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Move Sketch entities fails when there are too many entities?

Hi all,

I am trying to move a sketch that is an imported dxf file to the origin. It has about 1000 entities, The align sketch command that I normally use quite effectively just pretends to ignore this sketch I guess because it feels it's too much work to move so many objects.

So I turned to the move sketch entites command. With only a few entites I can normally use this command by clicking on a endpoint in the sketch to set an origin and then highlight and click on the point to move too.

Unfortunately, with this many entites it never highlight or snaps to a destination point, so I try typing in 0,0 into the dialogue and hitting enter. This shows the geometry moving to the destination but as the command exits the geometry magically snaps back to it's original location.

That's it I guess, I'm unable to move this sketch to the origin. I feel like I'm in a time machine, what year is it again....?

My only recourse at this time is to send it to someone with autocad who can move the sketch to the origin for me.

Zander

Reply to
Zander
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If you want to move all of the entities, can't you use tools, sketch tools, modify? Its been a while since I dealt with a huge imported dxf, but it was always pretty quick. You have to experiment with the black-origin-thingy to pick a point on the sketch to snap to the origin, but you can do it (and you'll figure it out in less than a minute).

Reply to
Edward T Eaton

Did you open the file with SW as a part file? I've had better luck doing it that way, rather than the cut & paste method. Then the Align toolbar "move a single point to the origin" usually works well.

If that doesn't work, try selecting everything, hold the CTRL key and click & hold the point you want on the origin. Then while still holding the CTRL key, start to drag everything toward the origin, but before you get there, release the CTRL key. Now you can drag it all over the place and still snap to position. If you don't let go of the CTRL key, you can still snap, but you get a copy, rather than a move. Don't know if it will work with that many entities, but it's worth a try.

WT

Reply to
Wayne Tiffany

Alternately, one may open the dxf in autocad and move the desired point and the associated geometry to the origin point. It must be the (world coordinate) origin point and not a local UCS as dxf outputs to world coordinates.

It might work.

I usually pre-process the dwg file by stripping out all the "extra" geometry as well, etc.

I also have this problem some times with sketch manipulation. Large imported sketches are unwieldy - Alot like trying to push a battleship with a broomhandle. It seems sometimes hard to simply move-this-point-to-that-point once one is inside a solidworks sketch . . . alas . . .

Regards,

SMA

Reply to
Sean-Michael Adams

Thanks everyone for your helpfull suggestions. I think some of my problems moving this geometry goes back to the 'embedded origin' that seems to persist with some imported dxf files. This is what I believe causes the Align Sketch command to appear to fail.

I don't claim to understand how the imported dxf sketch maintains it's own independant origin which is seperate from the default part origin.

I was eventually sucessfull using the move sketch entities command. If I typed in the coordinates 0,0 this would snap it the sketches internal origin, but by carefully waiting and clicking in the viewport I was able to move it to the part orign. Whew!

Zander

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Reply to
Zander

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