PartDesign PolarPattern

Description
The PartDesign PolarPattern tool creates a polar pattern of one or more features.



Create

 * 1) Optionally activate the correct Body.
 * 2) Optionally select one or more features in the Tree view or the 3D view.
 * 3) There are several ways to invoke the tool:
 * 4) * Press the button.
 * 5) * Select the option from the menu.
 * 6) If there is no active Body, and there are two or more Bodies in the document, the  dialog will open and prompt you to activate one. If there is a single Body it will be activated automatically.
 * 7) If no features were selected the  task panel opens: select one or more (hold down the  key) from the list and press the  button.
 * 8) The  task panel opens. See Options for more information.
 * 9) Press the  button to finish.

Edit

 * 1) Do one of the following:
 * 2) * Double-click the PolarPattern object in the Tree view.
 * 3) * Right-click the PolarPattern object in the Tree view and select from the context menu.
 * 4) The  task panel opens. See Options for more information.
 * 5) Press the  button to finish.

Options

 * To add features:
 * Press the button.
 * Select a feature in the Tree view or the 3D view.
 * Repeat to add more features.
 * To remove features:
 * Press the button.
 * Do one of the following:
 * Select a feature in the Tree view or the 3D view.
 * Select a feature in the list and press the key.
 * Right-click a feature in the list and select from the context menu.
 * Repeat to remove more features.
 * If there are several features in the pattern, their order can be important. See Ordering features.
 * Specify the of the pattern:
 * : The Z axis of the sketch (only available for sketch-based features).
 * : The Y axis of the sketch (idem).
 * : The X axis of the sketch (idem).
 * : A separate entry for each construction line in the sketch (idem).
 * : The X axis of the Body.
 * : The Y axis of the Body.
 * : The Z axis of the Body.
 * : Select a Datum Line in the Tree view or a Datum Line or edge in the 3D view.
 * Check the checkbox to reverse the pattern.
 * Specify the to be covered by the pattern. If the angle is less than 360°, the instances are evenly distributed from 0° (first instance) to the given angle (last instance). If the angle is a full 360°circle, then the instances are distributed evenly around the circle. That means for n instances an angle of 360° is equivalent to an angle of 360°*(1-1/n).
 * Specify the number of (including the original feature).
 * If the checkbox is checked the view will update in real time.

Ordering features
If some of the selected features are additive and others subtractive, their order can have have an impact on the final result. You can change the order by dragging individual features in the list.



Limitations

 * Any shape in the pattern that does not overlap the parent feature will be excluded. This ensures that a PartDesign Body always consists of a single, connected solid.
 * The PartDesign patterns are not yet as optimized as their Draft counterparts. So for a large number of instances you should consider using a Draft PolarArray instead, combined with a Part boolean operation. This may require major changes to your model as you are leaving PartDesign and therefore cannot simply continue with further PartDesign features in the same body. An example is shown in this Forum topic.
 * A pattern cannot be applied directly to another pattern, be it polar, linear or a mirror. For this you need a PartDesign MultiTransform.