Mating parts

[virgox2]

I'm very new to FormZ.. so please bear with my questions:

 

Is there a way to Mate parts in FormZ?  Similar to the way you'd mate parts in Solidworks or Inventor?  

 

Thanks

[DennisA]

I do not use solid works....Do you want to union? There is a boolean tool 11 down on modeling tools.

Also a join 11 down on right side ( this keeps individual object & mates them as one object) that can be separated at future time.

[DennisA]

If you explain what mate is there are other ways to do this or post the fmz project or image with what you want to do.

[Des]

I believe mating is something to do with keeping faces/surfaces of different objects aligned with each other inside assemblies.

FormZ does not do this per say, but with intelligent use of components, I think something along those lines could be achieved.

[DennisA]

We do have snapping features. I think alignment tool works only at object level.

We will get the correct answer from tech team on Monday.

[Alan Cooper]

Mating would be a very welcome feature.

At the moment I think you have to do the following steps, assuming no faces are already sharing a plane between your two objects:

Move your placement object from one of its points to a point on the destination object.

Use the 'define reference plane' tool and click on a face on your placement object.

Use the rotation tool to rotate the placement object by selecting the object, then clicking at the meeting point to set centre of rotation, then a point on the placement object, followed by a point on the destination object.

Repeat, using the 'define reference plane' tool on another face, and rotate again until your objects are mated.

If you are not using simple shaped objects, you may need to group simple cube objects to your objects or use reference objects so that you have faces and points to select and snap to.

[Tech]

Hi Virgo,

 

Well, you can use Object Snaps to Move and Snap parts together.  Perhaps doing this after using the Place On command may save a step or two.  You can also Group objects or create Components to "lock them together" so they move as one object.

 

Do any of these suggestions help?

[virgox2]

Thanks everyone!  I will try these suggestions.

 

Dennis, Yes by mating I am suggesting the aligning of faces of separate objects such they always share one plane.  

 

Didn't expect that many replies so quickly but I can see already FormZ has a very passionate user base. 

[DennisA]

& tech support on Sunday! Support is always the best.

Components may be your answer

[setz]

3 Point Align script may also help in this situation....

 

Tech, I know there is a lot on your plate, any ETA for this?  It would be really helpful to have, I use it almost daily (in V6).

[DanM]

The simple answer is no.

Mating is not just aligning objects together it also means that there are parametric relations between objects.

For example if you mate a pin with a hole, so that they have overlapping centre axis, the pin will always stay inside the hole even if you rotate the object with the hole to a different angle or possition.

The purpose of mates is to test real world mechanical moment.

You can watch this video to learn more

[virgox2]

The simple answer is no.

Mating is not just aligning objects together it also means that there are parametric relations between objects.

For example if you mate a pin with a hole, so that they have overlapping centre axis, the pin will always stay inside the hole even if you rotate the object with the hole to a different angle or possition.

The purpose of mates is to test real world mechanical moment.

You can watch this video to learn more

 

yeah that's what I'm trying to accomplish.  There is no mechanical movement in my products, but if I'm modeling something and I want the faces to stay aligned – eg, a table top, and apron rails remains aligned to the legs – even if the legs increase or decrease in height.    But it sounds like its not possible in FormZ.  Not a deal breaker but would be great..

[Tech]

Virgo,

 

Well, that's definitely possible to do -- but perhaps not "automatically."  You just need to control how you adjust the shape(s)...

[virgox2]

Ok understood its not automatic.  Would it be possible to share a very brief video or even elaborate a bit on what you mean by controlling how I am adjusting the shapes? 

 

An example I'd like to see would be just a simple extruded rectangle on four extruded square legs. 

 

If I were to later change the height of the legs, how would I get the top to move accordingly?

 

Also if I were to change the length or width of the table top, is it possible to constrain where the legs are positioned in relation to the edges of the top?  

 

thanks in advance.

[Tech]

Hi Virgo,

 

Well, there are really lots of options.  When you first create a Parametric Object (like a cube) you can click the Parameters Tab and adjust the parameters -- such as the size of the cube (or the options for the Revolve, etc).

 

If you don't need this capability, you can quickly resize objects by moving Points or Segments.  

 

First, make sure you are in Wireframe Mode, then Area Pick / Frame Pick the desired parts, such as the bottom of the legs of the table -- to change the length of these legs:

 

 

Or from a Top View, you can change the Height, or Width:

 

 

 

NOTE that the Input Palette allows you to numerically enter the change in size for the shape (how much bigger or smaller you want to make the table).

 

NOTE Also that this works great with Facetted objects.  Moving parts of Smooth objects is only sometimes recommended, and may produce a very complicated geometric form, depending on the complexity of what you are moving.

 

Does that help?

[Alan Cooper]

Virgox2

in FormZ changing the size of a table is really easy, you don't need constraints.

How I do this for a table in its simplest form is I make legs and top as 5 separate objects, then group them into a single group.

FormZ pro feature 'Unlock Groups' is really useful but there is also Edit Group available in all versions.

If you use the area pick tool with topology set to points or segments, you can move the seleced points or segments any distance you type in or snap from one place to another.

By selecting just the points or segments that you need to it is a very simple matter to change the size of your table.

Here is a video using FormZ 8.5.4 Pro. Don't worry about the little bug with the shaded work display after moving segments in wire frame display, it corrects itself after the file has been closed and reopened.

http://screencast.com/t/eQzvfrm4gz

[virgox2]

Thanks to Tech  – I understand it now.

 

Alan – thank you also.  Your video is extremely helpful.