Setting a distance for drawing a line parallel to another line.

[Anonymous]

I know this is a stupid question, but I can't remember how to accomplish the feat. I have AutoCAD 2016 student version. I've completed a 2D sketch for a revolved feature. I need to create a line that is .375" below the 2D sketch's bottom line that will be used as the axis of rotation for the revolved feature. How do I make sure the line is the distance I need it to be? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Have you tried the "offset" command?

[imadHabash]

Hi,

>> How do I make sure the line is the distance I need it to be? <<

either you use OFFSET command OR you can try COPY command then enter the distance you need . 

[Kent1Cooper · Accepted solution]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

.... I've completed a 2D sketch for a revolved feature. I need to create a line that is .375" below the 2D sketch's bottom line that will be used as the axis of rotation for the revolved feature. How do I make sure the line is the distance I need it to be? Thanks!

---

Do you need the Line itself, or is that only to provide an axis to REVOLVE around?  If the latter, you can do this without drawing a Line at all.

Turn ORTHO on [F8] and Object Snap Tracking on [F11], and have some running Object Snap mode(s) appropriate to the "feature" [END, MID, INT, whatever] turned on.

Start the REVOLVE command and select the feature.  When it says "Specify axis start point...", hover over an Osnappable point on the feature's bottom line for a second until the little green + sign appears on it.  Drag the cursor downward close enough to straight below for Ortho to latch on, so you see a short-dashed green directional indicator from there, and type .375.  That will give you a location that far below the point you snapped onto, and you can establish the other end of the axis easily from there.

[Anonymous]

I thought of that, but I'll end up with an off set of the entire 2D sketch.

[Anonymous]

Either one of those solutions will give me the entire sketch.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Thanks! That is the solution I was looking for!

[paul_campbellNG8FW]

Hi

I would like to ask a kind of similar question please, i have finished a survey on a road and have a 3dpoly line for a roadside kerb and would like to offset an edge of this (i would like to change the width from 125mm to 250mm), but was wondering, can I draw a parallel curve at a set distance from this 3d poly line kerb edge, (no elevation changes required). I had been doing this previously by copying and pasting the 3dpolyline representing the curve to somewhere outside the main drawing, converting 3d to 2d poly, offsetting the 2d poly 250mm, and then copying and pasting these on top of the original 3d poly. converting the 2d poly to 3d and draping over a surface using FEATURESELEVSFROMSURF. would like a quicker more efficient way of doing this please, hope someone can help and hope that is an understandable explanation