Print from part/asm 100% tip

I frequently (several times a week, sometimes many times a day) print
my part or asm at true scale (page setup>scale=100%) so I can get a
reality check on the scale of the part. Parts look so big on the
screen, and there is nothing like seeing it to true scale to straighten
me out. Its also handy to have a true-size print to sketch on top of
when trying to solve problems.

The only problem is that, unlike regular printing from the screen which
is centered on whatever you are looking at, printing at 100% centers
the print on the center of the bounding box of the part/asm. So if I
am trying to print the end of a long part, I won't get that end - I
will get the center of the part.

A few weeks ago I had a 'duh' moment (I'm getting rusty with the
workarounds)...

If you start a sketch, sketch a rectangle that extends past the
boundary of your part/asm, and center that rectangle on what you want
to focus on, that sketch changes the bounding box so it is centered on
the thing I want to print. This workaround is quick, and it works
every time (may not be relevent in 2007 because I haven't loaded it to
test, but in 2006 it has been a nice productivity booster)

Just thought it might help someone else out - I know I wish I had known
this years ago.

Ed

 

Ed,

Are you printing from within the sketch environment?

 

Same prob - GREAT solution !! Thanks Ed !!

 

Sometimes, sometimes from the part or assembly (not editing the
sketch). It doesn't make any difference as long as the sketch is
visible.

 

I think you can also use a plane that extends past the boundaries and is
centered on the area of interest.

Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems
"take the garbage out, dear"

 

Hello Ed-

Your took an annoyance and turned it into a solution.

Best Regards,
Devon T. Sowell
3-D Design Solutions, Carlsbad, CA
760 809-9046
fax 760 434-0917



http://www.3-ddesignsolutions.com/
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/devonsowell/

 

Hey Ed,

Very good tip! I just used it, works great.
Yeah, I'm working on Sunday. I'm probably going to burn!

Thanks again,
Muggs

 

Just tried it - yup, that works too. (I tend not to 'view planes' when
working, picking them from the tree instead)

Thanks Jerry!
Ed

 

Hey, Clergy work on Sunday and they get a buy allowing them to avoid
eternal torment. I think you are OK.
Besides, as I learned from meeting you FINALLY in Florida (insert plug
for SWx World), you are a terrific person - that's not even counting
all that I've learned from you and been impressed by
you-and-your-attitude-online-here. If working on Sunday denies someone
of your caliber your eternal reward, then, frankly, I don't want to go.
Ed

 

Thanks for the kind words Ed.

While we're OT, I wasn't able to get to SWW last year (but will be this
year!) meeting some of the fine people that frequent this NG was one of the
best things about it.
I would encourage anyone who has the slightest inclination to go, that they
should consider it.

Muggs

 

I think you need to check out Matthew 12:11ff, "What man shall there be
amoung you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the
sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then
is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well [good]
on the sabbath days."

Consider this also, Mark 2:27, "The sabbath was made for man, and not
man for the sabbath."

TOP
Chaplain to comp.cad.solidworks

P.S. The sabbath would be Saturday from sundown Friday to sundown
Saturday anyway, not Sunday.

 

This is a good one to remember.

However, if you just want a reality check on the screen, I have a very
simple macro written by Joe Jones of nhcad called SCALE1.swb that I use a
fair bit. Basically you calibrate it for your monitor by displaying an
object of a known dimension and then run the macro. Then (although people
will make fun of you, so do it when nobody is looking) you take your
measuring device (calipers, tape measure, thumb) and check the length of the
known entity. If the view on the screen doesn't match the real length, you
adjust the calibration scale factor in the macro.

Simple and quick to use and sometimes is just the ticket. You can find it
here http://www.nhcad.com/sw_macros/index.html.

WT

 

Wayne _ I too use this macro - Its great for a quick test - however
there is a drawback that I have noticed. If you alter the width of
your Feature Manager window on the left or the over all size of the SW
window then the macro creates the image at a different size to the one
you have previously calibrated.

If you always keep your windows the same size then there is no
problem - just be aware of this. I would not want a error to creep
into the design of any Jupiter lander because of this.

Jonathan

 

Hmmm, good point - hadn't thought of that. I am mostly a creature of habit
in that my resolution, sizes, etc generally stay the way I like them. So,
Joe, how would you program it to take all of these issues into
consideration? Hmmm, indeed - have to ponder that one.

WT

 

I haven't installed 2007 yet, but isn't there a full screen option?
Then the screen size is always the same.

 

Yes, there is, but I can still see that being an issue if you change the
screen resolution. So, at this point, just keep in mind that the accuracy
depends on consistency. If you go to full screen option each time you use
it and you don't change your screen resolution, then it should be pretty
repeatable.

WT