A Practical Guide to Parametric Drawing in AutoCAD | Autodesk University

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A Practical Guide to Parametric Drawing in AutoCAD

Rick Ellis

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Description

Parametric design tools aren’t just for programs like Inventor software, Revit software, InfraWorks software, or AutoCAD Civil 3D software; there’s a set of parametric drawing tools that you can use to create dynamic relationships and constraints between objects in AutoCAD software as well. The parametric drawing tools will revolutionize the way that you draw and edit objects in AutoCAD. This class will introduce you to parametric drawing in AutoCAD by using both geometric and dimensional constraints to add intelligence to your objects. You’ll discover how using Auto Constrain and Inferred Constraints can help you quickly add constraints and change your process from drafting to modeling. If you’ve ever wanted geometry in your drawing to update based on changes that you’ve made to other objects, or if you’ve wanted to type a new value into a dimension and have the object update based on this new value, then this class is for you.

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Rick Ellis

Rick Ellis is the President of CADapult Software Solutions, Inc., where he provides training and consulting services to clients around the country, helping them get the most out of their design software investment. Rick specializes in Autodesk® Civil 3D®, AutoCAD® Map 3D, Autodesk® InfraWorks™, AutoCAD® Raster Design, and AutoCAD®. He is a member of the Autodesk Developer Network, and author of several critically acclaimed books on AutoCAD Civil 3D, and AutoCAD Map 3D; including the Practical Guide series. Rick continues to use AutoCAD Civil 3D on projects in a production environment, in addition to teaching classes to organizations both large and small around the country. This practical background and approach has made him a sought after instructor by organizations around the world.

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Transcript

RICK ELLIS:Allright.Goodmorning.Wewillgetstartedhere.Itlookslikeitistime.

Sofirstclassofthedayondaytwo.How'severybodydoing?Good?Thatwasenthusiastic,even.Ididnotfeelenthusiasticwhenthealarmwentoffthismorning.Idon'tknowaboutyouguys.

Well,I'mgladyoumadeitoutthismorning.HopeyouhadagoodfirstdayofAUyesterday.Thisclassis,asitsaysonthescreenthere,parametricdrawinginAutoCAD,basicallyatoolthat'sbeenaroundforanumberofyearsnowthatkindofgetsoverlooked.Andwe'regoingtotalkabouthowitworks,whatitdoes,andreallykindofjustdigintothenutsandbolts,fundamentalspartofit,andthenletyouallthinkabouthowitmayormaynotapplytowhatyoudobackatyourownjobsandstuff.Sothat'swhatwe'reafterinthis90minutesthatwe'vegot.

Justbriefly,ifyou'rewonderingwhoIam,I'manindependentconsultant,trainer,author.Iprimarilyworkwiththecivilsurveyproducts,soCivil3D,theGISproductslikeAutoCADMap.IalsodosomeAutoCADstuffaswell.I'mpartoftheAutodeskUniversityAdvisoryCouncil,whichis,again,agroupofus,aboutadozenofusthatarenotAutoCADorAutodeskemployees,butworkwiththeAUteamasfaras,hopefully,advisingthemonplansthattheyhave,newthingsthattheywanttodowithAU,andstufflikethat.

AndIbelieve,ifmymathiscorrect,thisisyear14formeteachingatAU.Sotimefliesby,asweweretalkinguphereinthefrontrow.Sothat'skindofenoughaboutme.

Tohelpmeout,inthebackI'vegotthreevery,veryqualifiedlabassistantstohelpyou.We'vegotCurt,who'swalkingtowardstheback.Ifyou'reactiveonlinewithanysortofCAD-relatedstuff,youmayhavecomeacrosshimasaKungfuDrafterthere,toletyouputafacewithablog.Hehasalsostartedanewsite,KungfuManager.Isthatcorrect?Am Igetting that right?OK.Sosomedefinitelyinterestingstufftocheckoutthereifyou'relookingonline.

Al andTracyarebothontheeducationsideofthings.AlhasanATCinSanDiego.Soit'sprobablynotraininginSanDiegotoday.Oh,itis?OK.Soit'sgotallofushere.Iknowthata numberofuswerealittlesurprisedatthatthismorning.

AndTracyisaninstructoratHutchinsonCommunityCollege.AndTracyandIactuallywroteanAutoCADbooktogetheraboutayearagoandstuff.Sohetooktheleadonthat.Sohe'sapublishedauthoraswellwiththis.

Sojusttobackupaminuteonthis,thereasonthatthey'rehereistohelpyouallout.Obviously,there'sroomforabout100ofyououthere.IfIwastostopforeverysinglequestionthatyoumighthave--ifsomebodycan'tfindafile,oryourcomputerdoesn'twork,oryourmousestopsworkingorsomecrazythingslikethat--wewouldn'tgetthroughverymuchmaterial.Sothey'regoingtohelpyououtwiththosetypesofquestions.

Ifyou'vegotquestionsasfarasunderstandingwhatI'msayingandwiththematerial,conceptualthings--well,hey,couldIdothiswithit--absolutelyI'lltakesomeofthosequestionsbecauseIwanttosharethosewiththegroup.Butthetechnicalstuff,thethreeamigosthereinthebackwillhelpyououtwith.Justwavethemdown.Theywillcomeinandhelpyou.

Soasfarasyouguys,I'mcuriousasfaraswhatindustriesyouallarecomingfrombecausethisclass,IamgoingtomakeitasnonspecificoragnosticaswecouldbeasfarasindustrygoesbecauseIwantyoutojustfocusonthetools.Andnobodyknowswhatyouguysdobetterthanyoualldo.Soyoucanthinkabouthowitmayapply.We'regoingtofocusjustonitonthetoolsthere.

Sohowmanydowehave--Iguesswe'llstartwithmyendofthings.HowmanyofyouareinthecivilsurveyGIStypeofarena?Soafewofyou.See,IknewIwasamongfriends.Howaboutarchitects?Iwon'tholditagainstyou.Oh,no.Hey,Al andIaregoodfriends.He'sanarchitect.It'slikecatsanddogslivingtogetherandeverything.Howaboutmechanical?Wehadsomemechanicalpeoplehere.Great.

WhatamImissing?Electrical.Howaboutthat?Electrical.Allright.Bunchofelectrical.That'sawesome.WhoelsedoI notget?Nobody draws,like,dentalequipmentorsomethingweirdlikethat.Landscapearchitect.OK.Mypointbeing,we'reafairlydiversegroupwiththis.Iamnotgoingtohaveaspecificexamplethatmeetseverysingleoneofyourindustries,andI'mnot evengoingtotrywiththat.

We'reactuallygoingtodrawsomeprettysimplestuff,ifyouhadlookedatthehandoutthroughhere.We'regoingtodrawsomebasicshapesalotoftimesbecauseIdon'twantyoutofocusonengineeringduringthisclass.Iwantyoutofocusonwhatdoesthistooldo,andthenyou know howitcanapplytowhatyouwoulddowiththat.

SoyouhaveprobablybeenaskedtofilloutsurveysthroughoutyourfirstdayhereatAU.Iwanttoencourageyoutokeepdoingthat.Thattypeoffeedbackhelpsthe AUteamdecidewhattypesofclassesyouwanttoseeinthefuture,whattypesofinstructorsyouwanttoseeback,thingslikethat.Sodefinitelyfillthoseout.Ibelievetheyareonlythreequestionsthisyear,soanybodycangetthroughthreequestions.AndIwouldsuggest,honestly,doitbeforeyouleaveclassineachclassthatyou'rein.It'sfreshinyourmind.Boom,boom,boom,youdoitrightontheapponyourphoneortablet.

Andmoreimportantly,thisyear,becausewealllikefreestufforwanttohopetowinsomethinginVegas,whichmightbealongshot,theyaregivingawayaconferencepasstoAU2020every daybasedonwhofillsoutyoursurvey.Soeachsurveyyoufilloutisanotherticketinthejarthatyou'rehopingthatthey'regoingtopickout.Sowhynotfillitoutnow?IfyouwaittillFridaytofillthemoutnot,A,youdon'trememberwhatyousaw,probably,betweenallyourdifferentclasses,andB,youdon'tgetachancetowinanything.Sodoyoursurveys.Enoughonthat.

