utoCAD Tutorial 4:
FOR RELEASE 14

PLEASE READ: ___________

These tutorials were designed to be part of the introductory courses taught by the Graphic Communications Program at NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY. All of the directions used in this and the other tutorials in this series assume that you are running AutoCAD Release 14 on an NT system. These directions will only work with Release 14. Other versions may not have the same commands or format.

OBJECTIVES:

After completing this tutorial you should be able to:

  1. use the User Coordinate System, and

  2. convert a solid model to a multiview using the SOLVIEW and SOLDRAW commands.

STEP 1

In the last tutorial you created a simple solid model using PRIMITIVES (simple solid shapes) and combined or removed them using BOOLEAN OPERATIONS. Once you create a model, it needs to be converted to a Multiview Drawing, which is the standard method of representing objects for manufacturing processes.

Before you attempt this, let's review the World Coordinate Systems (WCS) and User Coordinate System (UCS). You must understand these concepts to complete this and the next two tutorials.

Coordinate Systems are based on the Cartesian System of X, Y, and Z axes. The UCS icon, which is usually displayed on the AutoCAD drawing area, indicates the orientation of the WCS or UCS. You must be constantly aware of the orientation of the UCS or WCS icon in order to place or modify elements in your models. Remember, many of the commands in AutoCAD require that you alter the coordinate system.

When there is a W on the UCS ICON you are in the WORLD Coordinate System, and the XY plane is oriented with the TOP of the model. The positions of the X-axis and the Y-axis are identified by the labels on the icon, and the Z-axis is perpendicular to the XY plane.

FIGURE 1

 

FIGURE 2

AutoCAD's Default view when a new file is opened.

 

FIGURE 3

Your orientation to a model in a new AutoCAD drawing window (the default).

 

FIGURE 4

A representation of the default orientation to a model in a new AutoCAD file. A solid model seen from this orientation would look like a top view of a multiview drawing.

 

STEP 2

The model you will convert to a multiview is in a file you need to copy to your hard-drive or a floppy disk.

To access this file, click on the t4solid file link shown below.
t4solid

After you click on the t4solid link, one of two things could happen:

  1. the AutoCAD program will launch and open the file,

    OR

  2. a dialogue box will appear.
    If the dialogue box appears, use the appropriate selections to save the file to your hard-drive or a floppy disk.

Once the file is saved, you should be able to open the file and launch AutoCAD by double-clicking on the file icon with the left mouse button.

Rename this file t4solidA through the Save As... command. This buys you some insurance in case you have to start over.

With the file open, you need to load the CENTER and HIDDEN line styles. Later in this tutorial these line styles will be needed. At present you only have the CONTINUOUS line style (again AutoCAD's default setting). Loading a line style is easy.

Read the information on Loading Line Types, and then load the line styles labeled Hidden and Center from the selection of Hidden and Center lines available. NOTE: Although these line types will not be used until after you use the Soldraw command, it is wise to load them early so they are available when you need them. See FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5

Look at the model in the t4modelA file. Notice that you are oriented to the TOP or World view of the model so that it looks like a Top multiview drawing. See FIGURE 6. To see the model as a pictorial, you must change you view of the object using the Vpoint command you used in Tutorial 3.

FIGURE 6

Read the information on the Vpoint command and use the Rotate option so that you are located at the 300 degree point IN the XY Plane and at a 35 degree angle FROM the XY Plane. NOTE: The pictorial view you should have of the model is not a true Isometric Pictorial. This viewpoint was chosen to limit the number of edges in the model that line up with each other. This can sometimes be a problem with an Isometric view of a wireframe. FIGURE 7 will help you remember how the Rotate option functions under this command.

FIGURE 7 shows the two settings you made and illustrates that 300 was a position in a FLAT 360 degree plane (the XY Plane), and 35 was an angle to this XY plane. So you are at the 300 degree point on the 360 degree XY plane and cocked 35 degrees to the XY plane.

If you think of the XY plane as the top of a round table with a model placed at its center, you can position yourself anywhere around the circumference of the table. That is the position IN the XY plane. You must then decide whether you want to look at the model from a sitting position, a standing position, or a kneeling position. This is a position FROM the XY Plane. Obviously, whether you are sitting, standing, or kneeling affects your angle relative to the model and view of the model.

