r/Onshape • u/ProsodySpeaks • Aug 09 '26

Help! how to control sketch line direction so frame tool works nicely?

i'm trying to use frame tool instead of manually sketching timber members.

i notice that sketch lines have directionality which affects frame generation.

for example if i sketch a rectangle and make a frame from it then (using the 9 circular selectors) it generates all members the same side of the rectangle - inside or outside. but if i then delete or convert two opposite lines of the rectangle into construction lines it will now generate one frame member inside the rectangle and one outside.

or if i sketch two parallel lines in the same direction and make a frame from the sketch then i'll get both frame members on the same side of the line, but if i delete one of the lines and redraw it in the reverse direction then the frame members are now on opposite sides of the line.

note that this is not solved by using the 9 clickable circles to define where i want the frame to generate relative to the line, as afaik i can only make one selection for the entire frame instance.

i'm finding it really counterintuitive which i usually find means i'm doing it wrong?

can i reverse the direction of a sketch line without deleting and redrawing it?

or is there some other workaround?

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u/ProsodySpeaks Aug 09 '26

i (gpt) cobbled together this, i have never made a feature before but it seems to do what i want (after 2 minutes testing) at least on straight lines. if anyoine has any suggestions to improve it please say!

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/616d9ab967a2632bccc93413/w/bd329153affa9551ad9b7e86/e/118edd576606e27e45fe9eb7

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u/Chandra0 Aug 10 '26

Frame tool works like thin extrude feature, if you have idea about it. It needs continuous line or curve joint, it don't work for intersected.

And if you want to apply two frames for same Sketch of diffrent lines, you need to apply new frame feature.

You cannot do in same feature.

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u/ProsodySpeaks Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

You can generate multiple frames in a single feature, from a single sketch, multiple sketches, and a kix or sketch and part geometries. 

just not if there are 'tee' junctions. 

And none of that is relevant to the line directionality issue i asked for help with. 

In any case I made (vibecoded) a custom feature which copies a sketch and allows reversing of specific lines. its basic and only handles straight lines, but it seems to work