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Drawing polygons to apothem

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  • J Offline
    jalsina
    last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 16:52

    In mechanical drawing, I'm constantly making hex-head machine screws -- imperial, metric, custom, you-name-it. The dimensions of the hexagonal heads are specified by the distance between opposite flats, not the distance between opposite vertices. So far, I've been multiplying the center-to-vertex distance by 1.155, but 1) it's a PITA, and 2) it only works for hexagons -- each polygon has it's own adjustment factor.

    Is there a way to get SketchUp to draw a polygon to a specified apothem (radius of an inscribed circle)? In other words, to use the midpoint of a side as the drawing reference point instead of a vertex?

    Thanks.

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    • D Offline
      Dave R
      last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 17:10

      That would be nice. I always construct it with guidelines when I need to draw them. You could draw a hexagon of any size and then measure across the appropriate corners using the Tape Measure tool. Make sure you click on both corners and then type the desired dimension. Yes to Resize. If you make a group or component of the hexagon before trying to resize it and then open that for editing, you can resize the hexagon without affecting the rest of the model.

      Etaoin Shrdlu

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      (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

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      • B Offline
        Box
        last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 17:17

        And after making them as Dave suggests, save them as a collection of components so you'll never have to make them again.

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        • D Offline
          Dave R
          last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 17:22

          Indeed!

          I thought that went without saying but... 😉

          Etaoin Shrdlu

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          • J Offline
            jalsina
            last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 18:30

            Thanks, but when I do as you say -- create polygon, make component, open component for editing, measure with tape measure, and change the dimension -- nothing happens. I get no indication of an option for re-sizing. What am I doing wrong?

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            • B Offline
              Box
              last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 18:38

              You need to use the ctrl key to change from guide to measure.
              Basically hitting ctrl with the tape tool toggles a small + on and off. You want it off for the resize function to work.

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              • D Offline
                Dave R
                last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 18:40

                I never hit Ctrl to switch to measuring mode but I do make sure to click at both corners as I mentioned originally. And you need to measure from and to the corners, not from an edge.

                Etaoin Shrdlu

                %

                (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

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                • B Offline
                  Box
                  last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 18:42

                  D'oh on me, never knew that one, measure the line not the face. 👍

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                  • D Offline
                    Dave R
                    last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 18:47

                    Or maybe a better way to put it is measure the distance between two endpoints. They don't have to be on the same edge.
                    2014-03-17_13-41-22.png
                    2014-03-17_13-42-31.png

                    Etaoin Shrdlu

                    %

                    (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

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                    • C Offline
                      cotty
                      last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 18:49

                      You can find details in the help.

                      my SketchUp gallery

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                      • B Offline
                        Box
                        last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 18:51

                        Yep it makes sense and works well, I had always done it the other way with ctrl, then you can measure anywhere and it will resize. Different stokes as they say. Once again, like your signature, you've given me something to reflect on.

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                        • J Offline
                          jalsina
                          last edited by 17 Mar 2014, 19:01

                          Works! Thanks. J

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                          • U Offline
                            unearthed
                            last edited by 21 Mar 2014, 19:56

                            SD Mitch has a plugin that'll draw polygons by apothem - http://sdmitch.blogspot.co.nz/

                            Growplan - People ∩ Plants ∩ Place

                            windows 7 64b, 4GB RAM, SU 8.0.16846
                            Gimp, QGIS, Vectorworks 12, Bricscad 11

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                            • B Offline
                              Blenkey
                              last edited by 11 May 2019, 20:11

                              hi its no big deal. Select polygon tool, select centre point when moving out from centre click ctrl, polygon will toggle between corner and centre of line.

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                              • B Offline
                                Box
                                last edited by 13 May 2019, 08:15

                                @blenkey said:

                                click ctrl, polygon will toggle between corner and centre of line.

                                This feature was added after this thread, so the ctrl toggle of polygons doesn't work in versions before 2015.

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