Triad

The triad facilitates manipulating various objects such as 3D sketch entities, parts, certain features, and components in assemblies.

The rings and wings display when rotation and dragging along the wings' planes are possible.

Use commands to display information about the triad or to change the position and orientation of the triad. Available commands depend on the triad's context.

Accessing the Triad

To access the triad:

Do one of the following:
  • In assemblies, select one or more components. To turn the triad on or off, click Instant3D (Features toolbar).
  • In assembly exploded views, select a component.
  • In parts, click Move/Copy Bodies (Features toolbar) or Insert > Features > Move/Copy, and click Translate or Rotate.
  • In parts, click Flex or Deform to use the triad to shape features.
  • In 3D sketches, right-click an entity and click Show Sketcher Triad.

Dragging or Rotating Objects with the Triad

To drag or rotate an object with the triad:

Do one of the following:
  • To drag the object freely, drag the center ball.
  • To drag the object freely and align it with the model geometry, Alt + drag the center ball.
  • To copy the selected components along the specified direction, Ctrl + drag along an arrow.
  • To drag the object in the X, Y, or Z direction, drag an arm.
  • To drag the object along a wing's plane, drag the wing.
  • To rotate an object about a ring's axis, drag the wing.
    To snap, right-click the selected ring and click Snap while Dragging. Close to the ring, the snap increment is 90°. The increment decreases as the pointer moves further away from the ring.
    To rotate in specified increments, right-click the selected ring and click Rotate 90° or Rotate 180°.

Displaying Information with the Triad

To display information as the triad or one of its components moves:

Right-click anywhere on the triad and click Show Translate XYZ Box, Show Translate Delta XYZ Box, or Show Rotate Delta XYZ Box.

Moving the Triad to a Selection

To move the triad to a selection:

  1. Right-click on the triad (anywhere except on the rotation rings) and click Move to Selection.
  2. Select an entity.

Aligning the Triad with a Selection

To align the triad with a selection:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To align the center ball with a selection, right-click the center ball and click Align to.
    • To align an arm or wing with a selection, right-click an arm or wing and click Align with Selection.
  2. Select an entity.