The Fill Pattern feature lets you select an area defined by co-planar faces or a sketch that lies on co-planar faces. The command fills the defined region with a pattern of features or a predefined cut shape.
If you use a sketch for the boundary, you may need to select the pattern direction.
To create a fill pattern, click Fill Pattern (Features toolbar) or , set the PropertyManager options, and click .
Parameters control the pattern layout. You can create a sheet metal perforation-style pattern, or a pattern of concentric shapes typically used to enhance aesthetics.
Typical uses include:
- Weight reduction
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Ventilation holes
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Grip surfaces
Types of Fill Patterns
Perforation
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Designed for sheet metal perforation patterns.
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No vertex selected. Pattern is centered on face.
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Vertex selected. Pattern starts from vertex. |
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Circular
Square
Polygon
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Designed for filling arbitrary areas with a pattern that repeats on a concentric grid. These patterns have similar PropertyManager options:
- Set the spacing between concentric loops or rows (using instance centers), starting from the seed feature.
- Define the pattern based on:
- Spacing between instances within a loop or row (target spacing). Actual spacing can vary within each loop or row so the instances fit evenly.
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The number of instances per loop or row.
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Margins.
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Pattern direction.
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Circular pattern of a feature using target spacing between instances.
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Circular pattern using number of instances per loop.
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Polygon pattern using a sketch for fill boundary. Target spacing used. No vertex selected.
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Predefined Cut Shapes
The predefined cut shapes available are circles
, squares
, diamonds
, and polygons
. You can control the parameters for each shape.
If you select a vertex, the shape seed feature is located at the vertex. Otherwise, the seed feature is located at the center of the fill boundary.
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Diamond cut shape. Square pattern using 4 instances per side. No vertex selected.
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Same parameters except vertex is selected.
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