Reference Section > Shape Library > Other Shapes

The Square Comb is a rectangular bar with a row of equal, square-cornered teeth standing up from its top edge. Plain edge called shoulders is left at each end of the row. With a negative Tooth Height the teeth become rectangular notches cut down into the bar instead.

It appears in the shapes library under Other Shapes.

Insert point and orientation

The insert point (0,0) is the top left corner of the bar, at the left end of the toothed edge. The shape is built to the right along X. The bar hangs below the insert point, from 0 down to -Height in Y, and the teeth stand up from the top edge, from 0 to +Tooth Height in Y.

Along the top edge, from left to right, there is the Left Shoulder, then the teeth with a Gap between each pair, then the Right Shoulder. The overall length of the bar is:

Left Shoulder + Num. of teeth x Tooth Width + (Num. of teeth - 1) x Gap + Right Shoulder

The first tooth starts Left Shoulder from the insert point. With the defaults the bar is 100 + 3 x 50 + 2 x 50 + 100 = 450 mm long (18" in imperial units).

The outline is a single closed profile. It starts at the left side of the first tooth, runs left along the shoulder to the insert point, down the left end, along the bottom, up the right end and back along the toothed edge, round each tooth in turn.

Properties

Property	Description	Default
Height	Depth of the bar in Y, from the toothed edge down to the bottom edge. Does not include the teeth. mm or inch, 0 or more.	50 mm (2")
Num. of teeth	Number of teeth along the top edge. Whole number, 0 or more. 0 gives a plain rectangle (see Notes).	3
Tooth Height	How far each tooth stands above the toothed edge. mm or inch. Negative values are allowed, down to -1000 mm (-39.37" in imperial units): a negative Tooth Height turns the teeth into rectangular notches cut down into the bar to that depth.	50 mm (2")
Tooth Width	Width of each tooth (or notch) along X. All teeth are the same width. mm or inch, 0 or more.	50 mm (2")
Gap	Plain edge between one tooth and the next, along X. All gaps are the same. mm or inch, 0 or more. Not used when Num. of teeth is 0 or 1.	50 mm (2")
Left Shoulder	Plain edge from the left end of the bar (the insert point) to the left side of the first tooth. mm or inch, 0 or more.	100 mm (4")
Right Shoulder	Plain edge from the right side of the last tooth to the right end of the bar. mm or inch, 0 or more.	100 mm (4")

Defaults are shown for metric units, with the imperial default in brackets. Length values cannot be entered below 0, except Tooth Height. A value outside the allowed range is refused with a "Please enter a valid number" message that shows the allowed range. Num. of teeth is a whole number and cannot be entered below 0.

The dimensions drawn on the shape are Height, Left Shoulder, Right Shoulder, Gap, Tooth Width and Tooth Height.

Notes

The shape does not check its values against each other. If the geometry cannot be built from a set of values, the property page shows a red Warning: Cannot build shape from these parameters banner. The banner is a row in the property list that comes after the shape's own properties, above the Transform group. Watch for these cases:

•Num. of teeth = 0 gives a plain rectangle Left Shoulder + Right Shoulder long and Height deep. This rectangle is built upward from the insert point (0 to +Height in Y), not downward like the toothed shape, so the part moves when you change between 0 and 1 or more teeth.

•With a negative Tooth Height, keep the notch depth less than Height. A notch as deep as Height or deeper cuts through the bar and the outline is not a valid part.

•Gap = 0 puts the teeth side by side. The outline then runs down and back up the same line at each join between teeth, so that line is cut twice. Use one tooth of the combined width instead.

•Tooth Width = 0 leaves no teeth, and the result is a plain edge the full length of the bar.

•Tooth Height = 0 makes every tooth zero height. Check the result on screen before cutting.

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.