FIGURE 7

Now that you have changed you viewpoint, the model appears as a transparent 3D image (like the one in FIGURE 8). The cursor cross hairs have also changed, but you are still in the World Coordinate System, which is indicted by the W on the WCS icon.

The Vpoint command changes your angle to the MODEL, but not the position of the MODEL. It has not moved. This concept must be understood very clearly or later concepts do not make sense.

 

 

FIGURE 8

To understand the next part of the tutorial better, you will be introduced to a feature in AutoCAD known as TILED Viewports or Vports. Read the information on the Vports command.

With the information on this command, use it to create 4 vports. They should look like the viewports in FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 9

Tiled Viewports allow you to see multiple views of the SAME model. This mode is called tilemode because the viewports are arranged in a "tile" pattern. Look at FIGURE 9 and your screen. Notice that the arrangement of the Tiled Viewports is regular, and they are all the same size. In the illustration above, the views of the model in the Tiled Viewports are the same. This is like having four TV monitors arranged on a grid, and all of the TVs tuned to the same channel.

In AutoCAD, you can display a different view of the model in each viewport. To continue the TV analogy, this would be like having four cameras placed at different positions around the model with each attached to one of the TV monitors (Vports). As the TV director, you can decide how many cameras you wish to use and where each camera is placed. In AutoCAD, you can specify the view on each monitor using the Viewpoint (Vpoint) command.

The viewports you just created are known as TILED VIEWPORTS. This means that they are arranged like tiles on a wall. You must be in AutoCAD's TILEMODE to create tiled viewports. In AutoCAD terminology, TILEMODE is equal to 1 or ON. This will become important to our later discussion, so remember that these viewports are TILED and you are in TILEMODE. (There could be a test later.)

The next step you will perform is to change the Vpoint in three of these viewports, so that you have a Top, Front, and Right side view of the model. First, reread the information on the Rotate option under the Vpoint command.

To create a TOP View of the Model:
Click inside of the viewport in the traditional TOP position (upper left). A heavier border line should now surround this viewport, which indicates that it is the active viewport. You can only work in one viewport at a time.
Activate the Vpoint command and select the Rotate option.
When asked for an angle IN the XY Plane, type 270.
This brings you to the 270 degree position in the 360 degree XY plane.
When asked for an angle FROM the XY Plane, type 90.
This positions you at a 90 degree angle to the XY plane so that you are looking straight down at the XY plane. This is the view of the model you started with at the beginning of the tutorial.

If you want a visual representation of this process, look back at FIGURES 3 and 6, and think about the appropriate position you would be in to create this view of the figure.

To create a FRONT view of the Model:
Click in the viewport in the traditional FRONT position (bottom left),
activate the Vpoint command, and select the Rotate option.
When asked for an angle IN the XY Plane, type 270.
When asked for an angle FROM the XY Plane, type 0.

To create a RIGHT SIDE view of the Model:
Click in the viewport in the traditional RIGHT SIDE position (bottom right),
activate the VPOINT command, and select the Rotate option.
When asked for an angle IN the XY Plane, type 0.
When asked for an angle FROM the XY Plane, type 0.

Look at FIGURE 10 to check your orientations. If you have a view incorrectly oriented, repeat the steps for the incorrect viewport.

FIGURE 10

The views you see in the viewports are NOT four different models, but the SAME MODEL seen from FOUR DIFFERENT ANGLES. The model has not moved, you have placed a "camera" at a different angle to the MODEL for EACH viewport. If you work on the model in one port, the changes appear in the others.

To demonstrate this, click on the viewport in the upper Right (the pictorial view). Add a line from the center of the large cylinder to one corner of the top of the model by using the Osnap commands of Center for the circle and Endpoint for a corner. The exact corner does not matter since it is only an illustration. Notice that the line also appears in the top viewport.

Erase this line.

A final thing you should notice is that the WORLD Icon appears in two of these viewports, but the BROKEN PENCIL icon appears in the Front and Right Side viewports. The Broken Pencil icon indicates that you are perpendicular to the World Coordinate Plane (looking at its edge) in those viewports, and the WCS icon cannot be displayed.

Now, use the Vports command to change back to a SIngle viewport. Reread the information on Viewports before this, if needed. Once back to a single view of the model, you may need to use the Vpoint command to rotate your view back to 300 degrees IN the XY Plane and 35 degrees FROM the XY plane.

STEP 3

To change the model to a multiview, you will use the Solview and Soldraw commands. The combination of these commands will project a 2D drawing of the solid model.

