To Group them or Block them?

I place center marks in my drawings where holes and radius are.

The center is like a plus sign, +, and is always the same size as the text height.

But the lines, like axis lines, are of different lengths.

My question, to make this set of lines act as one, by either grouping them or block them?

I know about AutoCAD's 'Center Mark' and that is creates at least two lines if not six single entities.

W. Kirk Crawford
Rochester Hills, Michigan with six inches of snow.

 

You can have exactly the same horizontal and vertical centermark for circles, arcs, etc by going to Format,
Dimension Styles, Modify, Lines and Arrows and down in lower right corner pick Mark for centermark and to
the right is the size which you can change.

 

Walt,

But each line is by itself. Therefore, do I group or block them?

W. Kirk Crawford
Rochester Hills, Michigan

 

Okay, I see what you want now. Yes......You'll have to make a block. However, the size of the block will be
dependent on the dimscale you are using. I'm not sure why you would want to do this, but......
Be aware though, that you will always have to have the block inserted at the intersection of the two lines, and
you will have to insert it at the center of a circle whereas going to Dimensions and picking Centermark puts it
in the center without having to pick the center of a circle or arc.

 

It is kind of like, 'one click gets them all'.

Such as exploded dimensions or non associative hatches.

W. Kirk Crawford
Rochester Hills, Michigan

 

<Snip>
I'm not sure why you would want to do this, but......
<Snip>
The reason is one click to erase or move to the correct layer, which is most of the time.

I started a routine that would;
1. create the center tic mark as a block
2. create the axis lines dependent upon if the circle/radius crosses an axis.
3. then group the whole thing.

No body uses groups do they? Blocks nested with a group. That is the question.

Yes I forgot about 'dimscale'. I can't think of everything, so that is why I ask questions here.

W. Kirk Crawford
Rochester Hills, Michigan

 

Group it. Just make sure pickfirst is set to whatever it needs to be (I
think 1).

 

Or whatever that variable is called. Too dang close to Christmas to recall
properly out of my head.

 

What I do is create a unit block...

Draw a one unit diameter circle and then create whatever you would like for
center marks (possibly on a separate layer), make that into a block. Now
when you insert that unit block, insert it at the desired scale factor. One
block, many holes.

The downside of this is the center marks will also be scaled with the block,
but the upside is the whole ting is one block, scalable and EATTEXT will
pick them up, so any of the X, Y or Z scales = the diameter... makes for
very easy hole chart creation. Also if the WCS 0,0 is the same as the
corner of your part, the X,Y & Z locations for the insertion points are
referenced from that datum as well.

 

With another piece of software, we use to do the same.

But the center tic size was also scaled. Not good drafting practice.

Never done this, will have to give it a try.

W. Kirk Crawford
Rochester Hills, Michigan

 

Down side of grouping is that it adds weight to your file size. Blocks are more sure fire, light weight and easier to manage.

Contrary to what some think, there is merit in using techniques that minimize file size no matter if you have scads of RAM and VRAM.

Someone down the road may have occasion to open a drawing bloated with unnecessary "extras" and conclude the author was an amateur.....

 

I hadn't realized that grouping inflates the file.

Thanks.

W. Kirk Crawford
Rochester Hills, Michigan

 

Try this... make one hole, the center lines/marks you want, make it a
group.... now copy that whole thing around 10 times (tell me: what are the
names for the other groups?) Now copy/paste that into another brand new
drawing... YIKES!!!

Blocks are better for this application.

 

I meant draw a circle... <late + tired = make a hole>

 

hmmm... I was unaware that using ALL the tools supplied by the software made
one an "amateur". Interesting perspective, that.

 

If you're going to need more than one of them, BLOCK is the much better
option. GROUP would be used for a single "group" of elements you wish
associated to respond together. We use them quite often for things like
caged ladders, where we desire the rails, rungs and cage components to
function together.

 

Randall,

Excellent point.

Yes, grouping similar objects is exactly what they were intended for or for
objects that might be in multiple groups... but then (like any
organizational concept) if they are not managed correctly, groups can get
out of hand when users (who are unaware) start copying, editing, etc...

I guess it always boils down to a few things, good training, good standards
and good communication within the work group. Personally I have always
found simple groupings great but anything more becomes too cumbersome.

If the OP was to say, use a block for the holes and then group all the
tapped holes together or group all the holes by size together or group all
the holes that were for a particular function (mounting of a component or
assembly) together than that would be the best of both features.

 

Randall: Operative word is "may"....no way to tell what future viewers' conclusions might be.

Philosophy of using ALL tools includes, among other things, using 3dfaces and/or plines with thickness instead of solids when appropriate.....

 

TRACE vs. PLINE. Yes, using 3DFACEs when appropriate would be appropriate.
However, since the advent of 3DSOLIDs, their appropriate use has dwindled to
rare if at all.