Draft CircularArray

Description
The tool creates an array from a selected object placing the copies along concentric circumferences. This is similar to using with a polar angle of 360 degrees, and creating several concentric arrays.

This tool can be used on any object that has a Part TopoShape, meaning 2D shapes created with the Draft Workbench, but also 3D solids created with other workbenches, for example, Part, PartDesign, or Arch. It can also create App Links instead of simple copies.


 * To create orthogonal or polar arrays, use the corresponding and  tools.
 * To position copies along a path use or.
 * To position copies at specified points use or.
 * To create copies and manually place them use or.
 * To create exact copies and manually place or scale them, use or.



Usage

 * 1) Select the object from which you wish to array.
 * 2) Press the  button. If no object is selected, you will be invited to select one before proceeding.
 * 3) The task panel is launched where you can select the radial distance, the tangential distance, the number of circular layers, the symmetry parameter, and the center of the axis of rotation.
 * 4) You can click on the 3D view to simultaneously set the position of the center of rotation, and complete the command. Otherwise, just press  or the  button to complete the operation.

Options

 * Enter the to specify the distance between the circular layers, and between the center and the first circular layer.
 * Enter the to specify the distance between the elements on the same circular layer. Must be larger than zero.
 * Enter the . The element at the center counts as one layer. Must be at least . The maximum that can be entered in the task panel is, but higher values are possible by changing the property of the array.
 * Enter the value. This number determines how the elements are distributed. A value of, for example, results in a pattern with three equal 120° pie segments. Larger values for the  and the  result in fewer or even no elements on the inner layers.
 * Pick a point in the 3D view or type coordinates for the . The rotation axis of the array will pass through this point. It is advisable to move the pointer out of the 3D view before entering coordinates.
 * Press the button to reset the  to the origin.
 * If the checkbox is checked overlapping elements in the array are fused. This does not work for Link arrays.
 * If the checkbox is checked a Link array instead of a regular array is created. A Link array is more efficient because its elements are App Link objects.
 * Press or the  button to abort the command.

Preferences
See also: Preferences Editor and Draft Preferences.


 * To change the number of decimals used for the input of coordinates and distances:.

Properties
See Draft OrthoArray.

Scripting
See also: Autogenerated API documentation and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

To create a circular array use the method  of the Draft module. This method replaces the deprecated method. The method can create Draft OrthoArrays, Draft PolarArrays and Draft CircularArrays. For each array type one or more wrappers are available.

The main method:

The wrapper for circular arrays is:


 * is the object to be arrayed. It can also be the (string) of an object in the current document.
 * and are the radial and tangential distances between the elements.
 * is the number of circular layers in the pattern, the original object counts as the first layer.
 * is an integer used in some calculations that affect the way the elements are distributed around the circumferences. Usual values are from 1 to 6. Higher values are not recommended and will make the elements in the inner layers disappear.
 * and are vectors that describe the direction of the axis of rotation, and a point through which that axis passes.
 * If is  the created elements are App Links instead of regular copies.
 * is returned with the created array object.

Example: