Creating a parametric cylinder

In this task, you will use the Cylinder command to create a parametric cylinder.

1 After starting the command, in the Point drop-down list select the type of placement point for the cylinder you are going to create:
Base center The point you specify will be the center of the cylinder base.
Center of mass The point you specify will be the center of mass of the cylinder.
To go on with this task, select Base center.
 
2 Click in the position you want to place the base center of your cylinder at (or use the Snap commands to place the cylinder with reference to an existing entity inside the model). As soon as the placement point is specified, a set of handles is displayed.



At any time during the creation of the cylinder, you can:
  • Change the position of the placement point just by clicking in a different position.



  • Change the orientation of the cylinder. The three arcs represent the three angles of rotation (about each of the three orthogonal directions). You can rotate the cylinder about an axis by dragging the corresponding arc or by typing the value of the rotation into the Angle box which shows up when you pick the arc.



    You can also use the X Axis, Y Axis, Z Axisdrop-down lists under Axis Alignment:
    Line to align the axis to a line. Select the line.
    2 points to align the axis to the direction identified by the two points. Select the two points.
    End point to align the axis so that its second endpoint coincides with a point. Select the point.

     
3 Define the length of the Radius and the Height of the cylinder. You can either type the values into the corresponding mini-dialog boxes, or define them interactively by dragging the corresponding handle.



By double-clicking on the corresponding red circle markers, you can also invert the direction of the cylinder axis.
 
4 The final result of the command can be either the set of three surfaces composing the cylinder or a unique parametric solid cylinder. At any time during the creation of the cylinder you can decide about the result you want to obtain by controlling the status of the Associative Mode check box:
  • When the box is checked, the resulting entity will be a parametric solid. A drive dimension will be associated with the cylinder radius and one with the cylinder height. The icon of a solid will be displayed in the Model Structure.
  • When the box is cleared, the final result will be the three surfaces composing the shape.
For further details, see "Associative surfaces". To go on with this task, select Associative Mode so as to obtain a parametric solid.
 
5 Click or to confirm your selections and actually create the solid.



Click to discard your changes.