How to Make a Line Perpendicular to a Tangent in SolidWorks

by Josh on August 1, 2007 · View Comments

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solidworks tips Here’s a handy little tip that 4 out of 5 tech support guys recommend for getting a quick perpendicular- to-tangent relation in SolidWorks.

This is really simple, but I don’t see it used too often. It can help you avoid a bunch of steps, as well as prevent unnecessary construction lines and geometry.

To create a line perpendicular to a tangent of a circle

Start a sketch
Select the line tool from the Sketch Tools toolbar
Pick the circular feature (sketch or solid)
Now, hold the cursor there for a second. You will see an inference line show up. (an axis tangent to the circle and perpendicular.)
Drag the cursor toward the center of the circle and pick somewhere on the inference line.

What this does is create a coincident relation at the endpoint of the line on the circle and a coincident relation on the line through the center of the circle. A two for one deal and a great way to pick up that tangency without all the extra work.

Have you used this before?

{ 9 comments }

Kyle August 1, 2007 at 11:54 am: I’ve used this before when I’m working on items with a large radius. you can quickly lay out a lot of lines this way.
Rod Uding August 1, 2007 at 12:59 pm: This would have saved me a lot of time several times had I know about it. Typically, I have the sketched the circle, then drawn the line and added all the relations to get it tangent. A nice tip that I will post on our companies internal forum. Keep of the great work on your blog!!!
Rod Uding August 1, 2007 at 12:59 pm: This would have saved me a lot of time several times had I know about it. Typically, I have the sketched the circle, then drawn the line and added all the relations to get it tangent. A nice tip that I will post on our companies internal forum. Keep of the great work on your blog!!!
Josh August 1, 2007 at 4:34 pm: Thanks Rod! glad it will help!
Josh August 1, 2007 at 4:34 pm: Thanks Rod! glad it will help!
Ron Westburg August 2, 2007 at 2:44 pm: Thanks Josh.
I'm glad there are people like you out there, willing to share the knowledge!

-Ron
Ron Westburg August 2, 2007 at 2:44 pm: Thanks Josh.
I’m glad there are people like you out there, willing to share the knowledge!

-Ron
alisenbe August 20, 2008 at 9:58 am: This is a great tip and to add to it you can also touch other lines to toggle between a perpendicular and parallel relation.
alisenbe August 20, 2008 at 2:58 pm: This is a great tip and to add to it you can also touch other lines to toggle between a perpendicular and parallel relation.