Pattern at Sketch Points and Fill Pattern
Two more ways to repeat a feature with Pattern: put a copy at every point of a sketch, or fill a closed outline with copies on an even grid. Both repeat one extrusion, cut, revolve or hole, and both make one step in the Model tree.
When to Use It
- Holes or posts at places that do not follow a row or a circle: draw a point where each one goes
- A perforated panel: fill a plate outline with holes, kept a set distance from the edge
- Vent slots or bumps spread evenly over an odd shape, with areas inside the outline left clear
Step by Step: At Sketch Points
- Make the feature to repeat first, for example a hole or a small extruded post. Modeling is part of the Pro plans.
- Open a new sketch on the face where the copies go and click a Point for each place.
- Click Pattern. In Feature, choose the step to repeat.
- Click At sketch points. The panel lists the sketch's points by number, and the Pattern button says how many copies it will make.
- Tick Circle centres too if circles drawn in the sketch should also get a copy at their centres.
- Press Pattern. The middle of the feature lands on each point. A revolve is placed by its axis instead: each copy turns about an axis standing on the point. A point that is on the feature itself already has it, so it makes no copy, and a point drawn twice makes one copy.
Step by Step: Fill a Region
- Make the feature to repeat first (a hole, a cut or a post).
- Open a new sketch on the face and draw one closed outline to fill (a rectangle, a circle, or lines and arcs that close). Draw any areas to keep clear as closed outlines inside it; they become holes in the region.
- Click Pattern, choose the step in Feature, then click Fill a region.
- Type Spacing, the distance from one copy to the next along the grid.
- Type Row spacing for a different distance between rows, or leave it empty to use the spacing.
- Type Margin, the smallest gap between any copy and the edge of the outline or of a hole in it. 0 lets a copy touch the edge.
- Type Angle to turn the grid, in degrees from the sketch X axis, counterclockwise.
- Tick Stagger to slide every other row half a spacing over, as in a honeycomb.
- Press Pattern. The grid runs through the feature itself, and a copy is kept only where the whole feature fits inside the outline: no edge of the outline may cross it, and it may not cover an area kept clear, even one smaller than the feature. The number of copies shows in History once it is made.
Changing It Later
Right click the step in the Model tree and choose Edit Feature.
- For a pattern at sketch points, type the numbers of points to leave out in Skip points (for example 2, 5). The points are listed by number under the box, with where each one is.
- For a fill, change Spacing, Rows (the row spacing), Margin, Angle and Stagger, then press Apply.
Undo takes the whole pattern back in one step. The step is saved with the model and built again when it opens.
Things to Know
- The copies slide within the plane of the sketch, so they keep the feature's own height. A sketch on the far face still puts the copies level with the feature.
- Each copy follows the feature's own rule: a post set to merge joins the part, one made as its own body stays separate, and a cut cuts the bodies its own step cuts.
- The History row reads, for example, Pattern of step 2 at 6 sketch points, 5 copies or Fill pattern of step 3, 20 apart, margin 2, staggered, 24 copies.
- The points and the outline are read when you press Pattern. Changing the sketch later does not move the copies: delete the step and make it again.
- For a revolve, the whole round solid a full turn about its axis has to fit inside the outline, even when the revolve turns less than all the way.
- These two choices show no dashed preview of the copies before you press Pattern.
Limits
- At most 400 copies in one step, at most 2000 sketch points, and at most 20000 points in the outline to fill.
- A fill that would look at more than 250000 grid places is refused: the spacing is too small for the region.
- A step that takes more than 30 seconds to work out is stopped and nothing changes.
- A sweep or a loft cannot be repeated this way yet, and neither can a step that ends Up To Next or Up To Surface, or a Flip side to cut. Use In a row for those, or change the step to Blind.
Problems
- The sketch has no points. Add sketch points with the Point tool, or tick Circle centres too.
- The sketch has 2 separate closed outlines. Fill takes one outline. Delete the others, or make them construction.
- No copy fits inside the region. Lower the spacing or the margin, or draw a larger outline around the feature.
- That fill makes more than 400 copies. Use a larger spacing or a larger margin.
- Copy 3 of 7 misses the part. A hole copy fell off the part: skip that point in Edit Feature.