I am trying to array a tubular extrusion. The problem is that if I try to align the tube while in sketch mode (creating the extrusion), then, when I try to array the tube, it says that the group is constrained to something outside of the group and either I need to remove the constraints or cancel the operation. This means that I have to constrain the first item in the array and the second/last (respectively) item after I array the object. Tricky thing is, though, that I cannot align my tubular extrusion to anything because I cannot align the center to anything after I am out of sketch mode.

My thought on a solution was to make the object a separate family and nest it in the current one, then I could have symbolic lines or reference planes to align to, but for the family that I am building, I need to complete all the pieces of it, and then do a void cut over all of the objects so that it is in a wedge shape. Void cuts will not cut nested families (or at least, when I tried briefly to do it, it wouldn't work).

Does anyone know of a solution for this, or has anyone run into this problem before? I have spent a lot of time on this family, and it will save us tons of time in the future if I can get it right. If anyone has any suggestions, I welcome them. Thanks in advance.