Creating Hole Patterns Around the Edge of a Plate-The Smart Way

(continued from page 1)

8. Now, the magic trick: patterning the group using relations. Choose Pattern from the group menu and select the HOLES group you just created.

9. Select Relation Pattern and choose the position of the datum point as a driving dimension (in this case, 30 LEN).

10. To insert 30 holes at 100mm intervals, type the following into the relation editor:

/* default gap
memb_i=100

/* corner hole, gap is different
if idx1==5 | idx1==15 | idx1==20
memb_i=60
endif

where memb_i equals the gap spacing.

Note that you have to change the spacing between the corner hole pairs (5-6, 15-16 and 20-21) to 60mm. I used this particular setup to show how easy it is to vary the patterning dimensions using relations.

11. Specify the number of instances as 30.

12. Finally, place the curve on a layer and you have a hole pattern (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Now you are probably thinking that this is a lot of work and a lot of relations to get it to look right. And if the plate changes, you will have to edit the relations again and figure out which holes are corner pairs, plus edit the number of instances. Where's the magic in that?

It is true that this relation-driven pattern may be more difficult to create than four patterns. However, remember that you are now dealing with a single pattern that can follow whatever plate shape you want—triangular, circular, or even the outline of your car door. The real magic comes in using that capability, plus some more relations and a couple of new features.

Next: Now It's Time for BMX >>>