dos anybody kno anything about autocad?
I craeted a pretty simple design a few months ago, then completly 4got how i did it.

can sombody help me w this?
i can show u the design, and try to xplain som of the steps i took, and maybe u can fill in som of the gaps 4 me becaus im at a complete loss.

i created it myself, and i need 2 recreate it, but cant seem 2 do it.

...Autocad is my hero-in-law...But I can't help you..

I've had some experience with autocad (unfortunatly), I hate the program but I have to use it in Design Studies at school (no, that's not fashion, it's architecture =P )

2d or 3d, i've done both, got the certificates, and stole the books.
been a couple of years but a simple design shouldn't be too hard.
Keith

I am using AutoCad 2002.

im using autocad 2002 also.
isnt that the latest.
its the only one i ever used.
i started using it in 4 a month in summer 2001, then again 4 a month in summer 2002 (i had 2 relearn evrything i 4got), and i started again las week (but this is the only last thing i 4got about.)



this is what i did before that i cant figure out now:

i made a 3-d box with each corner filleted.
i think i used small spheres on each corner 2 do it, but i don’t remember.
now i cant figure out 4 the life of me how 2 recreate it.

ill try 2 send c hu i can send the file 2.


its really bugging me becos i cant seem 2 figur it out.

wat would help mor if someone could tell me how 2 create such a shape that rounds off box corners.

the shape is a quarter-hemisphere.
it could be used my sticking replacing each 4 corners of a box with the rounded quarter-hemisphere.

for example:
imagine a hemisphere (dome).
the center of the base of the dome is at (0,0) on the xy plane.
then the radius is 10.
then the height of the dome protrudes on the positive z-axis.
now imagine slicing the dome so that all i ha left is wats in the positive xy-quadrant.

in other words create a box where the hemisphere is that goes:
from the center of the circle base (0,0), going out 10 units on each axis.
the portion of the hemisphere that is in the box is the shape im trying 2 create.

any suggestions?

furthermore, i also 4got how 2 group 2 separate objects and associate them so they becom one whole object.
so wen u click on it, its selects it as 1 object instead of 2 separate.

Sounds like your getting confused with the program.

Did you make a mesh box(surface) or a solid box.

I would suggest that you made a solid box, selected the box and simply filleted it. You can then convert the solid to a mesh after.

I don't think you can fillet the entire cube all in 1 go, I seem to remember that you have to select a face and then one of the edges of the face to fillet it, this means rotating the cube to do all the edges.

Using your method and using only surfaces, you would need to create a quater circle and revolve it 90 degrees(revsurf) and place 1 at each corner of where the cube should be. Then use the 3dface command to join the 1/4 hemispheres together.

To add 2 objects together you select them and create a 'block', easy.

I don't use autocad anymore, if you are using it as a personal cad system i would suggest turbocad, or my personal favorite metasequoia (which can make fillited cubes as primitives).

Keith

REVSURF!!!
of course!!!
it wokred it worked!!!

thanx kaduseus!


BLOCK!!!
of course!!!

(i kept trying 2 remember wich command it was and all i could rember was region and group)

thanx again!

yes!!
this problem thats been annoying me for a few days now.
dont u hate it wen u hav so much stuff 2 do and a prob comes up that u spend hours trying 2 figure out then the rest of ur life jus passes by whil ur stuck on a certain prob?

ok heres a question that i havent done before:

now that i hav this quarter circle revloved to 90-degrees, the object came out perfect.

as of now, the object has 0 thickness.
how can i make it thicker?

i tried to create 2.
the larger overlapping the smaller at a distance of .5
then join the edges with lines.
that didn't work
it didnt close it up.

any suggestions on thickening it?

a few othe questions about autocad since im still a beginner:
does anybody know how i can chop a solid object in half?
or chop parts off of a solid object?

how do i make a pipe that curves?

as of now, the object has 0 thickness.
how can i make it thicker?

There is an object properties menu somewhere.
But why do you need a thicker line, this is normally for closed polylines when you are doing floor plans.

You can't join with lines you need to use 3dface, make sure the object snap lets you choose corners.

You can 'slice', 'section' objects or even subtract 1 solid from another.
Here's some nice links for you :-
pdf read from pages 9-11 (http://www.jadp.co.uk/downloads/acadintro1.pdf)
Lessons for v14 - will help a bit (http://we-r-here.com/with/The-CAD-Guy/Lesson_toc.htm)

To bend pipes with autocad you'll have to learn lisp!!!! autocad isn't very good for general 3d, so try out some free software.
Anim8tor - free and <1.5mb (http://www.anim8or.com/)
Gmax - free version of 3dstudio WARNING use's it's own format. (http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/)
I don't know if gmax allows export to dxf format.

I use 4 cad programs to do everything I need, because no single cad package will ever do exactly what you want it to do.

softcad (free)- for cutting by plane projection
metasequoia (free) - for fast modelling and texturing
Anim8tor (free) - for bending pipes and distorting things
3dexploration - for file convertion and rendering, this was $40 for a regkey but the company was bought out, the program increased from 2mb to 14mb and the cost went up > $200 , the $40 version is actually better!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like Gmax but I only have a p150 !!!! - maybe next year.

I would seriously suggest getting anim8tor though, just for bending pipes, look at the eggplant tutorial on the site.

