iamlegend Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I was speaking to a cad engineer earlier, and he said always make sure you are drawing 1:1. So how do i make sure this is the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 well...you just do you decide on a unit (I use millimeters) and then you remember that everytime you enter a coordinate or length or anything. As in, when drawing a line, and the program asks for length, in my case I enter in 50 for 50 mm. It's not really some setting that you need to set - it's a way of drawing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uddfl Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 One thing you should learn early and make it a commandment of your CAD practice is that, when you are drawing to scale, you never edit the value of the dimension text to indicate the length of what is being dimensioned. The picture should always be drawn at the correct dimension, and the dimension figure should be left as "". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffers Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 One thing you should learn early and make it a commandment of your CAD practice is that, when you are drawing to scale, you never edit the value of the dimension text to indicate the length of what is being dimensioned. The picture should always be drawn at the correct dimension, and the dimension figure should be left as "". That commandment I have broken:oops::oops: occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 That commandment I have broken:oops::oops: occasionally. me too.... but I usually add a large - HUGE - text on the LAyout that sayd "OBS!!! DIMS CHANGED MANUALLY!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamlegend Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 so you draw to scale automatically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uddfl Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 That commandment I have broken:oops::oops: occasionally. Let the punishment of God's wrath be brought upon your soul. me too.... but I usually add a large - HUGE - text on the LAyout that sayd "OBS!!! DIMS CHANGED MANUALLY!!!"LMAO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uddfl Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 so you draw to scale automatically?What do you mean automatically? I'm sure that the guy's point was, that if a column is supposed to be 8" in diameter, that you draw it with a diameter of 8 units; you don't draw it as 6 units and call it out as 8. Drawing things at a different size than what they are only creates problems, and, believe it or not, people still do it all the time. Why? I don't know. But when we used to draw by hand we would erase and re-draw, so I never understood the concept of not having exact drawings even though you are producing them with a computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 If an object is 3 meters long then draw it that way. You're drawing it "full size" and not "to scale". It's not like drawing on a drafting board where the boss says he wants you to draw the Queen Mary II or the Great Wall of China and you have to decide, before you even begin, what "scale" you'll have to draw it at just to get the entire thing on that piece of paper you've been handed. AutoCAD doesn't care if you are drawing something the size of a pin head or an aircraft carrier. It will adjust accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamlegend Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long? This is quite confusing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbroada Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 so you draw to scale automatically?Its the easiest way to work. Why try doing it any other way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamlegend Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long? This is quite confusing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffers Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Let the punishment of God's wrath be brought upon your soul. LMAO OHHHHHHHHHHHHH i will try to remember the occasions that i have transgressed - and can justify them. (my religious friend tells me I will go to Hell anyway - just because I am not a 'believer' - he's still a friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbroada Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 you could list it. once you have decided on your units you can start a line, move your cursor and type 3000 (if working in millimters) or 3 (if working in m) and you have your 3m line. Using orthagonal will result in a line straight up or straight across. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellEdison Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 You're thinking too much. Its really not confusing, you just need to get out of your own way. If you need to draw something 3 meters long and you're using millimeters as your units, you'll draw it 3000mm long, just enter 3000. Just enter the actual length...thats it. There is no step #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeoRiley0 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 If you are formatted to imperial and you are drawing a line, pick the first point and move the cursor in the direction you want the line to go and then enter the length (3') and then hit "enter" to enter the line length and then hit "enter" to end the command. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uddfl Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long? This is quite confusing! Tiger gave you the answer on the first reply. The first thing you need to know is what unit type you will be working on (meters, kilometers, milimeters, yards, feet, inches, kparsecs, furlongs, light years... well, you get the idea). Then you draw based on that unit of measurement. That's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamlegend Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thanks folks, i understand now. This forum is superb, very quick and well populated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CADguy209 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Autocad doesnt know scale...it only knows units. So if you want to draw something 8" long you are drawing it 8 units long in autocad. The only real "tricky" part is when you get to draing things in "grouped units" ala feet, cm , etc etc....This is where the units command comes into play. Set it to the units you want to work with. All this is doing is making it easier for you to input the units. So if you are drawing with the units set to Architechtural for example, you can input the lengths in feet and inches. So if you want to draw a line 2 feet long you can just type 2' instead of 24, in this case 2' represents 24 units in autocad.....of course you could also type it as 24" but thats sorta defeats the purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichterGMC Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 ok so, if an object is 3 metres long, how do i make sure, when i am finished it is 3 metres long? This is quite confusing! Have you units set to millimeters and draw the object (line for example) with a length of 3000 in model space. Or if you prefer to work in meters, set your drawing units to meters, and draw the line with a length of 3 in model space. Make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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