Engineering Properties

The Engineering Properties command automatically calculates the engineering properties of a 2D object. This includes the object’s perimeter and area, as well as the moment of inertia and radius of gyration about the centroidal X and Y axes of the object. It also calculates the coordinates of the centroid and places a locus at the centroid, if desired. If a single locus is selected along with the object when the command is executed, the moments of inertia and radii of gyration about the X and Y axes passing through the locus are also calculated.

To determine the engineering properties of an object:

1.	Select a single object, or select a single object and a locus point.

2.	Select Model > Engineering Properties.

The Engineering Properties dialog box opens. The data that displays is selection-dependent.

For a single closed surface, the following displays:

Area of the object

Perimeter of the object

Moments of inertia about the object’s centroidal axes

Absolute coordinates of the centroid of the object

Radii of gyration about the object’s centroidal axes

Plane properties (area, perimeter and coordinates)

For a single closed surface and a locus point, the Moments of Inertia about the axes that pass through the locus and the Radii of Gyration about these axes are also displayed.

3.	Select the desired options and Units.

 

Parameter	Description
Place locus at centroid	Select to add a locus at the centroid of the selected object after closing the Engineering Properties dialog box
Place properties on drawing	Select to place a list of the properties at the next mouse click after closing the Engineering Properties dialog box
Write properties to a file	Select to send the properties to a text file; specify the file name and location after closing the Engineering Properties dialog box
Units	Update the displayed information to reflect the selected unit of measurement

4.

Click OK.