Workplanes
From v5.x it's available the feature WORKPLANE .
This feature is useful for multiple purposes :
Layer System
It may be used as LAYER system you may find in common CAD software.
You can group several 2D geometry in one WORKPLANE and hide or show them , depending on your needs.
WCS Definition / Tool Orientation Definition
Is possible define the WORKPLANE orientation freely in 3D space.
You can reuse that workplane to define a SETUP WCS or Tool Orientation for a one or more machining operations.
Define workplane orientation and origin point.
To be completely defined the WORKPLANE need an ORIENTATION and an ORIGIN POINT.
Is possible select several mode to define orientation :
- From Z and X Axis
- From Z and Y Axis
- From X and Y Axis
- From YAW , PITCH and ROLL values.
- And from Cylinder-Angle values , this mode is useful to define the orientation and origin for radial lathe Y axis operations.
When the axis selection is enabled, you can click an edge, planar face a cylindrical face, or in general any entity that can define a vector direction.
The ORIGIN POINT can be defined by :
- From 3D model box point
- Any Point in scene
- Or by X , Y and Z value.
Workplane manager grid
From main menu , it's available the workplace manager grid.
Is possible create new workplanes , duplicate already existing planes , delete them or edit the orientation and origin point.
To activate a workplane, click on check box under the column "active".
Another useful option is the "Keep visible only active workplane". It will hide all the entities except the one related to the active plane.
When this option is OFF you can manually define the visibility of the workplanes .
The current active workplane is always visible , also if the visibility flag is set to HIDED.
If you hover the grid with mouse cursor, in the viewport will be shown the workplane axis system and related geometries.
