Tutorials PartCraft help Walkthroughs
Add sketch geometry by typing coordinates
Use Add by coordinates in the sketch panel to place lines, centerlines, rectangles, circles and points at exact positions, with the keyboard only.
Written for PartCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
When you know the numbers, typing them is faster than clicking and dimensioning. Add by coordinates sits in the right panel whenever a sketch is open. It also lets you build a sketch without a pointer at all.
Coordinates are in millimeters, in the sketch's own axes: x to the right and y up as you look at the sketch, with (0, 0) at the origin (the red circle with a cross).
Add a shape
- Open a sketch (see Draw your first sketch).
- In the right panel, scroll to Add by coordinates.
- Choose the shape in Add: Line, Centerline, Rectangle, Circle or Point.
- Fill in the boxes:
| Shape | Boxes |
|---|---|
| Line | From x, y and To x, y |
| Centerline | From x, y and To x, y |
| Rectangle | Corner x, y and Opposite corner x, y |
| Circle | Centre x, y and Radius |
| Point | At x, y |
- Choose Add, or press ReturnEnter in any box.
The shape appears and the status bar says, for example, "Added a rectangle." The boxes empty, ready for the next one. Each addition is one undo step.
Type a pair as two numbers separated by a comma or a space: 0, 0, 25 -10 or 12.5,40. Negative numbers and decimals are fine. A radius must be more than zero. If something does not read as a number, the status bar says: 'Type coordinates as "x, y" and a radius above zero.'
Example: a slotted plate outline, typed
- Open a sketch on Front plane.
- Add: Rectangle. Corner x, y:
-50, -30. Opposite corner x, y:50, 30. ReturnEnter. - Add: Circle. Centre x, y:
-30, 0. Radius:5. ReturnEnter. - Centre x, y:
30, 0. Radius:5. ReturnEnter. - Choose Exit sketch, then Extrude: a 100 × 60 plate with two 10 mm holes.
Typed geometry is placed, not tied down
Typed coordinates put geometry in the right place, but they are not relations. The shapes stay blue (under defined) and could move if you drag them or change another dimension:
- a typed rectangle comes with its own corner, horizontal and vertical relations, like a drawn one, but nothing ties it to the origin;
- a typed line has no horizontal or vertical relation, even if you typed a level line;
- a typed circle's center is free.
To make the sketch fully defined, add dimensions and relations afterwards (see Fully define a sketch). For example, select a rectangle corner and the origin and choose • Coincident, or dimension the circle centers from the origin.
Limits
- Arcs cannot be typed yet. Draw them with the Arc tool, or type a circle and use relations.
- There are no relative coordinates (from the last point) or polar coordinates (length and angle) in this box.
- Typed geometry does not snap to existing points. Type the same coordinates as an existing point, then add a • Coincident relation between them if they must stay joined.