Combine several .dwg files into one

[SportsDave]

Hi there,

I need to come up with a way to combine several .dwg files into one document. Can anybody tell me if this is possible, and the quickest and easiest way to go about it. Is there some specific software that can do this (preferably free).

Many thanks,

David

[Alnkris]

Firstly there are two ways that I know. The first would be to cut & paste from drawing to drawing, alternitly you could try x-refing the other drawings in to the main drawing & create a seperate drawing by binding the x-refs. These then become blocks in your main drawing, but warning the file size will increase significantly. A third alternative would be to use the world block instead of cut & paste.

[Galingula]

You can insert any DWG file into another. The incoming files will accept the settings of the host file you're inserting into. They will be inserted as blocks.

The key thing is to make sure you're using a common basepoint so things fall where they're supposed to

[ReMark]

I couldn't help but notice the phrase "...combine several drawings into one document". Does this new document necessarily have to be a drawing file? If not, then I know it is possible to scan drawings into some copiers which, in turn, will output the sheets (electronically), in continuous fashion, in one large .PDF file. We have done it with out Kyocera copier. The downside for us is the maximum sheet size the copier will accept is a B-size drawing. Recently we pieced together (4) A-size tank fabrication detail sheets into one such document and sent it off to two manufacturers for quotes on fabrication. This worked well for them as neither used AutoCAD.

Just a thought.