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Chain Dimensions

In one sentence: Creates a series of consecutive dimensions end-to-end across multiple features — horizontal, vertical, or oblique.

Overview

Workbench: TechDraw
Menu: TechDraw → Format/Organize Dimensions

Three tools:

Tool Description
Create Horizontal Chain Dimension Dimension a series of features end-to-end horizontally
Create Vertical Chain Dimension Dimension a series of features end-to-end vertically
Create Oblique Chain Dimension Dimension along an oblique direction

A chain dimension (also called running dimension) places consecutive dimensions so the end of one is the start of the next.

Step-by-step (Horizontal Chain)

  1. Select three or more vertices in a view (start point + one vertex per feature gap).
  2. Choose Create Horizontal Chain Dimension.
  3. Set the spacing (distance from the part to the first dimension line).
  4. Click OK. One dimension is created per interval.

Common mistakes and pitfalls

Chain dimensions accumulate tolerance

Chain dimensioning (end-to-end) accumulates manufacturing tolerance at each step. For precision features, use Coordinate Dimensions (baseline) instead. This is a fundamental GD&T principle.

See also