Hatch Patterns in Dynamic Blocks

[Anonymous]

Hello All:

Does anyone have a method for controlling the base point of a hatch pattern that's nested in a dynamic block?  I'd like to be able to keep a pattern centered when a block's dimensional properties are changed.

Thanks,

Mark

[Libbya · Accepted solution]

Sure.  Here you go.

The associative boudary and hatch are moved with a distance multiplier of 0.5.  The grip edge of associative boundary is stretched with a distance multiplier of 0.5.  The unmoved edge of the associative boundary is stretched with a distance multiplier of -0.5.  The 0.5 move applied to the hatch and boundary move the origin point to keep it centered and move the boundary at the same time to keep the boundary associative.  The 0.5 move and 0.5 stretch applied to the grip edge add together to stretch/move it 1.0 and stay aligned with the grip. The -0.5 stretch of the 'unmoved' edge of the boundary and the 0.5 move of the boundary combine for it to stay where it was.

The two vertical lines in the block are just there as a reference.  The longer one shows the centerline of the block and the shorter shows the alignment with the hatch pattern.    

[tiger4956]

Thank you for the tip about using a negative scale factor, I never knew you could do that!  I also learned from you that the stretch frame does not need to include any portion of the parameter or the grip.

I've been trying to find a way to move a hatch inside a dynamic block for a very long time now. My solution, thanks to your tip, is to insert a point parameter then add two move actions to the point parameter.  The fist move action moves the hatch AND the associative boundary, and the second move action moves just the boundary back to its original position.  The second move action has a scale factor of -1 so that it "undoes" the first move.

Works like a charm!  I'm have a "user" hatch that makes a 12"x12" grid.  Each line represents one piece of rebar, so the actual location of the hatch is very important.

Thanks again,

Rob

[Anonymous]

I'm so grateful I found this post, I hope you'd be willing to help me..

So I'm pretty old at cad (10 years+) but fairly new into creating dynamic blocks, I have created this dynamic stretchable block which is actually an elevation of a deck railing which we use a lot throughout our drawings, I also created a custom .pat and added it as an associative hatch for the balusters to have .5" spindles and 4" spaces between each, so far so good, the only thing bugging me is that the railing balusters themselves don't stay centered as the block increases or decrease in width, I'd love to have the hatch stay perfectly centered with the origin point set at -.25 from the center (half of one baluster), I hope you understand my question and that you can coach me on that how and where to set the stretch points...

I'm attaching both, the block and the hatch I created.

[Libbya · Accepted solution]

It's the exact same concept as what I did previously.  Here's a screencast that shows the step-by-step.  The only twist in this case is to adjust the initial hatch size so that it is centered to begin with.  

[Anonymous]

I'm beyond words, you're really wonderful!!

did you save the dwg you're showing in the screencast?? can I have the audacity and ask you to attach it??

[Libbya]

Nope.  I didn't save it.  

[Anonymous]

I watched your screencast several times and was finally able to recreate it... thanks so much again!

[Emmsleys]

Hi @Anonymous,

I know you're not the OP of this thread but feel free to select Accept as Solution for any post in this thread that helped or resolves your issue.

Thanks!

[Libbya]

Emmsleys, the 'Accept Solution' button is only present for the original poster of the thread.  

[Emmsleys]

Thanks@Libbya, I went ahead and marked it for them.

If anyone has a question or an issue with that please let me know. 

[Anonymous]

I tried following the steps above and the hatch stays centered but doesn't stretch. I attached the file below. Thanks in advance for the help.

[Libbya]

The hatch needs to be associative.  

[Anonymous]

THANKS!! I knew it was something simple I was missing.

[Anonymous]

Hey,

I created a post recently asking for help with dynamic block I want to use for stair railing. I was originally trying to do it with an array but after doing some more searching I found this post and I think a hatch works better. I followed all the steps but for some reason the hatch origin doesn't move to keep it centered. I'm pretty sure I followed the steps correctly so maybe it's something in the hatch settings or a system variable? Please help, thanks! 

[Libbya]

You added only the associative boundary to the move action.  You need to move BOTH the boundary and the hatch.