To use these commands properly, you must pay particular attention to their explanations and the information below.

AutoCAD has two main MODES it can work in. TILEMODE ON (or 1) and TILEMODE OFF (or 0). TILEMODE ON you have already experienced. TILEMODE OFF is referred to as PAPER SPACE. One major difference in these modes relate to their viewports. With TILEMODE ON, you get "tiled" viewports. With TILEMODE OFF, you create "floating" viewports that can be any size and anywhere on the screen.

Up to this point, you have worked in MODEL SPACE, which is exclusively three-dimensional space. PAPER SPACE takes a little more explanation.

As its name implies, PAPER SPACE represents the paper on which you are going to print your drawing. NOTE: You do not have to be in PAPER SPACE in order to print. The Solview and Soldraw commands will transfer to TILEMODE OFF (PAPER SPACE) in order to perform their tasks.

Now, change to PAPER SPACE (TILEMODE OFF) by DOUBLE CLICKING the left mouse button in the word TILE in the Status Line (at the bottom of the AutoCAD window). See FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 11

If you have completed this task, the button beside TILE will now be labeled PAPER (see FIGURE 12), and the word TILE on the TILE button has become "dim" or gray. This indicates that you are no longer in TILEMODE.

FIGURE 12

Do not be alarmed that the model suddenly disappeared when you changed to PAPER SPACE. It is only covered by a virtual "piece of paper." The icon in the lower LEFT corner of the AutoCAD drawing area also indicates that you are in PAPER SPACE. The familiar UCS icon has been replaced by the Paper Space icon shown in FIGURE 13.

FIGURE 13

Think of PAPER SPACE as an OPAQUE sheet of paper placed in front of your model. You can't see the model because the paper blocks your view. You must clip "openings," called "floating" viewports, in the paper to look through. Now suppose that instead of just cutting "openings" in the paper, you could also mount a monitor in the openings you cut and have each monitor connected to a separate TV camera. Each camera transmits an image of the model to its monitor. However, each camera can be located in a different position and display a different view of the model to its monitor. Changing the camera position is accomplished through the Viewpoint (Vpoint) command you used earlier. This is the same concept we used in the TILED VIEWPORTS exercise.

Now, let's talk about how this relates to PAPER SPACE. PAPER SPACE is where you create "FLOATING" Viewports instead of TILED Viewports. This is why you are no longer in TILEMODE or TILEMODE is OFF (equal to 0). In other words, the viewports you create are not AUTOMATICALLY arranged in a distinct grid pattern.

Floating viewports can be any size, at any position, can overlap, can be resized, and can be moved. They can display a STATIC "snap shot" view of the model (the PAPER side of Paper Space) or a DYNAMIC "modifiable" view of the model (the MODEL side of Paper Space).

In the PAPER side of Paper Space, like a photograph, you cannot modify the Paper image because it is frozen. However, you can add 2D elements, such as center lines and dimensions, much like drawing on a photograph. Also, like drawing on a photograph, anything drawn in the PAPER side of Paper Space is NOT part of the actual model. So, think of adding elements to a drawing in the PAPER side of Paper Space as drawing on a transparent sheet placed over the views.

In the MODEL side of Paper Space, the viewports provide openings in the "paper" so you can view the model through them. In this mode, the model can be edited in any viewport.

Look at FIGURES 14, 15 and 16, which show several versions of the STATUS LINE located at the bottom of the AutoCAD Window. The figures below illustrate the look of the last two buttons on the status line when certain modes are active.

  FIGURE 14

TILEMODE =1. With TILEMODE set at 1, you are looking at the MODEL and can setup TILED VIEWPORTS. When TILEMODE=1, you only see the MODEL. When TILEMODE is set to 1, the word TILE is dark (highlighted) on the Status Line.

FIGURE 15

TILEMODE=0.With TILEMODE set at 0, you are in PAPER SPACE and the TILE button is dimmed (gray). When the word PAPER is showing you are in the "Static" or PAPER side of Paper Space. You must create floating Viewports to see the model through, but the views of the model are like a photograph (or frozen in place) and cannot be edited.

To change to Paper Space, double click on the word MODEL or TILE. The word PAPER will appear.

FIGURE 16

TILEMODE=0. With TILEMODE set at 0 (the TILE button is dim and the word MODEL is showing in place of the word PAPER), you are in the "dynamic" or MODEL side of Paper Space. The floating viewports display views of the model that can be modified.