Also,becausewewanttogiveawaysomefreestuff,I'mgoingtogiveawayoneofTracy'sbookshereattheendoftheclass.We'llwaittilltheendoftheclasstodothatjustbecauseyouhavetosufferthroughmeforanhourandahalfbeforeyougetachancetowinanythingwiththat.

Iftheyhandedyouabusinesscardonyourwayin,itwasnotjustmeshamelesslypromotingmyself.We'regoingtousethatasawaytogiveawaythebook.Sojusthangontothose,atleasttilltheendthere.

Sowhatarewegoingtodo?Wegotthroughouragenda.We'regoingtotalksomeaboutwhatparametricdrawingisbecausejustifwedefinesomeofthisstuff,itbecomesaloteasier.That'scommonwithinallofAutodesk-typethings.Onceyoustarttolearnthedefinitionsandwhattheymeant,itbecomesprettyeasytodo.

Andthenwe'regoingtotalkaboutconstraintsforalongtime.Thereisbasicallydifferenttypesofconstraintsthatwecandoinparametricdrawing.Wehaveparametricingeneral,andthey'rebrokenintogeometricanddimensionalconstraints.Sowe'regoingtotalkaboutallthat.Igettosayconstraintsoverandoveragain.

Thenwe'regoingtolookathowyoumightuseconstraintsinsideofdynamicblocks,whichisanotherkindofinterestingtakeonthings.Andtheywillgetprettypowerfulthere.Andthenwe'regoingtolookat,timepermittingattheend,kindofan out-of-the-boxwaytouseconstraintswhereyoucanmanageannotationwiththat,too.Sothat'swhatweareafterhere.

Soasfarasgoalsfortheclass,they'rekindofthesamethatIhaveforeveryclassthatIteach.Obviously,youwanttolearnsomenewskills.That'swhyyou'rehereinalab.Morethananything,Ijustwanttomakeyouthinkaboutthis,thinkabouthowmightthisapplytoyou.Howdoesitmakesense?Soevenifyoucan'tuseatool,ifwemadeyouthink,thatwasworthwhile.Andthenobviously,ifwecanhavealittlebitoffunduringourtimetogether,that'sgoingtobeevenbetter.

Sowithquestions,likeIsaidbefore,labassistantsareheretohelpyouwiththat.I'lltakeashorttimeaftereachtopic,maybetakeafewquestions.Iprobablycan'ttakeeverythingbecause,again,wemightjustgrindtoahalt.Afterthesession,thereisanotherlabinhere,Ibelieve15minutesafterwe'redone.They'vegotaprettytightturnaroundonthings.SoIdon'twanttobeinthewayofthenextinstructor.Iwanttorespecthimorher,whoeveritmaybe.

SoI'llbepackingstuffup.IfyouwanttotalktomewhileI'mpackingthingsup,that'sfine.Otherwise,ifyouwanttomeetmeoutinthehallafterwards,I'mhappytostickaroundandtalkaboutanythingthatyouwantthen.Orifyouseemeatanytimeduringtheconference,grabmeinthehallandtalkaboutstuff.That'sfine,too.Ijustdon'twantalineof45minutesworthofpeopleupatthefrontwhenwe'vegotanotherclassthat'sgoingtostartbecauseI'vebeeninthatpositionaswell,asaninstructor,saying,hey,Ineedtogetreadyformyclass.So wewanttogetout.

Youalsowillhavemyemail.It'sinthehandout.It'salsoonthebusinesscardthatyougot,oryoucanconnectwithmethroughtheAUappifthatworks.Ihaven'tconnectwithanybodybecausenobodywantstoyet.Sowe'llleaveitlikethat.

Curt'sourdogguy.Doyouhaveananswerformyquestion,Curt?

CURT MORENO:My dogs wear their pants likethe one on the right.Theoneon the leftis just silly.

RICK ELLIS:OK,becausetheoneontherightisn'tsillyatall.Doeshewearthembackwards,soituses,like,azipperforthetail?

CURT MORENO:They'redoggie pants.

RICK ELLIS:Idon'tknow.I'mjustasking.Itendtothinkaboutthings.Soanyway,Iwanttotakeyouguysthroughaquickexercisetostartwherewejustlookatanexampleofwhatyoucandowithparametricdrawingandstuff.Soonyourdesktop,youshouldseeaniconforAutoCAD.Ifyouhaven'tlaunchedthat,goaheadandopenitup.

Also,ifyoudidn'tbringahandoutwithyou,that'sOK.Youcanlookituponyourphoneoryourtabletifyouhavethat.Itshouldbeavailableontheapp.Also,IputaPDFofthehandoutinthedatasetfortheclassaswell.SothereisanicononyourdesktopthatsaysDataSetthatwilljustbringupWindowsExplorer.

Ifyoufindourclassinthat--whichiswhateverourclassnumberis,andthenAPracticalGuidetoParametricDrawingisthename--insideofthatthereisaPDFwhereyou'llhavethehandoutwitheverything,stepbystep,thatwe'regoingtodotoday.

I'mgoingtojumpovertoAutoCAD.AndI'llopenupthisdrawing.Sowe'regoingtogotothedrawinginsideofDataSets,offyourCdrive,DataSets,andthenourclassname.AndinsideofthatisafoldercalledCompletedAssembly.SoifyougotothatfolderinourdatasetcalledCompletedAssembly,andthereisonetherecalledWidgetArmAssemblyComplete.That'sthenameofthefile,WidgetArmAssemblyComplete.

Soifyouopenthat,whatwewillseewhenthatcomesupissomethingthatlookslikethis.I'llgiveeverybodyamomenttofindit.

NowthisisadrawingthatsomebodyhasappliedabunchofconstraintstoinAutoCAD.We'lllookathowwedothis.We'reactuallygoingtobuildthisattheendofclass,providingwehavetime,whichweshould.Andthisisreallysomethingthat'smadeupoutofjustacoupleofblocks,orahandfulofblocks.AndifyoupickoneofthoseblockslikethatmainonethatIhaveselected,andyouselectthegrip,you'llnoticethatallyou'reallowedtodoisslideitupanddown.

Oh,thedatasetisnotonthere?

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

RICK ELLIS:Curt?Dataset'sonhere.OK.Oh.Let'sbackupjustonesecondhereasfarasareyoubrowsingtothedatasetinAutoCAD,orareyoulookingforitinjustWindowsExplorer?Bothways,OK.Becausesincethesearevirtualmachines,you'regoingtohavetwoinstancesofExplorer,basically,tolookforthings.

I'monmylaptopsoIdon'thavethevirtualmachine.Butyoumayseeabaratthebottomandthenoneabovethat.Stickontheoneaboveit.Basically,you'reworkingwithinawindowthatisthatvirtualmachineonyourdesktop.NowifyouhavelaunchedAutoCAD,YoushouldjustbeabletobrowsetotheCdriveandseethatdatasetsfolderiftheypushedeverythingliketheyweresupposedtohere.

Ifnot,Curthasgotajumpdrivethatweshouldbeabletocopysomestuffaroundtothere.Sojustmakesureyoucatchthem.Ifyoudon'thavethedatasetandit'snotshowinguphere,justwatchwhatI'mgoingtodoonthisonestepbecauseIjustwanttoshowyoukindofwhatparametricdrawingstuffdoes,period.Soyoudon'tyouwon'tgettotouchthisone,butthat'sOK.Itwon'thurtus.

Basically,Icanjustpickthatblock.Idon'thaveOrthoturnedon.Idon'thaveSnapsturnedon.Butthisblockisonlyallowedtoslideupanddownthatshaftintheassembly.Ithasconstraintsthattellitthat.Andyou'llseethatthere'sadimensionalconstraintonitthatsaysthatitis0.5unitsfromtheedgeinhowit'sdimensioned.

Also,youseethetwoarmsareconnected,andtheyrotatewitheachother.IfIdragthisdownto,say,thispositionandjustdouble-clickonthatdimension,andinsteadof0.5,maybeItypein0.9,you'llseethatitmovesover.Andnowitslidesattheoffsetof0.9.

Sowejusteditedadimensionandthegeometrychanged,whichisnothowAutoCADworks.WealwayseditthegeometryinAutoCADandthedimensionsupdatebasedonthat.SothisissomethingthatmightlookalittlebitmorelikeoneoftheverticalproductslikeInventororRevit,Civil3D,someofthosetypesofthings.

