Use the horizontal construction line tool from the Sketcher toolbox to help position and align objects along a horizontal line. Horizontal construction lines are created parallel to the X-axis of the Sketcher grid. Rotating the Sketcher grid does not affect existing horizontal construction lines, but new horizontal construction lines are aligned with the rotated grid. The following figure illustrates how a horizontal construction line and a set of vertical construction lines can be used to align circle centers. (Dashed lines indicate construction geometry.)
To sketch a horizontal construction line:
From the construction tools in the Sketcher toolbox, select the horizontal construction tool 
. For a diagram of the tools in the Sketcher toolbox, see “The Sketcher tools,” Section 20.4.1.
The horizontal construction line moves vertically as you move the cursor around the Sketcher sheet. Abaqus/CAE displays prompts in the prompt area to guide you through the procedure.
Click a point that will lie on the horizontal construction line. Alternatively, you can type its X–Y coordinates in the text field that appears in the prompt area. (The X-coordinate is arbitrary since it is ignored.)
To create additional horizontal construction lines, repeat the previous step.
When you have finished creating horizontal construction lines, do one of the following:
Click mouse button 2 anywhere in the Abaqus/CAE window.
Select any other tool in the Sketcher toolbox.
Click the cancel button 
in the prompt area.
