Cadtales

PRODUCTIVITY TOOL -- DYNAMIC BLOCKS

AutoCAD 2006 introduced a totally new feature called Dynamic Blocks. Borrowing from similar features in Architectural Desktop and Autodesk Building Systems, dynamic blocks offer a huge boost in productivity by automating pre and post-insertion block editing.

AutoCAD 2006/7 is loaded with pre-made Dynamic Blocks to give you a head start in assessing their utility in your designs. There are standard palettes for Architectural, Mechanical, Electrical and Civil/Survey.




A lightning bolt attached to an icon symbol identifies it as a Dynamic Block.

Dynamic Blocks can be rotated, stretched, copied and scaled in all ways imaginable upon insertion, and after insertion to meet any design criteria. A single block, for example, can now represent an entire series of bolts: different sizes, lengths, thread-counts and bolt-head designs. A lookup list lets you select the desired bolt, sorted by physical size (1/4 x 1”) or thread nomenclature (1/4-20).

Place a Dynamic Block in your drawing and then click the block to highlight. Note the special Grips in the illustration in the title bar above; their shapes denote their function: square = basepoint, thick arrow = alignment, round = rotation, and a conventional arrow for flip. In the illustrations below note the drop-down list for model, and the stretch arrow and hash marks for standard bolt lengths.

Dynamic blocks will be a boon to anyone utilizing a variety of blocks in their designs to select models, views, styles, sizes, lengths, etc. Dynamic features in the door block below are: door swing (inside, outside, left & right), self-align with the wall, stretch arrows for wall width and door width, and a list for door opening angle.

Dynamic blocks are created and edited with the Dynamic Block Editor, started with this icon on the Standard Tool Bar or the alias “be’ at the keyboard. Any existing block or blocks can be used as the basis for a new Dynamic Block.

Dynamic Blocks contain two important elements, parameters and actions. Parameters define the aspects of the geometry (length, height, width, distance, model, view) that you want to control with actions (Flip, Visibility, Linear, Lookup, Rotation, etc). Some actions are associated with specific parameters such as Scale, Move, Rotate, Stretch, Flip, Array, etc). A list of Parameter Sets (parameters and actions already combined), such as Polar Array, Flip Set, Visibility Set, Rotation Set, etc. make Dynamic Block creation and customization fast and effective.

When combined with Tool Palettes, Attributes, Tables & Design Center, Dynamic Blocks become a powerful productivity tool – too important to be overlooked or ignored!