Metric

Hi guys,

I've always been using the imperial system in autocad, I just got a new job and crap, they use the metric system, to top it off they're autocad is 2006! (Anyways 2006 is the least of my worries)

Does anyone have a link for setting up my drawing file for use of metric and using and understanding the scale factors in paper space??? (If im not mistaken the scale factor is in mm)

(I know when starting out with new drawings, you must select acadiso and in drawing units put the length type to decimal and change my insertion scale to the unit of measure you'll be working with)

Thanks

I would be deliriously happy if I were you. Drawing in Metric is so much easier than in Imperial (and I worked with Inperial until I was almost 50).

The default units in ACADISO, will be mms. That is what I work in, it depends on the discipline in which you are working.

Be sure to go into OPTIONS, and reset your default template to ACADISO, or better yet, create your own custom .dwt, and set that as your default.

There is nothing tricky about scaling in Metric, unlike in Imperial. Decimal based is SO MUCH EASIER than what you are used to, and much more accurate, because your fractions are not constantly being rounded to vague approximations.

I just opened the ACADISO template, and ran the -DWGUNITS command, in order to determine what settings are already in place in the default template.

If you look at the screenshot, you will see what is already set in your template.

I did answer Y on the two scaling questions at the end of the commandline history.

You don't need to change the Units, unless you don't want to use mms as your base, in that case you could do this using the -dwgunits command, and decimal is already active too.

Opening an AutoCAD 2013 format file.

Regenerating model.

AutoCAD menu utilities loaded.

Command:

Autodesk DWG. This file is a TrustedDWG last saved by an Autodesk application or Autodesk licensed application.

Command:

Command: DU

-DWGUNITS

Drawing units:

1. Inches

2. Feet

3. Millimeters

4. Centimeters

5. Decimeters

6. Meters

Unit for length :

Drawing unit display formats:

1. Scientific

2. Decimal

Linear display format :

Linear display precision :

Scale objects from other drawings upon insert? [Yes/No] : y

Match INSUNITS to drawing units? [Yes/No] : y

Are you going to be drawing in millimeters? If you are, then you are in luck. The viewportscales will work fine, depending on what industry you're in you could be looking at anywhere from 1:1, 1:25 to 1:500, 1:2000

If you are going to be drawing in meters (normal for site planning in my neck of the woods) then the viewport scales will work a bit different. You need to multiply the scales with 1000 so if you need 1:1 scale on a viewport, you need to put in 1000/1. A 1:50 scale becomes 1000/50 and so on.

A super simple way of scaling open up the viewports toolbar create a mview in your title block in a layout, zoom your image to about what you think looks good, a number appears in the toolbar, this is scale factor, for metre m plans say you had 3.75 appear just type 4 in box this is 1:250 5 is 1:200 10 is 1:100 how do you do that 1000/250=4

A super simple way of scaling open up the viewports toolbar create a mview in your title block in a layout, zoom your image to about what you think looks good, a number appears in the toolbar, this is scale factor, for metre m plans say you had 3.75 appear just type 4 in box this is 1:250 5 is 1:200 10 is 1:100 how do you do that 1000/250=4

I love that I don't have to do it that way actually. Not that it isn't simple, and for most I assume it is not hard to learn that typing 4 means 1:250 scale and 5 is 1:200 - but I am absolutley the worst at remembering stuff like that. So I love that I don't have to do that calculation on my own, I can type 1000/250 and AutoCAD does the calculation.

Each to their own as always

Is your new company not using drawing templates with their logo and company info on them?

These should already be set up with units, standard layers, etc.

You may have to get used to viewport scales, but as the others have said these are much easier in metric than imperial.

Here is a set of metric templates I did a few years ago that you can download and use, modify, play with, do what you want with them.

Free Metric Templates

They may be a few years old now but still get downloaded frequently, in fact recently when the attachments were unavailable on that forum I was getting 3-4 PMs a week asking me to email them out.

Drawing in metric is easy as long as you use a metric based drawing template which is not the default for AutoCAD since the program originates in the good old U.S. of A. But that shouldn't be a problem if the company you work for already has custom template files available.

Thats what i disliked about imperial, it wasnt precise enough for me.

Im actually working in CM.

But i dont understand the viewport scales, ill need them for creating dimensions, annotations etc...

Are you going to be drawing in millimeters? If you are, then you are in luck. The viewportscales will work fine, depending on what industry you're in you could be looking at anywhere from 1:1, 1:25 to 1:500, 1:2000

 

If you are going to be drawing in meters (normal for site planning in my neck of the woods) then the viewport scales will work a bit different. You need to multiply the scales with 1000 so if you need 1:1 scale on a viewport, you need to put in 1000/1. A 1:50 scale becomes 1000/50 and so on.

centimeters? ehm....good luck with the viewport scales then

I am thinking that you need to multiply by 10 then. So a desired scale of 1:50 will mean you need to type in 10/50. But someone please confirm it, I never use anything but millimeters and meters.

Thats what i disliked about imperial, it wasnt precise enough for me.

Not precise enough? What kind of work do you do and what type of precision do you need?

centimeters? ehm....good luck with the viewport scales then

 

I am thinking that you need to multiply by 10 then. So a desired scale of 1:50 will mean you need to type in 10/50. But someone please confirm it, I never use anything but millimeters and meters.

I also have never used centimetres as drawing units, but the multiplying factor is:-

(drawing units in millimetres).

Using metre drawing units, it is 1000.

Using millimetres, it is 1.

Therefore using the logic, using centimetres, it is 10.

And using decimetres, it is 100.

Good luck in your venture.

Im working for a company that doesnt really specialize in using autocad.

They have 1 template, which id like to test, especially since they're letter size title block doesnt even equal 8.5x11

Theres no dims nor text styles.

Now im doing industrial parts, its just that i feel working with metric is more precise and easier to calculate

Not precise enough? What kind of work do you do and what type of precision do you need?

Any chance its 210x297mm? Which would be a sheet of A4, the metric equivalent of foolscap paper.

dJE

More precise than what? I'll concede your point about calculating.

A4 = 210 x 297 millimeters or roughly 8.27 x 11.69 inches (compared to 8.5 x 11).

8.5 x 11 in mm is 215.9 x 279.40

The template for that type of paper here is 215.90 x 280.3349

More precise than what? I'll concede your point about calculating.

 

A4 = 210 x 297 millimeters or roughly 8.27 x 11.69 inches (compared to 8.5 x 11).

 

Metric paper sizes - ISO 216 Standard

I think it might not matter that much especially since this office uses 8.5x11 paper, i just have to make sure the title block comes out to fitting on letter size paper.

Metric paper sizes - ISO 216 Standard

Sounds like "this office" could use some "Standards".