Dim extension lines set to center linetype...

So, I asked one of the guys that I work with about macros that he would want in AutoCAD to make things easier. And one of the things that he said would be nice is if you could write a macro that would change the extension line of the placed dimension to center linetype.
I had never heard of this being used, but I took the task on. What I found is that there are two ways to do this.
The first way is:
*^c^c-dimstyle;r;;_dimlinear;
Now the dimstyle that is used has the extension lines set to center linetype.

Now the other way to do this is:
*^c^cdimltex1;center;dimltec2;center;_dimlinear;-dimstyle;r;standard;

This just overrides the standard style to make the extension lines center linetype and then at the end we restore the original standard dimstyle.
So, if this is something that you do then. Hopefully this is something that helps you.

Letter automation...explained a little...

*^C^C_text;\;$m=$(if, $(<=,$(getvar,userr1),7),$(nth,$(getvar,userr1), A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H),$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),8),$(nth,$(getvar,userr3), I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P)),)$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),15),$(nth,$(getvar,userr4), Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X),)$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),23),$(nth,$(getvar,userr5), Y, Z, AA, AB, AC, AD, AE, AF),);setvar;userr1;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));setvar;userr3;
$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR3),$(getvar,USERR2));
userr4;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR4),$(getvar,USERR2));
userr5;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR5),$(getvar,USERR2));
SETVAR;USERR3;\SETVAR;USERR4;\SETVAR;USERR5;\

So, above is the code that I had posted earlier for a somewhat automated lettering macro.

Now, I am going to explain how it works.  First, we know that you start with the text command and go through all the prompts for it.
Then we work our way into the diesel portion of the macro...so, when developing this I found out that when using the "nth" function by itself you were limited to 7 arguments within the function.
Hence, why I embedded the "nth" function within multiple if statements.  

Let's dissect these if statements a little:

$m=$(if, $(<=,$(getvar,userr1),7),$(nth,$(getvar,userr1), A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H),$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),8),$(nth,$(getvar,userr3), I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P)),)

so, in this first "if statement" I am telling it to evaluate the value of userr1.


$m=$(if, $(<=,$(getvar,userr1),7),$(nth,$(getvar,userr1), A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H),$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),8),$(nth,$(getvar,userr3), I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P)),)

If a value of 7 or less is returned then it moves on to this nth function where i am again calling for the value of userr1.

$m=$(if, $(<=,$(getvar,userr1),7),$(nth,$(getvar,userr1), A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H),$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),8),$(nth,$(getvar,userr3), I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P)),)

you will find a recurring theme throughout these if statements that we are evaluating the value of userr1...here we are looking to see if the value of userr1 is greater than or equal to 8.

$m=$(if, $(<=,$(getvar,userr1),7),$(nth,$(getvar,userr1), A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H),$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),8),$(nth,$(getvar,userr3), I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P)),)

If it returns a value of 8 or greater then it will move on to the next nth statement where we call for the value of userr3.

And this process repeats 2 more times with userr4, and userr5.  One thing that you should notice is that the value to be returned from userr1 increase by a value of 8 with each "if statement".

Now that we are done with the if statements we can move  on to the easier portions of the macro...how the values of the userr variables increase with each repetition of the command.

setvar;userr1;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2))

This code will be repeated four times...you will just have to copy and paste and then replace userr1 with userr3, userr4 or userr5.

And then the prompting for user input of the userr variables finishes out the macro.

Hope that this helped to clarify the process of the macro.

Somewhat automated lettering...(diesel macro)

I built this macro this morning upon a challenge issued to me yesterday. 

To those who would like some way to automate lettering in AutoCAD LT...here is a Diesel Macro for LT that will allow you to atleast automate up to "AF":

*^C^C_text;\;$m=$(if, $(<=,$(getvar,userr1),7),$(nth,$(getvar,userr1), A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H),$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),8),$(nth,$(getvar,userr3), I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P)),)$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),15),$(nth,$(getvar,userr4), Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X),)$(if,$(>=,$(getvar,userr1),23),$(nth,$(getvar,userr5), Y, Z, AA, AB, AC, AD, AE, AF),);setvar;userr1;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));setvar;userr3;
$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR3),$(getvar,USERR2));
userr4;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR4),$(getvar,USERR2));
userr5;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR5),$(getvar,USERR2));
SETVAR;USERR3;\SETVAR;USERR4;\SETVAR;USERR5;\

This macro requires more input on the users part than the number automation, but it works for a small amount of lettering.

Before you run the command for the first time you need to make sure that your userr1 is set to a value of 0, and that your userr2 is set to a value of 1 (which is for the incrementing).

When you run the command and you place the first letter; you will notice that it prompts you for the userr3, userr4, and userr5 values...just enter through these for now because you won't mess with them until a little further on.

