Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Kick up the IQ of your AutoCAD objects

Kick up the IQ of your AutoCAD objects:
I’m not going to lie…I don’t want to do any more work than I absolutely have to.  The ultimate punishment for me – having to do things over again!  Smart objects ultimately mean less work for me in the long run – and that makes me a happy AutoCAD user.  Capiche?
So here’s the deal…you’ll have to do more upfront work on your drawings – but the payoff is big!  Especially if you work someplace where it feels like your designs are always on a spinner – never knowing for sure where upper management is going to have them land.  More importantly – if you are often churning out similar designs – adding in parametrics will make quick work for you (something to consider if you’re getting paid by the hour).
Geometric Constraints sound scary – but they most certainly are not!  They work quite similarly to object snaps (and we are all pros at object snaps) – except that they stick around after the fact.  They don’t just run home and leave you after one drink – they’re in it for the long haul...
(note to self:  call therapist)
You can apply geometric constraints manually to straighten up (fix) geometry as you go. For example, you drew two lines that were supposed to be perpendicular but you were a bad shot.  Add in a perpendicular constraint to straighten those bad boys out and they'll be fixed in no time!
You can also apply geometric constraints to geometry that needs to maintain a relationship with other objects (it’s a cheater).
(note to self:  call therapist today!)
For example, you have multiple circles in a drawing that should always be the same size.  You can add in an “=” equal constraint to all the circles and they promise to always maintain equal diameters.  Whatever you do to one will affect the others (just like real life).  This saves time in the long run and that’s always a good thing!
So check out my Cadalyst video to learn more about adding geometric constraints into your life – they might just make that Design Spinner a little easier to deal with.



P.S.  everything’s fine...

DIGITAL JUICE

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