hole placement

[southwood1990]

Here is a question.... if i have a sheet size of 2350mm by 1150mm and want to place 4613 12mm diameter holes in rows with even spacings is there a way to do this in autocad???

[Dadgad]

Are you talking about 3D MODELING it, or drawing it so as to display on a sheet?

 

Whichever you mean, yes there are ways to do it.

The ARRAY command is what you want to use.

Once you understand the commandline prompts, and spend a few minutes experimenting with it,

you will probably be able to do it in a minute.

READ the commandline prompts!

 

This link should help you.

http://www.cadtutor.net/tutorials/autocad/modifying-objects.php

[southwood1990]

Are you talking about 3D MODELING it, or drawing it so as to display on a sheet?

 

Whichever you mean, yes there are ways to do it.

The ARRAY command is what you want to use.

Once you understand the commandline prompts, and spend a few minutes experimenting with it,

you will probably be able to do it in a minute.

READ the commandline prompts!

 

This link should help you.

http://www.cadtutor.net/tutorials/autocad/modifying-objects.php

not sure how that will work out the pitch between the holes??

[Dadgad]

It sounds like these columns of holes are staggered?

Do you already know the placement spacing?

How many rows and how many columns?

[Dana W]

The rectangular array command cannot do it with an odd number of objects, unless they have a hidden way to vary the count and spacing in every other row or column, that I don't know about. I already hurt my head doing math for this.

 

The attached drawing is as close as I could get with an odd number of holes and straight even spaced rows and columns, which will fit in and fill up the given space. I 'sploded and erased the extras.

 

Wait! Pitch, what pitch? You said evenly spaced.

 

If you are going to vary row or column spacing, you will have to do two overlapping, and carefully registered arrays, each filling in the blank rows of the other. My Nephew is working on a Math Phd. lemmee ring him up. He should be good and stoned about now.

HOLES.dwg

[Dadgad]

The rectangular array command cannot do it with an odd number of objects, unless they have a hidden way to vary the count and spacing in every other row or column, that I don't know about. I already hurt my head doing math for this.

 

The attached drawing is as close as I could get with an odd number of holes and straight even spaced rows and columns, which will fit in and fill up the given space.

 

Yeah Dana, I am curious too, how the total number of holes was established, whence my last questions.

I am wondering what number of rows times what number of columns would yield 4,613 holes?

Perhaps if we did it with a POLAR array we could generate the correct number of holes.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Dadgad

[Dadgad]

I see that you run a CNC fabrication facility.

Which is the end product, the Sheet from which the holes have been removed,

or that which has been removed from the Sheet material?

 

I rarely use the Rectangular Array option, but must say that it is lacking some of the editing niceties of the PATH ARRAY option,

where you have quite a bit more control over the dispay of the array, and can specify which property values to prioritize over others,

when in the editing dialog .

Edited April 8, 2015 by Dadgad

[BIGAL]

12mm holes 2mm edge gap = 13527 holes so plenty of scope to play with, that took about 15 seconds to do, just pick a spacing and use Array

[Dadgad]

not sure how that will work out the pitch between the holes??

 

I understand full well that this is not exactly what you asked for, but it is in the Rectangular Array ballpark.

Still curious which part is the waste, the sheet, or the circles?

A few holes short of a full deck.dwg

[SLW210]

There are a few AutoCAD add-ons and some stand alone nesting programs.

 

Most CNCs come with nesting software.

[Dana W]

what number of rows times what number of columns would yield 4,613 holes?

It won't happen with an odd number of objects in a rect. array.

Is there an array option where one can enter total count? Hey, array path does that, come to think of it. Just establish a ziggy zaggy continuous pline path at the right spacing and it may work. I'll have to try that. It'll be a cool parlor trick.

 

Maybe we should just array along a spiral.

[Dadgad]

It won't happen with an odd number of objects in a rect. array.

Is there an array option where one can enter total count? Hey, array path does that, come to think of it. Just establish a ziggy zaggy continuous pline path at the right spacing and it may work. I'll have to try that. It'll be a cool parlor trick.

 

Maybe we should just array along a spiral.

 

Yeah, that's what I was alluding to in post #7, but it is not exactly intuitive, particularly quick nor easy.

With that technique you could get the number of holes easily, but the spacing would be uneven, although it would look very nice and neat.

Still wondering which is the product, and which is the waste?

Typically I would expect the sheet to be the product, but I can't imagine someone specifying the number of holes, as opposed to the spacing, if such were the case.

Or might the number requested be the result of a simple arithmetic error?