Defining Additional Constraints for a Line

Access: Invoke the Sketcher, define the sketch plane and then invoke this function from one of the following locations:

Click the Line button in the Sketcher toolbar.
Right-click the graphics area and select Line from the popup menu.

Create a line.

As you create a new line, you can relate the line to additional entities in the graphics display area. For example, you can create a new line that is tangent to a circle and normal to another entity. After this is done, all three entities are mutually constrained.

First, define the image of a new line as described in step 1 below.
Then, define the additional constraint for the line as described in steps 2 and 3.

Note: If you want to constrain lines to entities that are not in the current sketch, you must add the entities to the sketch as reference entities.

Define additional constraints on a new line

Create a new line using any of the Line drawing options (Pt, Parallel, Normal or Tangent). An image of the new line appears in the graphics display area. You can now constrain the line relative to an existing entity.

Right-click to display the popup menu and choose a drawing option.
Click an existing entity in the graphical display area.

The new line snaps to the position defined in steps 2 and 3. The new line will be constrained to the selected entity.

For example, you can create a new line that is tangent to a circle and normal to an existing line, as follows:

Right-click and choose Tangent. Create the new line tangent to a circle. An image of the new tangent line appears.

Right-click and choose Normal to constrain the line (by making it normal to an existing entity).
Select an existing line.

The new line is then tangent to the circle (as defined in step 1), and normal to the line chosen in step 3.

Tip: You can also define a constraint on a new line by extending the image of the new line toward an entity. When you click, the new line will be defined in relation to the existing entity.

Note: When you define additional constraints, the new entity will be constrained to an existing entity, and a mutual constraint relationship is created with the existing entity. If required, you can subsequently break an entity's constraints to make it independent of all other entities and the XY axis.