Rotate a slot or a rectangle
A cable slot that runs diagonally, a vent at 45°, a tab that has to point at a corner: a rectangle or a slot is rarely square to the edges of the face. In SpeakCAD each one has an Angle, typed in degrees like every other number.Which shapes turn
The Angle belongs to the two shapes that look different when turned: the Rectangle and the Slot, cut into a face with Cut or standing on it with Add. A Circle has none, and neither does a Hole: turning a circle changes nothing. A Text has its own Angle too, which turns the line of letters (Add raised or engraved text).
The numbers
The Angle is in degrees, about the face you tapped, counter-clockwise for a positive number as you look at the face, and the shape turns about its own centre. The quick chips are 0°, 15°, 30°, 45° and 90°; anything else is typed, up to a full turn either way. A slot at 90° is the same slot running the other way, which is often quicker than swapping its Width and Length.
Because the shape turns about its centre, its Position rows do not change: "Centre 20 mm from the left edge" is still true at 45°. Its corners now reach further in one direction, and when a corner would cross an edge of the face, the card says so before you apply it.
Typical angles on a printed part
- A cable slot at 45° across the back of an enclosure, so the cable leaves towards a corner.
- Vents at 30° on a side wall: one slot at 30°, then Duplicate it in a line, and every copy keeps the angle.
- A mounting tab at 90° on an end face, turned to run along the short side.
Changing it later
The Angle stays a number on the card of a rectangle or a slot you placed, like its sizes and its position. Tap the cut or the tab, type a new Angle, and the part rebuilds as a new version; Undo puts the old angle back. A cut or a tab placed before 5 October has no Angle number: it keeps the angle it was made with. To move it as well, see Move a hole or a cut you placed.
What it costs
Shaping a part by hand (a hole and its screw head, a cut, an added tab, raised or engraved text, an extruded face, rounded corners, and copies in a row, a grid or a circle) and downloading what you shaped are free. Each AI request spends 2 credits, a download of AI work 4 credits, and G-code 5 more. Turning a cut or a tab is a hand edit: free.
- 1Tap Cut or Add, then the faceTap Cut for a slot or a pocket, or Add for a tab, then tap the face where it goes. The card opens with the shape choice.
- 2Choose Rectangle or SlotPick the shape and type its Width and Length (for a slot, the width is the round end's diameter and the length runs end to end). A circle has no Angle: a turned circle is the same circle.
- 3Set the AngleTap 15°, 30°, 45° or 90°, or type any angle in degrees. The shape turns about the face, counter-clockwise for a positive angle as you look at the face. The ± steppers move it a degree at a time below 10°, five at a time beyond.
- 4Place it and ApplyType its centre's distances from the face's edges in the Position rows, then press Apply cut or Apply add. The Angle turns the shape about its centre, so the position stays the same number.
- 5Change the angle laterTap the cut or the tab: its card shows Angle with its other numbers. Type a new one and the part rebuilds. A cut or a tab placed before 5 October keeps the angle it was made with.