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AutoCAD 3d Polygons in LT, getting an area

11 REPLIES 11
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Message 1 of 12
26111438
2582 Views, 11 Replies

AutoCAD 3d Polygons in LT, getting an area

I get a lot of polygons from engineers who do their work in CAD 3D.  I need to figure out the areas of the polygons they send me.  Is there an easy way to get the areas of these polygons without retracing each one?3

Many thanks.

 

11 REPLIES 11
Message 2 of 12
pendean
in reply to: 26111438

A polygon is a flat 2D shape: LIST will tell you the surface area of that AutoCAD object type.

If you mean something else "3D" like a mesh, LT offers no such tools.

Message 3 of 12
Bob_Zurunkle
in reply to: 26111438

OP align your UCS with one of these polygon faces, trace its edges with the polyline command, and then get the area of that.

If by some odd chance my nattering was useful -- that's great, glad to help. But if it actually solved your issue, then please mark my solution as accepted 🙂
Message 4 of 12
26111438
in reply to: Bob_Zurunkle

I was trying to avoid the tracing.  There are thousands of "polygons" and I'll need to get a separate area for each one.  There has to be an easier way.

 

Using the "LIST" command, I can get the coordinates of each point on the line, not an area, however.

 

"OP ALIGN", is this a command?

Message 5 of 12
pendean
in reply to: 26111438

OP is you.
Align is the first word of a sentence about how to set up UCS command.
LT does not offer any tools for mesh objects automatically: your task is limited to manual measurements.
If you want more options, if any, you will need to post a DWG sample file with notes in it showing what you want to do.
Message 6 of 12
26111438
in reply to: 26111438

I have attached a typical polygon that I receive.  Given the depth of my ignorance, it is difficult to communicate in the proper jargon.  However, all I really need to do is determine the area of this attached polygon and others like it.  If there is a method swifter than tracing, I should like to use it.

Thank you all for your help thus far.

Message 7 of 12
steven-g
in reply to: 26111438

You could try drawing a rectangle big enough to surround all your objects, create a new layer then use the boundary command, picking a point within the rectangle but outside your polygons. If there are no items overlapping then you will have a lot of polylines that you can then select and just read the area from the properties pallette, or use list

Message 8 of 12
pendean
in reply to: 26111438

Use LIST command, or PROPERTIES palette, and select your object: you posted a WIPEOUT object, nothing more: not 3D, not a drawing object at all, but a mask. Look up WIPEOUT in your AutoCAD HELP file, this is not meant to be an object to draw with.

 

I serously doubt this is what the file creator intended for you to draw/use in your CAD file. You two probably should be talking together more about what you are to use vs. what you are to ignore.

 

In this specific case only, you can simply use BOUNDARY command, click inside the outline you posted, and AutoCAD will automatically draw an outline for you. LIST or PROERTIES command will give you the area of the new boundary drawn.

 

All words above in CAPS are commands: look them up in HELP and udnerstand more about what I wrote above.

Message 9 of 12
26111438
in reply to: 26111438

Thank you all for your help.  BOUNDARY, of course, works like a charm in this instance.  I have another set of "polygons", attached, that seem immune to the BOUNDARY trick, however.  Is this the "mesh" that was mentioned earlier?  It'd sure be a treat if I didn't have to trace them all.  Is there some other tool available from Autodesk I could get that would allow me just this functionality of finding areas?

 

pendean, 11,750+ posts and nearly 10 years.  No mean feat, sir.  Everyone appreciates your effort.

Message 10 of 12
steven-g
in reply to: 26111438

That is a 3D polyline, and the lines don't join up. The question now is how accurate does your area need to be. The area of a 3D surface is larger than a flat one. That said, in full autocad there is a command FLATTEN, we in LT don't have it, (a quick search on google "autocad LT flatten" will show you some macros to do the job). I exploded the object, selected all the elements and then edited the start and end Z values in the properties toolpallette to zero, after that you can then use BOUNDARY, just watch out because some of the objects may remain -open-.

You can select all the objects explode them change to Z=0 then as before draw a rectangle around everything and use boundary.

Message 11 of 12
26111438
in reply to: steven-g

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh.

Message 12 of 12
Charles_Shade
in reply to: 26111438

-Flatten Z coordinate:
^C^C_move;_all;;0,0,0;0,0,1e99;_move;_p;;0,0,0;0,0,-1e99;

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