So that's what that's for!

[Glenn Schroeder]

Since switching to SW2022 I've seen this coordinate system show up when I'd click on a component in an Assembly. I usually research new features, but didn't this time, just assuming it wouldn't be anything I'd want to use. I found it mildly annoying, but not enough to investigate and see if I could turn it off.

Today, I lost a washer in my Assembly. I clicked on it in the tree and that thing popped up. In my little brain I thought "I'll click on the Z and drag, and see what happens." Guess what? I was able to move it by doing that, and get it out where I could get to it.

[SPerman]

That looks like the "move with triad" tool. It's nice that it now appears automatically.

[matt]

Does it go away if you turn off Instant3D?

[bnemec]

Does it obey existing Mates?

[HerrTick]

Now I need something like that for the screws, washers, nuts, and sockets that disappeared into the dark when working on car engines.

[mike miller]

Now I need something like that for the screws, washers, nuts, and sockets that disappeared into the dark when working on car engines.

Pshaw, just hit Undo the next time you drop a part. Works a treat.

[SPerman]

As of 2022, it does show up just by clicking on the component.

https://help.solidworks.com/2022/englis ... Redirect=1

[DanPihlaja]

That is move with triad tool as someone else @SPerman suggested.

In SW 2018, you have to specifically select it.

[SPerman]

Does it go away if you turn off Instant3D?

If this is the "move with triad" triad, then it has nothing to do with instant 3d. It is the same as dragging the part, but using this allows it to only translate/rotate along the selected direction. It also allows for precise movements. (See GIF below)

Does it obey existing Mates?

Yes

[SPerman]

That is move with triad tool as someone else suggested.

"Someone else"

[Dwight]

SPerman

Probably Dan should have credited a "SPerman" for your initial post, but I can see how'd he'd hesitate. Is that handle you want?

Dwight

[DanPihlaja]

"Someone else"

image.png

Once I was inside the reply, I could no longer see who had pointed it out! LOL. I was too lazy to open a 2nd tab to the same discussion....and I didn't edit it.... Which I am fixing now... *sigh*

[Tera]

In my opinion It's the most annoying feature in SW. I turned it off from the very first day I upgraded to 2022.

For those who asked, yes, it goes away if you turn off instant3D.
And if the component is fixed or fully defined by mate, you can not move the component using it. So it's totally worthless (for me)

@Glenn Schroeder I'm sure you know that you can select the component in Feature Tree and isolate it. It's what I do when I can't find a part in the assembly.

[SPerman]

SPerman

Probably Dan should have credited a "SPerman" for your initial post, but I can see how'd he'd hesitate. Is that handle you want?

Dwight

It is the handle I was given when the world adopted first initial last name as a default email address. (Scott Perman) Might as well own it.

[Dwight]

Nice plate, Scott!

[SPerman]

I always said if I had a boy I would name him Steven Ulysses Perman.

[SolidMuse]

I love the "Move With Triad" tool... Have had a keyboard shortcut for it for ages.

That said it would bug the crap out of me to have it show up every time I selected something. I also toggle off Instant3D, so good to hear that will toggle off automatic popup of the triad.

I use it for getting parts rotated into a close approximation of where I want a part before applying mates.

[Tera]

I use it for getting parts rotated into a close approximation of where I want a part before applying mates.

I stopped using triad long time ago. I'm much comfortable to wheel click an edge or axis and rotate around the entity.

Just give it a try. You may find it faster and easier too.

cheers

[Dwight]

I only use the triad for moving the sectioning tool or a camera. It seems a little fussy to pick the right part of it, so it rotates instead of translates.

Dwight

[Glenn Schroeder]

Does it go away if you turn off Instant3D?

Yes.

Does it obey existing Mates?

Yes.

@Glenn Schroeder I'm sure you know that you can select the component in Feature Tree and isolate it. It's what I do when I can't find a part in the assembly.

Yes, I did know that, but this new feature is simpler than Isolating the component, dragging it out, then exiting Isolate.

I love the "Move With Triad" tool... Have had a keyboard shortcut for it for ages.

Using SW 30+ hours per week since 2009 I'd never used it before yesterday.

That said it would bug the crap out of me to have it show up every time I selected something. I also toggle off Instant3D, so good to hear that will toggle off automatic popup of the triad.

