Get Curve Length Closest to Node

Engineering Tools — Get Curve Length Closest to Node (00329)

What this tool does

For each selected node, it finds the nearest straight (line) curve — measured from the node to each curve’s midpoint — and reports that curve’s length. Results print to the message window and can optionally be written to a CSV on your Desktop.

Why this exists

When a fastener hole is modeled with a rigid (RBE2/RBE3) spider, the spider’s center node sits at the hole and the local plate / solid thickness is captured by the through-thickness CAD line curve beside it. Reading that curve’s length gives the thickness directly — no output request and no hand measurement.

It is the reliable, CAD-based alternative to the experimental RBE-spider PCA thickness extraction in Get Average E and T at Node. Whenever the hole geometry (line curves) is present in the model, this tool is the recommended way to read thickness at a spider center node.

How to use it

  1. Open from Custom Tools > Model Audit > Group / Count / Measure > Get Curve Length Closest to Node.
  2. (Optional) Tick Verbose to print every node’s result, and/or Write results to CSV to save a timestamped file to your Desktop.
  3. Select the curves to search (non-line curves are ignored automatically).
  4. Select the nodes to query — typically rigid spider center nodes.
  5. Click OK. For each node the tool reports the closest line curve’s ID and its length.

Output

One row per node: Node_id, Closest_Line_Curve_id, Curve_Length. Printed to the message window (when Verbose is on) and, optionally, to curve_length_closest_to_node_<timestamp>.csv on the Desktop.

Notes & assumptions

  • "Closest" is measured to each curve’s midpoint, not the nearest point along the curve — intended for short through-thickness line curves at a hole.
  • Only straight curves are considered; arcs and splines in the selection are skipped.
  • The reported length is the full curve length, so it equals the modeled thickness only when the line curve spans exactly the thickness.

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