The Second button from the RIGHT is a toggle between the PAPER and MODEL sides of Paper Space. To change to the MODEL side of Paper Space, double click on the word PAPER. To change back to the "static" or PAPER side of Paper Space, double click on the word MODEL.

Double click on the TILE button to see that you return to the original view of the model you had earlier. The MODEL button (next to TILE) also reappeared. Double click on the TILE button again, and you will be back in the PAPER side of Paper Space; however, you cannot see the MODEL, because you have not created floating viewports through which to view it. You will create these in a later step.

 Now, let's see if you can pass the test. Remember earlier I told you that the VPORTS command created TILED ports? When TILEMODE is 1, what type of viewports would you create? How about when TILEMODE is 0?

Change back to TILEMODE ON.

With this background, you can create a two-dimensional multiview drawing from the model in the t4solidA file. You eventually will use these same procedures with models you construct. To create the multiview, you will use two commands called Solview and Soldraw. (I know, you didn't ever think we would get back to these!) These commands allow you to automate the process of converting the three-dimensional model to a Multiview Drawing in two dimensions.

STEP 4

Before using the Solview and Soldraw commands, use the 3-point option of the UCS command to create and save a UCS for the FRONT (name it FRONT) and for the RIGHT SIDE (name it SIDE). Remember, you can use the WORLD (WCS) for the TOP.

Read the information on the Solview command.

Now that you have familiarized yourself with this information, use dducs to set your UCS to the FRONT orientation. Once the dialogue box appears, click on the name FRONT, and the Current button. Check your UCS icon to see if the change occurred. If the icon did not change to a FRONT orientation. Use dducs again and make sure you clicked on the Current button.

  1. Activate the Solview command, AutoCAD will automatically switch to PAPER SPACE and you should see the PAPER SPACE ICON.

  2. Select the UCS option.

  3. When the prompt asks for a UCS, press Enter to use the Front UCS you have already set.
    NOTE: You could type the name of a UCS that you previously created and saved at this point.

  4. When the prompt indicates, click on the screen in an appropriate position for a front view. Try to keep it low and in the LEFT corner, but with enough space bordering it so you can create a floating viewport around it.

  5. When you have the view positioned, press Enter until the prompt directs you to "Clip first corner."
    The term "clip" here refers to "clipping" an opening in the PAPER of Paper Space. Just like you "clip" an article from a newspaper or magazine, you are now going to "clip" a rectanglar opening in Paper Space by indicating the diagonal corners of a rectangular opening. When asked to Clip the first corner, click and release the LEFT mouse button in a position that would indicate one corner of a rectangular opening that would contain the model view. Leave plenty of room so you can add center lines that will extend past the figure. See FIGURE 17.

  6. When the prompt directs you to "Clip other corner," complete the rectangular viewport by dragging your mouse to the opposite diagonal corner of the rectangle and clicking the mouse again. See FIGURE 17.

  7. Keep the scale at 1.

  8. Name it Front.

FIGURE 17

 

 

 

To place the TOP VIEW:

  1. Stay in the Solview command, or return to it.

  2. This time select the Ortho option.

  3. Select the TOP EDGE of the FRONT viewport with the Left mouse button to indicate the "Side of the viewport to project."

  4. Place the view in an appropriate position for a TOP multiview.

  5. Leave the scale at 1.

  6. Name the view Top.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: You must click on the APPROPRIATE edge of the viewport, when using the Ortho option of this command. For example, if you click on the bottom edge of the FRONT viewport, AutoCAD will allow you to place the view in the TOP position, but it will be a Bottom view rather than a Top view. AutoCAD uses the edges of the viewports to determine the orientation of the view in the viewport.**

Now, repeat the steps using the Ortho option of Solview to create the Right Side view and name it SIDE. Look at FIGURE 18 to see how the drawing should look when you are finished. Remember to select the right edge of the Front viewport.

 

FIGURE 18

Your viewports do not have to match the size of those shown in FIGURE 18. Notice that the sizes of these ports vary, but the views in the viewports line up.

Occasionally when performing this command, you may choose an area for your floating viewports that are partially outside of your DRAWING LIMITS (the area established for you to draw in). If this happens, the view of the model may look cut off when you click on the screen to establish the position for the view. Do not let this throw you. Proceed to "clip" a path that would surround the view, and the rest of the view will appear when you are done.