Now, one thing that you need to keep in mind is the letters that are associated with which userr variable:

userr1 - starts at A and ends with H

userr3 - starts at I and ends with P

userr4 - starts at Q and ends with X

userr5 - starts at Y and ends with AF

 

knowing this will help with understanding when to change variable values as you keep going up the alphabet.  So, for example, once you place an "H"; when the prompt for userr3 appears change it to a value of 0.  Once this is done you don't have to edit it anymore; you can just keep hitting enter through the variables until the end of that letter set on the userr variable.

 

On another note:

If you are a AutoCAD non-Lt user then the text command is a little different for you.

Instead of:

*^c^c_text;\;

You will have this:

*^c^c_text;\;;

And then if you want to add justification to it (for example...middle center justification)

*^c^c_text;j;mc;\;;

 

If anyone uses this macro and has issues please comment and let us know what changes you had to make to the macro.

 

Thank you for reading this post!

 

3 line date stamp...

Here is a quick and easy way to insert a textblock with username, date, and time.

^C^C_text;\;BY: $m=$(GETVAR,LOGINNAME);;;Date: $m=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),MO"/"dd"/"yy);;;Time: $m=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),HH:MMam/pm);

Yet again, this is another code for the AutoCAD LT users out there, but also works on Full version AutoCAD.  The only difference for the non-LT users is that the beginning of the code is going to be as follows:

^c^c_text;j;mc;\;0;BY: $m=$(GETVAR,LOGINNAME);;;Date: $m=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),MO"/"dd"/"yy);;;Time: $m=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),HH:MMam/pm);

And then your finished product will be:

p.s. you won't have the line under the date...that is just my crosshair that got in the way...

Autocad macro...calling coordinate points on blocks

One thing that always comes up when creating P&ID's is; "how can you make it simplier to insert blocks and not have to take the time to do all the trimming of the lines once the block is in?"
I was actually able to create a couple of ways that allowed AutoCAD LT users and full version AutoCAD users to be able to do this.  I have posted the LT version with the diesel macro, but today I am going to go over the lisp routine route.

Below you will see today's code that we are going to go over:

*^c^cattdia;0;^c^c_.insert;CHECK;\;1;\;;^C(setq edata (entget (setq en (entlast))));^c^cbreak;\f;(setq edata (entget (entnext (cdr (assoc -1 edata)))))(setq ip1 (cdr (assoc 10 edata)));(setq edata (entget (entnext (cdr (assoc -1 edata)))))(setq ip1 (cdr (assoc 10 edata)));^c^cattdia;1;^c

Okay...let's dive into this.
It isn't as overwhelming as it looks...it is actually quite simple.

So, first we are calling the attdia command and setting it to 0.  We are doing this so that the 2 attributes that are attached to the block won't show up with a dialog prompt box.

Next we start the insert command and in this example we are inserting a check valve.

CHECK;\;1;\;; - the forward slash is to prompt for user input and this is for the insertion point.
CHECK;\;1;\;; - here we are telling it what scale the block is going to be inserted at.
CHECK;\;1;\;; - This is to set the rotation of the block...another user input prompt.
CHECK;\;1;\;; - and these last two semicolons are to enter through the 2 attributes that are attached to
                           the block.

Next, we will be going into the routine that recalls the block and calls for the point locations.
^C(setq edata (entget (setq en (entlast)))) - here we are telling AutoCAD to look up the last block that was inserted.
Now we call on the break command with the fence option.
^c^cbreak;\f;

Now comes the fun part of calling for the attribute points.
(setq edata (entget (entnext (cdr (assoc -1 edata)))))(setq ip1 (cdr (assoc 10 edata)));(setq edata (entget (entnext (cdr (assoc -1 edata)))))(setq ip1 (cdr (assoc 10 edata)));^c^cattdia;1;

For both points the code is the same, so once you type it once you will be able to copy and paste for the second point, and you can see that by the semicolon that has been made bold and underlined to help you see it.

But here is the code:
(setq edata (entget (entnext (cdr (assoc -1 edata)))))(setq ip1 (cdr (assoc 10 edata)))

the first (setq) grouping is calling for the bp1 attribute in the check valve block, and then the second (setq) grouping is what returns the coordinate values of the attribute, and then establishes the first point.

Now all you got to do is add a semicolon and then copy and paste the code for the second point and then end it with a semicolon and you are done.

Happy Trimming...

Setting environment variables...

When setting environment variables there are different ways of setting them depending on whether you are using full version AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT. To set an environment variable in AutoCAD you use the command...USERSx. X represents numbers 1-5. With AutoCAD LT you have to use...setenv. There are different environment variables when using this command. A couple of them are StrPrefix, and StrSuffix. You can use these with the diesel macros from the last couple posts for automated numbering.

Diesel Sequential Numbering...Adding prefix to numbering

So, this is a continuation to the last post of the diesel automated numbering.
In this one, I am going to show you how to make it to where you can enter in an environment variable to create a prefix that will show at the beginning of your numbering.
Below is the Macro coding for what we are going to work with:


*^c^c_text;\;$M=$(getenv,StrPrefix)$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));setvar;USERR1;
$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));

Now, what is being added to the macro is the following; $M=$(getenv,StrPrefix)
this coding is pulling the value that a user sets for the StrPrefix.

