A connector material is hardware that joins or mounts to a part — such as a hinge, pull, or drawer guide. You define it like any other material, set its Type to Connector, and tell ENGINEERING how it should be placed on the part. You can also attach a 3D model so the hardware appears true-to-life in your model and drawings. This article covers creating a connector material, the three most common examples, adding a 3D model, and adjusting its placement and scale.
Good to know: Connector materials and their placement settings are reusable. Set a piece of hardware up once and it carries the same placement and 3D model everywhere it is used, so your hinges, pulls, and guides land in the right spot automatically. |
Create a connector material
1. Open the material you want to use as hardware, or create a new one.
2. Set the Type field to Connector.
3. A Connector Placement field appears. Choose the placement that matches how the hardware mounts (see the table below).
4. Fill in the placement fields that appear for your choice, then save the material.
The Connector Placement you pick determines how ENGINEERING positions the hardware on a part:
Placement | Best for | Key fields |
Edge – Position | Hinges and items spaced along one edge | Start Position, End Position, Max Spacing, Edge To Center |
Edge – Overlay | Items overlaid along an edge | Start Position, End Position, Max Spacing |
Array | Hardware spread across a face in a grid | Top / Bottom / Left / Right Position, Max Spacing |
Face Pull | Door and drawer pulls on a face | Vertical & Horizontal Placement and Position |
Tab Pull | Tab-style pulls | Vertical & Horizontal Placement and Position |
Drawer Guide | Drawer slides / guides | Gap, Height, Length, Extension %, Bottom To Center |
Tip: Turn on Show Hinging on a connector material to display the hinge swing in the model — useful for checking door clearance. |
Example 1 — Hinges
Hinges run along the hinge edge of a door and repeat down its length. Use the Edge – Position placement.
1. Set Connector Placement to Edge – Position.
2. Enter the Start Position and End Position — how far the first and last hinge sit from each end of the edge.
3. Set Max Spacing — the largest gap allowed between hinges. ENGINEERING adds hinges evenly so no gap exceeds this value.
4. Set Edge To Center — the distance from the edge to the center of the hinge.
Example 2 — Pulls
A pull is a handle or knob mounted on a door or drawer face. Use the Face Pull placement.
1. Set Connector Placement to Face Pull.
2. For Vertical Placement and Horizontal Placement, choose Centered to center the pull on that axis, or From Edge to measure from an edge.
3. If you chose From Edge, enter the matching Vertical Position and Horizontal Position — the distance from the edge to the pull.
Note: Position fields only appear when the matching placement is set to From Edge. A Centered pull needs no position value on that axis. |
Example 3 — Drawer guides
A drawer guide is the slide hardware on each side of a drawer box. Use the Drawer Guide placement.
1. Set Connector Placement to Drawer Guide.
2. Enter the Gap — the clearance between the drawer box and the cabinet wall that the guide needs.
3. Enter the guide's Height and Length.
4. Set Extension % — how far the drawer opens (for example 100 for full extension).
5. Set Bottom To Center — the distance from the bottom of the drawer to the center of the guide.
Add a 3D model
Attach a 3D model so the hardware shows its real shape in the model and on drawings. Both connector and 3D-model materials use the same editor.
1. On the material, click Go to Material Editor.
2. In the Objects area, use Click to upload or drag and drop to add your model file. You can upload more than one file at once.
3. Wait for the upload to finish. ENGINEERING converts the file if needed and lists it under Objects.
Good to know: Supported formats are .glb, .obj, .skp, .dwg, and .dxf. SketchUp (.skp) and CAD (.dwg, .dxf) files are converted automatically when you upload them. |
Modify the placement
After uploading, fine-tune how the model sits. Select an object in the Objects list, then use the editor controls and fields.
Set the attachment point
The Attachment Point (X, Y, Z, in inches) is where the hardware attaches to the part — the anchor ENGINEERING uses when it places the connector. Set it so the model lands correctly on the part. You can also use the Set Attachment Point tool in the viewer to pick the point directly.
Adjust position, rotation, and size
Control | What it does |
Position | Moves the model along X, Y, Z (in inches). |
Rotation | Rotates the model around X, Y, Z (in degrees). |
Scale | Resizes the model by a multiplier on each axis (1 = original size). |
Size | Shows the model's actual dimensions; edit it to resize and ENGINEERING updates the scale for you. |
The viewer toolbar offers matching tools — Translate, Rotate, Scale, and Set Attachment Point — so you can drag the model in 3D instead of typing values.
Scaling and the 39.37 default
ENGINEERING works in inches. 3D models are often built in meters, so an imported model can come in far too small. To fix this automatically, ENGINEERING checks the size of each uploaded model: if it is tiny (under about a tenth of an inch at its largest), ENGINEERING assumes the file was modeled in meters and applies a Scale of 39.37.
Note: 39.37 is the number of inches in one meter. Applying it converts a meters-based model to inches — a 0.05 m (50 mm) hinge becomes about 1.97 in, its true size. |
Because this is automatic, you usually do not type 39.37 yourself. After upload, check the Scale field:
• If the model looks right, leave the scale as is.
• If a meters-based model still came in small, set Scale to 39.37 to convert it to inches.
• If a model came in too large, it was likely already in inches — set Scale back to 1.
• For any other fit, type the exact dimensions in the Size fields and let ENGINEERING calculate the scale.
Quick checklist
• Set the material Type to Connector, then choose a Connector Placement.
• Hinges → Edge – Position; pulls → Face Pull; drawer guides → Drawer Guide.
• Fill in the placement fields that appear for your choice.
• Click Go to Material Editor and upload a 3D model (.glb, .obj, .skp, .dwg, .dxf).
• Set the Attachment Point, then adjust Position, Rotation, and Scale.
• Confirm the scale: a meters-based model needs 39.37; an inch model stays at 1.