Making Circular Copies

Making Circular Copies
To start the range top, first set the layer on which you want to draw, and then draw a circle representing
the edge of one burner:
1.
Set the current layer to Fixture.
TIP
Because you used the
Bath
file as a template, Running Osnaps for Endpoint, Midpoint, and
Intersection are already turned on and available in this new file.
2.
Click the Circle tool on the Draw toolbar, or type
C
↵
.
3.
At the
Specify Center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]:
prompt,
pick a point at coordinate 4´,4´. Metric users should pick a point at coordinate 120,120.
4.
At the
Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]:
prompt, enter
3
↵
. Metric users should
enter
7.6
↵
. The circle appears.
Now you’re ready to use the Array command to draw the burner grill. You’ll first draw one line
representing part of the grill and then use the Array command to create the copies:
1.
Turn off both Polar Snap and Grid Snap modes by clicking the Snap button in the status bar,
and draw a 4˝ line starting from the coordinate 4´-1˝,4´-0˝ and ending to the right of that
point. Metric users should draw a 9 cm line starting at coordinate 122,120 and ending to the
right of that point.
2.
Zoom into the circle and line to get a better view. Your drawing should look like Figure 6.1.


You’ve got the basic parts needed to create the burner grill. You’re ready to make multiple copies
of the line. For this part, you’ll use the Array dialog box:
1.
Click Array on the Modify toolbar, or type
AR
↵
to open the Array dialog box.


2.
Click the Select Objects button. The dialog box temporarily closes, enabling you to
select objects.
3.
Type
L
↵
to select the last object drawn, or click the object you want to array.
4.
Press
↵
to confirm your selection. The Array dialog reopens.
5.
Click the Polar Array radio button at the top of the dialog box to tell AutoCAD you want a
circular array. The Array dialog box displays the Polar Array options.


6.
Click the Pick Center Point button to temporarily close the Array dialog box.


7.
Pick the point that represents the center of the circular array. Use the Center osnap to select
the center of the circle. After you’ve indicated a point, the Array dialog box returns.
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Remember that to access osnaps other than those set up as Running Osnaps, you Shift+right-click
the mouse and then select the osnap you want to use from the resulting menu.
At this point, you’ve selected an object to array, and you’ve indicated the center location of the
array. If you’ve selected the wrong object or the wrong center point, you can go back and specify
these options again.
Now, to complete the process, tell AutoCAD the number of copies in the array and the extent of
the array through the circle:
1.
In the Array dialog box, enter
8
in the Total Number Of Items text box. This tells AutoCAD
to make eight copies including the original.
2.
Accept the default of 360 for the Angle To Fill text box. This tells AutoCAD to spread the copies
evenly over the full 360 degrees of the circle. Of course, you can enter other values here. For
example, if you enter 180, the array will fill half the circle.
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You can click the Pick Angle To Fill button to the right of the Angle To Fill text box to graphically
select an angle in the drawing.
3.
Make sure the Rotate Items As Copied check box in the lower-left corner of the dialog box
is selected. This ensures that the arrayed object is rotated about the array center. If you clear
this option, the copies will all be oriented in the same direction as the original object.
4.
Click the Preview button. AutoCAD shows you the results of your array settings plus a
dialog box that offers Accept, Modify, and Cancel.
5.
Click Accept. The circular array appears in the drawing, as shown in Figure 6.2.



In step 5, you could select the Modify option to return to the Array dialog box and change
settings before committing to a final array pattern, or you could click Cancel to cancel the
whole process. The Array dialog box gives you a lot of leeway in creating your array copies.
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If you’re a veteran AutoCAD user and you prefer the command-line version of the Array command,
you can type
–Array
↵
or
–Ar
↵ at the Command prompt and then answer the prompts as
you would in earlier versions of AutoCAD.