Measure tool gives Wrong Answer???

[kd1959]

I have a cylinder with two side ports which are 96° apart.
The ports were made from separate planes built "on surface" of the cylinder and driven to their respective angles by one sketch (Which is in turn Design Table configured). When I use the measure tool on the axis of the ports it says the angle is 84°. I get the same 84° if I measure the flats I made at each port location.
If you ask for a "normal to" on the flats one turns the part horizontal and the other vertical.
My colleague says I am getting an odd answer from the measure tool because it is reading the "normal to" in the opposite directions. If this is true then an option arrow should be added to the measure tool to ensure the desired response when measuring angles.
Does his explanation of the results from the measure tool make sense?
Or better yet, does my explanation of the problem even make sense?
Do we need an enhancement request or did I just do something wrong when I built the part. (I built it as a SW newbie a few years back).


kd1959
SolidWorks 2008 SP3.0, PDMWorks
4GB Ram,3GB switch
2x AMD Opteron 254,2x 19" Viewsonic
Quadro FX 3500

 

[TheTick]

180° - 96° = 84°

 

[kd1959]

Yes, I have picked up on that relationship. The problem is the holes are either 96° or 264° apart not 84°.

kd1959
SolidWorks 2008 SP3.0, PDMWorks
4GB Ram,3GB switch
2x AMD Opteron 254,2x 19" Viewsonic
Quadro FX 3500

 

[handleman]

The problem is that your entities don't physically intersect. Since that is the case, how is SW supposed to decide which of the many possible angles to report to you? In the non-intersecting case, SW always reports the smallest interperable angle. Try this: create a sketch containing two lines that are at an angle to one another but that either cross or don't touch at all. Ask SW the angle and it will report a value less than 90 degrees, no matter how you arrange those two lines. However, if you crop them so that they share a common endpoint at an obtuse angle, Measure will report that angle as greater than 90.

If you can somehow get your surfaces to share a common edge then SW will report your desired 96 degrees.

I bet you never get Measure to report any angle greater than 180 degrees.

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[kd1959]

Thanks Handleman, this is what we thought and which leads to my point. Since SW does not know which angle I am asking for should an arrow for direction or both possible angles be listed? An "Other Solutions" dialogue is available for plane construction that could be an option here.
I was wondering if others thought this was worthy of an Enhancement Request or is this just too much to ask of the Measure Tool option.


kd1959
SolidWorks 2008 SP3.0, PDMWorks
4GB Ram,3GB switch
2x AMD Opteron 254,2x 19" Viewsonic
Quadro FX 3500

 

[Eltron]

Personally, an enhanced measure tool sounds like a good ER. Especially when you are dealing with models that came from someone else.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

 

[CADGemini]

I think it is a worthy enhancement and to go along with it I would also like to see a dual dimension option for the measure tool because most of the time I need to see the inches and millimeter dimensions at the same time. They have dual dimensioning in the drawing why not here. This would save lots of effort in switching the units each time.

Best Regards,
Jon Knabenschuh

Gemini CAD Solutions

http://www.geminicadworks.com

Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Solidworks 2007

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

The dual units has apparently been included in the SW2009 measure tool.