plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
(OP)
First of all, I searched for this (google and eng-tips) but haven't found the exact answer I was looking for.
Maybe someone could point me tho somewhere where this has been discussed before?
I have received a drawing that was drawn with 1unit = 1cm.
I know about scaling commands, changing dimension units, ... but the problem is as follows:
When plotting, ACad only knows 2 units: mm or inches. the drawing is set as "decimal".
When I want to plot at 1:50 (in paperspace) (with paperspace in 1:1 off course), I have to set the model scale to 1:5 to have an actual print of 1:50.
I know this has to do with the cm vs. mm, but is there a way to change a setting so I can choose the correct scale from the drop-down menu in paperspace (instead of having to manually choose a scale with a "times 10" smaller)?
thanks in advance,
Maybe someone could point me tho somewhere where this has been discussed before?
I have received a drawing that was drawn with 1unit = 1cm.
I know about scaling commands, changing dimension units, ... but the problem is as follows:
When plotting, ACad only knows 2 units: mm or inches. the drawing is set as "decimal".
When I want to plot at 1:50 (in paperspace) (with paperspace in 1:1 off course), I have to set the model scale to 1:5 to have an actual print of 1:50.
I know this has to do with the cm vs. mm, but is there a way to change a setting so I can choose the correct scale from the drop-down menu in paperspace (instead of having to manually choose a scale with a "times 10" smaller)?
thanks in advance,





RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
If I were you, I would rescale(50X to get the drawing in millimeters)the drawing in model space to its actual dimension which will necessitate to rescale the size of the dimensions and arrows under dim scale with particular attention to a proper scale value in the FIT tab"Use overall scale of:". Then you can scale down the drawing to 1:250 in paper space.
Do those changes on a copy and not on the sender's drawing.
RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
I have to make adjustments to his drawing and send it back, so I cannot rescale the whole drawing just for plotting purposes. I cannot believe an intelligent program like ACad can only plot scales referenced to either mm and inches, and having to manually adjust the "times ten" confuses me as I've got several viewports with different scales (some even 1:1, which I have to set to 10:1 to get the correct print).
Also, the dimscale "to fit" is wrong by 10.
I cannot be the first one with these problems in a drawing in cm's...?
RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
I guess I have it backward from you statement"I have to set the model scale to 1:5 to have an actual print of 1:50". Apparently in model space you reduce the drawing 1/5th of the actual dimensions and when you plot you scale up by 50X your viewport, so in essence your plotted drawing is 10X larger then the real part.
When I open my viewport in paper space I personally like to scale my plotted drawings by either using the viewports toolbar or the command line Z>S>nXP since many of the viewports will have different scales. If for any reason I enlarge or reduce certain views in model space,then I'll have to do the same as you do.
RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
I'll rephrase the question though, maybe has someone else some insights:
If I drew something in furlong, 1:1, and I wanted to plot that drawing in scale 1:1 (let's assume we have a plotter and sheets of paper big enough...).
How would you do that? with the 1XP command, you would plot with 1 unit = either 1 mm or 1 inch (choice in the plot dialog).
I am trying to avoid doing the calcs in order to plot at a certain scale, as I have several viewports with different scales. I know there are ways around this (viewport-specific scales/locking), but I would like to know if this specific question is possible or not (in AutoCad 2009, or any other version if that matters).
RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
You can also use the viewport toolbar and designate the scale either those that are programmed or those that you are setting up and the active floating viwport in paper space will automatically adjust to that scale.
RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
Centimeters vs. millimeters is a tricky one though. As chicopee mentioned, perhaps the particular country's version of ACAD uses cm as a standard unit.
Can you change your plotter's paper size to cm instead of mm? Maybe make a custom paper size for Euro-boy's drawings?
RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
RE: plotting scale Q? when drawing in centimeters
Question, if you are modifying and returning another person's drawings, why do you have to manipulate the VP scales at all? Didn't he set them up in the first place?
Also, I assume since you are plotting from PS that you have a titleblock of standard size inserted. If you are stuck on having your viewport set correctly and you can't solve the issue with cm vs mm, scale your titleblock and veiwport up by 10 and plot it that way (at 1:10 as tr1ntx suggested).
This seems like a minor issue that would be best solved by spending as little time as possible on your part messing with plot settings.
Nate the Great
www.ceieng.com