To establish this environment value follow the steps below:
1. on the command line; type in  _setenv (then hit enter)
2. type in StrPrefix (then hit enter)
3. enter in the text variable that you are wanting to use for your prefix (then hit enter)

Now, with your user variables already set you can run the new command and you will have the established prefix showing up in your text.

Diesel Macro Auto Increment Numbers...

I received a question the other day from some one wanting to know how to automate sequential numbering in AutoCAD LT. So, i thought that this would be a good topic to put out there because I am sure that others have wanted to know if this was possible as well.
Anyways...to the topic.

First, the Macro:

*^c^c_text;\;0;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));setvar;USERR1;
$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));

One thing that you have to remember is that before you run the command you must the USERR1, and USERR2.

USERR1 value is going to be your initial value (i.e...99 to start with 100)
Then your USERR2 value is the increment in which you are wanting to increase with each placement of text.
To set these values type userr1 into your command line and hit enter and then enter in the initial value
see pics below:

Once value is set for USERR1, press enter, and then repeat for USERR2.

Now that your starting and incremental value have been set you can run the command and start picking away.

*EDIT*
The above macro justified the text to bottom left; the below macro is modified to justify to middle center.

*^c^c_text;J;MC;\;0;$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));setvar;USERR1;
$M=$(+,$(getvar,USERR1),$(getvar,USERR2));

building estimation forms (Inventor iLogic)...

Creating an Estimation form with Inventor iLogic and Excel...

To be able to create an estimation form and link it to information within your Inventor model is a huge time saver in my line of work.  One thing that I have been working on is developing a form that will help our Project Managers estimate the cost of a project (at least structural steel wise) a little bit better, and quicker so that they can get initial bids out to customers quicker.

Below is a pic of the form that I have been creating:

and basically all the information but the added totals of everything is exported from an Inventor model.  Below is another pic showing the iLogic forms that are built to supply this information that also control the construction of my model.

 

Here is an example of how some of this is done...

'drafting hours and cost
GoExcel.CellValue("export.xls", "Sheet1", "A37")= drafting_hours
GoExcel.CellValue("export.xls", "Sheet1", "C37")= drafting_rate
'engineering cost and hours
GoExcel.CellValue("export.xls", "Sheet1", "A41")= engineering_hours
GoExcel.CellValue("export.xls", "Sheet1", "C41")= engineering_rate
'

'grating description and cost
GoExcel.CellValue("export.xls", "Sheet1", "A49")= grating_descrip
GoExcel.CellValue("export.xls", "Sheet1", "E49")= d126+1    'qty of 3ft wide panels
GoExcel.CellValue("export.xls", "Sheet1", "F49")= grating_cost



I have found that when you are attempting to export Bill of Material data out with a template that the template must be in a 97-2003 file format for it to work.

Using Inventor iLogic to help estimating...

One thing that I have come to realize about Inventor and the iLogic programming is that there are many things that it can be used for.  One thing that I am working on developing with a company is an estimating program within inventor.  This program has a standard tube frame built in an assembly and you can select from many different tube sizes whether it be square or rectangular and then in an iLogic form that was created you can enter in the cost for the tubing sizes and it will automatically calculate, and then there are other fields to add in shop hours, drafting hours, and engineering hours, and it will give you a total for those specific items and it totals the amount of steel that is in the assembly and adds that to the total of the other fields to give you an estimated cost.
As seen below in this pic...you can see the layout of how to define the frame structure, and then below that form is another one that defines the cost and weight.

Plus, once you have the basic information input and then the model rebuilds then you have your base structure that you can export.

Controlling Beam sizes with iLogic...

Today I want to give an example of iLogic and one of the many ways that it can make designing easier.
First, is controlling Beam or frame sizes with the click of a button.

Here we have a I-beam frame

In iLogic you can write code that will manipulate the beams to allow you to select different sizes as shown below:

 

Once programmed then you can go into your parameters and pulldown the list for your beam sizes.

and then once you select one it will automatically update your assembly.

 

 

This is a very basic use for iLogic...one of the things that i am working on for this assembly is coding to be able to define which wall a ladder assembly will be placed and then having supporting beam members that are able to move around in the assembly depending on which wall is selected for the ladder.

So, as stated before...there are so many possiblities when it comes to using Inventor iLogic in your design process.

 

 



Inventor iLogic...is Awesome!

So, one of the programs that I enjoy using a lot is Inventor, and within Inventor is iLogic.  If you want a way to reduce design time, get drawings out to the shop quicker and just make use of the program easier; then iLogic is the solution.  For example, I am creating an iLogic program that will ease the structural design of modular skids for a company; it will reduce the actual structural design time by just inputing.
Below is a video showing an example of an iLogic program, that had a custom form imported into the program.

 

 

In the next post, I will give an example of some of the programming and how it works.  If there are any questions out there about iLogic or even Inventor; I would be happy to answer any of them out there.