It's one of those things I've learned to ignore if I don't need it. I keep Instant 3D turned on all the time since it's so handy for making quick edits. Single-click on a feature to show dimensions, single-click on them to edit, and it instantly rebuilds.

I use it for getting parts rotated into a close approximation of where I want a part before applying mates.

To orient Parts before applying a Mate I right-click and drag to rotate, and have done so ever since learning about it from Kelvin Lamport at the old forum many years ago.

[SPerman]

To orient Parts before applying a Mate I right-click and drag to rotate, and have done so ever since learning about it from Kelvin Lamport at the old forum many years ago.

Here is an example of where MWT really shines. I part comes in in the wrong orientation. If you are doing a coincident mate, no big deal. But what if you need a distance mate? If you just randomly rotate it, you then have to do something else to get it parallel before applying a dimension. With MWT you can rotate it exactly 90 degrees and then apply the distance mate without an additional step to guarantee the two parts are parallel.

[Glenn Schroeder]

Here is an example of where MWT really shines. I part comes in in the wrong orientation. If you are doing a coincident mate, no big deal. But what if you need a distance mate? If you just randomly rotate it, you then have to do something else to get it parallel before applying a dimension. With MWT you can rotate it exactly 90 degrees and then apply the distance mate without an additional step to guarantee the two parts are parallel.

No, you don't have to make it parallel before adding a Distance mate.

[SPerman]

How do you do that? When I try I get an angle mate if I don't make them parallel first.

Edit: I guess I am wrong. I'm not sure what I was thinking.

[Tom G]

Here is an example of where MWT really shines. I part comes in in the wrong orientation. If you are doing a coincident mate, no big deal. But what if you need a distance mate? If you just randomly rotate it, you then have to do something else to get it parallel before applying a dimension. With MWT you can rotate it exactly 90 degrees and then apply the distance mate without an additional step to guarantee the two parts are parallel.

That's not the results that I get. Maybe I don't understand what MWT is.

I select face planes in two components, select distance mate (then it moves them to coincident temporarily which is also parallel), enter my distance value, and ok. Then the planes are already parallel once distanced. Flip Mate Alignment or Dimension as needed after it's created. I suppose if you were mating a face or plane distant to an edge, axis, point, or other 1-dimensional entity, then the parallel positioning step would help out.
Install ref 2018 sp5.

On topic, I also use the part triad occasionally for such prepositioning. I do not perform the same action in all circumstance. For me, it's more useful for dragging an obscured item out of a pile, where I trigger the command from the new component in the tree, then grab its handles without even seeing the object.
I would also disable Instant3d so it doesn't pop up all the time, but that would be a minor visual distraction which I could adapt to ignore.

[Glenn Schroeder]

How do you do that? When I try I get an angle mate if I don't make them parallel first.

Edit: I guess I am wrong. I'm not sure what I was thinking.

Maybe you were thinking of adding a dimension in a sketch, when two lines or a line and an edge, face, etc aren't already parallel? If yes, I agree that's a pain. That's why I submitted an idea for the Top Ten voting this year to have a checkbox in the Dimension dialog box to make the entities parallel, at which point the dimension type would switch from angle to linear.

[mike miller]

Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun. Solid Edge played catch up to Solidworks in the last release and now SWX is returning the favor.

Here are just a few things you can do with the SE wheel in an assembly. In addition to what's shown in the video, you can copy components with mates by Ctrl clicking the handle (and snap new occurrences to keypoints such as edges or holes). Plus a lot more I can't think of right now.

In a part file, it's even more powerful.

[bnemec]

Edit: I guess I am wrong. I'm not sure what I was thinking.

Oh man, if I had a dollar dime for every time I should have admitted that same thing...

[SPerman]

Oh man, if I had a dollar dime for every time I should have admitted that same thing...

I've found that my bosses respect the fact that I'm willing to admit: "I screwed up. I'm here to make it right" as opposed to trying to hide the mistake or deflect blame.

[bnemec]

I've found that my bosses respect the fact that I'm willing to admit: "I screwed up. I'm here to make it right" as opposed to trying to hide the mistake or deflect blame.

That wasn't applied specifically to work.

[DanPihlaja]

How do you do that? When I try I get an angle mate if I don't make them parallel first.

That's true for a dimension in a sketch, because there is 1 dimension tool for both. But distance mates and angle mates are separate functions, so it automatically makes it parallel as soon as you select distance mate (assuming the 2 things you selected are planar surfaces).