Define Orientation

Several tools require you to define a plane or a vector direction to perform a certain function, such as dragging geometry along a vector, spinning it about an axis, or splitting it with a plane. Using the Vector tool, both planes and vectors can be defined as needed.

Figure 1.

Define a vector/plane in the following ways:

• Click and drag to move the base handle – the point in space where the plane/vector is located. Then, drag the handle at the tip of the arrow to define a vector, or drag two handles on the edges of the plane to define a plane.
  HyperWorks X takes advantage of the following principle: a plane can be defined with a vector (the plane is normal to the vector specified), just as a vector can be defined with a plane (the vector is normal to the plane specified).

  
  
  Figure 2. . Example defining a vector using the plane handles. A spin axis is defined normal to 3 locations on a circle.

  
  
  Figure 3. . Example defining a plane using the vector handles. A split plane is defined normal to a point and its perpendicular projection to an edge.

• Instead of dragging the handles with the mouse, you can also define a plane/vector quickly by holding Ctrl and clicking on any two locations for a vector, or any three locations for a plane.
• Click in the microdialog to translate or rotate the Vector tool with precision.
• Click in the microdialog to input vector components, or click I, J, or K to align to one of the global axes.