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sbates
21st Sep 2005, 11:45 am
I need to dimension a long thin bar (dwg simplified :) ) which I have drawn broken and shortened. The drawing measures 450mm shorter than the bars real length of 600. The associated dimension shows a length of 150mm when I need it to show 600. Is there a way to make the dimension show the result of a calculation such as <>+450 ? The drawing will be used as a template for other bars and I would like the dimension to change if the length is stretched.
A lot of posts skirt around this issue but none answer it directly. Cheers.
Spageddie
21st Sep 2005, 11:51 am
8) Change the dimension style setting to allow for the scale difference.
You can do this with the measurement scale located in the Primary Units tab
sbates
22nd Sep 2005, 09:14 am
Thank you, but that would produce the correct dimension for that one drawing only, I would need to change the scale for each subsequent drawing when I stretch the bar length.

For the example given, set the scale to 4 so that 150 drawn = <150>x4 = 600 dimension. If I now stretch the bar by 50mm the dimension changes to 800, (<150+50>)x4, instead of 650, (<150+50>+450) where 450 is the constant I want to add into the dimension calculation somehow.

Sorry, but I forgot to say that I am using LT2005.
O Snap!
22nd Sep 2005, 04:33 pm
Sounds like you need to create a new dimstyle (a copy of your current dimstyle) exclusively for this one bar.

Modify this new dimstyle: in the suffix portion of the primary units tab, enter the text +450

Once you add this dimension to the bar, be sure to switch back to your original dimstyle for the remainder of your drawing.
sbates
22nd Sep 2005, 04:55 pm
That was a nice idea (and a workaround we also found :) ) but that means the machinist has to work out the sum because the drawing shows 150+450 and not 600. Nothing against machinists, I have worked with many able ones, but I feel a drawing should be 'idiot' proof in the workshop and some drawings have numbers less easy to calculate.

A separate style is not required either because this can be achieved with a config override just for that dimension.