ASCENT Blog

Hatch a Plan

By Elvis R. Sverko

Every software package has a number of features and commands that can be used. Some commands are used excessively, and some are rarely utilized. Some commands are quick and easy, while others may be complex with multiple options. But regardless of how often or how difficult a command is, in order to successfully use the software, you should know how to use them all, or at least be familiar with them.

 So where does someone start when learning the software for the first time? That’s up to the instructor, who needs to plan out the best approach to teaching all the different commands, features and options. There needs to be a specific order to these topics. Whether that order is based on a typical industry workflow, or starting with some of the most common and easiest commands then working up to the more complex or hardly used, a plan on what to teach and when is important.  

That’s especially true with CAD. When teaching Autodesk AutoCAD to students, there are many simple commands the students learn immediately. These commands (besides opening, saving, and creating a new drawing) generally include simple drawing techniques such as drawing lines, rectangles, and circles. And these commands are also usually taught first with just their default settings and options. For instance a circle is first taught with specifying the center point and radius, and later it’s looked at by using the two or three point approach, as well as other options. For these simple commands, there may not be too many options, so it can be a quick lesson to understand them all.

However, some commands are quite a bit more complicated. In fact, the Hatch command actually has an entire contextual tab on the ribbon appear when creating or editing a hatch. (The Hatch contextual tab was new in AutoCAD 2011; prior to that version, a Hatch and Gradient dialog box appeared with all the settings and options. The Command line (or Dynamic Input if toggled on) is also another way you can set the hatch options. In fact, you can still utilize these workflows in the most recent version of AutoCAD. If you like using the Hatch and Gradient dialog box, after you start the Hatch command, on the Command line, seTtings option, and the dialog box will appear. Or if you prefer to use the Command line (or Dynamic Inputs) for setting all your hatch options, start the command from the Command line by typing a dash in front of the command name, “-hatch”, and press enter. I don’t recommend these variances to the use of the hatch command because the Ribbon method is so very easy, and you never know if or when these other methods will cease to be part of the software.)

Anyway, back to planning on how to teach the Hatch command. Because there are many options to it, you need to tackle just a few at a time. And you also have to plan to have already covered some other topics in order for some of the hatch options to make sense, such as Annotative, Layer, and Draw Order. You may even consider skipping certain options to a command simply based on the type of course (Fundamentals or Advanced) as well as due to time restrictions.

Many other commands have a large number of options as well, and so you need to take the same measures when teaching those. So plan your teaching workflow strategically, or both you and the student will fail.

 

 “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

 

Hatch Creation contextual tab on the Ribbon

 

Hatch and Gradient dialog box

 

-Hatch options on the Command line

 

-Hatch options with Dynamic Inputs

 

Syncing Associative Data: Autodesk Inventor and Autodesk Inventor Publisher data

By Jennifer MacMillan

Those of you that work with Autodesk® Inventor® Publisher know that being able to directly read 3D CAD models enables you to create accurate and timely documentation. A key benefit to working with data from Autodesk® Inventor® is that it is completely associative so that you are always using the most up-to-date and accurate geometry and file property information. When I inserted my first Inventor assembly model into Publisher I assumed that because I was working with Autodesk source data it would automatically update. Luckily because I was wearing both the designer and the documentation “hats” I knew that I had made changes and that they weren’t reflected in my documentation.  The trick as I realized, is knowing how to do this, because this doesn’t happen automatically.

First you have to know whether the source data has changed. There are two methods for determining this:

• Automatic - If changes were made to the source data the  icon displays in the Canvas Browser next to the component’s name when it is opened.
• Manual – You might also want to manually check the file status as you work, if you know that the model’s designer is working concurrently. In this case, you right-click on the component’s name and select Source Files > Check File Status. If the component has been changed the   icon displays in the Canvas Browser next to the component’s name. (TIP: Select individual components, instead of on the top-level Component node, to vary the amount of data that is being checked.)

 
Once you know that models are out of date you should update that data to ensure that you are working with the most up-to-date information. To update:

• To update the data for an individual component, click the  icon next to the component’s name.
• Right-click on a specific component name and select Source Files > Update Component.

 

• To update all of the data in all of the components, right-click on the Component’s node and select Source Files > Update All Components.

 

It is always a good practice to continually check the file status and update the components that are being documented in the Publisher document to ensure that you are working with the most up-to-date data. 

Creativity Using CAD

By Elvis R. Sverko

 

It’s a new year. So Happy New Year everyone!

Now, how do we make this new year, a better year than last year? Well, one thing that seems to be a hot topic everywhere I look is “Creativity”, and creativity in anything and everything, ( “Use the Kindle Fire as a Creative Device” from December 2011 from Wired.com;  “Buff Your Brain” from the January 9, 2012 edition of Newsweek; “How to Lead a Creative Life” from the December 2011 edition of Fast Company.)

To make anything new, you need to be innovative. To be innovative, you need to use your creativity.

Most engineers/designers/architects/etc. know they need to be creative to make new products, or make older products better. They have many tools at their disposal, from pencil and paper, to wood or metal, to CAD. But mostly they use their imagination to come up with the new idea, and then use these tools to bring them to life.

But sometimes, it’s not just about using a tool to make something new and innovative. Sometimes you have to use the tools in a creative way.

CAD is no exception. There are specific functions that CAD can perform, from drawing lines and circles, to making 3D solid models, to performing simulation such as Finite Element Analysis. Some CAD packages include libraries of standard parts that you can use in your model (such as with Autodesk Revit, you have a library of types/shapes/sizes of windows to include in your architectural design). There are also standards that in many cases at many companies that must be met. These standards might be in the styles used for drawings, or industry standards that need to be met.

But in many cases, you can be creative in the way you use CAD.

If you need to make a cylinder, you have different methods of doing so. You can extrude a circle, or rotate a rectangle (as shown using Autodesk Inventor below). Or there may be other ways as well. But both of these methods create identical cylinders. The difference is in their method. Your choice may come down to what information you currently have, or may need to change, or it’s just completely up to you. But the point is, you can be creative in how you model something in CAD.

 

It doesn’t have to be in the tools you use, that you can be creative. Sometimes it’s simply in how you look at a model. In many 3D solid modeling CAD programs, you can turn the visibility of objects off, change the view style, rotate, or adjust snapping methods to more easily see and select an object in the model. The point is, there isn’t only one way to perform a specific task using CAD. Use your creativity in the process to make it better.

We’ll look at other creative ideas in using CAD, and CAD training in future posts. But until then, use your creativity in not only what you design, but how you design it, to make this new year a better year.

 

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” – Theodore Levitt