Sothat'swhatwecando.That'swhatwewillsetupeventually.Andthat'sreallyallthatwewantedtoseeorshowinthatparticularexercise.

Anotheronetoshowyouhere.Youcouldopenup--inthefolderrightabovethatisParametricGeometricisthedrawingname.Andagain,youcanjustwatchthisoneifyouwant.Butthishasbasicallylikeanoldorthographicprojectionthatsomebodyhasdrawn.NownormallyinAutoCAD,thiswouldjustbeabunchofindependentlinesorarcsthatarethere.

Butnoticeifyoupickoneofthoselinesandstarttomoveitaround,checkouttheviewbelowit.Soitknowsthatthosearetiedtogether.IfIwastopickthisline,itknowsthatthosearemovedtogether.SojustusingAutoCADcommandstostretchormoveobjects,otherobjectsareconnectedtothose,ortheyare,inAutodesk'sterms,constrainedsothattheymatchthatgeometry.Sothat'swhatparametricdrawingisinAutoCAD.That'swhatwe'regoingtotrytodohere.

Sowe'llbackupalittlebitnowandtalkabouthowdoesthiswork.HowdoImakethishappeninmydrawing?

Sobasically,ifyoueverwantedtodoanythinglikethis,keeptwolinesthesamelengthallthetime.Keeptwolinesperpendiculartoeachother.Editadimensionandhavetheobjectupdate.Thesearejustallexamplesofwhatparametricdrawingdoes.Andthat'sjustafewofthem.Therearecertainlymorethanthis.

Butifyou'relongtimeAutoCADusers,you'reprobablythinking,thisisnottypicallyhowI'musedtousingAutoCAD.Sothatmaygetustothinkandchangethingsalittlebit.IlookedupintheHelpwhatAutodesk'sdefinitionofparametricdrawingwas.Youcanseeithere.Youcanreaditifyouwant.It'samouthful.Basically,itisafeaturethatallowsobjectstoberelatedtooneanother.Itestablishestheseconnectionsorrelationships.

Anoldfriendofmine,BillFein,whousedtowritefor_Catalyst_foralongtime,hereferredtothemasstickyObjectSnaps.Imean,we'veallusedObjectSnaps.AtleastIhopewe'veallusedObjectSnaps.Ifyou'renotusingObjectSnaps,probablybe agoodidea.ButweallknowthatObjectSnapsworkforthatonemomentintime.

Whenyousnapthesetwolinesperpendiculartoeachother,they'reperpendicularnow,butifIchangeanythinginthedrawingrelatedtothose,they'renotgoingtostayperpendicular.Somebodycangostretchormoveeitheroneofthoselines,andthey'renotgoingtostaythatway.

Well,basically,parametricdrawing,orinparticular,geometricconstraints,allowittostaythatwaypermanently.Soifyouweretomoveoneofthoseperpendicularlines,theotherlinewouldalsoadjustsoitstaysperpendicularbasedontheconstraintsthatyouputin.Andthedimensionalconstraintend ofthingsisbasicallyjustdimensionsthatdrivegeometry,ratherthanthegeometrydrivingthedimension.

Whohasn'tlookedatadimensionandsaid,oh,Ineedtochangethelengthofthatline?Wouldn'titbecooltojustgoinandtypethelengthofthelineandthedimensionandmakeitupdate,ratherthan,OK,I'mgoingtogousetheStretchcommand,andmakeitthatlong,andsoon.

Sothereareacoupleofthingsaboutparametricconstraints.Theyareappliedto2DgeometryinAutoCAD.Theyarenotmeanttobe3D.NowIhaveseensomepeopledosomekindofcrazythingswheretheystartmessingwiththeUCS,andsoittreatsthez-axislikeanx-axisandcanmakeitwork.It'snothowit'smeanttowork.Idon'twanttosayyoucan't,buttheseare2Dtoolshere.Andthere'sreallytwodifferenttypesofconstraints.Wekindoftouchedonthemalittlebit,geometricanddimensional.

Sowe'regoingtojusttalkaboutgeometricinthefirstplace.AndyoucanseesomeofthedefinitionsthatareintheHelpfromAutodesk.WetalkedaboutthatstickyOSNAPidea.Bottomlineisthatwe'readdingintelligencetothedrawing.We'retryingtomovethisawayfrombeingjustanelectronicpencilwherewehavelines,arcs,andcirclesandtheymeannothing,andputsomeintelligenceonthem.

AndI'msurethat'sathemethatyou'veheardaboutinotherclassesatAU,ofhowdowemakeourdrawingsandourdesignsmoreintelligent?Andideally,that'sgoingtoletyouthinkmoreofthisintermsofmodelinginsteadofdrafting.Wedon'twanttojustbetheelectronicpencil,likeIwassaying.Ifwethinkabouthowwe'redesigningthemodel,howthingsarerelatedtoeachother,ithasalotmorevalue.

Sothereareanumberoftypesofgeometricconstraints.Again,I'mnotgoingtoreadallthesetoyou.Youcansee,inalotofcases,howthesewillparallelalotofourObjectSnapsthatyou'reusedtousing.

Thereareafewherethatareunique.Forinstance,acoincidentconstraintisbasicallylockingpointsontwodifferentobjectstogether.SoinsteadofjoiningtwolinesintoaPLINE,youcanjustputacoincidentconstraintontheendofbothofthem,andthey'relockedtogetherasifitwasaPLINE,butthey'retwoseparateobjects.

Nowyoucanlockthemtootherlocations,too.Icouldlocktheendofalinetothecenterofacircle,ortheendofalinetangenttoacirclewiththat.Andyou'llseethere'sdifferentoptionsonhereliketangent.There'shorizontalandvertical.That'soneofthethingsthatweusedonthatwidgetthatwelookedatafewminutesagowhenitwasonlyallowedtoslideupanddownlikethat.

Fixedconstraint.That'sgoingtohaveyoufixedtoaparticularpointinthedrawing.Sothiscornerofthisobject,orthisendofthisline,isstuckatthisxyposition.Sowe'regoingtolookatabunchofthese.

Nowyoualsohave,withgeometricconstraints,thingscalledconstraintpoints.Thesearekindoflikegripsinaway,buttheyaredifferent.Butthesearebasicallythepointsonanobjectthatyoucanconstrainthingsto.Soobviously,youhavethingslikeendpointandmidpoint.Alotofthesemakealotofsensehereasfarasarcs.Youhaveacenterpointyoucanworkwith.Ellipsesandcircles,youhavecentersandsoon.

Thekindofinterestingoneisthereallybottomonehere,blocks,Xrefs,text,Mtext.Basicallyanythingthathasaninsertionpoint,thatinsertionpointcanbeusedasaconstraintaswell.Andthat'swherewecandosomekindofinterestingstuffwithannotation.Forinstance,ifyouweretoldallofourleaders,allofourannotationforourleaders,issupposedtolineupverticallyinaline,well,youcouldmakethosealllinedupwithconstraintssoifyoumoveoneofthem,theyallcometogetherasagroup,eventhoughthey'reindividualobjectsbecausewe'rebasedoffoftheinsertionpoint.

Sothere'salsosomeoptionshereforwhattheycallauto-constrainandinferredconstraints.Nowauto-constrainwillletustakeanobjectthatwasdrawnproperlywithyourOSNAPS.Linesareperpendicularorparallel,ortheyshareendpoints,andbasicallyletyoujustpickitandsay,AutoCAD,putalltheconstraintsonthatyoucan.Soit'llkindofdoitforyou.We'lllookatthatinamoment.

AndinferredconstraintsworkhandinhandwithyourOSNAPSsowhenyousnapsomethingtogether,let'ssay,thatisperpendicular,AutoCADsays,hey,that'sperpendicular.I'mgoingtoputaperpendicularconstraintonitautomaticallyforyou.Soitjustkindofdoesitasyougo.

Auto-constrainisonecommand--youwindowthingsanditputsitonthere--whereinferredconstraintsjustworksasyougowithit.

Solet'strysomeoftheseout.Beforewejumpintothat,though,justacoupleofgeneraltipswhenweusetheseconstraintsbecausethesearesomethingsthataregoingtodriveusfortherestoftheclass.

