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Engineering Tools — Measure (00333)
What this tool does
A single interactive measure tool with two modes. Every
location you pick uses the standard FEMAP coordinate picker, so any point can be
a node, a geometry point, or typed
coordinates. Pick as many measurements as you like in a session —
cancel the location pick to finish.
- Distance (point to point). Pick two locations; get the
straight-line distance plus the dX / dY / dZ components, with the total copied to
the clipboard for pasting straight into a spreadsheet or a note.
- Thickness (point + two faces). Pick two solid
faces once, then pick any number of locations. Each location is
projected onto both faces and the distance between the two projections is the
local face-to-face thickness at that spot.
When you want it
- Confirm a wizard thickness. The wizard set a property you
want to sanity-check — pick the two faces and the element location, read
the number.
- Thickness variation across a taper or pad-up. Two faces once,
then click a series of points; watch the thickness change.
- Quick as-built distance. Node-to-node, point-to-point, or to
a typed coordinate — total on the clipboard, components in the dialog.
How to use it
- Open Custom Tools > Model Audit > Group / Count / Measure >
Measure.
- Choose a Mode in the dialog and set the options
(leave measurement points, verbose, copy to clipboard),
then OK.
- Distance mode: pick the first location, then the second. A
dialog shows the distance and dX/dY/dZ; the total is on the clipboard. Pick the
next pair, or Cancel to finish.
- Thickness mode: select exactly two faces,
then pick a location. A dialog shows the face-to-face thickness there and the two
projected points. Pick the next location, or Cancel to finish.
Options
- Leave measurement points. Drops two small coloured points at
the measured locations / projections so you can see exactly where it measured.
Turn it off to keep the model clean (the temp points are then deleted).
- Verbose. Writes each measurement to the message window as
well as the dialog — a running log you can copy out.
- Copy result to the clipboard. Puts the distance / thickness
value on the clipboard after each measurement.
Notes & assumptions
- Thickness is the distance between the nearest point on each named face
to your pick. For parallel plate faces that is the true perpendicular thickness;
for non-parallel faces it is the local face-to-face gap at that spot.
- Results are reported in model units.
- This tool only measures — it never changes the model (aside from the
optional visual points).
Companions
Shell Prop & Offset Wizard (batch thickness + offset from
solid geometry), Get Curve Length Closest to Node (CAD-line
thickness at a rigid-spider hole), and Ray Fire Thickness
(auto-opposite-face probe) all measure or set local thickness — Measure is
the hand-driven, name-the-faces spot-check among them.
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