Tips & Tricks #66 Working with Online Calculator Variables

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2 Tips & Tricks #66 Working with Online Calculator Variables In the course of training legions of CADKEY and KeyCreator users over the years, I ve discovered that many of you miss out on some of the neat options available in using the versatile Online Calculator. So this month, let s look at a few of the most valuable goodies! A sample file (FixtureBlock9.ckd) is available for download and is illustrated to the right. I ll use it to demonstrate several items, however, you can apply these same tricks to any file you have at hand. For those of you who don t even know about the calculator, you can access it by clicking on the TOOLS Pulldown Menu. Calculator Functions Now the calculator is really handy for quickly determining the value of any algebraic expression, including those using trig functions, square roots, etc. Type sin(30) in the calculator filed and it will return a value of 0.5 when you hit the Accept Button. You can also assign a decimal value to a single character variable so you only need to type one character each time you use a common value in your design. KeyCreator has a wealth of functions available for you to use. You can learn more about the functions by clicking on the HELP Option on the main pulldown menus.

3 If you type Calculator Functions in the Search Field, you ll find a neat overview of how the functions work. To see a list of available math and logic functions, click on the Contents Tab in the Help Pane. Next, expand the Advanced Customization Entry. Next, expand the KXL Entry. Then, expand the Functions (Categorized) Entry and select the Math and Logic SubFolder. You can scroll down through the list and click on any item to get the syntax used and specific details regarding the function.

4 Assigning Measured Values to Variables If that s all the Calculator offered, it would be pretty great. There s actually far more available as you ll quickly see. Open up the supplied file (FixtureBlock9.ckd.) You should be in View 7. (The Isometric View.) Click on the TOOLS/VERIFY/DISTANCE/TWO POSITIONS Icon. Now, select the centers of the two bosses indicated by arrows in the illustration to the left. The Dialog Box illustrated below appears. We are interested in the actual distance. Notice to the right of the distance value. This tells us that the current distance is stored on the seventh register stack in our computer microprocessor. In the calculator field at the bottom, type q=@7 and hit the ENTER Key. The actual value will appear. You have assigned the distance value to a variable named q.

5 Now, you can type the letter q in response to any entry item during the current session of KeyCreator and the stored value will be entered. This saves time for values that will be reused and eliminates possible mistyping on long decimal values. (You can use a more descriptive name (letters and numbers) but then you have to type that longer variable name in later, so short names are better.) Variable names can be up to 12 characters, starting with an alphanumeric or underscore character. They are case sensitive so RADIUS is a different variable from radius. You may wonder why there are both projected and actual values. Let s suppose that we want to measure the projected distance between the two edges highlighted in red on the part while looking at it in View 5. (The Right View.) Switch to View 5 and click on the TOOLS/VERIFY/DISTANCE/ TWO ENTITIES Icon. When you click on the two edges while looking at the part in View 5, the projected distance is the effective width of the recessed face in the part. The actual distance is longer since it is measured on the diagonal and is not of interest to us in this example.

6 Persistent Variables Any standard variables that you create are active during your current KeyCreator Session. They are lost when you close KeyCreator. If you have a project where you might want to reuse a variable over a long time, you can easily get around this limitation. If you start a variable with the % character, it is called a Persistent Variable and it is stored with your design file when you save it. Try this to see for yourself. While you have the FixtureBlock9.ckd file open, access the calculator and assign a value of to the variable %x. Then save the file and exit KeyCreator. Relaunch KeyCreator and open up the saved FixtureBlock9.ckd file. Access the calculator and type %x. The value will appear in the calculator. Remember these calculator tricks the next time you are working on a design.