Whenyouapplyaconstraintbetweentwoentities--ageometricconstraint,inparticular,hereiswhatwe'retalkingabout--butwhenyouapplythatconstraint,ifthetwoobjectsaren'talreadyreadyforthatconstraintgeometrically--let'ssayyousaid,Iwanttoputinaperpendicularconstraint--ifthelinesaren'tperpendicular,AutoCADhastomakethemperpendicular,whichmeansit'sgoingtochangeoneoftheobjects.

Itchangesthesecondoneyoupick.Soyousay,pickthislineandthisline.Thesecondoneyoupickiswhat'sgoingtochangetobecomeperpendicular.Soyou'lljustgetinthehabitofkindofintuitivelyknowingpicktheoneIlikefirst,picktheoneIwanttomodifysecond.Ifyouhaveabunchoflinesegments,orlinesandarcs,thatyouconvertintoapolyline,andtheywerealreadyconstrained,you'regoingtolosetheconstraintsbecausewe'vechangeditfromlinestopolylines.

Sodon'tjoinabunchoflinesthatareconstrainedbecauseyouwilllosethem.Ifyouexplodeapolylinethathasconstraints,guesswhat'sgoingtohappen?They'regoingtobegone.Sodon'texplodethingsthatareconstrained.

Andwhataboutcopyingobjects?Well,ifyoucopyobjectsthathaveconstraints,theconstraintwillbecopiedwiththemaslongasyoucopyalltheobjectsinvolved.Sotypicallyconstraints,they'reapair.Ifyoucopybothofthem,it'llbringtheconstraintalong.Ifyoucopyjustonepieceofit,itdoesn'thaveanythingtoconstrainitselfto,soitlosesaconstraintthen.Sojustkeepthoseinthebackofyourmindaswe'relookingatusingsomeofthese.

Sowe'regoingtojumpintoournextexercise.I'mgoingtogobacktoAutoCAD,andI'mjustgoingtostayinthatparametricgeometricdrawingthatwewereworkingonafewminutesago.Anddideverybodyfindadataset?Arewegoodthere,guys?OK.

SoI'minthatsamedrawing,andwe'regoingtodoafewthingsprettysimple.Remember,Isaidsimplegeometryfocusingonprocessheremorethananything.We'regoingtodrawfourlines,justpanover,zoomovertoablankarea,I'mgoingtousetheAutoCADlinecommand.I'm going todrawfourlinesthatareseparate,andmine,onpurpose,aregoingtonotlookliketheyareparalleloranythinglikethat.

ButIwanttomakearectangleoutofthosefourlines,andIwantthistobeanactualrectanglethatknowsit'sarectangle.

SoifIedititandchangeit,itstaysarectanglebecauseI'msuremostofyouhaveusedtherectanglecommandinAutoCAD.Drawsapolylinethat'sarectangle.Anditlookslikearectangleuntilyoueditit.Andnowit'sjustapolylinethatiswhatevershapeitturnedinto.

SoI'mgoingtogothroughandstartbyusingthecoincidentconstraint.Andifyoulookonyourribbon,gototheparametrictab.Soontheparametrictaboftheribbon,thegeometricpaneliswherewe'regoingtobefocused.Andthisupperleftsmallbuttonisthecoincidentconstraint.

SoifIpickthat,itsaysselectmyfirstobject.SonoticewhenIputmycursorovertheobject,I'mnottypinginanendpointSnaporanythinglikethat,butIgetthisredmarkerthat'stellingmewhattheconstraintpointisI'mreadytoselect.Soaslongasyougoclosetooneend,orcloserthanyouaretothemidpoint,itjustsays,I'mgoingtoconstrainthatendpoint.

Andthengooverandpickanotherendpoint.Andyou'llseethatlinejumpsdownandlockstogether.Remember,thesecondoneiswhatmoves.Well,wecanjustdothatsamecommandagainthreemoretimes.Sothisendpointandthatendpoint,andjustcontinuewithourdifferentendpointsuntilwehavethemalllockedtogether.

Andyoumightbethinking,well,bigdeal,Rick.Wejustmadewhat lookslikeapolyline.Youknow,wecouldhavedonethatbefore.Curt'sveryhappy.Butthosearelockedtogether.Youmightseeonyourscreen,there'salittlebluedotatthosecorners.Thatmeansthereisacoincidentconstraintthere.

Let'sdosomethingbetterthanthat.Gotothegeometrictabagainandpicktheparallelbutton,whichisrightbelowcoincident.Andthenpickonelineandpicktheoppositelinetothatthatyouwantparallel.Thatmodifieslinenumbertwo.Thoseareparallel.Dothatasecondtimeonwhatshouldbethetwohorizontallines.

SonowI'vegotaparallelogram,ifmyoldgeometryclassstillsticks.AndnoticeifIstartdraggingthisaround,itstaysparallel,sothat'skindofcool.Sogeometry-wise,whatdoIneedhere?Ifeverything'sparallel,everything'sconnected,ifImakeonesetoftheseperpendicular,Ishouldnowhavemyrectangle.

Soifwegouptotheconstraintsandpickkindofthemiddlebuttonthere,whichisperpendicular,andIpickmyfirstlineandmysecondline,thosearenowperpendicular.NowifIgrabmybox,youcanseeitstretchesout,andthisactuallyactslikearectangleshouldact.Sonowthat'salittlemoreinteresting,hopefully.

Ifyouwantedthistobecompletelykindofatarightangle,horizontalandvertical,youcanthenalsopickthehorizontalconstraintandpickoneofthelines,andthatwilllockithorizontal,sonowitwillnotrotateoffofthisinanyway.AndifIjustgrabagriponthecorner,Icanstretchitaroundandmoveit.Soreallybasicgeometry,butwe'vesetthatup.

Nowsomethingelsetobeawareof.Noticetheselittletoolbar-likethingsthatshowupafteryou'vecreatedyourconstraintsthataretellingyoutheconstraintisthere.Ifyouputyourcursoroverthose,youdogetanoptionwhenyouright-clickonittodeletetheconstraint.Thatwouldremoveitthere.Youcanalsohideit.Andhere'soneofthethings.Youmayendthisclassanddecide,yeah,thisstuffwascool,butIreallydon'thaveanapplicationformyself.Imaynotendupusingit.

Nowtheflipsidehereiswhatifsomebodygivesyouadrawingthathasawholebunchofconstraintsonthem?Ifyoudon'tunderstandwhatconstraintsareandwhyit'sdoingthis,Imean,itlookslikeyourdrawingispossessed.Imean,youmoveoneline,anddifferentthingsaremovingaround,andyou'rethinkingallkindsofcrazythingswiththat.

Sothesecanbehidden.AndnoticethereisabuttonuphereforyouonyourconstraintsthatsaysShoworHideorShowAllorHideAll.SoifIpickedHideAll,thesealldisappeared.Theystillwork.ButifIgetoneofthesedrawings,Ihavenoideawhyit'sdoingthis.

Sojustremember,youcanalwaysgoupandpickShowAllontheconstraintstoshowyouthosebars.Andifyouwantedtogetridofthem,there'sevenabigbuttonupherethatsaysDeleteConstraints,andyoucanjustwindowthewholedrawingandgetridofeverything.Soifsomebodysentyouadrawing,youdon'twantconstraints,youcanveryeasilygetridofthatratherthanhavingitdriveyouandyouruserscrazywiththat.

Sojustattheveryleast,beingawareofthisisimportant.Yes.

AUDIENCE:Questionabout therectangle.If I wanted tobring that around thecenter more[INAUDIBLE]how mightI goabout that?

RICK ELLIS:Withadimensionalconstraintonthat.Sowhenwegetintothose,it'llprobablymakesensewiththem.IcouldprobablyalsodoitwithsomeothergeometrythatIputonalayerandturnofforsomething,too,becausewecoulddrawacrossthroughthemiddleandconnectthattothecenterpointsofthoselines,andthenputafixedpointrightinthemiddle,andthatwouldprobablywork,too.ButaswithmostthingsinAutoCAD,there'sprobablytwoorthreedifferentwaystogettothatdestinationofwhatyouwanttodo.

Soifwezoombackout,overofftotheleftofyourscreensomewhereisthispieceofgeometry.Nowthishasnoconstraintsonit,butIwanttoputsomeconstraintsonit,andI'mgoingtoletyouguysseeifyoucanconstrainit.Nowitneedsabunchofcoincidentconstraintsatallthesecornerstolockthingstogether.Probablyparallel.Anyotherthingsthatwemightwantonthis?Anyideas?Horizontal,absolutely.Othersuggestions?I'mthinkingofoneinparticularwehaven'ttalkedaboutyet.

