Microstation Scaling

[jesusman]

I am new to MS and am pretty familiar with AutoCAD. I am running version J.

My Problem:
I am adding a detail to a drawing, which already has an existing scale. The detail I have drawn 1:1 and I need to fit it on the above drawing. How do I scale the entire detail so that it fits on the drawing. Then how do I add text so that it matches what's already there?

Is the idea with MS the same as AutoCAD before Paper Space? Meaning, is the title block scaled to fit the drawing or is it a set size, then you scale the drawing?

I wish Acad and MS talked better.

Thanks for your help.

 

[mike80]

jesusman,

You are correct, MS/J works the same as Acad before paper space. Typically we draw everything at 1:1 and then scale the border and title block accordingly. Text is scaled to print out at the desired size.

 

[jesusman]

Mike,

How would you setup this detail? I don't want to start labeling things until I have it at the right scale. It appears the plan drawing hasn't been drawn at 1:1 because when I drew the detail 1:1 it's larger than the plan drawing. So I would think I need to scale the detail down at some factor of 12 to get it to fit in the alotted space, but I don't know how to do that. Thanks for your help!

jman

 

[mike80]

jman,

If the drawing is not at 1:1, to find out what scale the drawing is, measure the length of a line and compare it to the length is should be. Then draw the new detail at 1:1 and scale is down by the same ratio afterwards.

Text size is set depending on what scale the overall drawing is to be plotted out at. If the overall drawing is at the same scale as the detail, all the text would be the same.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the delay in responding, but I was out of the office for a couple days.

Mike

 

[jesusman]

No problem, I had a busy week on another project anyway. Somehow I drew my detail 12 times larger than it should have been, so I scaled it down 1/12 and it was too small, so I scale it down to 1/2, so it's drawn 1:6. Would you recommend a different scale? If I am thinking right, that's 1" = 6"? It fits in the space nicely, but isn't a common scale. Thanks for your help!

 

[mike80]

jman,

If you started with a 1:1 and scaled it down by 1/2, your detail is now at 1"=2', electronically at least. This would be the same as 1/2"=1', so that is a normal scale. The final scale on the plot will depend on the scale factor you are using for printing the drawing, i.e., 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, etc.

 

[jesusman]

Gotcha! Thanks!

 

[vsiccclubchamp]

Why don't you draw the detail at 1:1. Attach the detail as a reference file to a border sheet. Scale the reference file accordingly to fit into the sheet. Then determine the scale of the text and arrowheads by the scale factor of the detail. Go back to the detail and label it. You should always draw details at 1:1. Take advantange of the reference file tools that have been around for 20 years.

 

[jesusman]

Well mainly because I don't know how. I have used AutoCAD xref for years and understand it well, and I understand the concept is the same. I will research the reference file command and see if I can get it to work. Thanks for your help!

 

[jesusman]

PS how do reference files act when you email the main drawing to someone? Does the reference file go with it or do I need to attach it seperatly? Then how is it received on the other end? Do they see it properly or do they need to repath the reference file?

 

[broekie]

You either need to send the reference file separately or do a reference file merge where all the reference files are merged into the active file/sheet.

In my office, we do bridge design and we will draw the bridge at 1:1 in a reference file. Each of our sheet files then contains a border, the text/dimensions, and the reference file attachments. We don't have any details actively drawn on the sheet files.

Hope this helps.

 

[jesusman]

Sounds like what I do with Acad, I should be able to figure it out. Thanks!

 

[vsiccclubchamp]

FYI - if you are going to e-mail the files make sure you have save reference file full path off if you are running verion J. Make sure the plot file and reference file reside in the same folder and the reference file will always be attached.

Hope this helps

Champ