A preview of the moved bodies appears.

  1. Click .

Rotate

  1. Set values for the coordinates of the rotation origin (the point that the bodies rotate about). The default values are the coordinates of the center of mass of the selected bodies.

    • X Rotation Origin

    • Y Rotation Origin .

    • Z Rotation Origin .

The triad moves in the graphics area to the new location of the rotation origin.

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Set values for:

      • X Rotation Angle . Angle around the X axis.

      • Y Rotation Angle . Angle around the Y axis.

      • Z Rotation Angle . Angle around the Z axis.

    • Right-click and drag the triad's arrows to dynamically update the values for X Rotation Angle , Y Rotation Angle , and Z Rotation Angle .

    • Click in Rotation Reference and do one of the following:

      1. Select an edge in the graphics area to define the rotation axis.

      2. Set a value for Angle .

- or -

      1. Select a vertex in the graphics area.

      2. Set values for X Rotation Angle , Y Rotation Angle , and Z Rotation Angle .

A preview of the rotated bodies appears.

  1. Click .

Constraints

Bodies to Move

Solid and Surface or Graphics Body to Move/Copy . Select bodies in the graphics area to move when the mate is applied. The selected bodies move as a single entity. The bodies that are not selected are treated as fixed.

Mate Settings

Entities to mate . Select two entities (faces, edges, planes, etc.) to mate together.

Add. Click to add the mate after selecting a mate type and setting parameters below. Click Undo to clear selections.

Select a mate type. All the mate types are always shown in the PropertyManager, but only the mates that are applicable to the current selections are available.

Coincident

Parallel

Perpendicular

Tangent

Concentric

Distance. Select, then set Distance. Select Flip Dimension to change the direction.

Angle. Select, then set Angle.

Mate Alignment.

  • Aligned . Places the bodies so the normal or axis vectors for the selected faces point in the same direction.

  • Anti-Aligned . Places the bodies so the normal or axis vectors for the selected faces point in opposite directions.

Mates

The Mates box contains all the mates in the mate set (all the mates added while the PropertyManager is open). When there are multiple mates in the Mates box, you can select one to edit that mate.

In multibody parts, you can apply multiple sets of mates to the same body. Mates specified within different sets can conflict with each other. For example, you can apply a perpendicular mate between two faces in one set, and in a different set, apply a parallel mate between the same two faces.

Options

Show preview. When selected, a preview of a mate occurs when you make enough selections for a valid mate.

 



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