AUDIENCE:Tangent.

RICK ELLIS:Tangent,yes.Iheardtangentacoupleofplacesbecausetangentisgoingtobeimportantonthat.Sotakeaminuteortwoandaddthoseandseehowyoudowithit.SoI'mgoingtogothroughandaddacoincidentonthesecorners,andanothercoincidentthere,andcoincidentsonthoseendpoints.AndI'malsogoingtoaddthattangentonethatwehad.

So I'm goingtosaythisandthatshouldbetangent.Thatarcandthatlineshouldbetangent.Andthesamethingoverontheotherside.

AUDIENCE:You mightwant to encouragepeople toshow theirconstraint.

RICK ELLIS:Yes.IfyouclicktheHideConstraintbutton,goupanddotheShowAllconstraintsjustsoyoucanseewhatyou'vedonewiththat.That'sagoodpoint.Ialsowanttoaddparallelsonthoselines.SoI'mgoingtodoparallelconstraintsonthese.Nowsincethiswasalldrawncorrectly,I'mreallynotseeinganythingmovewhenIdomysecondlinelikewedidbefore.Soweshouldgettowhereitdoessomethingkindoflikethis.

Nowdidanybodytryitoutandhavethishappen?Onesidegotwaybiggerthantheother.Anybodyendupwiththat?Oryoualldiditrightinthefirstplace,right?OK.Thereisanotherconstraintthatwehaven'ttalkedaboutyetcalledequal,whereIcantellit,withtheEqualConstraintbutton,makethisarcequaltothatarc.Nowthosestaythesame.SoifIwastograboneofthesearcs,changeitsradius,I candothat.IfIaddoneofthosehorizontalconstraints,we'llgetbacktohorizontal.

NownoticewhenIstartdraggingthisaround,it'schangingthelengthoftheverybottomline,andthatanglepointischanging,andI'mholdingthepivotpointinthemiddle.Well,there'stwodifferentwaystotrytocontrolthat.OneisifIjustpickedtheouterline,nowitholdsthatoneandtheanglepointinthecenterchanges.Sowecoulddothat.

Orifyouwanttoholdthisouterpoint,usethefixedconstraint.Thatisthatpadlockbutton.Ifweputitonthatcorner, itsaysthatcornerhastostaythere.SoevenifIdragthemiddleonearound,thatendisnotgoingtogoanyplace.SoIcanchangethelengthwiththatandsoon.Lateronwe'lllookatadimensionalconstraint,whereyoucouldactuallyputinanangleforthis.

Nowthisisnotaverycomplexpart.Andthismightseemlikeit'salittlebittedioustoputallofthoseconstraintsononeatatime.Sowewanttolookattheauto-constraincommand.Let'ssayitwasdrawnright.Ijustwanttothrowabunchofconstraintsonit.

AndonethingthatweneedtodoischecktoseeifthestatusbarhastheInferConstraintbuttononit.Minedoesnot,butI'mnotonthesamelabcomputerasyouare.IfIgototheCustomizebuttononthelowerrightcornerofyourscreen,it'sthethreehorizontallines.Somepeoplerefertoitdownhereasthehamburgerbecausethat'sprobablyaswellasIcoulddrawahamburger.

Ifyouclickonthat,itshowsyouallthethingsthatwecouldputonthestatusbar.InferConstraintsistheonewewanttoadd.Sojustclickonthatcheckmark,andthatwilladdittothestatusbardownthere.SoI'mgoingtoturnonInferredConstraints,anditshouldbethisbuttonrighthere.Itkindoflookslikealittlemailbox,almost,likethelittlesquarewithalittleflagthingcomingupoutofit.Dideverybodyfindthat?Perfect.Clickonthattoturniton,basicallymakeitdarkorwhateverwe'resayinghere.

I'msuresomeofyourememberwhentheyactuallyusedtoputtextontheseatthebottomratherthanthegoofysymbol.Ah,thegoodolddays,whenIcouldjustreadandsay,theone thatsaysInferredConstraint.

Solet'sopenupadifferentdrawing.Inthatsamedatasetfolder,wehaveadrawingthatiscalledParametricInferred.Andit'sthesamethingthatwejustworkedonbutdoesn'thaveconstraintsonit.

SosincewejustturnedonInferredConstraints,I'mgoingtodrawsomethingusingthat.AndI'malittlebitoutoforder here.Iwasgoingtodoauto-constrainfirst,butthisisfine.Soinferredconstraintsareturnedon.Nowlet'sdrawarectangle,andlet'susetheAutoCADrectanglecommand.SoyoucanjusttypeinRECforrectangle.Andthenjustdrawarectangle,andlookatalltheconstraintsitjustautomaticallyputonit.Itsaid,hey,theseareparallel.Theseareperpendicular.Ididn'thavetogothroughandpickeverysinglepieceofit.Itjustknewthat'sarectanglethatworks.

Soifinferredconstraintsareturnedon,it'sjustgoingtoautomaticallydoit.Nowyoucanright-clickontheInferredConstraintsbuttonandpickInferredConstraintsSettings,andyoucanpickwhichonesareautomaticallyapplied.Soiftherearesomethatyoudon'twanttodo,youcanobviouslydothat.

I'mjustgoingtocancelforthat.AndI'mgoingtogodownnowandturnInferredConstraintsoff.VeryimportantthatyouturnoffInferredConstraintswhenyoudon'twanttobeusingthembecauseyouwillcreateconstraintsallovertheplace.Somakesureyoudon'tforgettoturnthemoff.

Somebodyalreadydrewthisotherpartforme,thisplateorwhateveritwasgoingtobe.AndIwanttojustapplyconstraintstothat.Well,ontheparametrictaboftheribbon,there'sabuttoncalledAuto-Constrain.Goaheadandpickthatbigbutton.Andifyoulookatyourcommandline,again,there'sanoptionforsettings.Solet'stypeSforsettingsandjusttakeaquicklook.

Soforauto-constrain,it'stellingmewhichconstraintsaregoingtobeused.Itcurrentlyhaseverythingexceptequalturnedon.That'sfine.Also,thereisatoleranceatthebottomthatsaysifobjectsarethisclosetobeingconstrained,goaheadandmodifythegeometryandputtheconstrainton.Soifsomethingwasdrawn,maybe,notperfectly,thiscanhelpautomaticallycleanthatupforyou.

Nowyoudon'tknowwhichoneit'sgoingtochangebecauseyou'renotpickingfirstandsecondeverytime.Butitmayhelp.Nowifyou'resomebodywhosays,IdonotwantAutoCADtoscrewwithmygeometryatall--Iworkwithsurveyorsallthetime.Igetthattotally--changeyourdistanceandangletozero,andithastobeperfectforustoputaconstraintonit.

I'mjustgoingtoleaveitasis,pickOK,gooutandwindowthisobjectandenter,anditputsalltheconstraintsonfor me.Sojustalittlebitfasterthanthatlastexercisethatwewentthroughwhereyousaidendpoint,endpoint,tangent,tangent,parallel,parallel,allthroughthis.Wecanjustwindowitandboom,wegotit.Sothatmakesworkingwiththoseconstraintsprettyeasy.

Allright.Well,let'smoveonhereandtalkaboutdimensionalconstraintsbecausethisistheotherside.Thisisbasicallythedimensionsthatcanmodifyyourgeometry.InsteadofyourclassicAutoCADdimensionsthatjustshowwhateveryourgeometryis,andtheyupdateasyourgeometrychanges,thislocksinyourgeometry,andtheonlywayyoucaneditthegeometryisbychangingthedimensionalvalue.

Onereallycoolthingisyoucanaddequationstothese.Soyoucansaythingslikethislineistwicethelengthofthisotherline,orthisradiusequalsthelengthofthisline.Oranyequationyoucanthinkofyoucanstarttoputinhere.Youcanreallytakethis alongwaysandmakeonechange,andthewholedrawinghasarippleeffectthroughit.

