4.8 Sketcher tools and enhancements

Product: ABAQUS/CAE

Benefits: New tools and enhancements to existing tools greatly expand the functionality of the Sketcher for creating and editing models.

Description: There are several new tools and enhanced functions available. Choose from the following new tools to create or modify entities in a sketch:

Use the ellipse tool to create an ellipse by selecting the center and two points to define the size of the major and minor axes.
Use the arc through three points tool to sketch an arc by defining its endpoints and a third point along the arc's path.
Use the auto-trim tool to trim edges at the intersection points closest to the cursor.
Use the trim/extend tool to trim or extend an existing edge at an intersection point or projected intersection with a second edge that you select. If the second edge is also sketch geometry, ABAQUS/CAE breaks the second edge at the intersection point.
Use the break tool to split existing edges at an intersection point.
Use the merge tool to close small gaps in sketch shapes.
Use the offset tool to offset edges by a specified perpendicular distance, expanding or reducing them in the sketch.
Use the project edges tool to project existing model edges onto the sketch plane as new edges.
Use the project references tool to project existing model edges and vertices onto the sketch plane as reference geometry (this function was previously available only by selecting AddReferences from the main menu bar).

In addition to these new tools, you can now mirror and scale entities to quickly sketch mating part surfaces or similar features with different sizes. Mirror, scale, translate, and rotate options appear in the prompt area after you select entities to move or copy or after you add a saved sketch. When using the Sketcher tools, you can now select a “chain” of edges. Use this new selection method when you want to select a continuous, unbranched set of edges (all the edges of a polygon, for example).

Sketcher preselection has been expanded. When you are creating new lines (using the connected lines tool ), ABAQUS/CAE indicates points that will make the current line segment horizontal, vertical, perpendicular to another edge, or parallel to another edge. The secondary cursor will also trace nearby edges, allowing you to create exact intersections to any point on an existing edge.

Many Sketcher default settings are revised, and customization options are expanded. Sketcher preselection now takes priority over snapping to the grid. If both Snap to grid and Preselect geometry are active, the secondary cursor indicates preselection points in a sketch and does not snap to nearby grid points. The displayed height of dimension text is now set as a font size so that dimensions are legible regardless of sketch magnification. When you sketch new features, the sheet and grid size are recalculated based on the size of the sketch plane that you select. You can now turn off the display of dimensions using the Sketcher options, and new construction lines and rectangles are rotated to match the rotation of the grid.

ABAQUS/CAE Usage:

Sketcher module:
   AddEllipse, Offset, Edges, References
   AddArc3 Points
   AddLineConnected Lines
   EditAuto-Trim, Trim/Extend, Break, Merge

References:

ABAQUS/CAE User's Manual