Linear Component Pattern

Makes copies of one or more components in a straight line, or in a grid, with an even gap between them. Use it for a row of bolts, a rack of shelves or a grid of feet. The copies follow the original. Assemblies need the Pro plan.

What you get: copies of the seed in a row (or a grid) at the spacing you type, shown in the view and listed in the Model tree as LocalLPattern1; the copies follow the seed when it moves.

When to Use It

• Place the same bolt along a rail at a fixed spacing
• Fill a plate with a grid of posts
• Leave one or two places in a row empty

Step by Step

1. Open an assembly with at least one component (see Assemblies: Start and Insert Parts).
2. Pick the component to repeat. This original is called the seed. Then open the window in any of these ways:
   • Click Linear Pattern in the Patterns group of the Features tab.
   • Click the Assembly tab, then Linear Pattern (Patterns group).
   • Right-click the component, then choose Assembly tools, Linear Component Pattern... (the picked component is the seed).
   • Right-click the assembly row in the Model tree and choose Linear Component Pattern...
3. The Linear Component Pattern window opens. The component you picked is already under Components to Pattern, such as Cube<1>. To add more, click Pick in the view or the tree, then click components in the view or in the Model tree. Each one joins the list. Click the x beside a name to take it out.
4. Under Direction 1, click X, Y or Z, or click Pick and then click a straight edge, a round face, a flat face or an axis. The line under the buttons shows the direction in use, for example "Direction: X axis".
5. Type the Spacing (the distance between neighbours, a unit such as 2 or 1 1/2 works) and the Number of instances, for example 2 and 3.
6. Watch the preview: blue boxes show every copy. Tick Reverse direction if they go the wrong way.
7. Click OK. A message counts the copies made, not the seed: for 3 instances it reads "Made LocalLPattern1: 2 instances." The pattern shows in the Model tree as LocalLPattern1 with the same count.

Options

Skipping Instances

Under Instances to Skip, tick a copy in the list to leave it out. You can also click its dot in the view. A yellow dot is kept and a red dot is skipped. The list reads "Instance 2, Instance 3" for a single row, or "Row 2, column 3" for a grid. The seed itself can't be skipped.

Change It Later

Double-click the pattern in the Model tree, or right-click it and choose Edit Feature. The window opens with your settings. Right-click also offers Dissolve Pattern (the copies become ordinary components) and Delete (you choose Keep Instances or Delete Instances Too).

Tips

• Copies follow the seed. Move the seed and every copy moves with it. A copy can't be moved, fixed, replaced or deleted on its own.
• Copies count in the Bill of Materials, mass, section view and interference checks.
• Limits: 30 patterns per assembly, 300 copies for one seed and 500 copies in all.
• Ctrl+Z undoes making, editing, dissolving and deleting a pattern in one step.

Common Mistakes and Messages

• "Insert a component first." The assembly is empty.
• "The assembly is exploded. Collapse it first." Collapse the exploded view, then open the pattern window.
• "Pick one or more components to pattern first." The list is empty.
• "Type a spacing above zero, such as 2 or 1 1/2." The Spacing box can't be read.
• "Type a number of instances from 2 to 200." Fix the count.
• "That would make 600 instances. The most is 500." The counts multiply: 30 in Direction 1 and 20 in Direction 2 make 600. Lower the counts or use fewer seeds.
• "An assembly can hold up to 30 patterns." Delete or dissolve one first.
• "That is an instance of a pattern. Pick its seed." You picked a copy. Pick the original.
• "Close the Component Pattern window first." Finish with OK, or close the window, before you delete or dissolve a pattern.

Related

• Circular Component Pattern
• Assemblies: Subassemblies and Patterns
• Bill of Materials
• Assemblies: The Tree and Moving Parts