Align & Distribution

[PabloJonesUK]

Hi Stefan , here is One thing that would be very useful is an "Align & Distribute" , say i had a 150 x 50mm rectangle, and wanted to make a coat hanger or key holder, or simple want to place xx amount of holes into it equally spaced , , it would be fantastic , if you could select the base, and it knows the length, and that a few options parameters like:
1/ like how how far in from the edge " top / bottom"
2/ how many holes or objects,
3/ how far apart to edge, or on centre of your item , or hole,
and it would place them ready for grouping.

and option 2: say i had a object / lidded, box etc and wanted to place xx amount of holes around the edge for screws
,or say i had a disc and wanted to put a row of holes around the edge, or even 2 rows of holes, ofset etc say 20mm apart,
or simply a disc of say 100mm and i wanted 8 equally spaces holes around the outside,,, you ge the idea ... i hope i explain my self properly . keep up the Great work

[henmedia]

@PabloJonesUK You explained it well. The circle part is already there: place one hole at the radius you want, use Set rotation pivot and click the top face of the disc so the centre sits in its middle, then Pattern → Circle, count 8, total angle 360° gives 8 holes 45° apart. For a second, offset ring, place another hole further in or out, turn it by half the step (22.5° here) round the same pivot and make a second circle.

For the plate I've just built what you describe; it comes with the next update. Put one hole on or into the plate where its row should be (its distance from the top or bottom edge stays as you place it), open Pattern → Row and choose Spread over a body: Along X (or Y). Set Gap to the edge and the Count: the first hole moves that far in from the nearer end, the last one keeps the same gap to the far end, and the spacing is worked out for you. 5 holes or 9, they always fill the plate evenly. Tick "Group the copies" and group them with the plate.

For a whole field of holes in a flat face there's also Hole pattern: click the face, set size, spacing and margin to the edge, and it fills the face.

If layerling is useful to you, you can support it here: https://layerling.com/support.html

[PabloJonesUK]

Thats Great, just tried it now with a Cylinder hole, and a solid Peg for keyholder and it worked great, the only problem i ran into was i positioned my hole where i first wanted it, and then added 6 more using the method you suggested, before i hit create, i decided to change the thickness of the cyliner hole, and i lost everything, "its a minor" thing as i should have decided on my correct dimensions before using the tool .. thank you for taking the time to explain to me about the sequence ...

On a different now , another useful tool / option would be say i wanted to join two parts, with say a Dovetail, or a Pin, my usual method would be to create 1 of them and use that as my solid piece, and then create another one with a slight increase in tolerance and make that the hole . and use that to cut out the space where the solid part is going to go... " it would be great if you could just click on the part you created to duplicate it, but add an option to add a tolerance to increase, the x ,y,z , etc .. so the copy is redy to go, already resized to your needs ..

anyhow thank you again , and good health to you ..

[henmedia]

@PabloJonesUK Glad the row works for your key holder. The pattern stays open while you change the hole in the Properties panel on the right; the preview follows the new size. It closes as soon as the selection changes, for example a click on the plate or into empty space, or with Esc, because a pattern belongs to what was selected when you opened it. If it closed while you were only typing in the Properties panel, tell me what you clicked and I'll look at it.

The fit you describe is already there, in two ways:

• Cut out does it in one step: select the peg and the part it goes into, click Cut out (in the Combine area, or right-click), set the Clearance, for example 0.2 mm, and click Cut out. The peg stays as it is and the other part gets a cavity that is 0.2 mm larger on every side. See Solids and holes.
• Offset gives you the larger copy itself: select the peg, click Offset, choose Grow, set the Distance and tick Keep the original and add the offset body as a hole. Then group that hole with the part it should cut. See Edges and hollowing.

Both grow the part on every side by the same amount, which is what a dovetail or a pin needs. Scaling would change the shape instead.

[PabloJonesUK]

Fantastic stefan , That will be so useful to me any many.. dose Ofset now work with all Letters & numbers , ?? i tried it the other day and it worked with most letters but had a problem with LETTERS WITH HOLES IN LIKE, A P,Q,R,O,Q, 0,8,9 Ect ?? thnak you once again for your Detaileed response.. Cheers !

[henmedia]

@PabloJonesUK Thanks for telling me, I tried it: Offset did fail on some letters, but it wasn't the holes. O, P, Q, R, 0 and 8 worked here; A, B, M, N, W and 9 didn't, and a whole text failed as soon as one of them was in it. The CAD kernel's offset trips over some of the curves in those letters. I've changed it, it comes with the next update: when that happens, layerling now widens the letters along their outlines instead (it gives the text the Wider fill by the distance) and makes it taller by the same amount at the top and the bottom. So every letter and number works, with or without Keep the original and add the offset body as a hole, and Cut out with a clearance works on text the same way.

[henmedia]

@PabloJonesUK It's out now in layerling 1.125.0. Reload layerling once to get it: Offset and Cut out now work on every letter and number, A, B, M, N, W and 9 included.

[CeeJamesNS]

An idea I had was align to a point, so instead of center or middle, I could set a point and then have the ability to align things on center of that point. Example if wanted to align with a offset location, could set the point and then align to it.

[henmedia]

@CeeJamesNS you can do this already with a reference point and Point to point:

1. Set your point: right-click any body > Mark the centre, then type the X, Y and Z you want into the point's card, or drag the point there.
2. Right-click the part you want to centre > Mark the centre. This puts a second point in the middle of its top.
3. With the part selected, open Align faces and pick Point to point. Click the part's centre point first, then your point. Switch off Z if the part should only move sideways and keep its height.

The part then sits centred on your point. More in the guide under Reference points and Align faces.