Have you saved your file lately?

To see what the views would look like without the edges of the viewports, you can make the Vport layer invisible. To make this layer invisible, make sure that you are in the PAPER side of Paper Space or change to it (the PAPER button should be showing on the Status Line). Now, select the Vport layer, either on Layer Status drop-down window or through the Layer command, and click on the light bulb. See FIGURE 19. The Vport layer contains the viewport edges. If you are in the MODEL side of Paper Space and make the Vport layer invisible, the viewport frame that surrounds the active layer will still show.

FIGURE 19

Notice that hidden features are seen in the views, but they are not being displayed as hidden lines. This is because you are still viewing the model in these viewports in WIREFRAME mode. The hidden lines will be created in a later step.

Now, turn the Vport layer back on by again clicking on the light bulb by the Vport layer on the Layer Status drop-down menu.

STEP 5

In this step, you will project two-dimensional multiviews off of the model and change the hidden line color assignment.

 ***SPECIAL WARNING: Zooming in Paper Space

If you are in the MODEL side of Paper Space, you can zoom in each individual floating viewport (NOT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO), but cannot zoom in and out across all of the views at once. To Zoom in and out across the entire drawing, be sure that you are in the PAPER side of Paper Space (the PAPER button shows in the Status Line), and then zoom.

If you accidentally change the zoom factor or the position of the model in any or all of the floating viewports, they will not return to the original scale and alignment when you change back to "static" or PAPER side of Paper Space. The PAPER side of Paper Space freezes the current view on the screen. To return the views to their original size, use the Zoom XP option.

If your views are out of alignment, you can use the Align option under Mvsetup, which allows you to select a point on one view and align it with the same point in an adjacent view.

With the views established, you extract the 2D drawings from the model with the Soldraw command. Up to now, you were still looking at a three-dimensional model. The views are in the "static" mode of Paper Space so you cannot edit them. Soldraw projects 2D images off of the model, but does not replace it. The 2D projections are added to the file.

Read the information on Soldraw. Using this information, activate the Soldraw command, and project the 2D views off of the model. The figures showing in the viewports will not look any different when you are done, except that hidden lines will appear in the views. If the hidden lines are not showing, you failed to load them earlier as instructed, but you can still load them now. Locate and read the information in the LEFT PANEL on Loading Line Types and load the line styles named Center and Hidden.

With Soldraw completed, some additional changes need to be made so that the hidden lines will be in a different color. For the hidden lines to print in a thinner line than the visible lines, they must be in a color other than white. You set line thickness by color so anything in WHITE, color 7, will print in a .7 line thickness. If you leave the color of the Hidden layers white, they will be the same thickness as your visible lines, which is a major technical drawing faux pas.

Click on the Layer button to bring up the Layer & Linetype Properties dialogue box (YOU CANNOT DO THIS THROUGH THE LAYER STATUS WINDOW).

When the dialogue box opens, you will see a listing of the LAYERS and their properties. See FIGURE 20 for an example.

In this dialogue box, you should find a series of Layers labeled Front-dim, Front-hid, Front-vis, Side-dim, Side-hid, etc. These layers were added by the Solview command. For now, we are only interested in the Front-hid, Side-hid, and Top-hid layers. These are assigned the Hidden line style and must have their color assignment changed.

To change the color of Front-hid, for example, double click the left mouse button on the square under the property category labeled "C" (for color) in the row labeled Front-hid. The Select Color dialogue box should appear. See FIGURE 21.

FIGURE 20

 

To change the color of the Front-hid layer, choose a color in the Select Color dialogue box by clicking on it with the left mouse button. The new color should show in the window labeled Color:.

You are free to select any color, but stay away from the lighter shades. These are difficult to see when you print.

After you make your color selection, click on OK to exit the Select Color dialogue box and return to the Layer & Linetype Properties dialogue box.

Repeat this procedure for each of the layers ending in -hid (for Hidden), and then close the Layer dialogue window. Your hidden lines should now appear in the color you selected.

Look at FIGURE 22. to see how your drawing should appear after you finish.

FIGURE 23

HELP NOTE: So what do you do if you screw up a view during Soldraw and Solview and wish to eliminate it? The easiest way to deal with this problem is to erase the viewport and add it again.

To erase a floating viewport, you must be in the PAPER side of Paper Space. Select the viewport you wish to erase, by clicking on its edge, and use the Erase command. Sounds simple, but there is a catch!

