METRIC TO FRACTIONAL CONVERSION
METRIC TO FRACTIONAL CONVERSION
(OP)
hi,
I am having problems creating a drawing that lets me specify distances metrically, later to be converted to feet and inches. I see many FAQs on the subject, but none that seem to directly address my specific problem. I'd appreciate it if someone could offer a little guidance.
I'm working in the US from metrically dimensioned architect's plans. Into these I will have to place items that are manufactured in feet and inches, so a lot of coversion is required. I was hoping to specify distances as written on my plans (metrically), and convert to US measurements further on.
Originally I set my units to decimal/millimeters, and created a dimension style that showed the metric measurements as primary units, and displayed feet and inches (scaled to .3937) as an alternate. When I offset a line a given distance and dimensioned it, everything appeared fine. But when I switched dimension styles to fractional ones, I found that I was actually working x 2.54 too large. I tried scaling my entire drawing by .3937, but the dimensions stll weren't working as I had expected.
Now I'm totally confused.
Any suggestions, gudance, or concise info sources on the subject?
thanks,
sd
I am having problems creating a drawing that lets me specify distances metrically, later to be converted to feet and inches. I see many FAQs on the subject, but none that seem to directly address my specific problem. I'd appreciate it if someone could offer a little guidance.
I'm working in the US from metrically dimensioned architect's plans. Into these I will have to place items that are manufactured in feet and inches, so a lot of coversion is required. I was hoping to specify distances as written on my plans (metrically), and convert to US measurements further on.
Originally I set my units to decimal/millimeters, and created a dimension style that showed the metric measurements as primary units, and displayed feet and inches (scaled to .3937) as an alternate. When I offset a line a given distance and dimensioned it, everything appeared fine. But when I switched dimension styles to fractional ones, I found that I was actually working x 2.54 too large. I tried scaling my entire drawing by .3937, but the dimensions stll weren't working as I had expected.
Now I'm totally confused.
Any suggestions, gudance, or concise info sources on the subject?
thanks,
sd





RE: METRIC TO FRACTIONAL CONVERSION
I figued it out, finally, also refined my keyword search.
thanks anyway, however, I'm always interseted in useful info.
sd
RE: METRIC TO FRACTIONAL CONVERSION
Better to use the 'cal function to scale keyboard input as you're entering it.
Example: You're entering a distance that's 50 mm, but the drawing is in inches. So where you might otherwise do the conversion and type in an inch equivalent, you would type 'cal <space> 50 / 25.4 <enter>.
Of course, it doesn't work everywhere, so you need to keep a calculator handy.
It's also a good idea to always use the exact conversion factors instead of approximations, and to hang them on the wall so everyone uses the same factors. I couldn't make sense of one designer's drawings until I realized he thought there 26 mm in an inch. Try unraveling that mess.
-Mike-
RE: METRIC TO FRACTIONAL CONVERSION
RE: METRIC TO FRACTIONAL CONVERSION
Command: offset
Command: Specify offset distance or [Through] <Through>: (/ 1000 25.4)
just be sure that the input units are millimeters.
Absolute zero has nothing on me!!