Page 324 - Mastering SolidWorks

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296 CHAPTER 9 PAtterning And Mirroring

Using the Linear Pattern
The Linear Pattern feature has several available options:
Single Direction or Two Directions Directions can be established by edge, plane, planar
face, sketch entity, axis, or linear dimension. If two directions are used, the directions do not
need to be perpendicular to one another.
Spacing The spacing represents the center-to-center distance between pattern instances. It
can be driven by discreet spacing dimension or by an Up To Reference where the software
automatically figures the spacing when you input the end reference, minimum end offset
distance, and the required spacing.
The reference for spacing can be figured on the feature centroid or on a selected reference,
such as a vertex, an edge, or a plane. This is most important to get the correct relationship
between the last instance and the “up to” or end reference.
Number of Instances This number represents the total number of features in a pattern,
which includes the original seed feature. It can also be driven by an equation. Equations are
covered in detail in Chapter 10, “Using Equations.”
These options are shown in Figure 9.13.
Figure 9.13
The direction 1 panel of
the Linear Pattern
driving an Up to
reference pattern

Direction 2 The second direction works just like the first, with the one exception of the
Pattern Seed Only option. Figure 9.14 shows the difference between a default two-direction
pattern and one using the Pattern Seed Only option.