Automated plotting in AutoCAD

Overview

Visual aids are important for developing an user-friendly design manual. The design team has manually created AutoCAD images to help users understand the designs of water cleaning systems. One major problem of this task is, however, that the developers need to regenerate the AutoCAD plots when they change a design of a single object in the system. The major goal of this project is to automate the process of creating plots in AutoCAD. A few lines added in the Mathcad scripts generate desired plots after a system is designed in AutoCAD. Furthermore, the plots include not only images but also such critical information as dimensions. The automation is based on AutoCAD features such as layout, paper space, view ports, and dimensions. MtoATranslator is updated; new AutoCAD commands are added in the script. The other AutoCAD design scripts will be renewed according to the updated MtoATranslator.

What are model space and paper space in AutoCAD?

Model space is the drawing space in AutoCAD in which users can model and design an object. The screen appears when AutoCAD is loaded is the model space. Paper space, also known as layout space, is the plotting environment in which users can plot and print the object drawn in the model space. This space can be loaded by using layout commands.

Tasks

Updating MtoATranslator

To automate the layout creating process, updating MtoATranslator is necessary. The old MtoATranslator does not include layout creating commands such as layout, vplayer (view ports layer), and plot. In addition, because we want to include dimensions in our paper space, dimension and its related commands should be included. The testing version of the translator has worked successfully for layout and vplayer. More debugging is needed for plot and dimension.

Editing other modeling scripts

The modeling Mathcad scripts for sedimentation tank, flocculation tank, and other critical components of the water cleaning system should be updated. As updating of the MtoATranslator is completed, few lines of scripts will be added in the modeling scripts to create paper spaces with desired plots.

Future Goals

The MtoATranslator should be constantly updated as new commands for paper space and plot are found. Also, with current information in AutoCAD, we can only generate one view in one paper space. Considering that the water cleaning system has many components, such method can result in numerous layouts causing inefficiency of our codes. We need to find commands that create and edit multi view ports in the paper space so that we can put two or three minor components in one paper space.