How To Make Sure I Am Drawing 1:1

I was speaking to a cad engineer earlier, and he said always make sure you are drawing 1:1.

 

So how do i make sure this is the case?

well...you just do

 

you decide on a unit (I use millimeters) and then you remember that everytime you enter a coordinate or length or anything. As in, when drawing a line, and the program asks for length, in my case I enter in 50 for 50 mm.

 

It's not really some setting that you need to set - it's a way of drawing.

One thing you should learn early and make it a commandment of your CAD practice is that, when you are drawing to scale, you never edit the value of the dimension text to indicate the length of what is being dimensioned. The picture should always be drawn at the correct dimension, and the dimension figure should be left as "".

One thing you should learn early and make it a commandment of your CAD practice is that, when you are drawing to scale, you never edit the value of the dimension text to indicate the length of what is being dimensioned. The picture should always be drawn at the correct dimension, and the dimension figure should be left as "".

 

That commandment I have broken:oops::oops: occasionally.

That commandment I have broken:oops::oops: occasionally.

 

me too.... but I usually add a large - HUGE - text on the LAyout that sayd "OBS!!! DIMS CHANGED MANUALLY!!!"

so you draw to scale automatically?

That commandment I have broken:oops::oops: occasionally.

Let the punishment of God's wrath be brought upon your soul.

 

me too.... but I usually add a large - HUGE - text on the LAyout that sayd "OBS!!! DIMS CHANGED MANUALLY!!!"

LMAO

so you draw to scale automatically?

What do you mean automatically? I'm sure that the guy's point was, that if a column is supposed to be 8" in diameter, that you draw it with a diameter of 8 units; you don't draw it as 6 units and call it out as 8. Drawing things at a different size than what they are only creates problems, and, believe it or not, people still do it all the time. Why? I don't know. But when we used to draw by hand we would erase and re-draw, so I never understood the concept of not having exact drawings even though you are producing them with a computer.

If an object is 3 meters long then draw it that way. You're drawing it "full size" and not "to scale".

 

It's not like drawing on a drafting board where the boss says he wants you to draw the Queen Mary II or the Great Wall of China and you have to decide, before you even begin, what "scale" you'll have to draw it at just to get the entire thing on that piece of paper you've been handed.

 

AutoCAD doesn't care if you are drawing something the size of a pin head or an aircraft carrier. It will adjust accordingly.

ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long?

 

This is quite confusing!

so you draw to scale automatically?

Its the easiest way to work. Why try doing it any other way?

ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long?

 

This is quite confusing!

Let the punishment of God's wrath be brought upon your soul.

 

LMAO

 

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i will try to remember the occasions that i have transgressed - and can justify them.

 

(my religious friend tells me I will go to Hell anyway - just because I am not a 'believer' - he's still a friend!

you could list it.

 

once you have decided on your units you can start a line, move your cursor and type 3000 (if working in millimters) or 3 (if working in m) and you have your 3m line. Using orthagonal will result in a line straight up or straight across.

You're thinking too much. Its really not confusing, you just need to get out of your own way. If you need to draw something 3 meters long and you're using millimeters as your units, you'll draw it 3000mm long, just enter 3000. Just enter the actual length...thats it. There is no step #2.

If you are formatted to imperial and you are drawing a line, pick the first point and move the cursor in the direction you want the line to go and then enter the length (3') and then hit "enter" to enter the line length and then hit "enter" to end the command.

ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long?

 

This is quite confusing!

Tiger gave you the answer on the first reply. The first thing you need to know is what unit type you will be working on (meters, kilometers, milimeters, yards, feet, inches, kparsecs, furlongs, light years... well, you get the idea). Then you draw based on that unit of measurement. That's all.

Thanks folks, i understand now.

 

This forum is superb, very quick and well populated!

Autocad doesnt know scale...it only knows units. So if you want to draw something 8" long you are drawing it 8 units long in autocad.

 

The only real "tricky" part is when you get to draing things in "grouped units" ala feet, cm , etc etc....This is where the units command comes into play. Set it to the units you want to work with. All this is doing is making it easier for you to input the units. So if you are drawing with the units set to Architechtural for example, you can input the lengths in feet and inches. So if you want to draw a line 2 feet long you can just type 2' instead of 24, in this case 2' represents 24 units in autocad.....of course you could also type it as 24" but thats sorta defeats the purpose.

ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long?

 

This is quite confusing!

 

Have you units set to millimeters and draw the object (line for example) with a length of 3000 in model space.

 

Or if you prefer to work in meters, set your drawing units to meters, and draw the line with a length of 3 in model space.

 

Make sense?