Work Plane on Entity

EditWork PlaneOn Entity

The Work Plane on Entity command enables you to place the Work Plane over an entity. This command can also be started by double-clicking on the Work Plane or selecting the On Entity option from the context menu displayed by right-clicking on the Work Plane.

After starting the command, for the Entity selector, you need to select an entity that can be profile, line (edge), curve (edge), surface, face or datum plane. The Work Plane will be positioned over the selected entity, however, in some cases you need to define an additional point to define the Work Plane orientation and its origin. To do so, depending on the entity selected, additional options in the selection list will be displayed.

Details of entity selected and their consequences are given below:

Profile

The Work Plane is position over the plane over which the profile exists.

Line (straight edge)

The Work Plane is positioned normal to the selected line (which becomes the Z-axis) and its orientation is defined by the point selected for the Point on XZ plane plane selector.

Curve (non-linear edge)

The Work Plane is positioned normal to the curve. The location of the Work Plane over the curve and the origin of the coordinate system is defined by the selection made for the Origin option for which you can select:

By parameter: The U parameter of the curve defines the origin. You can either enter the value in the mini-dialog box or drag the handle at the origin to the required location.
Point: Select a point on the curve.

You can reset the selection of the curve by right-clicking on the Entity selector from the selection list and select the Reset.

Non-planar face

The Work Plane is positioned tangentially to the face. The point selected for the Origin selector is the point of tangency and also the origin for the coordinate system.

Surface

The Work Plane is positioned on the surface. The location of the Work Plane over the surface and the origin of the coordinate system is defined by the selection made from the Origin drop-down list for which you can select:

By parameter You need to enter the value in the U and V mini-dialog boxes in the Graphics Area, as shown in the image below. The orientation of the Work Plane is based on the specified U, V parameters of surface.
Points: On selecting this option you are prompted to select the origin. Select any point on the preselected surface to place the origin of the Work Plane.

Planar face or Datum Plane

The Work Plane is positioned over the face/plane. The point selected for the Origin selector becomes the origin for the coordinate system.