Measure

Click faces and parts to see sizes, areas, distances and angles, plus volume, mass, cost and where the centre of mass is.

MeasurePart Studio toolbar, at the right

What other CAD programs call it
SchoolCAD	Onshape	Fusion	SOLIDWORKS
Measure	Measure	Measure	Measure

Measure tells you the real sizes of what you have made, without changing anything. Use it to check that a shelf fits, that a hole is the right size, how heavy your step stool will be, or whether your phone stand will tip over.

How to use it#

Click Measure in the toolbar. The Measure panel opens in the corner of the view.
Click a face of a part. The panel shows the part and the face.
To measure between two faces, hold Shift and click a second face.
Click Measure again, or ✕ on the panel, to close it.

What it shows#

You click	Measure shows
A face	The part's Size (length × width × thickness), Volume, Mass and Cost (estimate). Then the face: Flat face or Curved face, its Area, and for a flat face the rectangle it Fits in and how many Holes it has.
A second face, with `Shift`	Between the two faces: the Distance between two parallel flat faces, or the Angle between two flat faces that are not parallel. Point to point is the distance between the two places you clicked.
Nothing	Whole design: its Mass, its Centre of mass (as X, Y and Z from the origin), and how far it can tilt before it tips over.

While Measure is open, the view marks the centre of mass with a round symbol and draws a line straight down from it. If the design stands on a base, the base is outlined with a dashed line: green if the design is stable, red if it would fall over.

Exact geometry#

When the status bar says Exact geometry: on, Measure tells you more:

the true kind of a curved face, such as Cylindrical face or Round-over (torus)
the Diameter of a round face such as a hole, or the Radius of a rounded face
the Included angle of a cone, such as a countersink
exact areas and volumes, marked (exact)
the Closest gap between two faces.

Tips#

Mass and cost come from each part's material. Right-click a part to choose its material first.
Cost is a classroom estimate, worked out from the part's material.
Measure and Check share the corner of the view, so opening one closes the other.
To see inside a joint or a groove before you measure it, use Section view.
For the sizes of every part at once, export a cut list.

If it does not work#

There is no Mass or Cost. The part's material is Not set. Right-click the part and choose a material.
Two faces give no Distance. Distance is for two parallel flat faces. For other faces, use Point to point, or Closest gap when exact geometry is on.
Nothing happens when I click Measure. Measure does not work while you are sketching. Finish the sketch first.