Keith

i tried 3ds before, and i felt autocad had a better interface for the drawing area so i stuck with autocad.
i also like autocads accuracy 4 the coordinates at 0.0001.


with the 4 different cad programs, r u able 2 build the parts in each program and combine them in one program.

if i build pipes in anim8or and a solid box in autocad, will i b able 2 put them all in 1 picture and connect, edit, and plot points under one 3-d workspace?


i used the 3d-box button 2 create a box, but it wouldnt select it to slice.


do u kno how 2 do a quarter of an elpise the same way with the circle?
the circle was 10x10x10
im able to do it using 1 different # (10x10x5)
all u do with that is make the height 5, and revsurd the length of 10 10 90-degrees.
but how do u do it w 3 different #s(20x10x5)?

Stop editting your post when i'm trying to reply :D

YES You can import and export objects, groups of objects and build a scene out of the parts in autocad.
You are lucky, autocad has 3dsin,3dsout commands that let you import and export to the 3ds file format that is needed in anim8tor.
I have to convert the files with 3d explorattion :mad:

Do your pipes with anim8tor, save as 3ds format and import them into autocad using the 3dsin command. u should then be able to edit them as normal.
3dsin 3dsout - howto pdf file (http://www.thermoanalytics.com/support/bulletins/TechBull-801-Autocad-Export-PRINT.pdf)

but how do u do it w 3 different #s(20x10x5)?
I don't get you what do the 3 numbers refer to.
Shouldn't you be using the elipse command instead?

i used the 3d-box button 2 create a box, but it wouldnt select it to slice.
You will have to learn the difference between a mesh and a solid.
O.K. there are 2 basic types of 3d modelling :-
1. surface modelling, these are meshes made from triangles, rectangles or polygons - ie an object is made from 2d surfaces in a 3d environment.
2. solid modelling, uses surface modelling to represent the solid, the solids themselves are sets of equations that represnt volume, mass, density etc... This is mainly used in engineering, you can calculate weight and with some fancy software subject the model to stree to see where it would break.

autocad uses both just to confuse people, i think you can convert between them but its easier to conert a solid into a surface.
Most 3d graphics is surface modelling.

Try using the cutting plane for meshes, or a different cad system.

Keith
My site - go through it to see what you can do with a 486 ALL images are rendered ie no photo's (http://www.geocities.com/codex34/paper/paper1.html)
The coloured moontruck near the bottom of the page took 6 hours to render!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 hours?!
how did u render it like that?

it looks good.
spaships and cities r exactly wat im buidling.

your rendered one on the bottom looks very realistic.


wat i mean by the 3d-elipse thing is this:
say instead of a hemisphere, u hav half of a 3d-elipse.


the radius of the hemisphere base is 10.
therefore, the height of the hemisphere (wich is also the radius of the entire sphere) is also 10.
u place the base of the hemisphere on the table so that it looks like half a sphere portrudint from the flat table surface.
then u slice vertically.
then horizintally.
u now hav 4 equal parts of that hemisphere.
its the object i was asking about b4.
that object has 3 equal dimensions.
10 on the x-axis, 10 on the y-axis, and 10 on the z-axis.
all converging at one point.
thats wat i mean by (10x10x10)


with a 3d-elipse, say the verticle radius is 10, and the horizontal radius is 5.
slice the 3d-elpise vertically down the center so u get 2 equal long parts.
wat u get is a quarter of the 3d-elipse's half.

lay the base of that 3d-elpse half on a table in the same way
slice diagonally and vertically, and u get 4 equal parts.
but unlike the sphere,
the base goes 10 on the x-axis, 5 on the z-axis, and 5 on the y-axis.
10x5x5
(u can craeate a that using revsurf as well.)

but wat if u hav a point at (0,0)
draw a line from that point 10 in the x direction,
5 in the y direction,
and 20 in the z direction
how would u create somthing similar 2 the quarter-hemisphere, but using those 3 different lengths instaed of 3 lengths that r the same?

I understand what your trying to do.
Simply 'scale' the 20,10,10 object by 0.5 in the axis you need to.
There are different ways of scaling so make sure you know them all or you may find you need to move objects because you scaled them using the wrong method.
Alot of shapes can be made using the scale and rotate commands, it's just figuring out the process needed to get what you want.
A bit of maths is needed when you want 20x7x11, good job you wanted a simple object. :D

You could do the same thing by making 2 different sized elipses at 90 degrees to each other and the surfing the edges with a patch, but i can't remember the commands to tell you properly.
You will need to know how for making really complex models like dodge vipers. I think the commands are in one of the pdf links below.

A good tip is to go looking for free lisp scripts and plugins for autocad, they will make some things easier. How do you make a spring? use a script - or write one.

Keith

thanx 4 the advice!
the edgesurf command helped put huge.
i began using to create shapes that would fill in gaps where curving in so many directions.

i still havnt figured out how 2 scale something on a specific axis.
the scale command just seems to scale it on all axiss.

Try using the 'stretch' command instead.
Stretch command - and some more lessons (http://www.cadalyst.com/exclusive/lt/1501lt/lt15-1lt.htm)
I forgot that autocad scaling is in all axis.

How do I save my ACAD images to a picture file?
Whenever I open it up with another program such as word or photoshop, all I see is the wireframe.