1 Reply Latest reply: Dec 2, 2014 11:42 AM by Jacob Bugge RSS

    pivoting on a center point

    davidr

      I have 2 shapes ( gear ) the circle for the basic shape and the tooth as seen in the drawing. The tooth is on a sub layer of the gear.

       

      I want to be able to select the tooth and while holding option rotate based on the gears center points, so I can create many teeth that are aligned to the circle's edge. How would I select the center anchor point and rotate in a 360 degree with the mouse pad on Mac OSX?

       

      Also, when I cut my rectangle with the intersecting point of the tooth and the circle it looks a little off. How I accomplished this was by creating 2 anchors on the intersection anchor of the tooth and the circle. I thin deleted the bottom anchors to create the shape. What is the best how to do this?

       

       

      Screen Shot 2014-12-02 at 12.41.48 PM.png

        • 1. Re: pivoting on a center point
          Jacob Bugge CommunityMVP

          David,

           

          Carrying on from what you have in the OP image, you may:

           

          1) Select both, then Click the circle, then Align>Align Objects>Horizontal Align Centre, then Align>Distribute Spacing>Vertical Distribute Space after changing from Auto to 0; this should centre the tooth on the top but a little high;

          2) Select the tooth, then Hold Shift and use the down arrow to get it down where you want it;

          3) Switch to the Rotate Tool and Alt/OptionClick the centre of the circle, then insert the desired rotation angle divisible by 360 degrees and press Alt/Option+C to rotate a copy;

          4) Press Ctrl/Cmd+D to repeat until you are done;

          5) Select all and Pathfinder>Unite.

           

          Smart Guides are your friends telleing you when you are there and helping you to snap.

           

          Undo may also be your friend, especially when setting the angle.

           

          There are quite a few ways to do it.