You can use Solview's Ortho option, followed by Soldraw, to replace the view you erased, but you MUST GIVE THE REPLACEMENT A DIFFERENT NAME. AutoCAD will not replace an existing view if you give it the same name, even though it will ask you if you wish to replace it. After you create the new view under a different name, you must change the color of the -hid layer(s) added by Solview under the new name.

STEP 6

The next step will be to add center lines to your drawing.

***IMPORTANT: Before you begin, let me again stress that if you need to Zoom the "whole" drawing (all three views simultaneously), you MUST be in the PAPER side of Paper Space. To check this, look at the Status Line at the bottom of the AutoCAD screen and make sure that the word PAPER shows on the second button from the RIGHT. See FIGURE 24.

FIGURE 24

 

To add center lines to the multiviews of the model, you must create three additional layers and assign the center line type to them. To see how this is done, reread the description of the Layer command.

Now, add new layers named: Top-cen, Front-cen, and Side-cen. Once they are added, change the layer color assignment to something OTHER THAN WHITE and the line type to center lines. Remember, if you leave the center-line layers white, the lines will print in a thicker line than is appropriate for center lines.

Finally, you need to change the scale of the dashes in the hidden and center lines. This can be accomplished through the Line Scale command.

Type ltscale at the Command: prompt, and change the scale to .5. This will reduce the dash sizes by 1/2.

The center lines will be added in the MODEL side of Paper Space, so change to this mode now. The second button from the RIGHT on the status bar should display the word MODEL.

There are two major things to remember when adding the center lines:

  1. you must make sure that you are in the correct layer for the view in which you are adding center lines, and

  2. you must make sure that you are in the correct UCS for the view in which you are adding center lines.

    NOTE: Failure to use the proper layer will cause you big headaches during the Vplayer command you will use later.

With these in mind:

  1. click on the Top viewport to make it the active window,

  2. change to the Top-cen Layer, and

  3. use the option View under the UCS command to change the UCS so that it is oriented to TOP view. (See NOTE below.)

 NOTE: To understand why you must change the UCS, double click on the TILE button on the Status Line at the bottom of the screen. This will change you back to TILEMODE=1 or ON and you will see the model with the 2D multiview projections touching it. These 2D images are what you see in the floating viewports. Remember, the Soldraw command creates these 2D multiviews by projecting a flat image off of the model. Because these images are projected from the sides of the model, they are also oriented to the sides of the model.

***Double click on the TILE button to return to the MODEL side of Paper Space before continuing the tutorial.***

With the Top viewport active, you can now modify the 2D multiview projection to add center lines.

The easiest method for adding the center lines is to use a combination of the Offset and Extend commands.

The first center lines you should add are for the LARGE CIRCLE in the TOP view. The standard rule is that center lines should extend approximately 10mm past the feature they are associated with if the drawing is not dimensioned. HINT: Since you can now edit the 2D drawing in the viewports, you can use the Offset command to create a circle 10mm larger than the original. Offset works with a circle or arc as easily as it works for a line. Read the information on Offset if you can't remember how this command functions.

The Large HOLE (seen as a circle in the TOP view) has a diameter of 40, and the small HOLE (seen as a set of hidden lines on the right side of the TOP view) has a diameter of 20.

Look at FIGURES 25, 26, and 27. The views show the use of the Offset, Extend, Chprop and Osnap commands to place the center lines. HINT: If you offset one of the hidden lines for the small hole center, you can move it to the Top-cen layer using the Chprop (Change Properties) command or select the line and then the layer on the LAYER STATUS WINDOW drop-down menu.

FIGURE 25 & 26

 

 

 

 


FIGURE 27

 

 HELP!! My viewports are too small.

If your viewports are too small, you can enlarge them. Read the Stretch command information and then enlarge any viewport that needs it.

NOTICE: The center lines you are placing in the Top view are also showing up in the other views. We will deal with this problem later, but it illustrates that you are seeing both the the model and the 2D projections of the model in all of the viewports. See FIGURE 28.

FIGURE 28

 

Now, change to the Side-cen layer, click on the Side viewport, and use the UCS command View option to change the UCS to SIDE. In this view, the holes are shown as hidden lines. The large hole has a visible line overlapping the hidden line on its right edge. Now, create center lines for the holes in this view. See FIGURE 29.

