Author Topic: Xrefs, Blocks and Draworder...  (Read 6299 times)

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Viktor

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Xrefs, Blocks and Draworder...
« on: April 26, 2006, 06:33:38 PM »
Hi all,
This is like walking in a room that i've never seen before, well, i hope to find some good help here, and if i can will provide my input.
Many of you use xrefs and I've worked at a number of companies that use xrefs a littlle or allot. My question is weather the later autocad, 06 or 07 (haven't gotten it yet), has a tool or an option to overlay equipment on top of equipment.
For example:
If I have a foundation plan that is 6' x 6' and all of that is located on the foundation xref, then I will have a equipment xref which will have equipment that in some areas sticks out beyond the 6' x 6' foundation, currently this will mean that i will have to go into xref and trim around the equipment to make it look clean, or use wipeout. But is there an option that will allow me to set a draw order on a block and it will not be see through inside???
Does that make sense?
I know wipeout, but it sucks.
I'm wondering if there's something better out there now?
Thanks,
Viktor.

Viktor

  • Guest
Re: Xrefs, Blocks and Draworder...
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2006, 11:38:42 AM »
Alright, let me give a better example:

Let’s say your project is to install a machine in a warehouse. This project will have the normal set of drawings:

Foundation Plan
Electrical Plan
Equipment Layout
General Plan
Plan & Elevation (close up)
Mechanical & Piping plan
Civil Plan

Idea is to draw xrefs which would be referenced into each plan and eliminate the number of changes that would have to be done during a change. So, you draw

Foundation XREF
Electrical XREF
Equipment XREF
Mechanical XREF
Civil XREF

Now when you put this together you run into problems…

For Foundation Plan, it works good, you just put in your Foundation Plan & Civil XREF.
For Electrical Plan you need Foundation, Equipment & Electrical:
Now, your equipment will be overlapping foundation xref, (so will look messy). If you have panels or boxes for electrical, it will overlap with equipment, to make it look clean you have to trim equipment around panels or boxes, trim the foundation around equipment. Etc.
Same goes with piping, piping will have to be trimmed as it is added to the equipment.
But if you trim you will affect the original general plan which does not show electrical or piping, it will mess with foundation plan which does not show the equipment.
How do people work around this?

As I said, I know that wipeout works, but it sure gets messy when you have wipeout on top of wipeout and so on. I just wish that AutoCad creates an option for these dynamic blocks, to be able to set draworder on them, and set a boundary.
If everything is done in 3D, it eliminates this, but since not the whole industry is 3D, there should be some solution for 2D.

Thanks,
Viktor.

hudster

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Re: Xrefs, Blocks and Draworder...
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2006, 12:20:51 PM »
I think he's talking about lines running through plant equipment.

If for example he has a generator, if the end hangs over the edge of the foundation plan, when the foundation layout is  xref'd in, it will show through the plant equipment.
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Viktor

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Re: Xrefs, Blocks and Draworder...
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2006, 01:03:00 PM »
I think he's talking about lines running through plant equipment.

If for example he has a generator, if the end hangs over the edge of the foundation plan, when the foundation layout is  xref'd in, it will show through the plant equipment.
THANK YOU ANDY!!!!!!!!
yea, that's what i mean, and it gets more and more complex when overlapping equipment and mechanical and electrical.
I hate going into drawings to find everything exploded and millions of entities, and my job is to move something 6 inches (so i end up redrawing everything almost) and the engineer expects it to be done in 2 minutes, it's just a move....
Yes, that is what i'm asking Andy.
Thanks.

drizzt

  • Guest
Re: Xrefs, Blocks and Draworder...
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2006, 10:29:19 AM »
I am pretty sure wipeout is your only option, but if you figure out something else, let me know!