SpaceClaim Online Help

Displaying measurements

Use the MeasureTools for displaying measurement properties of the edges, faces, and solids in your design. tool to display measurements of the edges and faces in your design. Any values displayed on screen are automatically copied into the Clipboard and can be pasted into another document.

The Measure tool is accessible in the Ribbon and from within the PullTool used to distort or deform geometry. Use the Pull tool to offset, extrude, revolve, sweep, draft, and blend faces; or to round, chamfer, or extrude edges. When converting a sketch to 3D, pulling a line creates a surface and pulling a surface creates a solid. and MoveA tool used to translate or rotate geometry. tools. Measurement values are selectable only when the tool is invoked within Pull or Move.

You can select units for measurement in the SpaceClaim Units options. You can also modify the Precision and Angular Precision values in the Measure Tool options.

The document origin is displayed by default. You can hold Alt and select the origin or its axes as reference objects, and the distance in that direction (or all three) is displayed.

If you hold Alt and select an origin, then you will see a preview of the X, Y, and Z distance from the origin. This preview changes as you move your mouse over objects in the Design windowArea in the user interface that displays your model or assembly. Also known as Workspace.. If you hold Alt and select any plane, then the preview shows the distance from the point under the mouse to the plane. If you hold Alt and select a line or axis, then the preview shows the distance from the point under the mouse to the line. Clicking on an object sets the dimensions in the results box.

Negative values are displayed for the results when you select an origin and the measurement is negative in the direction of one or more axes.

To view a measurement

1. Click Measure in the Inspect group on the Measure tab.

   Mouse over your design to preview the faces and edges eligible for measurement.

2. Select points, curves, edges, or faces to display measurement information.

   Ctrl + Selecting multiple objects displays measurement between them as appropriate. The value Min. distance between objects displays an exact measurement of the minimum distance between the objects you selected.

   Selecting multiple faces displays their total area.

   Triple-click on a body to display its total surface area.

3. (Optional) Hold Alt and select a reference object.

   The reference can be a point, curve, edge, face, plane, axis, or origin.

   You can measure to an axis of an origin object.

4. (Optional) Hover over a measurement value to display the Copy icon. Copy the value to the clipboard for pasting into Notes, etc.

    

   

    

   When measuring edges and curves, the Minimum and Maximum CurvatureAnalysis tool that displays a fringe graph or color shading to represent the curvature along curves or edges. Values indicate how curvy or "swoopy" the curve or surface is at each point. locations are highlighted in the geometry when you hover over the result as shown below.

   

    

Selecting a mesh body in the Measure tool reports the total surface area of the body.

Flag groups

Flag groups capture measurements and ensure that unwanted changes are NOT made to the model.

To create a Flag group:

1. Measure the geometry that you do not want to change
2. Hover over the measurement.
3. Click the Flag Group icon next to the measurement.
4. Open the GroupsSets of objects that appear in the Groups tab. You create a group from any set of selected objects. Information such as Selection, Alt+selection, move anchoring, axis, and ruler dimension is all stored with the group. panel and see that a Flag Group has been created.

In the Groups panel, the group is shown with a Locked icon to indicate that it will prevent modifications. The measurement value is also listed.

To create a Flag group from a dimension annotation:

1. Click on a dimension annotation.
2. Click the Lock icon next to the measurement.
3. Open the Groups panel and see that a Flag Group has been created.

Flag group example:

This example steps through the Flag Group functionality using a simple block.

The right face area is added to a Flag Group.
Modifications to the model that do NOT change the right face area can be made as usual.
Here a Pull operation is performed that changes the right face area.
Because of the Flag Group, the model snaps back and the right face blinks red with a warning message.
You can Unlock a Flag Group by right-clicking on it in the Groups panel and choosing Unlock. After it is unlocked, the icon changes to indicate that it is unlocked and can be modified.   At this point, the Measurement value is also the Current value, as indicated by the listings in the Groups panel.
With the group unlocked, you can make changes to the right face. The face still blinks red and a warning is issued to inform you of the new measurement. The icon changes to indicate that the measurement has changed from it's original value. To make this new value the Measurement value, right click on the group in the Groups panel and choose Reset. This makes the Measurement value and the Current value the same and it changes the group's icon to indicate that it is still unlocked. To Lock the group at this new value, right click on the group and choose Lock.

 

If modifications result in the disappearance of the Flag Group's measured object, the flag group is deleted. Use Undo to get it back.

Tool guides

The following tool guides help step you through the process. Use the Tab key to cycle through them. As soon as the tool guide switches, the cursor may change to reflect the active guide.

Examples

Measuring between two points.

Measuring between two points, with a reference face Alt+selected, so the projected distance is appended to the measurement.

Measuring between two points, but the origin is Alt+selected as a reference, so the X, Y, and Z distances are shown.

Measuring the distance between two sketch points

Measuring the angle between a sketch curve and a face. The sketch curve is extended until it intersects the face. Angle to surface normal is the angle between the extended curve and a line that is perpendicular to the surface at the intersection point. Angle to surface is the angle between the extended curve and a plane tangent to the surface at the intersection point.