System Lines

[Anonymous]

When I do modifications to beams there are times when the system line extends beyond the beam on the drawings. It would be nice if the sytem line on a cut beam was the size of the finished beam on the output drawings. This is a particular issue on handrails when you move a corner and a mitre is re-established. I understand the system line maintains the original geometry but surely the output could match the final shape.

[ZHUKOV_ING]

try with median line instead of system line..

[Anonymous]

Sorry, do not know what the median line is that you mention, more information please.

[ZHUKOV_ING]

Median line is "system line" for physical lenght of the element..

[Anonymous]

Ah, I see. On my screen it is called Centreline, that explains the confusion and nothing appears when I switch it on or off. I also notice on your screen shot that the left menu bar does not require side scrolling like mine does, how did you do this?

[ZHUKOV_ING]

I have Internacional (English) instalation... 

When you switch to "centerline" you need to update the detail...

[Drawtech]

Whoa, wait this is not really a solution to the original request.

The median or centre line is exactly that - a centre line - ON THE CENTRE.

The system line is often not on the centre, but dimensions are often configured from system line and it it extends way beyond the beam end, so does the dimension leader.

As per original request, trimming the system line to the beam end on details would be a very useful option.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that, I don't know why other people are so eager to change things to solution provided when a solution hasn't yet been provided.

I am glad that someone actually understands the issue. A member that is long and then mitred will have the system line show as the original length which then messes up the scaling when outputting parts drawings, the same goes if you use the cut at object tool. Lately I have been using the split beams a lot more so the sytem line gets cut too.

[muleman1]

@Anonymous @Drawtech did you ever find a solution to the wild, "left over" system line when modifying and/or adding features to beams in model?

[Anonymous]

Nope, other than a solution posted and not by me that did not solve the issue there is no answer.

It is something that is in the program and I can understand why as it allows you to remove a cut to a bema and return it to it's original length.

What I do now is cut (slice) the beam and then perform a mitre or some other cut, at least this way my beam can scale reasonably in the drawing without long system lines.

Trims and mitres should really adjust the system line or maybe it is just my workflow.

Thanks for asking.

[Drawtech · Accepted solution]

For clarity to development, I would add that in the model, the system lines should NOT be trimmed since having the original system line end point to snap to is very useful for accurate modelling. I would NOT want that changed!

The issue is in the drawing output only, where trimming the system line to the cut beam end (much like the centre/median lines are) would enhance the drawing presentation.

...that's my take on it anyway! 🙂

[Anonymous]

Yes, that is what I want. The drawing output is the real issue and a clean, neat, accurate and properly scaled drawing is what we are always trying to produce as that is our end product.

[Anonymous]

This might not be a perfect solution but you can drag the system lines back to the start and finish of the members in the model. The system lines appearing on the drawings will then be the same length as the member. 

[Anonymous]

I know this can be done and thanks for bringing it to the attention of anyone following this thread. If you refer to my original comment I am only concerned about the output and there are workarounds for that too e.g. turning off the system line, it is just that I would rather not have to do that as it means more time in tidying up drawings.

[muleman1]

@Anonymous that's the way we learned to do it too, by grabbing a end grip and dragging it back just at or before the intersection. We just thought there might be a better way with less steps. In our limited experience though, we have found that dragging the grips back does eliminate the dwg cleanup @Anonymous mentions. @Anonymous sorry if we inadvertently hijacked your thread.