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Bolt Circle in PMI?

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thndrcat

Mechanical
Dec 20, 2006
13
What is the recommended way to add the center lines in PMI to a Bolt hole circle?
 
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Hopefully you've already figured out a workaround, but if not, here's what I do. I've had *some* success with switching over to drafting mode and using "Bolt Circle Centerline." (Same thing works for inserting tables, by the way.) It doesn't always work, though. Sometimes I'll get an error that says "invalid radius," which is weird because it occurs when I pick the third point. (It takes three points to define an arc!) When that approach doesn't work I resort to wireframe - a circle through 3 bolt hole centers and an array of radial lines. Then you've got to resort to layers to control their visibility in different views. Sooooo tedious. If you've come up with something cleaner/easier, I'm dying to learn!

PMI has so much potential but right now, in my opinion, it's just not ready for prime time. It boggles the mind that such a simple function hasn't been incorporated yet. (How many years has it been around now?) It forces the user to have to decide between cutting corners by omitting things or defining them in sub-optimal ways, or spending four times as long as drafting would take.
 
I forgot to add - make sure the X-Y plane of the WCS is coincident with the hole centers that you're picking.
 
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