Sothatwillbeverycool.Nowwecandostandarddimensionalstuff,align,horizontal,vertical,radial,angular,andsoon.Wecanhavecertainpropertiesthatthedimensionalconstraintswillworkwith,distancesbetweenobjectsordistancesbetweenpointsonthesameobject,anglesbetweenobjects,sizesofarcsandcircles.

Andmoreimportantlyhere,forus,therearethesetwodifferentkindsofdimensionalconstraintsthatareused,dynamicandannotational.Dynamicisbasicallythedefaultthatcomesup,andit'smoreofadesignthing.It'smoremodeling.Youdon'tgettheabilitytoapplydimensionstylestothemandthingslikethat.Andtheydon'tplot.They'rejustdesignfeatures.

However,theycanbeconvertedtowhattheycallannotationaldimensionalconstraints,andthosedoplot.Andtheydisplayonindividuallayers,andtheyuseadimensionstyle.Soifyouwanttousethesedimensionalconstraintsasyourdimensionsthatyouprint,allyouhavetodoisconverttheminthePropertiespalette.Andyoucangobackandforthbetweenthemwiththat.

Soalotofthesametipswhenyou'retalkingaboutdimensionalconstraintsasopposedtothegeometricconstraints.Youhavetwoobjects,ortwopointsonthesameobject.Whicheverpointyoupicksecondwillbetheonethatismodified.Soifyoupicktwoendpointsonaline,andittellsyouit's15feet,youtypein20.Thatsecondpointistheonethatgetslongerwiththis.

Obviously,youknowwhathappensifyouexplodethem.Notgoodthings.Theygoaway.Ifyoucopythem,ifyoucopyanobjectandithasdimensionalconstraintsonit,aslongasalltheobjectsinvolvedarecopied,thedimensionalconstraintiscopied.AndlikeIsaid,therealcoolthinghere,thereallypowerfulthingisthisequationsthatyoucanputinthem.Soreallykindofletyourmindwanderalittlebitwiththatone.

Sowe'rereadytogoinandactuallydoanexercisewithsomeofthese.So I'm going togobacktoAutoCAD.Inyourhandout,thisisgoingtobepage13,luckynumber13.Oractually,it'snot13.Itispage14.Andwe'regoingtoopenupadrawing,verysimilar,again,justcalledparametricdimensionalordimensions.Andwehave,tostartwith,arectanglethatwasdrawnjustlikewedidbefore.Butitalreadyhasgeometricconstraintsonit.Soifyougrabthatrectangleandstartdraggingit,you'llseethatitupdatesandstaysarectanglejustlikewelearnedpreviously.

Now toaddadimensionalconstraint,we'llgouptotheparametrictab,dimensionalpanel.I'mgoingtopicklinear,andI'mgoingtodolinearhorizontaltostart.Nowratherthanjustpickingtheobject,IpersonallyliketopickthemwithtwopointsbecauseIwanttocontrolwhichpointistheonethatmoves.SoI'mgoingtopickthispointonthelowerleftandthengoandpicktheoneonthelowerright,dragitdown,clickaspotformydimension.

AnditsaysDnumber6equals,andsinceImoveditaround,it'slike3.49whatever.I'mgoingtochangeitto5.Enterforthat.Andyouseemyrectanglelengthenedouttotherightuntilitwasfiveunitslong.

I'mgoingpickthehorizontalbuttonagain--orthelinearbutton,andpickvertical,andthenI'mjustgoingtogofromthebottomuptothetop,pick aspotforit,andmaybeitwillbe2.Nowifyoutrytopicktherectangleafterthatandstartstretchingit,noticeitjustmovesanditmaintainsthatshape.Icannolongereditthisrectanglebygrabbingthegeometryanddraggingitaroundbecausewe'vetolditit's5by2,period.

IfIwanttographicallymoveitaround,whatIhavetodoispickoneofthedimensions,andyou'llseethelittlearrowscomingoutoftheendonthatdimension.Ifyouthengrabthedimensionanddrag it,youcanputitatwhateversizeyouwant.Youcanalsojustdouble-clickonthedimensionandtypeinanewvaluelike4.

Nowwetalkedaboutequations.MaybeIwantthewidthtobetwicetheheight.SoifIgodownheretothewidth,double-clickonit,Icantypeinanequation.OrallIhavetodoispicktheotherdimension,anditsaysD7.IfIjusttypeintimes2,enter.NowthatupdatesanytimethatIchangetheheight--Maybeichangeitto2insteadof4--itautomaticallyupdatestheotheroneforthat.

Soequationsareprettysimple.NowIalsocouldhavewenttotheotheroneandIcouldhavesaidD7isD6dividedby2.Youcangettherehoweveryouwantmath-wise,anditwillwork.

Solet'spanovertothisbracketthingthatwehadbefore.Andthisonehasgeometricconstraintsonitagain.See,Icandragitaround.ButIwanttocontrolthisangle.Iwanttobeabletotypein60degrees,40degrees,whateverthatmightbe.

Sogouptothedimensionalconstraintpanel,andI'mgoingtopickangular.I'llpickthefirstlineisthehorizontalone.Secondlineistheangularonethatgoesup,pickaspotforit,andtellitthatIwantthat,maybe,tobe60degrees.Sothatcontrolsthatangle.IfIdouble-clickonit,changeitto70degrees,itautomaticallyupdatesfor me.

Soprettycool.Nowagain,Ican'tjustgrabgeometryandstartstretchingbecauseitknowstoholdthatangle.SoifIwantedtographicallydoit,I'dhavetopickthedimensionandthenpickthearrowontheendtodothat.

AUDIENCE:Can get rid of thosegrippointsonthe ends?

RICK ELLIS:Sorry.Thegrippoints,canIgetridofthem,wasthequestion.Theyarepartofthatdynamicdimensionalconstraint.Nowwhenwegetintothingslikedynamicblockswiththem,wecancontrolhowmanyofthoseareshown.Somorefunctionalitytheretocome.You'realwaysthinking,like,oneexerciseaheadofme.Thisisawesome.You'relikeMr.Segueoverthereforme.

Nowonelittlechallengething.I'llgiveyouatwoorthreeminutestodothis.Iwanttoputacircleatendofthisbracket.Iwantthecircletobehalfthesizeoftheradiusoftheouterarc,andIwantittobeconcentric.SowhatImeanisI'mgoingtodrawacirclelikethis.NoticeIdidn'tsnaptoanything.I'mdoingthisreallysloppy.

AndthenI'mgoingtousetheconcentricgeometricconstraintandsayputthatcircleatthecenterofthat,andputthiscircleatthecenter.NowIalsowantaradiusdimensionalconstraintonthatouterarc.AndI'llputanotherradiusonthatinnercircle.AndI'mgoingtotellittobethatradiusdividedby2.AndifItellthistobeequalthesizeofthatcircleandthesizeofthatcircle,

nowallIhavetodoisdouble-clickontheradiusoftheouterone,andthenwe'llchangeit,maybe,from0.5to1,or0.1.Theretheyallgotsmaller.Insteadof0.1,I want ittobe1.Thoseallgotbiggerbecausewesaidthatthatarcandthatarcwereequal.Thisradiusofthiscircleishalfthatarc,andthiscircleandthiscircleareequal,sothey'realltiedbacktoonething.It'salmostlikebadDr.SeussAutoCADorsomething.It'slike,you know,thisisrelatedtothisandthisisrelatedtothisandthisisrelatedtothis.When youmaketheonechange,ittricklesdownthroughallofthem.

Soalthoughtheexampleissomewhatsimple,Ihopethatthat'slettingyoukindofletyourmindrunalittlebitwiththisandthinkaboutwhatarethepossibilitiesthere?HowcanIsetthisupsothatwhenImakeachangeononeofmyprojects,Idon'thavetogothroughsomanytedioussteps,becauseiftherearethingsthatarerelationaltoeachother,canwesetthoseup.

Solet'sgobackandtakealookatournextoptionhere,dynamicblocks.Howmanyofyouhave useddynamicblocksatsomepoint?Bunchofyou.Awesome.I thinkTracymighthaveusedthemonceortwice.Tracyhasaclasstomorrow,right?Tomorrowondynamicblocks.Soifyouwanttolearneverythingthereistoknowaboutdynamicblocks,Tracyisyourguythere.

