Tangent relation

A tangent relation can exist between a line, axis or chamfer and a circular object (a circle, an arc or a fillet), as well as between two circular objects.

To detect a tangent relation implicitly (two methods)

• When during drawing the tangent relation indicator appears, a Tangent relation between the object you are drawing and another object has been detected. The point of tangency is either internal (lying on both objects) or external (lying on the extension of at least one of the objects) to the two objects.
• You can detect a tangent relation implicitly when you draw lines, arcs and circles, by using the modes for drawing tangent objects; these are: Connected Tangent Line, Tangent Line, Tangent Arc, Tangent Circle and Two Objects Tangent Circle.

note: Tangent relations can be detected implicitly if the Tangent check box in the Tools | Options | Relations tab is selected.

To detect a tangent relation explicitly

• Use tangent-to snapping. For details, see Snapping objects.

Example

In the first example, a circle is drawn as tangent to a line and a tangent relation is set implicitly between the two objects.

In the second example, an arc tangent to a line segment is drawn using the tangent arc-drawing mode.