Reference Section > Shape Library > Rectangular Shapes

The Rect with 2 Slots is a rectangular plate with two identical slots cut through it, side by side on one horizontal line. Each slot is straight-sided with a semicircular end at each end. The pair of slots is centred in the plate and can be moved off centre as a pair with the two slot offsets. The outside corners are sharp.

It appears in the shapes library under Rectangular Shapes and Gussets.

Insert point and orientation

The insert point is the bottom left corner of the rectangle. Width is built to the right along X and Height upwards along Y.

The slots run along X. Both slot centre lines lie on the horizontal line half way up the plate (Height / 2), and the pair is centred on the middle of the Width. With both offsets at 0:

•each slot is Slot D wide (across the slot) and Slot Width + Slot D long overall; its two end arcs have radius Slot D / 2 and their centres are Slot Width apart

•the inner end-arc centres of the two slots are Horz. Dist. apart, so the solid web between the slots is Horz. Dist. − Slot D wide

•from the outer end of one slot to the outer end of the other measures 2 × Slot Width + Horz. Dist. + Slot D

Properties

Lengths are in the current units (mm or inches). The defaults shown are for a new shape; the inch defaults are used when the program is set to inches.

Property	Description	Default
Width	Overall width of the rectangle, along X. Cannot be negative.	200 mm (8 in)
Height	Overall height of the rectangle, along Y. Cannot be negative.	75 mm (3 in)
Slot Width	Length of the straight sides of each slot, along X – the distance between the centres of the slot's two end arcs. The overall slot length is Slot Width + Slot D. Both slots use the same value. Cannot be negative; at 0 each slot is a round hole of diameter Slot D.	50 mm (2 in)
Slot D	Slot diameter: the width of each slot across its straight sides, along Y. The end arcs have radius Slot D / 2. Cannot be negative.	25 mm (1 in)
Horz. Dist.	Horizontal distance between the two slots, measured between the centres of their inner end arcs (the right-hand arc of the left slot and the left-hand arc of the right slot). The web of material left between the slots is Horz. Dist. − Slot D. Cannot be negative.	50 mm (2 in)
Slot Offset X	Moves both slots together along X from their centred position. Positive moves them right, negative moves them left. The slot sizes and spacing do not change.	0
Slot Offset Y	Moves both slots together along Y from the plate's half-height line. Positive moves them up, negative moves them down.	0

The dimensions drawn on the shape are Width, Height, Horz. Dist., Slot Width (on the right-hand slot) and Slot D (on the left-hand slot). The slot dimensions move with the slot offsets.

Limits

The shape does not check that the slots fit inside the plate or that they stay apart. Keep these conditions yourself:

•Horz. Dist. must be greater than Slot D. At exactly Slot D the two slots touch; below it they overlap.

•2 × Slot Width + Horz. Dist. + Slot D + 2 × |Slot Offset X| must be less than Width, or a slot reaches or crosses the left or right edge.

•Slot D + 2 × |Slot Offset Y| must be less than Height, or the slots reach or cross the top or bottom edge.

Check the part outline after changing the slot sizes, spacing or offsets. A slot that touches or crosses the outside edge, or the other slot, gives overlapping or broken outlines.

If building the geometry raises an error, the property page shows the red bar Warning: Cannot build shape from these parameters and a broken-shape marker is drawn at the insert point instead of the outline, so check the shape on screen after entering values that could be invalid.

Every 2D shape also has the Transform properties (Base X, Base Y, Rotation, Scale, Mirroring X) and the Polar Array properties, listed after the shape's own properties.