Mechanical Object Organizer (Align PCB)

By providing extract reference coordinates from the board and mechanical data, the board can be moved to the position specified by the coordinates. The coordinates used for the alignment are called a Reference point. This holds the X, Y, and Z coordinates, and position information. Reference points are automatically extracted by Mechanical Object Organizer. The reference points of board data, as well as those of mechanical data must be selected. Alignment is carried out by matching these reference points.

Types of reference points

The following information is extracted from the model, and displayed on the canvas.

Icon	Reference point type	Description
	Axis	The coordinate system held by each selected model, and displayed at the local origin. For mechanical items, coordinate systems that have been inserted at arbitrary coordinates as WCS are also displayed as coordinate systems.
	Vertex	Represents a vertex.
	Center point of arc	Represents the center point of a circle or arc. When extracting an object from mechanical data, the center point is not displayed. Most of the edges in mechanical data are entered as splines (internally the spline curves of the NURBS type). If the shape is slightly distorted, then the center point cannot be calculated.
	Center point of polygon	Displays selection candidates of the reference points at the center position, extracted from vertex coordinates of a polygon. A slot hole is assumed (Candidates are also displayed for a polygon that is completely different from this hole). However, the bulge of an arc or spline is not considered when calculating the center point.
	Point of bounding box	Represents the vertices of a bounding box (total: eight vertices).
	Center point of bounding box	Represents the center point of a bounding box (one point), and the center points of area fills (six points) that constitute the bounding box (total: seven points).

Display of reference points

Extracted reference points are displayed in the following ways:

1. The contents of reference points vary depending on the status. When a model is selected, and candidates of reference points extracted from the model are displayed, the points are displayed.
   
   
2. When you select a single reference point from two or more candidates, the following items are displayed: the coordinate axis (blue) indicating the Z-axis direction, a disk (gray) representing the X-Y plane, and an anchor indicating the X-axis direction. Clicking the selected reference point again selects another reference point at the same coordinates. If there are no other reference points at the same coordinates, this cancels the selection of the reference point.
   

3. The reference point can be rotated around the Z-axis by pressing and dragging an anchor.
   While dragging the anchor, the mouse cursor is snapped to another candidate. The anchor stays at the position where the mouse cursor is released. The anchor can be moved by pressing and dragging it again. If candidates are closely spaced at the release position, you can first release the anchor at an appropriate position, zoom in the circumference of the release position, and then press and drag the anchor again to the correct position.
   
   
4. Selecting reference points of PCB and mechanical item displays them in preview mode. The preview mode can be turned ON or OFF by toggling.
   
   
   

Command dialog

Reference point of PCB

Reference point

Item	Description
Coordinates	Displays the coordinates and icon of the reference point selected on the canvas. If a new reference point is selected, the contents are updated. The attributes of the reference point cannot be changed in this stage. The reference point has a view filter as an optional parameter. Click [+] on the left side of the label to expand options and configure view settings in the dialog.

Coordinate system

Value	Description
ON	Displays the reference point of the coordinate system type.
OFF	Does not display the reference point of the coordinate system type.

Bounding box

Value	Description
ON	Displays the reference points of the vertex type, and the center point type of a bounding box.
OFF	Does not display the reference points of the vertex type, and the center point type of a bounding box.

Center point of polygon

Value	Description
ON	Displays the reference point of the center point type of a polygon.
OFF	Does not display the reference point of the center point type of a polygon.

Center point of arc

Value	Description
ON	Displays the reference point of the center point type of an arc.
OFF	Does not display the reference point of the center point type of an arc.

Vertices

Value	Description
ON	Displays the reference point of the vertex type.
OFF	Does not display the reference point of the vertex type.

Reference point of destination

Value	Description
Reference point	Same as Reference point of PCB.
Optional parameter	Same as Reference point of PCB.
Reverse	Reverses the coordinate axis of a selected reference point. The directions of all vectors are reversed in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis.

Preview

Show preview

Value	Description
ON	Turns ON the preview mode.
OFF	Turns OFF the preview mode. You can turn OFF preview mode if it hinders your reference point settings.

View mode

Value	Description
Wireframe	Displays edges only. An "Edge" is a boundary between area fills.
Shading	Displays edges and area fills. The area fills are shaded, depending on the angle of view.

 

Item	Description
Execute	Aligns the position. The board is moved to the position where you want to match the reference points in the board and mechanical item.
Exit	Cancels the position alignment, and closes the dialog. The currently-displayed preview disappears.

Assist menu

The following assist menu items can be selected by right-clicking the mouse.

Item	Description
Execute	Aligns the position. The board is moved to the position where you want to match the reference points in the board and mechanical item.
Reverse	Reverses the coordinate axis of a selected reference point. The directions of all vectors are reversed in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis.
Undo	Reverts the changes that you make to the board.
Exit	Cancels the position alignment, and closes the dialog. The currently-displayed preview disappears.