Position Steps
Use a position step to say where a body goes in terms of the model rather than in numbers. Add one from Add positioning step in a Transform, then pick the geometry it should read.
Face to face
The one to reach for first. Pick My face on the body that moves, then Target face on whatever it should sit against, and the body turns over so the two faces meet.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gap | Leaves a distance between the two faces instead of touching |
| Centre faces | On by default. Puts the two face centres together as well as their planes |
| Spin | Turns the body about the target face's normal, once the faces are mated |
| Slide U, Slide V | Slides it across the target face, in the face's own two directions |
| Flip | Mates the faces the same way up instead of opposed |
Turn Centre faces off when the two faces are different sizes and you want to place the body yourself with Slide U and Slide V.
Point to point
Pick a point on the body that moves and a point for it to land on. The body translates; nothing rotates. Offset shifts the landing spot by an X, Y and Z you type.
Pick a Second target as well and the body lands on the midpoint of the two targets, which is how you centre something between two features without measuring.
Coaxial
Pick My axis on the body that moves and Target axis on the thing it should line up with, and the two become collinear. Offset slides the body along the shared axis; Flip turns it end for end.
This is the peg-in-hole step. An axis slot takes an edge, a cylindrical face, a reference axis or one of the world axes, so a hole's own wall is a valid pick.
Centre on body
Pick a Target body and this one centres itself on it, one axis at a time.
Centre X and Centre Y are on by default and Centre Z is off, which is the arrangement you want for putting a part on top of another rather than inside it. Turn on the axes you mean.
Use centre of mass switches from the bounding box to the actual centre of mass, which differ on anything that is not symmetrical.
Move along a measured vector
Pick a From point and a To point anywhere in the model, and the body travels that way. Whole vector on means it travels the full distance between them; off, it travels the Distance you type along the same direction.
Use it to repeat a spacing that already exists in the part: pick the two features that define it, and the body moves by exactly that much.
See also
- Transform Basics: the stack these steps live in
- Orientation Steps: the ones that turn a body rather than move it
- Directed Moves: moving along a face or an axis, and moving until something touches
- Reference Axes and Points: making a point a step can actually pick