It seems like it should be pretty simple but I can’t figure it out. If I try to move the plane shown in the screenshot below so that it is coincident with the line (the line would end up in the plane) the plane just moves past the line with no indication occurring when they are coincident. Any ideas how to do this?
Maybe it would help to orbit the camera so you are looking at the model from a better angle. If you share the .skp file we can sure give you good guidance.
@DaveR - Good solution but it actually didn’t solve my problem because I didn’t describe it correctly. So, let me try again. There are 2 parallel lines in space along with a rectangular solid. The goal is to move the solid around in any way or means such that one face of the solid incorporates (is coincident with) both of the parallel lines. Push/pulling the solid is allowed. Rotating the solid is allowed. Constraint: you can’t move the lines. Updated .skp file attached.Test.skp (193.0 KB)
It’s good to know how to do what I showed and it definitely has its uses. I a case such as your model, I would have modeled the angled leg in place rather than modeling it in some other orientation and then moving and rotating it into place. Generally I find it much easier and more efficient to model the components where they will live in the project. I don’t need to know or figure out as many dimensions to be able to model it because I can use what I’ve already got as references.
The reason I tend to create things like solid objects away from the main model and then move them into position is because I find it very challenging to select only the newly added object elements in order to group them without also selecting other parts of the model I don’t want in that group or component which I then have to try to orbit around and manually unselect those. Any ideas there?
I actually had that problem here using the technique you showed me because when I tried to group the elements of that piece it selected several existing parts of the model that I then had to go around and unselect.
As Dave says, make a component as soon as you have created a new object. A triple click will select all connected loose geometry either in the model context, or inside a group or component open for editing.
I had just the same trouble as you when I started using SU - I had to fiddle about with a window selection, and even though I was making components as I went, I’d often accidentally include some other component in the background, as well as the newly drawn geometry.
The triple-click method only selects what you’ve just drawn, if you are grouping or making components as you go…