Any AutoCad users here?

[knottybuoyz]

Fella's

I want to make a "Quick & Dirty" model of our boat project similar to this....

http://www.amateurboatbuilding.com/a...book/TW28.html

I do have access to a plotter but would like to print the frames directly on card stock which I can only get in 8 1/2 X 11. What I need to figure out is how to keep the frames all in the same scale as I print them one at a time. If I zoom around or select a specific frame AutoCad always wants to re-scale the selection to fit the card stock size which throws everything off. Is there a way or trick to keep AutoCad from re-scaling selections so all the frames can be printed individually for a "Quick & Dirty" model?

Any help would be appreciated.

Rick

PS. I'm using an older version of AutoCad Lite 2000.

[Weyalan]

I use AutoCAD for about 1/4 of my work. Making the plot a specific scale (rather than "fit to page" is very easy in the full AutoCAD (2004). I think I might have a copy of AutoCAD 2000 Lite... If I can find it, I will load it when I get a chance and see if I can figure it out...

Just from memory, if you go to the "plot" tab (file>plot), then choose the "plot settings" tab, there is a section called "Plot scale", which is, presumably, set to "scaled to fit" If you click on that tab, it should give you a whole selection of other options - including various standard scales, and also "custom". If the scale you want is not on the list, select "custom" and then input the scale you want, in the boxes below (do a full "print preview" before printing to make sure it fits on your page).

[never monday]

Rick,
My wife is an AC pro. I'll ask her...

but I only know R14, sorry. when I bring up the print command box, ctrl-P, I get a choice of scales. we draw everything 1:1 and print whatever size we need. you can pick a window and "print to scale" or do 1:1 and that should get you what you are looking for.

[knottybuoyz]

Thanks Pat & Weyalan

I found the settings you suggested! I haven't had much experience with AutoCad, other than exporting drawings for pubs & Internet and my only drafting experience was back in College about a hundred years ago! It's an amazingly complex program and I'm probably not using it right.

I'll give it a shot tomorrow and post a progress report.

Thanks again.

Rick

[cheslr]

I did the same thing with a dinghy I was going to build. I plotted all pieces to one scale and cut them out and taped them together. It was actually good b/c one of the dimensions in the plans was off just a little.

Anyway, go to the plot function.
Under plot area, select Window and window what you want.
Then, under plot scale, uncheck "plot to fit" and pick a scale that is convenient for you to plot all the things to (say like 1"=1'-0" (1/12 scale) or something of the sort).
You can also fit some pieces better landscape and some portrait - just keep same plot scale.
Then, print away.

Good luck.

[knottybuoyz]

Results weren't exactly what I expected. I hope I do better when I get to the real thing with thousands of dollars of marine plywood and epoxy on the line!!!

I think I messed up a few dimensions and the cabin tops weren't right. That and the fact the cat wanted to get "into" the model things went a little screwy. I migh of had better results with stiffer material. Apparently the 3" scale frames weren't strong enough to hold the weight of a 8 lb cat.





The next model won't be full framed, just baseline up so it can sit flat on the table w/o a strongback. That should solve some alignment problems with locating the frames correctly and keeping them oriented.

The lessons I learned from this lil' exercise are:

1. Exacto knives are Sharp!
2. Hot melt glue is Hot!
3. Bristol board is flimsy!
4. Cats aren't much help!
5. The "Baseline" is important!
6. Printing directly on card stock is probably much better than tracing!
7. Great "quit-smoking" therapy!

Total time to cut out and assemble about 3 1/2 hours. Total time to re-draw from plans to AutoCad 8 hours. Total cost about $20 but I got the mini hot glue gun for $8 which is a handy dandy lil' tool! The other big item was $10 for the cutting matt which is essential so as to not cut into the Admiral's kitchen table with the Exacto knife.

Rick

PS. Did I mention cats aren't much help?

[Boracay]

Maybe you could beef up the strut scantlings a tad.
Just in case you get a couple of 160Kg humans fooling arround.

[BBill]

Rick,
Very cool. If parts didn't fit you may want to consider something when building from acad plans. Probably NOT a big issue with models but you mentioned the top not fitting. Acad is so accurate that it leaves no room for tolerance buildup unless the person drawing put them in. What this means is you draw, plot, cut the parts on the printed lines and they don't fit together perfectly. The actual width of blade cut, drawn line, material thickness, etc can make or take tolerance build up. When drawing plans the tolerances have to be included or you may have this problem.

"As builts" are extremely critcal to this but to put this into perspective on day to day new building construction (such as might be experienced with a 30' boat) from acad. Take a 48'x12' room and do a drawing for a typical 2x4 drop ceiling installation. Theoretically the 48' length will fit 12 panels of 4' length each. Most acad user will "array" to get a total of 12 panels. In the real world 12 panels are too long and it will be more like 11.5 panels. Aside from T-bar thickness, approx 1/2" for each panel needs to be substracted. This stuff bites many newbie builders and I've seen it happen on everything from tiki huts to 75,000sq ft buildings. Just be aware of it when doing AutoCad.

BB.

[knottybuoyz]

Hey BBill & Chris

Thanks for the tips. I'm aware of tolerencing designes especially in CAD and did take them into consideration. I think the original error, although I haven't checked yet, was in transcribing the dimensions from the drawn plans to AutoCad. I'll go over them all again before the next attempt, which will include the changes we want to make to stretch her out another 30".

I've designed some museum quality displays and furniture and was always commended for the attention to detail in providing proper spacing and tolerances. It's still going to be a good thing that the boat comes as a CNC cut kit!!! Any problems with tolerences will be those of the designer and not me but I still get the feeling Mr. Belt Sander and Mr. Recriprocating Saw will be my new best friends!

I found some heavier card stock so might take another kick at the cat after I get the electrical plans finished.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ead.php?t=5889

I'm doing that drawing in Visio 2007 Professional which is a lot nicer. I'll do the interior mockups in Google Sketch which is good enough for my brother, a cabinet maker, to put the furnishings together.

Thanks again.

[knottybuoyz]

Here's a few pics from the "Real One" that was built downunder.





Lori likes the hull colour which should pose too much of a problem for a Northern based fresh waters boat.