Planes On

Overview

Planes On is a utility command that turns on (makes visible) the coordinate system planes for the selected component in your Inventor assembly. This command is useful for visualizing reference geometry, aligning components, and inspecting your design. In addition to showing the standard coordinate planes, Planes On also sets a document parameter named ShowPlanes, which can be used in custom rules to control the visibility of additional work planes within the component.

If your component includes a rule that responds to the ShowPlanes parameter, running Planes On will also toggle the visibility of any custom-named work planes according to your rule logic. This allows for advanced automation and customization, ensuring that all the planes you want visible are shown.

How It Works

1. Turns on the visibility of the standard coordinate system planes for the selected component.
2. Sets the ShowPlanes document parameter to True (if present).
3. If a rule is set up to respond to ShowPlanes, custom work planes will also be toggled on.

Usage Instructions

1. Select the component in your assembly for which you want to show coordinate system planes.
2. Activate the Planes On command from the toolbar or menu.
3. The command will turn on the standard coordinate system planes for the selected component.
4. If you have custom rules set up for the ShowPlanes parameter, those work planes will also be made visible.
5. Review your component to confirm that all desired reference geometry is visible.

Trouble Shooting

1. If some planes remain hidden, check for custom rules in your component that may override the default behavior.
2. Ensure the ShowPlanes parameter exists if you want to use it for additional logic.
3. Review your component rules for any logic that may affect plane visibility.

Examples

1. Show all planes in a component: Select the component and run Planes On to show all coordinate system planes.
2. Toggle custom work planes: Add a rule to your component to toggle visibility for specific named planes using the ShowPlanes parameter.
3. Example rule to toggle work plane visibility. Each time you run Planes On/Planes Off, these work planes along with the standard coordinate system planes will be toggled according to your rules.
• ThisDoc.Document.ComponentDefinition.WorkPlanes(1).Visible = ShowPlanes
• ThisDoc.Document.ComponentDefinition.WorkPlanes("Top of Fitting").Visible = ShowPlanes
• ThisDoc.Document.ComponentDefinition.WorkPlanes("Bottom of Fitting").Visible = ShowPlanes
• ThisDoc.Document.ComponentDefinition.WorkPlanes("Middle of Fitting").Visible = ShowPlanes

Related Commands

1. Planes Off
2. Planes On All
3. Planes On All Nested
4. Configure Component
5. Parameters

Assembly Tool Suites

• Configure Suite
• Construct Suite
• Create Suite
• Parametric Suite
• Part Numbering Suite
• Placement Suite
• Replace Suite
• Utility Suite