There has to be a better way to array than what I'm doing?

Rhino Rhino for Windows
1

There has to be a better way to array than what I’m doing. I want the arc section to be arrayed with 6 copies.Currently, I measure the length of A, subtract the sum width of the 6 B pieces, then divide by 5 for the X spacing, and then enter that.

I know in some other software, I was able to select the length of A, (or pick start and end points) and it would calculate the spacing. Rhino must have something like this?

array
array1258×794 64 KB

Array.3dm (159.0 KB)

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Hello - if it is all in a straight line, place the first and last correctly, the rest in between any old spacing, then use Distribute.

-Pascal

3

Yeah, array could really benefit from a ‘X number between two positions’ feature.
It’s what we use most of the times.

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4

you can use ArrayCrv for that. it allows to select edges too. then you can work with distance between objects or total quantity.

1 Like
5

I see how that can work, but it still requires me to do a calculation or “Distribute” if I want the last to fall where I need it, and adjust the spacing to be equal between ends. Holo describes what I need. (And I need this often) I checked with my Solidworks Maven and am told SW has it. I’m thinking a script may be possible at some point.

ArrayOnCrv

array2
array21355×737 37.4 KB

What I need.

array3
array31355×737 34.2 KB

2 Likes
6

Hello @CalypsoArt,

Here’s one way to do this:

2020-03-22 21-01-30.2020-03-22 21_08_38
2020-03-22 21-01-30.2020-03-22 21_08_38800×530 1.45 MB

  1. Draw a line as a distribution path.
  2. Place your object to distribute exactly at the beginning of the line.
  3. Draw a point at the middle of your object along the line on the line.
  4. Mirror that point to the other side of the line to exact mirrored position.
  5. Split the line with the two points, effectively shortening it by exactly the side length of your object.
  6. Use ArrayCrv to distribute a number of object copies along the shortened curve.
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https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/array-between-with-dynamic-preview/31398

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Hmm. That script is very close. But going from the array object’s center still puts the final copy half the object dimension off line of the span, and though equal, the spacing is still incorrect. Just like using the regular array, If I can’t move my cursor point to the outside of the object, I have to guess if I’m close enough.

array4
array41194×836 118 KB

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2 Likes
10

That’s exactly what I’m looking for! I did not have the options you showed, because I missed the updated version later in the thread. Now I have it.

However, I’m still not getting it to work. When I drag towards the end after setting the base point, I do not get the end snap visible in your video. (I have snaps and ortho on.) How are you getting it?!

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just slide a bit (hold down shift) to get the direction you want, hit ‘Tab’ to lock the directional
constraint & now you should be free to click on any point/corner to snap to

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Thanks so much! “Tab” was it! This script has easy-ified my life a lot.

2 Likes