FIGURE 29

 

 

 

Finally, change to the Front-cen layer, click on the Front Viewport, and add center lines to the circles in this view. NOTE: If you try to place center lines so that they extend 10 mm past the circle, they will touch the visible lines around the circle. THIS IS NOT GOOD DRAWING PRACTICE. You NEVER draw center lines so that they END at a visible line. You either shorten or lengthen the lines when this situation occurs. To deal with this problem, you might want to Offset the circle 8mm instead of 10. See FIGURE 30. Again notice the center lines showing up in all the views. We will take care of that problem next.

 

 

FIGURE 30

Have you saved lately?

STEP 7

With the center lines in the views, we can now deal with the "extra" center lines showing in each view. The command we will use to deal with this is Vplayer (Viewport Layer).

Read the information on this command, and then activate the Top viewport. Use the Freeze option under this command to "freeze" the Front-cen and Side-cen layers. After you exit this command, the extra center lines in this view will disappear from this view. Note that you are freezing the center layers of the other two viewports.

 HELP!! When I tried to freeze in the VPLAYER, the wrong center lines disappeared!!!

The most common error that causes this problem is that the center lines were added to the wrong layers. It is easy to forget to change the layer when you shift to a new viewport and begin adding center lines. Here is a way to test if this is the problem. First, undo until all of your center lines show again. Next, select a center line by clicking on it with the left mouse button. Look at the Layer Status Window (see sample at right). The layer that this center line was drawn on will appear in the window where you see the "0" in this example.

If the center line is not on the correct layer, use the same Layer Status Window drop-down menu to select the proper layer while the line is selected. This will move the line to the correct layer. Note: If the center line was already on the correct layer, hit Escape twice to completely deselect it before testing the next line.

With all the center lines now placed on the correct layers, use Vplayer again to freeze the center layers in the TOP viewport.

 

Repeat this for the Front viewport (freezing the other viewport's center layers), and the Side viewport. HINT: You can check the name of these layers through the Layer Status Window. When completed, the drawing should look like the one in FIGURE 31.

FIGURE 31

Now, before you insert your Titleblock, switch back to PAPER side of Paper Space and use the Layer Status Window menu to make the Vport layer invisible. The borders around the views will disappear, and the drawing will look like Figure 32.

FIGURE 32

Change to the 0 layer. NOTE: If you stay in the Vport layer and insert the titleblock, it will not show because the layer has been made invisible.

Zoom back so you can see the drawing better and make placing the Titleblock easier.

NOTE: When you add your titleblock it may be too small for the drawing. This depends on the space you left between your floating viewports when you used SOLVIEW.

You have two options for dealing with this.

  1. You can enlarge the Titleblock as you insert it.

    If you use this method, you need to scale both the X and Y the same amount and remember this scale factor, since you will need it during printing. For instance, if you scale the titleblock so it is twice as big (by 2) you will have to scale the print 1:2 (half the usual size) because the titleblock is now twice as big. If, on the other hand, you scaled the titleblock half its size (.5) when inserting it, the print scale would be 2:1 (double size) because the titleblock is half its usual size.

  2. You can move the floating viewports closer together.

    To accomplish this, make the viewports visible once more. Turn on ORTHO (see the Status Line at the bottom of the AutoCAD Window), which will only allow you to move or draw things HORIZONTALLY or VERTICALLY. This will help you keep them aligned to each other. Make sure you are in the PAPER side of Paper Space and use the Move command to reposition the viewports. To select a floating viewport, click on its edge. The floating viewports can overlap.

With the titleblock inserted, look at the listing of layers in the Layer Status Window drop-down menu. After you inserted this file, the layers that were part of the Titleblock file have been added to the drawing file.

Move the titleblock to center the drawing and Explode it so that you can edit the text.

FIGURE 33

Finally, edit the text in the titleblock, and Print. NOTE: Remember if you enlarged your titleblock when you inserted it, you must change the printing scale.

Congratulations! You have now successfully converted a solid model to a Multiview drawing in AutoCAD.

In the next tutorial, you will learn some additional solid modeling techniques.

AutoCAD is a registered trademark of AutoDesk, Inc.

AutoCAD Tutorial 4: For Release 14 was written by:
Dr. Alice Y. Scales, Ed.D.
Graphic Communications Program
Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
With contributions by Russell R. Downs

This work is copyrighted and the property of Alice Y. Scales and is not to be copied without permission of the author.

7/30/98

Return to the AutoCAD Tutorial Home Page