DesignSpark Mechanical Online Help

Dimensions

You can dimension every element in your design, from lines in sketches to faces of solids. In DS Mechanical, dimensions are not constraints. Rather, they are tools for precise control during the creation or modification of a design. In DS Mechanical, if you do want to save a dimension with your design, use the Ruler DimensionAnnotation on a drawing showing measurement of an edge or face. Use the Dimension tool to add measurements to your design, drawing sheet, or 3D markup. option when pulling or moving. You can save the ruler dimensions as 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. for later edits.

Whenever dimension fields appear, you can press the spacebar or click on them to enter a value, and press Tab to switch between fields.

You can use mathematical expressions in a dimension.

To dimension a sketch line during creation

1. Press the spacebar (or just type) to enter a value in the highlighted field.

2. Press Tab to switch between dimension fields.

3. Repeat step 2 until you have entered all the dimensions.

4. Press Enter to accept the values and return to sketching.

   The dimensions persist until you select another tool or begin drawing another sketch object.

To dimension the start, end, or middle point of a sketch line from another point in your sketch

1. Hover the mouse over the point from which you want to dimension.

2. Press Shift.

   As you move your mouse around the sketch grid, a dimension will appear from the point you indicated to the mouse location.

3. Press the spacebar (or just type) to enter a value in the highlighted field.

4. Press Tab to switch between dimension fields.

5. Repeat step 4 until you have entered all the dimensions.

6. Press Enter to accept the values and place the point that begins or ends your line.

    

To dimension existing sketch lines

1. Click the Select tool.

2. Select the sketch object you want to change.

3. DimensionAnnotation on a drawing showing measurement of an edge or face. Use the Dimension tool to add measurements to your design, drawing sheet, or 3D markup. the item's size or location by doing one of the following:

   • Press the spacebar (or just type) to enter a value in the highlighted field.

   • Drag the selected item to change its size or location.

   • Hover over a point in your design and press Shift to dimension between the selected object and that point.

   • Press Shift while dragging to dimension from the current mouse location.

      

To dimension while moving or pulling

1. Select a direction for the move or pull.

2. Press the spacebar (or just type) to enter a value in the highlighted field.

3. Press Tab to switch between dimension fields.

4. Repeat step 3 until you have entered all the dimensions.

5. Press Enter to accept the values and move or pull the selected object the distance you entered.

    

To create a ruler dimension

1. Click 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. in the Edit group on the Design2D or 3D model that contains at least one top-level component. tab or press P.

2. Select the faces or edges whose location you wish to specify.

3. Select a direction for the dimension.

4. Select Create Ruler DimensionAnnotation on a drawing showing measurement of an edge or face. Use the Dimension tool to add measurements to your design, drawing sheet, or 3D markup. from the Options panelArea of the user interface that enables you to modify functions specific to tools. or right-click and select it from the mini-toolbar.

   The start point of the dimension is set as the location of 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. arrow or MoveA tool used to translate or rotate geometry. handle.

5. Click an object to set the end point of the dimension.

   Use the scroll wheel if multiple objects appear at the same point in the Design windowArea in the user interface that displays your model or assembly. Also known as Workspace..

6. Enter a value.

7. Press Enter to accept the value and complete the move or pull.

   Press Esc to hide the ruler dimension.

   You can make more than one change per ruler dimension.

    

To create an angular ruler dimension

1. Select the MoveA tool used to translate or rotate geometry. tool and switch to Section modeSee Section.

2. Select the section line (that represents a face) that you want to rotate.

3. (Optional) Anchor the MoveA tool used to translate or rotate geometry. handle to the object around which you want to rotate by dragging the center sphere or using the Anchor tool guide.

4. Select the rotational axis of the MoveA tool used to translate or rotate geometry. handle.

5. Select Create Ruler DimensionAnnotation on a drawing showing measurement of an edge or face. Use the Dimension tool to add measurements to your design, drawing sheet, or 3D markup. from the Options panelArea of the user interface that enables you to modify functions specific to tools. or right-click and select it from the mini-toolbar.

   An angular dimension indicator appears from the red linear axis of the MoveA tool used to translate or rotate geometry. handle.

6. Select the end reference for the angular dimension.

7. Enter a value for the dimension.