Sobothgeometricanddimensionalconstraintscanbeusedindynamicblocks.Onetipforyou,though,istherearepanelsintheblockeditorontheribbonfordimensionalandgeometricconstraints.Forsomereason--whichIdon'tunderstandbecauseI'mnotaprogrammer.Idon'tknowwhattheydidbehindthesceneshere.Butwhenyou'reputtingconstraintsindynamicblocks,usetheparametrictoolsthatareintheblockeditor,nottheonesthatareontheparametrictabbythemselves.Somehowthere'salittlebitofadifference,anditjustworksbetterwhenyoudoitintheBlockEditor.Soprettyeasythingtodo.

SoIwanttogothroughwithyouandsetupadynamicblockandseehowconstraintscanworkwiththat.Solet'sjumpbacktoAutoCAD.Thisispage16ofyourhandout.Andthereisadrawingforyoutoopencalledparametricblocks.

Andhowexciting.It'sablankdrawing.Sowe'regoingtogototheInserttabonyourribbon,BlockDefinitionpanel.Andwe'regoingtopicktheBlockEditor.Andfortheblock,we'regoingtogoaheadandjustnameitAUParametricandthenclickOK.That'lltakeustotheBlockEditor.

Soallthesecoolthingsonthisblockpalettethatyounormallyusefordynamicblocks,we'renotgoingtoworryaboutthoseinthisclass.We'll leave thattoTracyinhisdynamicblockclass.He'llwearthatoneoutforus.ButnoticerightuphereontheBlockEditortab,thereisageometricanddimensionalconstraintspanels.Thosearetheoneswewanttouse.

Sowe'regoingtostartbyjustdrawingarectangleagain.Sowe'regoingtodoRECforrectangle.Forourstartingpoint,let'sputitat0,0becausethatwillbetheinsertionpointofmyblock.Andlet'sgomakethisawidthof5.Or actually,itdoesn'tmatterwhatthewidthis.Let'sjustpickaspotbecausetheconstraintswilldealwiththislaterforus.Sowe'vegotapolylinethatislikearectangle.

Nowwe'regoingtogotothegeometricconstraints.Andlet'saddthosegeometricconstraintslikewedidbefore.Wedon'tneedtodocoincidentbecauseit'sapolyline.They'realreadyconnected.Butwedoneedtoputacoupleofparallelconstraintsonhere.SoI'lldoparallelparallel.Doparallelagain.Andyes,weprobablycouldhaveusedAuto-Constraintodothis.Andwe'lldoperpendicular.Sotherewego.AndthislookslikeitstretchesanddoeswhatIwouldthinkitwoulddobasedonwhatwelearnedaboutgeometricconstraints.Sothegeometricendisgoodthere.

Let'snowgotoyourtwodimensionalconstraints.Let'sdoalinearhorizontal.I'llgofromtheendat0,0totherightend.Andlet'sputinalengthof5,we'llsayonthat.Andthenlet'sgodoalinearverticalfromthepointat0,0up.AndthatoneI'mgoingtosayisD1dividedby2.Soitishalfthelength.

NowsomethingfunorcoolhereabouttheBlockEditorisifyoumakeverymanyblocks,weusedtohavetoinsertthemallthetime,testthemout.Iftheydidn'tdowhatyouwantedtodo,thenyougobacktotheBlockEditoranddoallthis.Well,ontheleft-handsideoftheribbon,there'sabuttonthatsaysTestBlock.That'sashortcutforthat.We'regoing tosayTestBlock.Therewego.Andthiswouldreactasifwehadjustinsertedit.

WhenIpickit,noticethere'sonlyonearrowgrip.Sothiscomesbacktoyourquestion.There'snothingat0,0asfarasanarrowbecausewe'reonlygoingtostretchtotheright.Andanyideawhywedon'thaveonevertically?It'sequation,right.Iheardequationoutheresomeplace.Yeah.Soifwedidn'thaveanequation,yeah,therewouldbeoneverticallywecoulduse.Butsinceit'sanequation,theonlywayit'sgoingtogetthatverticalvalueisbythehorizontal.Butitshouldmovearoundlikethis.

Sofar,that'swhatourblockdoes.IfIwastoinsertmyblock,Iwouldhaveonegrip,Icouldgrabit,anditwouldjuststretchthatwholeobjectproportionally.Sokindofcool.Let'spickCloseTestBlock,sothat'sthegreencheckmark.ThattakesusbacktotheBlockEditor,wherewecancontinuetodosomestuff.

Andbecauseit'sablockonthatdimensionalpaneloftheribbon,wehavethisthingcalledablocktable.Soifyoupicktheblocktable,atthecommandlineitsays,pickalocationforit.Well,I'mjustgoingtogosomewheredownkindofnear0,0,doesn'tmatterwhere,andjustpickaspot.Anditsayshowmanygripsdoyouwanttoshow?Oneisgoingtobeperfect.SoI'mjustgoingtoenterforthat.

Itthenbringsuptheblockparameterstable.Sowhatthisissayingiswhataretypicalvaluesthatyoumightwanttoputinhere?Sokindofpresetsisreallywhatitis.Ifyoupickthegreenfunctionbuttonthatisoveronthefarleftoftheblock,propertiestabledialogbox,I'mgoingtotellitIwanttoworkwithD1,inthiscase,thehorizontal.SoD1,clickOK.HereisthiscolumnforD1.

AndforD1,I'mjustgoingtoputinsomevalues.I'mgoingtotypein2,enter,gotothenextline.Maybewe'lldo4,5,10,whatevervaluesyouwant.Doesn'treallymatter.Justputinsome.ThenclickOK.

Nowlet'sgoupandpickthattestblockcommandagainoveronthefarleftside,seewhathappensnow.NowwhenIpicktheblock,thereisthislittledownarrowgrip,whichIcanpickthis,andherearemydifferentvalues.SoIcansaywhat'sitlooklikeat4?Switchtheblockoverto10.Switchitto5,whateveryouwanttodo.You'vegotpredefinedsizesofyourpartorwhateveritisthatyouhavemadethere.

Nowyoustillhavetheoptiontoselectthegripanddragittosomeotherweirdsize.SoI'mnotsnappingtoanythinghere,soI'mnon-standard.Iwouldhavetogobackandthenpickoneofthesetofixit.

SothelaststepinthisisIwanttoconstrainthatonlytothosevaluesbecausethosearetheonlyvalidones.SoImaypickCloseTestBlock,gobacktothatsamebuttonthatwasBlockTable.Itrememberseverythingwedid.ButI'mgoingtocheckthisboxthatsaysblockpropertiesmustmatcharowinthetable.

Nowtheonethingthatisimportanthereisthatweneedtohavedrawnthiscurrentlytomatchoneofthoserowsinthetablebecauseitwillfreakoutalittlebitifyoudon'tgiveitasolutionrightthere.Soonceyoucheckthatbox,pickOK.Let'sgobacktotestblockonemoretime.We'llpickthis.

AndnowIstillhavetheseoptionsinthedropdown,butwhenIgraphicallystretchit,it'sprobablykindofhardtosee,buttherearelittlewhitetickmarksouthereshowingtheactualvalidvalues.Anditsnapsmetoeachoneofthose.Ican'tpickaspotinbetween.Sonowwhatwasinmytable,orinmylist,istheonlythingI'mallowedtodo.

Sothiswasaverysimpleexample,butyoucanprobablystarttovisualizehowcomplexyoucouldmakethisifyouwantedto.Allwewouldhavetodoisclosethetestblock,closetheblockeditor,savemychanges.Andifyouwantedtoinsertthatblock,itwouldworkjustlikeitdidinthetestblockfromthere.

IcouldtypeIforInsert,bringupthenewpalletthatinsertsthingsinmycurrentdrawing.HereisAUParametric.Iputitthere,andwhenIclickonit,there'smyoptions,orIcanmanuallystretch.

Sodynamicblocksiswhereitgetsreallycoolwiththat.Wereallycanstarttodosomepowerfulstuff.Yes,sir.

AUDIENCE:[INAUDIBLE]arrowspointing down[INAUDIBLE]parameters.Can you haveparametric[INAUDIBLE]?

RICK ELLIS:Yeah.Honestly,Ihavenottriedthat.Thequestionwas,canIhavemorethanonevisibilitystateandparametricvaluesineachone?Tracy,haveyouguystriedthatout?Ihaven'ttested--yes,sir.

AUDIENCE:So theoneinch is thetable,it's not avisibility state?

