Dynamic Blocks Showcase: Share Your Favorite Dynamic Blocks

[Victoria.Studley]

Dynamic Blocks Showcase: share your favorite dynamic blocks and show us how you made them!

As a follow up to our latest dynamic blocks webinar, we'll post our favorite dynamic blocks here with Screencasts to illustrate how we created them.

Please join the conversation: share your own blocks or get some inspiration from your fellow community members. Let us know how you save time in your designs by using dynamic blocks!

If you're interested in watching our Dynamic Blocks webinars, or signing up for future AutoCAD webinars, check out these links:

• Sign Up: If you'd like to sign up for future AutoCAD webinars, you can do so via this link.
• Webinar 1: Introduction to Dynamic Blocks in AutoCAD
• Webinar 2: Dynamic Blocks Deep Dive in AutoCAD 2018

[buckeyefever2]

I apologize for the late response. I can take a further look into this when I can find some time. I did have another request for light switches but have not made a one similar to the receptacle block. I switched companies and workload and now using Revit heavily I took a hiatus from dynamic block building. When I get a chance I can dive back into this and possibly share more of my library.

[ChobeeCADastrophe]

That's good work.

[h_s_walker]

Just a little scalebar block I made recently from my company's scalebar.

You can stick it on an A0 to A4 drawing and change the page size and it will reflect the correct size (after a regen)

It's got most scales, apart from 1:4, 1:8, 1:16 because it was just too awkward without constraints (work only has LT2016) to change the width of the bars to make them correct distances.

You can also change the scale and when you do a regen it will show the correct information.

[chriswade]

Nice, here is my version of one.

This has to be placed in Modelspace and then whatever viewport it shows in it will automatically adjust in size and the scale values will change. Although, mine does not show the page size.

[mellishmcw]

Hey all,   I havent shared in a while.  

I have been working on adding Tectus style hinges to my cabinetry drawings for a while, and always run into a situation where we have to show a door open at a weird angle with the correct geometry for where the leaf moves to.  The manufacturer provides some opening drawings, but never really gets us to the angle we need.

These hinges have quite a few pivot points so it was always tough to figure out.  

Also Ive also had mixed success with figuring out how parametric tools work in vanilla autocad.

WELL ANYWAYS,  here's my first attempt at a dynamic block for a Tectus A540 A8 in plan view.  

If anyone has input on how I can improve this, I am all ears.

[jtohillVY4VS]

Here is a door block I have been working on.

[chriswade]

EDIT: I have made further progress, but the bends do not scale up.

I am trying to make an elbow for ductwork and I have made some progress.

The yellowish items are bends in the elbow.

The red items are insulation and they always need to be 2" from the edge of the elbow on either side.

If I select 90 degrees first, it causes an issue as shown on the left.

I also need to be able to scale up and down the size of the elbow.

[cloweRE8TC]

This is my version of a scale bar.

[dissonant77]

Thanks for the reply!  I would be very interested in looking at your electrical library.  I know there isn't much consensus out there on a lot of symbology.  I do end up building most of my blocks (but they aren't dynamic), as I'm not happy with the electrical blocks that I do find.  Don't worry about fixing the receptacle dynamic block or making a switch dynamic block for my sake, especially if you're swamped and mostly using Revit now.  But do please share whatever you already have built as part of your electrical library and I'll gladly take a look!

[timothy_crouse]

Look in this thread for electrical blocks.  I know there a more than a few in here.

I know I have personally posted a library titled "Plan View Blocks - E Equipment"

Best Regards

-Tim C.

[cloweRE8TC]

I should sort mine out and post them as well, I've also got hydraulic blocks.

[timothy_crouse]

If anyone on this thread has HVAC Duct or Pipe Blocks those would be a welcome addition as well.

Best Regards

-Tim C.

[hencoop]

@timothy_crouse I figured out many years ago that the number of blocks required for all the piping I am likely to need is astronomical given the variety of views, types (FLG, MJ, PE, GRV), and layers I would need.  I decided to draw each of them anew wherever they are required but doing that manually would be no improvement at all.  So, I wrote a program in autolisp that does everything for me, parametrically.  Each pipe or fitting drawn is on layers I specify differentiated by Discipline, linetype, Major group, and color (Discipline and Major groups are per CLG) and added to a unique AutoCAD Group which allows each fitting or pipe to be selected as a unit (when group lock is on).  No block table or library to look in, no blocks to make to populate them, no blocks as yet not created.  It has been a great time saver for me over the past three decades.  This is what the main dialog looks like:

[dissonant77]

Hi Tim, 

Yes I did see that one and the others you uploaded.  I did go thru the entire thread, downloaded and tried out most of the electrical blocks, though I haven't ended up using many in my designs thus far for one reason or another.

[tanbqtb03]

Please sharing your tool, thanks

[hencoop]

@tanbqtb03 I am not here to promote a commercial product.  My post was to suggest a best method to the solve the problem.  I began my (this) solution in 1990 after attending my very first class on AutoCAD which was company mandated and funded.  I was an experienced Intergraph user but had not used AutoCAD.  Intergraph is/was the server based program which is the predecessor and motivation for the Bentley brothers creating MicroStation.  My AutoCAD instructor became frustrated with my incessant questions that began "How do you..." asking how I could accomplish something in AutoCAD that Intergraph could do.  He finally suggested that I learn Autolisp and recommended the book "Inside AutoLisp for rel. 10" published by New Riders Publications.  He said "You can do just about anything you want to do in AutoCAD using Autolisp".  In that book there is a tutorial for creating 90° bends parametrically.  After getting started programming in Autolisp I purchased Basis Software's Visual Lisp (which Autodesk eventually purchased and included with AutoCAD as VLIDE).  My tool is the book's  tutorial expanded to include the other fittings and a dialog interface, the main dialog appearance is the image I posted.  I made this ParaPIPE for my own use and I made it available online for purchase... I can't remember the last time I sold a license to it.  That's not my focus and I've have never done any marketing for it.  If you are interested, you can find it on  my site: http://www.paracadd.com 

[timothy_crouse]

Here are a few map objects I use to create vicinity maps.

Hope folks find these useful

-Tim C.

[mblyskosz1]

My dynamic blocks for aluminium window and door,  both 3D

[mblyskosz1]

My dynamic blocks for aluminium window and door both 3D

[h_s_walker]

I've updated my scale block. It now has all metric scales listed in the standard scale list. It also gives the distance for the subdivisions as well