AutoCAD should improve it's scalling and rendering system.

[Anonymous]

This has been a source of infrequent irritation to me. I use SW to design Metal parts for use in architectural settings - stairs, window-frames, doors, etc. So often my Shop drawings created in SW have multiple scales with as many as 20 views sometimes. In the cases where a client will need to send AutoCad drawings to a sub for fabrication I have to go through the bend-over-backwards process as follows: For each sheet, I save multiple Autocad files using the 1:1 feature, but for each one I have to select a different base scale. Say I have a Solidworks drawing sheet with 3 views at 1:16 and 2 views 1:2 and 5 views 1:1 scale, I will save 3 ACAD files - with different filenames - using each of these base scales. So then I have say 3 files: SHEET1-16.dwg SHEET1-2.dwg SHEET1-1.dwg I then open a new, blank ACAD file and then from the "SHEET1-16.dwg" and copy only the 3 views that are 1:16 scale and paste them into the blank ACAD file. I do the same with "Sheet1-2.dwg" - copy both the 1:2 scale views and paste them into the new ACAD file - does not matter where. I do the same with "SHEET1-1.dwg" with all the 1:1 scale views. So now I have an AutoCad file with all the 10 views from my SW drawing rendered in 1:1 scale - but it kinda looks like gunk. (for example: If you use the same blocks in your differently-scaled SW views, then you have to do additional step of renaming the blocks in each of the exported dwg files so their different scales don't mess you up in your final dwg. I use custom view label blocks in SW so I always have to do this) THEN - If I want a layout to look like it did in SW, with differently scaled views, I have to then create a new Paper-Space layout with the same sheet size as I used for my SW drawing, and create as many viewports as needed to recreate the drawing layout with the correct scales. This is easier if similar scale views are clustered together and can be in one viewport. This is not a very happy system but it generally works to send Acad files to folks. They are not pretty - as the text styles are ugly, and (for instance) Notes with leaders are rendered with an arrow/line (all separate objects) and separate blocks of text for each line of note text. But the geometry should all be scaled correctly, and the dimensions should be correct. You can check this by clicking on some geometry lines in model space and checking to see if they are the proper length. The one upside to all this is that it gives me a proper appreciation for all the behind-the-scenes work SW is doing to make creating drawing views pretty seamless. https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/171561

[Alfred.NESWADBA · Accepted solution]

Hi,

not sure to understand all your things you are doing. But reading that you copy geometry between drawings and there between details/layouts to other files (and so getting troubles with scales, blocknames, ...) I see the problem more in data organisation than in the handling AutoCAD does handle that.

I would think about not to copy data between drawing, use XRef's instead .. with this simple change you get rid of all your blocknames (which are critical when copying data between files having all a block defined with the same name.

I would think about details ... don't create different files for details of one base object. You never get them all corrected when the base geometry changes. Use layouts to display one object in different scales, that's it. So you have to send the customer one file and he has all together, it does not make sense to send multiple files as you are never sure to have all up-to-date.

>> For each sheet, I save multiple Autocad files using the 1:1 feature, but for each one I have to select a different base scale

>> Say I have a Solidworks drawing sheet with 3 views at 1:16 and 2 views 1:2 and 5 views 1:1 scale, I will save 3 ACAD files

I would take the original geometry, not the views. Views are just results of different viewpoints, details, sections, ... from the original object. The base object has all you need I guess.

Just my 2c, - alfred -

[RobDraw]

Agreed, this is not a problem with the software but rather in the process.

[Anonymous]

I must agree with Alfred and Rob...

You should consider new techniques in organizing your CAD work and drawing file structures. Layouts and viewports are a good beginning. Annotation scales would help you maintain consistency in your drawings/s. If your in a shop where many standardized parts are designed-into projects then maybe a great template with blocks already embedded would be better than XREF.

Good Luck