Move Sketch entities fails when there are too many entities?

Hi all,

I am trying to move a sketch that is an imported dxf file to the origin.
It has about 1000 entities, The align sketch command that I normally use
quite effectively just pretends to ignore this sketch I guess because it
feels it's too much work to move so many objects.

So I turned to the move sketch entites command. With only a few entites I
can normally use this command by clicking on a endpoint in the sketch to
set an origin and then highlight and click on the point to move too.

Unfortunately, with this many entites it never highlight or snaps to a
destination point, so I try typing in 0,0 into the dialogue and hitting
enter. This shows the geometry moving to the destination but as the
command exits the geometry magically snaps back to it's original location.

That's it I guess, I'm unable to move this sketch to the origin. I feel
like I'm in a time machine, what year is it again....?

My only recourse at this time is to send it to someone with autocad who can
move the sketch to the origin for me.

Zander

 

If you want to move all of the entities, can't you use tools, sketch tools,
modify? Its been a while since I dealt with a huge imported dxf, but it was
always pretty quick.
You have to experiment with the black-origin-thingy to pick a point on the
sketch to snap to the origin, but you can do it (and you'll figure it out in
less than a minute).

 

Did you open the file with SW as a part file? I've had better luck doing it
that way, rather than the cut & paste method. Then the Align toolbar "move
a single point to the origin" usually works well.

If that doesn't work, try selecting everything, hold the CTRL key and click
& hold the point you want on the origin. Then while still holding the CTRL
key, start to drag everything toward the origin, but before you get there,
release the CTRL key. Now you can drag it all over the place and still snap
to position. If you don't let go of the CTRL key, you can still snap, but
you get a copy, rather than a move. Don't know if it will work with that
many entities, but it's worth a try.

WT

 

Alternately, one may open the dxf in autocad and move the desired
point and the associated geometry to the origin point. It must be the
(world coordinate) origin point and not a local UCS as dxf outputs to
world coordinates.

It might work.

I usually pre-process the dwg file by stripping out all the "extra"
geometry as well, etc.

I also have this problem some times with sketch manipulation. Large
imported sketches are unwieldy - Alot like trying to push a battleship
with a broomhandle. It seems sometimes hard to simply
move-this-point-to-that-point once one is inside a solidworks sketch .
.. . alas . . .

Regards,

SMA

 

Thanks everyone for your helpfull suggestions. I think some of my
problems moving this geometry goes back to the 'embedded origin' that
seems to persist with some imported dxf files. This is what I believe
causes the
Align Sketch command to appear to fail.

I don't claim to understand how the imported dxf sketch maintains it's
own independant origin which is seperate from the default part origin.

I was eventually sucessfull using the move sketch entities command. If
I typed in the coordinates 0,0 this would snap it the sketches internal
origin, but by carefully waiting and clicking in the viewport I was
able to move it to the part orign. Whew!

Zander


















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