Draft Clone

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Revision as of 01:12, 16 November 2018 by Vocx (talk | contribs) (Limitation with sketcher sketches not mapping to clones)

Draft Clone

Menu location
Draft → Clone
Workbenches
Draft, Arch
Default shortcut
None
Introduced in version
-
See also
Draft Move, Draft Scale

Description

The Draft Clone tool produces linked copies of a selected shape. This means that if the original object changes its shape and properties, all clones change as well. Nevertheless, each clone retains its unique position, rotation, and scale, as well as its view properties like shape color, line width, and transparency.

The Clone tool can be used on 2D shapes created with the Draft Workbench, but can also be used on many types of 3D objects such as those created with the Part, PartDesign, or Arch Workbenches.

To create simple copies, that are completely independent from an original object, use Draft Move, Draft Rotate, and Draft Scale. To position copies in an orthogonal array use Draft Array; to position copies along a path use Draft PathArray; to position copies at specified points use Draft PointArray.

How to use

  1. Select an object that you wish to clone.
  2. Press the Draft Clone button.

The result of the Draft Scale tool is also a clone, set at the specified scale.

Clones of 2D objects created with the Draft or Sketcher Workbenches will also be 2D objects, and therefore can be used as such for the PartDesign Workbench.

All Arch Workbench objects have the possibility to behave as clones by using their DataCloneOf property. If you use the Draft Clone tool on a selected Arch object, you will produce such an Arch clone instead of a regular Draft clone.

Limitations

Currently, Sketcher Sketches cannot be mapped to the faces of a clone.

Options

There are no options for this tool. Either it works with the selected objects or not.

Properties

  • DataScale: Specifies an optional scale factor for the clone
  • DataFuse: If this clone is using several objects, this specifies if the result is a fusion or a compound introduced in version 0.17

Scripting

The Clone tool can by used in macros and from the python console by using the following function:

clone (obj,[delta])
  • Makes a clone of the given object(s).
  • The clone is an exact, linked copy of the given object.
  • If the original object changes, the final object changes too. Optionally, you can give a delta Vector to move the clone away from the original position.

Example:

import Draft
Draft.clone(FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.ActiveObject)