arrrrrghhhhhhh...imperial to metric?!...how

[salf]

Can somebody explain to me, like if I were a 2 years old, how to change a file that's on imperial to metric?

 

I did search, and found about 3 topics related, but I'm guess im really dumb or is too early in the morning, but I get lost easily on the scale issue.

 

There should be just a button that allows you to switch between both, then it would be just a matter of choose how to express those units.

 

BTW some of those threads I found were really old, from 2003, funny how some comments were expecting this to be fixed in future versions, and if it was I can't find that magic button.

 

Anyhoo, can someone please explain to me how to do this, lets use this example:

 

I have a drawing in imperial units, its a simple square 40' x 40', I want to convert that to metric and keep on working on it, but using meters...or centimeters, whatever, I just want it in metric.

 

Step by step how to change the system?

 

THanks all!

[neko]

first step: decide what metric units you want (there is no such thing as 'metric' in autocad - decimal units must represent something, so you have to decide)

 

let's say you choose millimeters then......

 

step two: select everything in the drawing (make sure no objects are frozen/off or locked) and scale it 25.4 bigger. this is the ratio between one imperial unit (inch) to one decimal unit (millimeter)...... or how many millimeters are in an inch ?

 

step three: make sure to change your drawing units (UN) to decimal and i guess it couldn't hurt to change the 'insert units' in the UNITS command to 'millimeters'

 

you're all set ! if you want to make centimeters your base unit, then multiply again by 10 (10 millimeters = 1 centimeter

[neko]

in additon to that, if you are using autocad 2008/09 and have been using annotative scale, then obviously you can now choose the appropriate scale in metric units.

 

i said before that there is no such thing as metric in autocad, but the concept of annotative scale is starting to blur that distinction.

[salf]

thanks a lot, actually I did scale it by .254 since I work in meters.

 

Now, problem solved, I just have an "issue", I dont understand why to "scale", maybe understand is not the word, becasue I do understand, but at the same time it doesn't makes sense to me.....lol......I'll try to explain it with an example:

 

We draw in Autocad in "real life size", whatever units we do it, but its a "real life size", wether you draw a line thats 10 mm or 43', its real size.

 

Based on this I imagine autocad as an infinite canvas, imagine you're in the beach, standing in the sand, you find a wooden stick, grab it and stick one end in the sand, then you start rotating around you, 360 degrees, so at the end you have created a circle in the sand around you.

 

NOw, in that beach theres a guy from ....lets say Venezuela ...and a guy from the USA.

 

If you ask the guy form Venezuela to use his measure tape and find the diamater, he will say (for instance) it's exactly 1,016 meters (which is 1 meter and 16 millimiters).

 

Now If you ask the guy from the USA, to take his measure tape and do the same, he will say that the circle is exactly 3'4" (3 feet 4 inches)

 

Both are right, the circle is the same size, just expressed in different units.

 

Now neither of the 2 guys had to "scale" the circle, literally (here comes the magic stuff) grabing the circle path in the sand and making it bigger or smaller "X" times in order to be able to measure it correctly in their native units.

 

Thats what we have to do in Autocad....again, I understand the reason why, but as I told before I can't "grasp" it, and I think it could (or should) be done as simple as the example.

 

/end of rant.

 

thanks again!

[neko]

yup - you're right....it should be the same, but it isn't.

 

if you spend your life trying to figure out some of the decision-making behind autocad, you'll go mad.

 

after twenty years, you just learn to work with it, and not think to hard about it.

[AJLynn]

Actually, the easiest way to do this is to just stay in imperial

[neko]

i sense another twenty page thread/discussion/argument coming.......

[Antisthenes]

as i know it is very easy just change your units from inches to cm, in Rhinoceros

 

i don't know what you are using but it is a 1 click event for me to go back and forth.

[Antisthenes]

yup - you're right....it should be the same, but it isn't.

 

if you spend your life trying to figure out some of the decision-making behind autocad, you'll go mad.

 

after twenty years, you just learn to work with it, and not think to hard about it.

 

 

or move on to a company that listens to it's power users

[salf]

as i know it is very easy just change your units from inches to cm, in Rhinoceros

 

i don't know what you are using but it is a 1 click event for me to go back and forth.

 

 

not in autocad.

 

I know in sketchup you can enter whatever units you want, even draw one line in imperial and the next one in metric, thats pretty cool.

[salf]

Actually, the easiest way to do this is to just stay in imperial

 

Don't start......lol.....

 

I guess the entire world but Myanmar, Liberia and the United States got it wrong, right?

 

And considering that half Myanmar got wiped off recently that leaves only Liberia and the US.

 

Sorry, black humor intent.

 

Nah, it won't be another 20 pages discussion, hehehehe...there's alreayd a thread for that.

[Antisthenes]

not in autocad.

 

 

 

somehow that makes sense. autodesk

[AJLynn]

Don't push it, Jonas.

[Antisthenes]

Don't push it, Jonas.

 

 

my bad.

 

i just got off jury duty. you can only imagine how forthright i was there

[3dway]

I'll ask again:

 

Don't you find it funny that the United States was the among the first to fight wars and die in order to independant of the Brittish Empire, yet they're the last people on the planet using the imperial system of measurement and they refuse to let it go?

 

I'm Canadian, and I could truly switch to metric if the US would. Our materials, and everything else come from the US so we're stuck with either odd-ball metric numbers or imperial.

 

I'm going to frame up some 38x89s. See ya.

[Antisthenes]

gotcha!

 

what are some other funny common Canadian measurements ?

[vizwhiz]

i did a small project, Updown Court 40,000 sq ft spec house

4,162 dimensions on 4 floors (= storeys) designed and drafted

 

in Imperial but dimensioned in metric

 

fun project They designed This using 'soft metric'

100 cm = 4 inches so everything was way off by The Time

 

The dimension string got To The other side of wherever it was going

 

set DIMLFAC = .254 or some conversion number similar To 25.4

 

sets 1 inch To be (i forget)

25.4 cm = 1 inch as i recall

[Frosty]

25.4 cm = 1 inch as i recall

 

Randy, if you used this conversion I wouldn't be shocked that you were off by a lil bit

 

2.54cm=1 inch

[Antisthenes]

that is why i use 16 decimal place precision.

[AJLynn]

You're joking, right?

[Antisthenes]

nope. i am know as a perfectionist around the office. if only i would do sloppy fast work many would be more more happy, but in the long run i would get frustrated and run into snags

 

i understand if you just do VIZ that it might not matter so much but i stay in the same environment for my CAD and VIZ so i keep it as real i can, not only for the contractor, consultants and trades but to be water tight and do FEA structural at times on water tight models.