Creating Lines

You can create a line between two selected points.

1. Click Line .

   The Line Definition dialog box appears.

2. In the Line type list, select the Point-Point line type.

   
   
   

3. Select two points.

   A line is displayed between the two points. Proposed Start and End points of the new line are shown.
   
   

4. If needed, select a support surface.

   Important: The support surface must be planar.

   In this case a geodesic line is created, i.e. going from one point to the other according to the shortest distance along the surface geometry (blue line in the illustration below). If no surface is selected, the line is created between the two points based on the shortest distance.

   Warning: If you select two points on closed surface (a cylinder for example), the result may be unstable. Therefore, it is advised to split the surface and only keep the part on which the geodesic line will lie.

   
   
   

5. Specify the Start and End points of the new line, that is the line endpoint location in relation to the points initially selected.

   These Start and End points are necessarily beyond the selected points, meaning the line cannot be shorter than the distance between the initial points.

6. Select the Mirrored extent check box to create a line symmetrically in relation to the selected Start and End points.

   Warning: The projections of the 3D point(s) must already exist on the selected support.

7. Click OK to create the line.

   The line (identified as Line.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

You can create a line based on a reference point and a specified direction.

1. Click Line .

   The Line Definition dialog box appears.

2. In the Line type list, select the Point-Direction line type.

   
   
   

3. Select a reference Point and a Direction line.

   A vector parallel to the direction line is displayed at the reference point. Proposed Start and End points of the new line are shown.
   
   

4. If needed, select a support surface.

   In this case a geodesic line is created, i.e. the direction of the created line corresponds to the projection of the given direction onto the support.

5. Specify the Start and End points of the new line.

   The corresponding line is displayed.
   
   

6. Click OK to create the line.

   The line (identified as Line.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

You can create a line at an angle to a curve that passes through a point.

1. Click Line .

   The Line Definition dialog box appears.

2. In the Line type list, select the Angle/Normal to curve line type.

   
   
   

3. Select a reference Curve and a Support surface containing that curve.

   Important: If the selected curve is planar, then the Support is set to Default (Plane). If an explicit Support has been defined, a contextual menu is available to clear the selection.

   Warning: We advise you to avoid the creation of lines when the direction does not lie on the support, as well as the edition of the angle between the direction and the support in such cases.

4. Select a Point on the curve.

5. Enter an Angle value.

   
   
   

   A line is displayed at the given angle with respect to the tangent to the reference curve at the selected point. These elements are displayed in the plane tangent to the surface at the selected point.

   You can click on the Normal to Curve button to specify an angle of 90 degrees.

   Proposed Start and End points of the line are shown.

6. Specify the Start and End points of the new line.

   The corresponding line is displayed.

7. Select the Repeat object after OK check box if you want to create more lines with the same definition as the currently created line.

   In this case, the Object Repetition dialog box appears, and you key in the number of instances to be created before clicking OK.

   
   
   

   As many lines as indicated in the dialog box are created, each separated from the initial line by a multiple of the angle value.

   
   
   

   You can select the Geometry on Support check box if you want to create a geodesic line onto a support surface. The figure below illustrates this case.

   Geometry on support option cleared
   
   
   Geometry on support option selected
   
   

8. Click OK to create the line.

   The line (identified as Line.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

You can create a line tangent to a single curve, a point and a curve or two curves.

1. Click Line .

   The Line Definition dialog box appears.

2. In the Line type list, select the Tangent to curve line type.

   
   
   

3. Select a reference Curve and a point or another Curve to define the tangency.

   
   

   • if a point is selected (mono-tangent mode): a vector tangent to the curve is displayed at the selected point.

   • If a second curve is selected (or a point in bi-tangent mode), you need to select a support plane. The line will be tangent to both curves.

   Line tangent to curve at a given point
   
   

   When several solutions are possible, you can choose one (here displayed in green) directly in the geometry, or using the Next Solution button:

   Line tangent to two curves
   
   

4. Optional: Specify the Start point to define the new line.

5. Click OK to create the line.

   The line (identified as Line.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

You can create a line normal to a surface at a selected point.

1. Click Line .

   The Line Definition dialog box appears.

2. In the Line type list, select the Normal to surface line type.

   
   
   

3. Select a reference Surface and a Point.

   A vector normal to the surface is displayed at the reference point. Proposed Start and End points of the new line are shown.

   
   
   

   If the point does not lie on the support surface, the minimum distance between the point and the surface is computed, and the vector normal to the surface is displayed at the resulted reference point.

4. Optional: Specify Start and End points to define the new line.

5. Click OK to create the line.

   The line (identified as Line.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

You can create a line that bisects the angle between two lines into equal parts.

1. Click Line .

   The Line Definition dialog box appears.

2. In the Line type list, select the Bisecting line type.

   
   
   

3. Select two lines. Their bisecting line is the line splitting in two equals parts the angle between these two lines.

4. Select a point as the starting point for the line. By default it is the intersection of the bisecting line and the first selected line.

5. Select the support surface onto which the bisecting line is to be projected, if needed.

6. Specify the line's length by defining Start and End values (these values are based onto the default start and end points of the line).

   The corresponding bisecting line, is displayed.

7. You can choose between two solutions, using the Next Solution button, or directly clicking the numbered arrows in the geometry.

   
   
   

8. Click OK to create the line.

   The line (identified as Line.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

   Important: In most cases, you can select a support on which the line is to be created. In this case, the selected point(s) is projected onto this support. You can reverse the direction of the line by either clicking the displayed vector or selecting the Reverse Direction button (not available with the point-point line type).

You can create a series of lines by automatically reelecting the last selected point.

1. Double-click Line .

2. Create the first point.

   The Reselect Second Point at next start check box appears in the Line Definition dialog box.

3. Select it to be able to later reuse the second point.

4. Create the second point.

   
   
   

5. Click OK to create the first line.

   The Line Definition dialog box opens again with the first point initialized with the second point of the first line.

6. Click OK to create the second line.

   Tip: To stop the repeat action, clear the option or click Cancel in the Line Definition dialog box.