Creating Multiple Section Planes in a Single Command using Control X

In this blog post, we are going to demonstrate the creation of multiple section planes in a single 2D Section command using Control X. In a recent blog post, we created two planes where one passed through the center points of two holes and the second was a linear distance offset, away from the first. Now, we are going to explain how to create a new plane that is parallel to Section A-A where we can capture geometry from Section A-A plus capture and dimension an additional section slicing through the groove cross-section.

To start off, first, turn off the color map so section A-A is easier to see.

Then you can enter the 2D Cross-Sectioning tool and tell Control X you would like to create a cross-section, using the plane labeled as Section A-A.

Select the Base Plane option and then select the plane called Section A-A. Your goal is to dimension this cross-section by constructing an additional plane somewhere that crosses the groove. Just remember that you can resize the plane to limit what is shown in the cross-section.

Next, select the Multiple Cutting Plane checkbox and draw a line representing the second section plane for this exercise.

The length of the line represents the length of the section and it can limit how much of the slice is shown.

Since the goal is to isolate this second plane just on the groove, you can create the section plane and make it just long enough to show the extent of the groove. Remember that you will also be collecting the data captured by the Section A-A plane.

Hitting the check mark shown below brings up a 2D view that shows the multi-cut sections using both the Section A-A plane and the newly drawn plane that will be used to dimension the groove cross-section.

As you can see, we now have a clear section view showing both the cut of Section A-A as well as the groove. Add the necessary dimensions, and the process is complete. Please be sure to sign up for our 2 Minute Tuesday video series to receive tips and tricks like this one in video form every week. More info at the button below.