Attachment Points i IRONCAD

An Attachment Point (also AP or magnetic attach point) is a type of coordinate point attached to an object in the 3D scene (e.g. a Feature, Part or Assembly) that also has a counterpart that it wants to find, when the object it belongs to is adjacent to another object with a corresponding AP. The type of object itself to which an attachment point is attached does not matter.

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These attachment points are very useful for several purposes, but perhaps most importantly for layout work where you can easily get it to fall into place automatically. All you have to do is drag-and-drop a prepared object into the 3D scene from a catalog, near an existing snap point and it will end up in the right place with the right orientation automatically!

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Magnetic Attachment Points

Attachment Points allow you to add locations/points on an object that can sense other objects with similar properties. This is mainly done when they are dropped from a catalog onto an object with just similar attachment points. In this way, you can quickly and easily assemble, for example, a robot or a frame for a storage tent.

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You can also directly grab an object's attachment point and drag and drop it onto another visible attachment point in the 3D scene. They don't have to have the same properties, but still stick.

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Create Attachment Points

The tool to create these is available under the Tools tab, Intelligence icon group. It is also possible to create attachment points via the right-click menu on the TriBall centre handle:

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The main difference between the two ways of creating attachment points is that the one created with TriBall does not automatically become associative with the geometry it is placed on, as it does when you click it out with the tool or drag an attachment point from a catalog. Since a vertex point or surface lights up in green, it also becomes associative to that particular vertex point or surface.

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An attachment point requires no special properties to work via drag-and-drop between each other directly in the 3D scene. However, if you want to get the automatic placement feature when dragging from a catalog, you need to specify some basic properties of the attachment point.

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Attachment Point Name and Behavior

Select and right-click on the attachment point, choose Set Name and Behaviors.

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A new window will appear showing all the properties that can be connected with attachment points. To begin with, the name User Name is the single most important property.

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The name controls whether the attachment point should be able to find other attachment points within the same object it is dropped on, when it is dragged out of a catalog. It is then limited to only find those with the same name, the others are ignored. You can further restrict how attachment points find each other by the Type property which specifies whether the attachment point is a Male, Female, Neutral or No paired. An attachment point of type Male is only compatible with another attachment point of type Female and vice versa.

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The Neutral type finds each other in both directions, hence the name. The No Paired type is the basic property.

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TriBall and Attachment Points

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An AP is moved and oriented by first highlighting it so that it glows yellow, then TriBall is activated. When the TriBall is activated on a part or assembly containing attachment points, it can be easily moved between existing attachment points via the [TAB] key. In this way, several predefined positions can be used to move the TriBall between them in a smooth way.

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Reuse Attachment Points via catalogs

Attachment points can also be easily reused with catalogs. Hold down the right mouse button to drag a selected attachment point to a catalog. When dropping an attachment point from a catalog, just make sure to select the correct item first. A surface, edge or vertex point will light up in green. Marking an object before releasing it from a catalog is important in other contexts as well in IRONCAD. Adjust its position and orientation with the TriBall if necessary.

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Delete an Attachment Point

To delete APs, right-click on them and select Delete AP.

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Automatic orientation when being used

An attachment point dropped from a catalog onto an object that has a corresponding attachment point will automatically be attached to the other. They then have the mutual orientation that the blue Z-axes point in the opposite direction while the red X-axes point in the same direction.

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Visibility in the 3D scene

Each *.ics file has background settings to control the visibility of any attachment points in the 3D scene. Therefore, you can also check this in the ICS template by right-clicking in the background and using the Show... option.

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Attachment Points - shows AP's all the time.

Hide Attachemnts Points on Selection - Turns off AP's when items are selected.

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