Circles on Centers

In this Task

• Circles will be inserted onto the sketch by using the centers of arcs to position the circle center points.

Associated Tasks

• Using the Center Snap Mode.

Before you Start

• The Circle/Ellipse menu panel in the Sketch menu palette is used when using the Default interface. Go to Tools > Palettes to find the Tools Palette.

Take Note

• The TAB key is used to cycle between the data fields. Keep using the TAB key to access the required field.
• Snap modes can frequently conflict with each other. Specific reference is made to this below.

CIRCLE ON CENTERS

Circle Center & Point

Ribbon : Draw| Circle/Ellipse | Center and Point

Default Menu : Modify | Chamfer | Distance, Distance

Palette : Sketch | Circle/Ellipse | Circle Center and Point

This circle tool draws a single circle by defining the center point and radius.The radius can either be defined by selecting a point in the workspace, or by inputting a value into the Radius field.A diameter or circumference value can be given.All dimensional and spatial information relating to a drawn circle can be modified using the Selection Info Palette.

A circle can be placed by its center onto the center of another circle or arc. In this task, circles will be placed onto the centers of the arcs shown by the markers below.

Markers showing center points

Right click onto the SNAP tab at the base of the workspace, then make sure the snap mode for Center is activated, shown below.

Setting the Center snap mode

In the same dialog box, make sure the settings below are activated.

Click OK to close the Drawing Aids dialog box, then left click to activate the SNAP and GEO tabs at the base of the editor, shown below. This will allow objects to be placed onto a center point by positioning the cursor at the edge of a circle or arc.

Activating the Snap and Geo tabs

Select the Center and Point tool from the menu options above.

Selecting the Circle with center and point tool

Position the cursor over the edge of the upper left arc until the magnetic tracker snaps to a center, shown below.

Snap modes tracks to center by positioning cursor over the arc, shown by cursor

When the magnetic marker is shown , similar to the illustration above, left click to position the circle, then use the keyboard TAB key to access the data fields.

Take Note

Snap modes frequently conflict with each other, even when they share the same priority. If the cursor snaps to either of the vertex points of the blend, right click on the SNAP tab and activate the option for ‘In Aperture Only‘ alongside the Vertex snap, shown below. This forces the vertex snap to be activated only when the vertex/endpoint of a line or arc is within the range of the aperture of the cursor or cross hairs.

Activating ‘In Aperture Only’ to force the cursor to snap to points only within the range of the cursor aperture

Use the TAB key again to access the Diameter field, then input 20, then press enter. The result is shown below.

The dimension is shown for illustrative purposes only.

Inserting the center of a circle onto the center of an arc

Position the cursor over the arc at the top right of the sketch, shown below. When the magnetic marker shown indicating a center point, left click to position the circle.

TAB twice to the Diameter field and input 6, then press enter.

Inserting the next circle onto the arc’s center point

The result is shown below.

The drawing at this stage of the session should resemble the illustration below. Please note : Dimensions are added for illustrative clarity only. All dimensions will be added to the sketch at a later stage in this session.

Note

Dimension text is seated horizontally for illustrative clarity.