RICK ELLIS:Correct.It'snotavisibilitystate.That'sjusta--

AUDIENCE:You can'thavea table and a[INAUDIBLE]?

RICK ELLIS:Yeah.ButIguessthequestionis,canyouhavemultiple,oneineachvisibilitystate?Andthat'swhatI'mnotsureof.Ihaven'ttriedatableinmultiplevisibilitystates.Thatwouldbecool.Ifyoutryitanditworksordoesn'twork,shootmeanemail,say,hey,becauseI'mcuriouswiththat.

AUDIENCE:Youprobablyhavetodrawyourgeometriesseparatelyineachvisibilitystateandhave atableassociatedwith it.

RICK ELLIS:Yes.Iwouldassume.

AUDIENCE:[INAUDIBLE]

RICK ELLIS:Yes.ButI'mnotsurethattheywouldeventhenbeabletoallcoexistpeacefully.

AUDIENCE:[INAUDIBLE]

RICK ELLIS:Exactly.Andthisisoneofthosetoolsthatyoucantakeitalongwaysifyoucankeeptrackofallofthatstuffyourself.Imean,itdoesgetcomplex.

Soallright.We'vegotalittleunder15minutes.Iwanttoshowyoutwomorethingshererealquickbecausewe'llkindofdosomethingcoolhere.Sopage20.We'regoingtoputtogetherthisentirewidgetthatwehadbefore.Soifyouopenupthedrawingthatisrightinyourmaindatasetherethat'scalledWidgetAssembly.

Anditlookslikethistostartoffwith.BasicallyI'vegotallofthesepieces.They'rejustblocks.That'salltheyare.Andwewanttostartaddingconstraintstothat.SoI'mgoingtodoafixedandaverticalconstraintonthesliderod.

SoI'llgototheparametrictab.I'mgoingtodoafixedconstraintjustsoitdoesn'tmovearoundatall.AndI'malsogoingtosayithastobevertical.Sothatthing'snotgoingtomoveorrotate.

ThenI'mgoingtoaddafixedconstrainttothemotor,andI'malsogoingtoaddahorizontalconstrainttothemotor,tothathorizontallineatthebottom,becauseIdon'twantittomoveorrotate.They'rebothlockedintoposition.

Nowwewanttoputthiswidgetslideronthesliderod.Andwe'regoingtodoitwithadimensionalconstraint,say,halfaunitofftotheleft.Buttodothat,weneedtomoveittotheleftfirstbecauseifIdidhalfaunittotheleft,itwouldputitofftotherightinstead.Sowejustneedtogetonthesidewewantittobeon,andthendoalinearhorizontalconstraint.

Andwe'regoingtoputthatfrom,we'llsay,theleftsideofthesliderodto--I'mgoingtouseaninsertionpointSnaptograbthatend.Slideitdown,putithere,andtypein0.5.Sonowthatguyislockedinsomethinglikethat.Sonowthatthingislockedit'sonthesliderod.

Nextpieceofthepuzzlehereiswe'regoingtoputacoincidentconstraintonthecenterofthemotorandthemotorarm.Socoincidentconstraint.We'llgofromthecenterthereandthecenterthere.Thoseknowtheyneedtostaytogether.

Thenwe'regoingtodothesamething,coincidentconstrainttothecenterofthecircleonthewidgetslider,andthecenterofthecircleonthewidgetarm.Letmegetthatthere.AndImissedthefirstone,soIneedtopickitagain.Soitgoesfromnumberone,numbertwo.

Nowtheonlythingweneedtodoisputtogetherthesetwoholes.Sowe'regoingtouseanothercoincidentconstraintandusethecenterofthatarmandthecenterofthatarm.Nowwhat didIforget?Verticalonthisguy,probably,right?SoifIgobackandsay,useaverticalconstraintonthatline,pickthat,nowtheylineupcorrectly.

NowwhenIpickit,dragthisupanddown,theymovelikethey'resupposedto.Dependinguponhowyouhadthingslaidout,youmighthavegotthatarmflippedoverbackontheinside.Didanybodygetthat?Oryoualldiditright.Soonceinawhile,mineflipsoverontheinsidelikethis.AllyouhavetodothenisjustusetheAutoCADRotatecommandononeofthemtogetittorotatearoundproperly.

Butbasicallywejusttookfivedifferentblocksandjusttiedthosetogetherwithafewconstraintssothatwehavewhatlookslikea partthatisallworkingindynamicwitheachother.

Sohow'dwedothere?Good?Cool?Allright.

LastthingthatI'mgoingtoshowyou--thenwe'llkindofrecapthingsandwe'llgiveawayTracy'sbookaswell--wetalkedalittlebitaboutconstraintswithannotation.Thisisabonusexercisebecauseyouguysdidsowellandgotthisfar.Soit'snotinthehandout,butI'mgoingtowalkyouthroughitrealeasily.

OpenupadrawingcalledCallouts.Sothisdrawing,calledCallouts.Ipurposelyhavethecalloutskindofscatteredaroundalloverthedrawing.I'msureafewofyouhaveworkedwithsomebodywhoisanalenoughtosaythosecalloutsallhavetobelinedupnomatterwhat.Pleasegetthatdone.I'mnotgoingtoevenlookatituntilthen.Right?I'mnottheonlyguywhohadthatfunexperience.

Well,wecanuseconstraintstomakethiseasier.I'mgoingtodrawaline.NowthisisalinethatIwouldprobablyputonalayerthatIwouldmakeanoplotlayer,orevenfreezeitorturnitoff.I'mgoingtotakethatline,makethelineverticalwithaconstraint.Anditdoesn'tevenhavetobeverylong.Itcanbeaveryshortline.Itcouldevenbeoffthepage.

ThenIamgoingtousethecoincidentconstraint,andatthecommandline,there'sanoptionhereofobject.SoI'mgoingtosayobject.I'mgoingtoselectmyobject.Andthenitsaysselectapointormultiple.ThisiswhereI'mgoingtodoMformultiple,andI'mgoingtopickallofthecalloutsthatIwanttobelineduponthatlinevertically,andthenenter.

Andcheckthatout.Ooh,ah,there we go.Nowthat'snotthefunpart.IfIpickanyoneofthemandmovethem,theyallgotogetherbecausewetoldthemyouwereallalignedalongthatlittletinylinethatIhad,asifitwentinfinitelyoffintospace.Soit'sacoincidentconstraintwiththeobjectoptioniswhatwedid.

Soforyouranalreviewerwholooksatthatandsays,oh,well,I'mnotevengoingtolookatwhetheryourdesignwasright.Thecalloutsdon'tlineup--youlaugh,butI'veworkedwithguyslikethat--thistakescareofthatonthere.Sojustanotherdifferentwaytouseconstraintswithinthat.

Solet'srecapalittlebit.Thingstoremember.Andifyouremembernothing,youprobablyrememberthatfromtheclassbecauseit'skindofhypnotic.

Basically,thegeometricconstraints,kindoflikestickyObjectSnaps.Thesecondobjectisalwaystheonethat'schanged.That'sthebigdeal.Youpicktheoneyoulikefirst,pickthesecondonetomodify.Andthendimensionalconstraintsletsyouchangethingsbymovingbyenteringthedimensionalvalue,andtheycanhavethoseequationsinthose.

SowewantedtogiveawayoneofTracy'sbooksfortheclass.Heprobablywouldevensignitforyouinthebackifyouwanttoembarrasshim.Igaveoutbusinesscardstopeople,hopefully,astheycamein,ortheyweregiventoyoubythepersonwhowascheckingyouinatthedoor.

Ontheback--Tracy,pickanumberbetween1and5.

TRACY CHADWICK:3.

RICK ELLIS:3.Thatwasexactlybetween1and5.Goodjob.He'sanengineer.Doesanybodyhaveanumber3writtenonthebackofyours?Youareourwinner.Congratulations.

Thankyouallforcomingoutandforyourtime,attention,andeverything.Hopefullythismadeyouthinkalittlebit.AndhaveagreatrestofAU.

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Product AutoCAD Civil 3D InfraWorks Inventor Revit
Industries Architecture MEP engineering Structural engineering IT/Software development Product design and manufacturing
Topics Design CAD Management & IT Automation, Integration, & Customization Drafting CAD Management Project Execution Software Development

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