Creating tangent planes, Alibre Design and Atom

[Ken226]

I don't know if Atom has these settings but I made some changes to the System Options on my Alibre so it is easier for me to manipulate the view.

First I changed the Mouse Interaction so I can use just the right mouse button (RMB) to rotate the model. That is a lot easier for me than having to hold down both mouse buttons to rotate the view, which is the default setting.
View attachment 35221

Second, I turned off the Snap to working plane on the Sketching tab. That allows me to sketch in any orientation I need. It may be that snapping to the working plane is what you see as "locking to 2D".
View attachment 35222

and Third, I turned off Reorient on Extrude on the Design Interaction tab. That keeps the view in the orientation that it was in when I created the sketch or at least the orientation I want when I create the feature that the sketch is for.
View attachment 35223

For me I find it easier to have the part model in somewhat of an ISO view orientation so I can better visualize what I am working on. Especially when adding features to a part.

And one last bit of info is that I have a 3DConnexion Space Navigator for manipulating the model view. In the short video I recorded I tried not using it to keep the video as normal to Alibre's settings as possible.

View attachment 35224
The Space Navigator makes it a whole lot easier for me to work on models without having to use the standard mouse to move, pan or rotate the view.
View attachment 35225

Harold,

I've been considering one of those, or perhaps a trackball.

I spend alot of time using a laptop inside a truck. Think it would do well in that scenario? Compared to a trackball? Because the laptops built in scrollpad sucks.

 

[HaroldL]

I think it should work out just fine. You might want to get the wireless version and may need something to set it on, if your laptop has a flat area below the keyboard it should fit there. Once it is in place it shouldn't move; it has a weighted base with a rubber ring that holds it from sliding around.

I've had mine for several years and when I was working I made sure the CAD Admin got me one for the SolidWorks workstation I was using. I can't seem to work on CAD without it.

A word or warning if you get one. When you install it open the properties and turn down the sensitivity, almost to the lowest setting, otherwise it will be difficult to use with the defaults settings, they are too sensitive. Once you get used to it then you can turn up the settings to whatever you're comfortable with.

After you use it a while you likely won't want to work without it, it's almost like holding your model in your hand.

 

[Ken226]

I think it should work out just fine. You might want to get the wireless version and may need something to set it on, if your laptop has a flat area below the keyboard it should fit there. Once it is in place it shouldn't move; it has a weighted base with a rubber ring that holds it from sliding around.

I've had mine for several years and when I was working I made sure the CAD Admin got me one for the SolidWorks workstation I was using. I can't seem to work on CAD without it.

A word or warning if you get one. When you install it open the properties and turn down the sensitivity, almost to the lowest setting, otherwise it will be difficult to use with the defaults settings, they are too sensitive. Once you get used to it then you can turn up the settings to whatever you're comfortable with.

After you use it a while you likely won't want to work without it, it's almost like holding your model in your hand.

That sounds very encouraging, I'll go ahead and order one

Thanks.

 

[Pete Cuthbert]

Are you certain about that? I could certainly be wrong, but I seem to remember doing it when I had Atom.

Have you tried clicking the "view" tab, the clicking the "rotate" button, and dragging the view to the orientation you want?

Hi Ken

Thanks for that tip. How nice to find that I was quite wrong in my statement. Atom does indeed allow one to rotate when in Sketch mode. I think I had tried Rotate at some point earlier when in 3D and then dismissed it as no great gain as the cube, and the cobblers anvil plus dragging seemed plenty of methods for rotating a 3D object. I also see that with a construction line in rotated view the nice dashed line comes up. Excellent!

Thanks for your patient input to help those of us who are probably not patient enough.

Regards

Pete

 

[Pete Cuthbert]

Hi Folks

Many thanks for these tips. It is good to know that my jaundiced view of Atom is not justified. Clearly I need to explore a whole lot more!

It crosses my mind that it would be useful for those new to 3D CAD to have a sort of 'generic' introductory user guide to outline the key design principles. Many years ago when word processing was just being introduced I provided such a document for my students to help then with the variety of software that was available at the time. No chance of me doing that with 3D CAD as I have so much yet to learn.

Best wishes

Pete

 

[Ken226]

Hi Folks

Many thanks for these tips. It is good to know that my jaundiced view of Atom is not justified. Clearly I need to explore a whole lot more!

It crosses my mind that it would be useful for those new to 3D CAD to have a sort of 'generic' introductory user guide to outline the key design principles. Many years ago when word processing was just being introduced I provided such a document for my students to help then with the variety of software that was available at the time. No chance of me doing that with 3D CAD as I have so much yet to learn.

Best wishes

Pete

Pete, I consolidated the tutorial videos or Atom in order, here, in this thread over at the hobby machinist forum.

Look in the thread titled Alibre Atom3d tutorials for beginners. There is also a list of my own tutorials.

Alibre CAD Forum

Community sub-forum for Alibre users.

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[DavidJ]

Pete - the introductory videos (and workbook) provided on the Alibre web site are fairly good at the basics. It's worth watching them all.

Alibre Atom3D Training & Resource Guides

Alibre's Atom3D training resources include PDF guides, walkthroughs, tips and tricks on how to use Atom3D. View our Atom3D training resources.

www.alibre.com

The Initial Settings and UI basics videos, followed by Walkthroughs are recommended - don't be tempted to skip them. The Exercise Guide / Workbook is more about practicing the basics to put together a simple assembly.