![ironcad insert parallel plane ironcad insert parallel plane](https://www.ironcad.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/DetailUnderline.png)
Parallel Reference Planes can be created when a face and vertex are selected, and the Parallel button is chosen in the PropertyManager under the face reference. Be sure to choose the Angle button on the planar face reference to be able to specify the degrees at which you want the plane to be created and to have the ability to Flip offset and create multiple instances of the plane. To create an Angled Plane, you need to select a planar face or plane and an edge or axis to fully define the reference plane. In this example, the reference plane will be created perpendicular to the pink edge and coincident to the purple vertex. Similarly, you can also create a Coincident Reference Plane by selecting a line or edge and a vertex. Once three vertices and the Coincident buttons are selected, the Fully Defined message will appear in green and you can choose the green check mark to create the plane coincident to all 3 selected vertices. To create a Coincident Reference Plane, you need to select 3 vertices to fully define the new plane. Click the green check mark to create your plane.
![ironcad insert parallel plane ironcad insert parallel plane](https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2020/eng/VW2020_Guide/Symbols/Symbol_Insert_modes.png)
In this scenario, I left the number of planes as 1.
![ironcad insert parallel plane ironcad insert parallel plane](https://www.ironcad.com/WhatsNewArchive/IRONCADV11/Images_to_be_loaclized_General/OffsetConstraint.gif)
You can also increase the number of planes to create equally spaced from the first reference to easily create multiple planes at once. Select the Flip offset button if you need the plane to be created in the opposite direction. To create an Offset Plane, select a planar face or plane that you want to offset from and specify the offset distance. These are the various ways you can define a reference plane and we will look at an example of each one: The message can also turn red if “Current combination of references and constraints are not valid”.Īs you start selecting edges, faces, planes, or points as References, more options will appear based on your choices. The message will change from a yellow “Select references and constraints” (meaning you do not have enough references yet) to a green “Fully Defined” (when you are able to create a plane). When the Reference Plane PropertyManager comes up, you will notice that there is a lot of freedom for defining references and constraints and little instruction on the ways you can create planes. The Reference Geometry command lives on the Features toolbar, but you can also access it from Insert > Reference Geometry. In this blog, we will discuss the many ways of creating and defining Reference Planes if you need to use planes other than the default Top, Right, and Front Planes. Reference Geometry includes reference planes, axes, coordinate systems, and points.