Moving or copying Sketcher objects about a mirror line

Use the mirror tool from the Sketcher toolbox to mirror Sketcher objects—lines, arcs, circles, ellipses, fillets, or splines—about a specified line. You can choose to move the original objects or to create a mirror copy in the new location. If you choose to move objects, your changes are controlled by any constraints in the sketch and by the constraint solution method in the sketch options (for more information, see Customizing the use of constraints in the Sketcher). If you choose to create a copy, Abaqus/CAE applies a mirror constraint between the original objects and the copies so that they will remain mirror images during any subsequent sketch edits.

Related Topics
Sketching simple objects
Creating construction geometry
Modifying objects
Creating patterns, offsetting, and deleting objects
Undoing and redoing sketching actions

  1. From the move and copy tools in the Sketcher toolbox, select the mirror tool . For a diagram of the tools in the Sketcher toolbox, see The Sketcher tools.

  2. Select Copy or Move in the prompt area.

    Abaqus/CAE displays prompts in the prompt area to guide you through the procedure.

  3. Select an existing straight line in the sketch as the mirror line. You can select any straight edge from sketch, construction, or reference geometry.

  4. Select all the objects that you want to mirror. You can select sketch and construction geometry to move, or you can select sketch, construction, and reference geometry to copy; dimensions cannot be mirrored.

    Tip: To select more than one object, hold down the Shift key as you click each object or drag a rectangle around the objects. To unselect an object, use CtrlClick. For more information, see Selecting objects within the viewport.”

  5. Click mouse button 2 to indicate that you have finished selecting objects.

    Abaqus/CAE moves or copies the objects as specified.

  6. If desired, repeat Steps 4 and 5 to move or copy more objects about the same mirror line.

  7. When you have finished moving and copying objects, do one of the following:

    • Click mouse button 2 anywhere in the Abaqus/CAE window.

    • Select any tool in the Sketcher toolbox.

    • Click the cancel button in the prompt area.