New document not scaled correctly?

Hi Folks,

Just started using autocad 2013 this weekend and was able to create a document and draw some rectangles with specific dimensions for a project I'm working on. The idea is to print it out and cut the rectangles out on a piece of foam board.

So I printed it out but all of the rectangles are crazy small. Like 50% smaller. I checked the objects and they're all showing as being the right size. Then I realized the background grid is the 8.5 x 11 landscape paper and that my rectangles were to scale of the printout but not 1:1 of the dimensions that I entered and the objects said they are. Does any of that make sense? It seems like the scaling is off or something.

Whatever you draw in model space make sure it is FULL size whether it is the size of a sim card or the size of a cruise ship. Do NOT draw 'to scale' as one would on a drafting board.

ah, well that makes sense. How do you change the scale on an existing drawing and/or when you start a new document? Thanx!

There is no need to "change the scale" on a new drawing. You just start by using the real world dimensions without accounting for what scale you might plot to later on. How is that accomplished? You utilize a layout and one or more viewports when it comes time to plot. Are you familiar with the concept?

As for what you have now. If your objects are, for example, 50% smaller than they should be scale them up my a factor of 2X using the SCALE command.

So far I'm only up to chapter 2 in Autocad 2013 for dummies...no seriously that's what I'm reading But I'm the type that learns better by getting my hands dirty and asking questions as I go. I'll have to research viewports and layouts. Thanx!

I wrote something up about viewports and posted it in a separate thread if you are interested.

Here is a link. Bear in mind there are model space viewports and paper space viewports.

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?72972-Things-you-should-know-about-Viewports.&highlight=viewports

There is no need to "change the scale" on a new drawing. You just start by using the real world dimensions without accounting for what scale you might plot to later on. How is that accomplished? You utilize a layout and one or more viewports when it comes time to plot. Are you familiar with the concept?

 

As for what you have now. If your objects are, for example, 50% smaller than they should be scale them up my a factor of 2X using the SCALE command.

Also you should make sure you are drawing in the correct units (i.e. mm, cm, inches, feet, etc.) in model space. You can view and change units by typing UNITS in the command line.

Also, if possible or necessary you can change the size of the paper you are plotting to by right clicking the layout tab and selecting Page Setup Manager. So if you want to print a 1:1 scale for the rectangles/polygons, that are the actually size of the foam you are using that is possible as well.

Also: if by "background grid" you mean all those dots in a rectangular area in model space, then you should turn them off and forget about them. You will not miss them.

Let's track this problem down from the beginning.

Type -dwgunits and hit Enter.

What does the command line say?

Attach your dwg file here.