8
474 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays
IfyouturnonUniform,onlytheScaleXfieldis
active; the Y and Z fields are unavailable. The X
value is applied as uniform scaling on all axes of
the a rrayed objects.
Creating Circular and Spiral Arrays
Creating circular and spiral arrays t ypically
involves some combinat ion of moving, scaling,
and rotating copies a long one or two axes and
around a common center. The effects can vary
from the uniform radial arrangement of bolts on
a wheel hub to the complex geometry of a spiral
staircase. You can model many circular patterns
w ith these techniques.
See
Using the Array Dialog (page 1–470)
for an
explanation of interface terms used here. See
Arraying Objects (page 1–468)
for the basic steps
in ma king an arr ay.
U si ng a Com mon Ce nter
Both circular and spiral arrays require a common
center for the arrayed objects. This can b e the
world center, the center of a custom grid object, or
the center of the object group itself. You can also
move the pivot point of an individual object and
use that as the common center.
Circular Arrays
A circula r array
Circular ar rays are similar to linear arrays, but
basedonrotationaroundacommoncenterrather
than movement along an axis. The following
procedure makes a circle of objects on the XY
plane of t he home g rid with the Z ax is as the center.
To create a circular a rray :
1.
Onthemaintoolbar,chooseatransformcenter
to become the center of the array. In this case,
choose Use Transform Coordinate Center so
the center of the grid becomes the array center.
2. Select an object and position it at some distance
from the center of the grid.
This distance is the radius of the finished circle.
3. Choose Array from the Ar ray flyout or
the Tools menu to display the Array dialog.
Note: The Ar r ay flyout is on the Extras toolbar,
which is off by default. You can toggle display
of this toolbar by right-clicking the main
toolbar and choosing Axis Constraints from
the
Customize Display right-click menu (page
3–831)
.
4. On the Array dialog, enter 360 in the Totals
Rotate Z field.